About six weeks ago, I did something I said I would never do again: I started running. Well, running may not exactly describe my physical motion but I am definitely moving faster than a quick walking pace. The point of broadcasting this personal trivia is to emphasize that one should "Never say never".
Whatever possessed this fifty-something woman to suddenly back pedal on an activity she had long forsworn? After all, a quick observation of human physique is enough to convince the average Jo that walking is natural, running is not. Surely a brisk walk of three miles per hour is fast enough for a race of beings that is prone to torn meniscuses? That was a philosophy that satisfied me for quite some time.
Speeding up was an unintended but inspired response to meeting up with an old friend who taught me that if I had the capacity to use my legs then I had better get going and be grateful. My original intention was to walk myself to a mildly better level of fitness. I had no ambition beyond a leisurely two and a half mile per hour pace. As the weeks ticked by, I started to fall into the evening rhythm of putting on my trainers and walking out the door with a sense of relief and anticipation. A positive attitude was beginning to replace my initial begrudging of the time requirement. I was finding that I was sleeping a lot better plus being a little more mindful of what I was eating, some benefits I had not anticipated. I also was getting some important "thinking time" out of the deal. Then six weeks ago, a funny thing happened: I had the urge to put on a little speed. A little spring in my feet, it was as simple as that, and I was running.
I literally bumped into my source of inspiration at this past year at a high school reunion . As I was turning away from a conversation to go get some refreshments, I tripped over my old girlhood friend, Sherry B., who was directly behind me in a wheelchair. Like everyone there, she had undergone some big changes from the days when acne, geometry tests and the subject of prom dominated our teenage concerns. However, Sherry's adulthood concerns had a different shape to them than many of us. Early in her twenties, Sherry was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and had been coping with the disease's demands over the decades while she raised and fledged a family.
As spunky as ever, Sherry gave me a colorful and comical summary of raising her three sons to varying stages of young manhood. She asked for the same accounting from my life and listened intently. She caught me by complete surprise, when as I mentioned I was currently contracting with an adult diapers company, she grabbed my arm. She let me know we were on some more common ground. Ever since her youngest left the diaper scene, she had been grappling with her own incontinence, coming to grips with the idea that it was going to have to be a fact of her life. It was a struggle that was not ever going to be over for her. But always a big fan of Dolly Parton's as she was, she kept a saying of Dolly's on the fridge. "We cannot change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the sails." "So," she said, "I have been taking sailing lessons for quite a few years now."
Up until then, I had been looking at my glass as half empty, cranking about getting older and fearful of the limitations that might impose. That afternoon Sherry inadvertently shook that out of me. Yes, there was that ache in my hips (diminishing with the walking exercise though. Hmmm.), and occasionally an unanticipated sneeze threatened to send me off for a change but nothing that resembled the need to reach for adult diapers.
Sherry unfairly had to cope with incontinence from a young age because of her disease's progression. Women in a healthy state like mine have to blame "transient incontinence" on deteriorating muscle tone that comes with aging. The female anatomy which so wondrously accommodates all the changes of childbearing relies on two tiny sets of bladder sphincter muscles to hold back the contents of that ballooning organ. Childbearing, impact exercise (running, sky diving, etc.), along with aging can all lead to the betrayal of those muscles. That is primarily why of the 25 million or so Americans who suffer from incontinence, nearly 80% are women. With numbers like that reaching for adult diapers and various incontinence products, it is easy to see that the message of developing healthy attitudes about this phenomenon, such as Sherry's 'sailing lessons', is an important one to disseminate.
Every day now, Sherry and I FaceBook each other. We're not going to let the years come between us again. I have reacquainted myself with a very special woman, one who inspired me to run again. Today I sent her a message that read "I have a new technique for engaging 'the wall' [a silly concept for someone who only goes a mile or two!]. I lift my head and get my eyes off the ground. As I watch the clouds, I can breathe easier and am no longer worrying about the remaining haul. It works." She replied with her trademark encouragement: "Set your sails and catch the wind. And for heaven's sake, buy a good sports bra. - 16890
Whatever possessed this fifty-something woman to suddenly back pedal on an activity she had long forsworn? After all, a quick observation of human physique is enough to convince the average Jo that walking is natural, running is not. Surely a brisk walk of three miles per hour is fast enough for a race of beings that is prone to torn meniscuses? That was a philosophy that satisfied me for quite some time.
Speeding up was an unintended but inspired response to meeting up with an old friend who taught me that if I had the capacity to use my legs then I had better get going and be grateful. My original intention was to walk myself to a mildly better level of fitness. I had no ambition beyond a leisurely two and a half mile per hour pace. As the weeks ticked by, I started to fall into the evening rhythm of putting on my trainers and walking out the door with a sense of relief and anticipation. A positive attitude was beginning to replace my initial begrudging of the time requirement. I was finding that I was sleeping a lot better plus being a little more mindful of what I was eating, some benefits I had not anticipated. I also was getting some important "thinking time" out of the deal. Then six weeks ago, a funny thing happened: I had the urge to put on a little speed. A little spring in my feet, it was as simple as that, and I was running.
I literally bumped into my source of inspiration at this past year at a high school reunion . As I was turning away from a conversation to go get some refreshments, I tripped over my old girlhood friend, Sherry B., who was directly behind me in a wheelchair. Like everyone there, she had undergone some big changes from the days when acne, geometry tests and the subject of prom dominated our teenage concerns. However, Sherry's adulthood concerns had a different shape to them than many of us. Early in her twenties, Sherry was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and had been coping with the disease's demands over the decades while she raised and fledged a family.
As spunky as ever, Sherry gave me a colorful and comical summary of raising her three sons to varying stages of young manhood. She asked for the same accounting from my life and listened intently. She caught me by complete surprise, when as I mentioned I was currently contracting with an adult diapers company, she grabbed my arm. She let me know we were on some more common ground. Ever since her youngest left the diaper scene, she had been grappling with her own incontinence, coming to grips with the idea that it was going to have to be a fact of her life. It was a struggle that was not ever going to be over for her. But always a big fan of Dolly Parton's as she was, she kept a saying of Dolly's on the fridge. "We cannot change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the sails." "So," she said, "I have been taking sailing lessons for quite a few years now."
Up until then, I had been looking at my glass as half empty, cranking about getting older and fearful of the limitations that might impose. That afternoon Sherry inadvertently shook that out of me. Yes, there was that ache in my hips (diminishing with the walking exercise though. Hmmm.), and occasionally an unanticipated sneeze threatened to send me off for a change but nothing that resembled the need to reach for adult diapers.
Sherry unfairly had to cope with incontinence from a young age because of her disease's progression. Women in a healthy state like mine have to blame "transient incontinence" on deteriorating muscle tone that comes with aging. The female anatomy which so wondrously accommodates all the changes of childbearing relies on two tiny sets of bladder sphincter muscles to hold back the contents of that ballooning organ. Childbearing, impact exercise (running, sky diving, etc.), along with aging can all lead to the betrayal of those muscles. That is primarily why of the 25 million or so Americans who suffer from incontinence, nearly 80% are women. With numbers like that reaching for adult diapers and various incontinence products, it is easy to see that the message of developing healthy attitudes about this phenomenon, such as Sherry's 'sailing lessons', is an important one to disseminate.
Every day now, Sherry and I FaceBook each other. We're not going to let the years come between us again. I have reacquainted myself with a very special woman, one who inspired me to run again. Today I sent her a message that read "I have a new technique for engaging 'the wall' [a silly concept for someone who only goes a mile or two!]. I lift my head and get my eyes off the ground. As I watch the clouds, I can breathe easier and am no longer worrying about the remaining haul. It works." She replied with her trademark encouragement: "Set your sails and catch the wind. And for heaven's sake, buy a good sports bra. - 16890
About the Author:
Ms. Kew has been a caregiver to senior adults for almost all of her adult life. She now directs web content for a large U.S. web-based store that provides Adult Diapers at Greatly Discounted Prices to anyone who needs these products. Kate is also creating a resource library to educate and support all who struggle with adult incontinence. You are invited to visit and add to this repository: Adult Diapers Facts.
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