This past week was a little stressful. My grandmother of 98 years passed away. She lived in a nursing home for many years. My grandfather had lived with her up until he passed away in 2007 (he was born in 1921). Both lived a very good life and were kind and generous people. In my grandmother's later years she suffered from dementia. When she was in the nursing home me and my family would visit her weekly. However, over time her mental conditions deteriorated and she didn't recognize who we were. Grandma would have entertaining stories about her 5 husbands and what they did. This is a far cry from the grandmother that I knew growing up that would make me french toast, cakes, go on trips with, and have Sunday dinners with throughout the 1990's. Honestly, I think if my grandmother knew the kind of condition she was in she wouldn't want to live like that (but that is another topic for another day).
I found out my grandmother has passed on Wednesday night while I had just got done working out. Throughout the day I had been cramping (really more of the blunt stabbing pain with Crohn's) but it seemed to get worse Thursday and I felt tired. Friday I felt better and I got some pretty good sleep and today I feel pretty decent.
My workout routine is still going strong. I typically workout for 1 and half hours 3 times a week. My workout consists of free weights, strength exercises (biceps, triceps, etc), walking on the treadmill, and then I finish with the elliptical. Overall, I feel in pretty good shape. I at one point did have a personal trainer but feel I wasn't get the value out of that and they always do the exercises I wanted. Although, I would say I felt really sore after I was probably in the best shape ever of my life. Currently, I feel in good shape and may have loss a little of muscle mass but am quite happy with it. My weight is around 160 lbs (within the past few days it had reached 163). Feeling fit is always nice in terms of being able to fit into clothes and knowing every once in a while you can have a little extra to eat.
Overall, my health is quite well and I am always in awe of how successful my remission has been with Crohn's and how much of a miracle drug Humira has been. I am scheduled to see my gastro doc in May for a checkup (he books up months in advance!). The only thing I don't like is my gastro doc had his practice purchased my a large hospital. Before it was easier to schedule an appointment and I could talk to the nurse. These days I have go through someone else to do that. Also according to my internist my GI has more of a 9-5 job now that he works for a hospital and if he has a patient after hours someone else will admit the patient to the hospital. My internist is in a group practice and they have a younger GI that looks promising (however I wouldn't switch/also my GI is getting up in age and I could see him retiring within the next 10 years). All in all he has done a great job with me and I am grateful for where he has gotten me to.
