Well, today is the day that I have been waiting for. It's been months in the making but today was the final weigh-in, first day of school and my infusion. I started my day by getting my daughter off to school and then cried the whole way to the gym! My baby started kindergarten and no matter how prepared I thought I was, nothing prepared me for the emtional avalanch of her rushing to the bus and forgetting to kiss her goodbye. I was such a mess! Please be patient with me a moment because this proud mama has to share a couple of photos with you! Keilana looks so grown up (she's only 5 and a half) until you see how tiny she is next to a bus!
After my weigh-in I went directly to my infusion. I was there for 5 hours having more drugs pumped into me than the average person has in a lifetime. I had two extra-strength Tylenol, one extra strength Gravol tablet (which didn't curb the nausea for the first hour so I needed a cold cloth to help), 100 mg Prednisone via IV (a steroid that causes my heart to race in the evening and headaches for a few days afterwards...the maximum I have in one day for the pain during a bad flare is 20mg), 50 mg Benedryl via IV (to fend off potential reactions like when my throat sarted to close during my first infusion), and 1000 mg Rituxan (a high dose of chemo).
I am pleased to announce that other than some nausea we had no problems this time. They even got the IV in on the first try (there's first time for everything)! I will be back at work tomorrow and will only need Advil to fend off the headaches as much as possible. In two weeks I have to repeat this whole proces but since it went so smotthly this time, I am less anxious about it. Here are a couple photos of the side of arthritis that most people never see (a big reason why advocacy and awareness are such a big focus for those of us with autoimmune arthritis). This is how I spent most of my day:
When I got to the gym this morning I was prepared, complete with wardrobe changes. I'm such a dork! They likely didn't have much effect on my results, but it's a mental thing. I wore a dress for the weigh-in because it was light-weight. I wore my exercise gear for the measurements because it was more fitted and no fabric would get in the way (plus it's the same clothes I've used for all of my measurements). Then for my "after" photo I wore something more flattering because there is no way I'm letting them use a photo of me in my flaw-hugging workout clothes! Yes, I have been open and have posted some of the most unflattering photos of myself in this blog, but that is because I was showing the hard work, not trying to look cute. If I'm going to show how much better I look now, it only makes sense to wear something that looks good, right?!
My results from Biggest Loser Ottawa 2 are as follows: 5th Place (was in 4th but they made a mistake with one of the other women's numbers so I got bumped a notch)!!!
-38.2 lbs
-46.5inches
-12.46% body weight
Fitness Evaluation –19mins 50sec droped to 13mins flat
My goal was to lose at least 40 pounds and I was SO close! Even though I am slightly disappointed, I am more proud of myself than anything. I accomplised so much. I started the pogram a week late and fought a battle with rheumatoid arthritis throughout the program. I walked with a cane just one week before starting the program and now I can jog. There are no words to explain how great this feels! Biggest Loser Ottawa 3 is now set to begin on September 18th, the same day as my next infusion. I believe the videos for voting will be posted next week (everything has been delayed a week). Assuming all goes well with my infusion, I will be going to that first workout at least to watch even if I cannot do anything. I may look a little grey, but I figure that will make for an awesome before photo, right?!
So here we have it, before and after photos showing my fabulous results. Once the official before and after photos from Biggest Loser Ottawa 2 are available, I will post those for you too. For now I have photos of me wearing the same shirt, same size, in two different colours. You can clearly see how differently it fits now. The pants in the after photo are also two sizes smaller!
1 year ago - approx. 306.6 lbs Week 10 - 274.4 lbs
August 2011 August 2012 (now 268.4 lbs!!!)
Nothing is impossible. Live your life to the fullest and make your dreams come true!
Goodnight and GOD BLESS!!!
