Update

I now have confirmation that I do indeed have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  I've seen two specialists, one of whom is world famous, and they both confirmed the diagnosis.  Bummer.  I'm still stuck in the house and occasionally in bed.  I use a walker for short distance walking and a wheelchair for anything over 50 feet.

I still dream of figure skating.  However, in my dreams the rinks are getting smaller and the hindrances greater.   The last dream I had I was trying to skate on a small strip of ice that was barricaded off from the main ice surface and I had someone else's coach yelling at me that I wasn't allowed on that ice and I should get off.

I've done lots of reading and it turns out most patients recover at least partially from this illness.  However, it takes roughly five years for this to happen.  I'm coming up on year two.  I've seen improvement since last spring which was hands down the worst I've been so far.  This is the typical course for this illness.  Flu like symptoms for about six months then the neurological symptoms start.  Worst at the first anniversary mark and then a slow and halting improvement over the next four or so years.  I know of several people that have recovered partially or fully from this illness.  The last success story I read of took six years and she still has to be careful but she is now traveling the world again.  So I am hopeful.  It might be another year or two but I should be getting back on the ice at some point.  I'll let you know.  Until then hopefully I'll get to skate in my dreams again.

Diagnosis

Well it is all but confirmed I have Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. There is no cure and no treatment. I have to just wait it out.  I am still housebound and occasionally bedbound.  I haven't set foot on the ice since training in May.  I have lost all of my muscle mass and gained lots of weight.  Curse of my body type: I have to exercise to maintain or loose weight.  I can't do it by diet alone.  Right now I can walk about the length of two houses and then I have to sit down.  I do my grocery shopping from a wheelchair.  It sucks but I'm pretty good at dealing with it.  I have a good attitude most days.  I'm still writing but now it is a food blog and an illness narrative about living with CFS.  I still hope that someday I will return to the ice even if it only to do school figures again.  I still love skating and miss it horribly.  I did get to see both the local Christmas ice show and the Haydenettes skate in the Lexington ice show.  It was great fun but I slept for hours afterwards.

Last Post

This is going to be my last post to this blog for a while. Whatever bugs have invaded my body have taken up residence. So I won't be skating or even exercising for many weeks to come. Wish me luck. Hopefully I'll be back.

First Exercise in 3 1/2 Months

I climbed in the pool today with my old water PT sheet of exercises today. This is the first real exercise session I've done since getting sick in May other than very brief walks around the block. I got the water exercises from a series of PT classes I took many years ago after getting severly deconditioned after my diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the spine. Compared to what I used to do back in May these exercises should be a walk in the park but considering I haven't even been able to do that of late I was dubious of what was going to happen.

I decided just to do one set of 5 reps of each exercise just to start off. Well many body parts creaked, groaned and outright complained but I got through it with only a slight stiff neck. Not too bad. I'm completely beat as if it were Wednesday at adult skate week and I had been on the ice for three days straight already. I'm off to take a nap. We'll see if I am functional tomorrow. If I don't crash too badly I'm going to try and do either water PT or yoga on days that I'm not traveling to a doctor's appointment. Baby steps. Baby steps.

Dashed Hopes?

It has been a bad week. I finally decided that I am going to have to withdraw from adult skate camp in Lake Placid this year. I was probably kidding myself but I was honestly hoping that I would be well enough to skate in the August event but there is no hope of that. I put my doctors note and my request for refund in the mail to ORDA today. I so look forward to this event each year. I learn so much when I go and I have so much fun there. I love skating in LP. I love skating with other adults. I love taking lessons from high level coaches. It is terrific so it is a big blow to me to have to withdraw.

Now here is the kicker. Even if I had been recovered enough from my viral illness to go I managed to twist my ankle so badly I am now on crutches. Yes, in my ambition to clean the swimming pool I stepped in a rabbit hole in my yard and heard all sorts of popping noises that should not eminate from a joint. Then as the pain tore through me there were a string of explatives that shouldn't eminate from a lady's throat. I guess I'm no lady. That evening I ended up at the ER where I got xrays, a splint, crutches and some prescription pain meds. I am now hobbling around the house even more limited that I was last week. I am SO bored! I am also loosing hope that I will ever be able to take to the ice again.

Then I went to the ortho doc. My doc wants me to see him since I abuse my feet more that the average person due to skating. His assistant gave me some new footwear. It is to keep my ankle imobilized while the ligaments heal. I keep wondering if I can attach a blade to the bottom of it so I can go skating in it. I would love to get some bling to decorate it with. It is a very boring black. I am hopeful though. I have a good prognosis and the lady I saw today is an ex-figure skater so she gets what I am about. She has chosen an "aggresive" treatment for me so that I will be able to take to the ice once again. I have to stay in my new boot for roughly three weeks; she re-evaluates me and then I eventually have PT to loosen the foot back up after it is healed. I am very happy with this prognosis. Between this and my acupuncturist change in my treatments for the viral illness I am hopefull again. Maybe I can beat this. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope to go bling shopping tomorrow.

Skating Dreams

For whatever weird reason I couldn't sleep last night although I was mighty tired. While I was lying there trying to go to sleep I kept thinking about skating. I did a run through of my program from the Stoneham show. I did my competition program. I did edges and figures. I choreographed a step sequence that had rockers, counters, back threes, loops, a lunge with a three turn in the middle of it and a half jump at the end. Every time I closed my eyes I saw myself on the ice skating. I was excited. I yearned to get back on the ice. I miss it so much.

Off Ice Lessons from USFSA

Hidden Training or How Noseeums Affect Your Performance
http://www.usfigureskating.org/content/HiddenTraining-SummerComp-08Jul16.pdf

Sports Psychology or Its All In Your Head
http://www.usfigureskating.org/Shell.asp?sid=20423
https://www.usfigureskating.org/Content/parentsarticles/Champion_Jan04.pdf

Nutrition or The Food Pyramid for Athletes
http://64.207.226.21:8215/content/Balance.pdf

Nutrition or Carbs & Protein for the Athlete
http://64.207.226.21:8215/content/Zoning%20In.pdf

Water (pay attention to this one: it is easy to get dehydrated at a rink)
http://64.207.226.21:8215/content/Water.pdf

Dieting or Loose the Fat & Keep the Muscle
http://64.207.226.21:8215/content/Lose%20Fat%20Keep%20Muscle.pdf

Nutrition on the Go (particularly important if you have food allergies and are traveling for a competition or test)
http://64.207.226.21:8215/content/Training%20Table%20in%20Backpack.pdf

Mr. Edge's advice for adult skaters
http://64.207.226.21:8215/content/MrEdge-AdultNeeds.pdf

Injury Prevention and Reconditioning
http://64.207.226.21:8215/Story.asp?id=40699

The USFSA web site is notoriously hard to navigate. I am constantly finding interesting things that other skaters have posted to their blogs that I've never found by rummaging around the site by myself. If you find anything interesting let me know. I probably haven't seen it yet.