I had a good day today, the sun shone, work was productive, I climbed the hill of Howth to the summit with relative ease and my ulcerative colitis is responding to the new addition of corticosteroids to my usual daily medication routine. I’ve been in remission with ulcerative colitis for nearly two years and how easy one forgets the limitations it imposes on your life. I’m currently having a gentle reminder.
I’ve had a challenging few weeks training for the Cycle4CrohnsColitis fundraising cycle from Paris2Nice. My cycle boot cleats kept getting stuck in the pedal when I needed to stop suddenly, shooting my confidence to bits as I thought it was due to my incorrect technique and causing many falls and bruises.
My thighs burned when I tried to climb a steep hill and my body was acting up again with mild symptoms; pain. frequent bathroom visits, sleepless nights, exhaustion and swollen joints. There seemed never to be enough hours in the day to get on top of everything.
I’m a very positive person but lately that state of mind was being challenged. How could I eat breakfast, take my usual medication, deal with the rushes to the bathroom, make sure the bowel was cleared before shooting more medication into to my body, shower, get ready for work, work, have family time, train with the challenges of my cleats, project manage the Cycle4CrohnsColitis fundraiser with my hubby, more medication and then try to sleep.
Last week my hubby brought me to our local friendly bike shop (360 Cycle Clontarf) to examine my stubborn cleats. Tomas in the shop immediately saw that the wrong pedals had been sold to me and the problem was akin to trying to put a square peg in a round hole. He exclaimed that I was lucky I wasn’t killed. He changed the pedals and matched them with the proper cleats and hey presto my bike rides like a dream and my confidence is restored.
This week I watched my hubby as he ascended a steep hill and realised that I did not need to climb at 20 km per hour. A steady pace of 12 km per hour almost effortless got me up the hill and without the burning thighs. It was all coming together. I cycled 100km with ease and pleasure and soaked up the beauty of the world around me.
The corticosteroids are not as bad as those I have had before and my body is responding positively, less bathroom visits, ease of pain and increased energy and positivity.
The long list of action items in advance of the launch of the fundraising campaign is reducing and everything is coming together.
George Eliot said “It is never too late to be what you might have been”.
I am a mother, wife, barrister, solicitor, author, educator, sister, friend, colleague and ulcerative colitis warrior.
At 51 years of age I would like to be an advocate for those suffering from ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease to raise an awareness of basic necessities and supports that can make a real difference.
I would like to fundraise for a Fellowship, a doctor who can provide medical support and care services that are not currently available and who can research to identify additional supports that could make this incurable disease more tolerable,
I would like to become an endurance road cyclist who successfully completes a cycle from Paris to Nice and along the way increases the necessary donations to fund the Cycle4CrohnsColitis Fellowship, which is my principle reason and motivation for this cycle,
I have a dream that I’m turning into reality! Help me and my fellow ulcerative colitis warriors on our journey by pledging funds to our fellowship click here to help and donate.
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Thanks for your support,
Attracta
