Reborn Again.

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    Life is full of surprises. I never know what's going to happen or where I am going to be. I have some great news on my mental health and wellness. I am off my psychiatric medication today. My nurse practitioner told me that I am doing better and the depression seems to be in remission. Life seems to be on track.  Also, I may be reducing my caregiver hours because I've been feeling better and able to perform tasks on my own such as going grocery shopping, food prepping and some housework. Anyway, I went to the eye doctor last month and they found some drusen in my eye, which explains why my eyes have always been dry and having vision fuzziness. Drusen are the defining feature of the Macular Degeneration. These drusen are small yellow or white spots on the retina. What this means is I need to be extra careful of the sun and wear sunglasses and hats to protect my eyes as well as increase my vegetable intake.  Lately, I've been eating more kale and incorporating a green probiotic powder into my smoothies. The good news is that it only a small amount of drusen but if I had a large amount I might be at risk for Macular Degeneration, which means I could be blind some day. Hopefully not anytime soon. The reason I tell people I am a senior citizen in a young body is because I have so many health challenges. In addition to my vision challenges,  I am still having ongoing foot pain due to plantar fasciitis and tendonitis. This foot pain started awhile ago, back in college when I was still dancing at the clubs, salsa dancing and jogging. This was about 10 years ago. Now that I am in my late 30s, it feels like I am becoming more like senior citizen with all these health challenges. Two months ago, I had my two back teeth pulled out because there seems to be a huge cavity growing there even though I brush my teeth and floss every day. The dentist told me that this happens because of my immuno- compromised system. Basically, because I have lupus, I am more prone to cavities and infection. 

    After a couple days of reflecting on this, I realized it's not the end of the world. I realized that I am still strong inside. I realized I will not give up because I still have hopes and  dreams to live my life. This just means I need to make some adjustments to my life. I have to be patient with myself and maybe work on my mental and physical health. 

How I do this?

1. Have a good support system. Surround myself with positive family, friends and community. Get rid of toxic people in your life. 

2. Do yoga and stretch every day even if it's for 10 minutes. For me, I love dancing so I would dance at least once or twice a week either at home or at a dance studio/hall. 

3. Eat healthy meals. For me, I tend to follow an anti inflammatory diet plan, therefore I'd like to make at least one to two smoothies a day since it's summer time. For example, I'll make a berry smoothie or a mango pineapple smoothie for breakfast. 

4. Volunteer. Giving back is great. When I give back, I feel great. 

5. Meditate and pray. Meditation can look different for everyone. For me, it could be listening to jazz or listening to a body scan. However, for others, it could be working out or reading a book. 





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