• Priscilla Nason Shartle

hearthealthyboomer

~ Living healthy after age seventy.

hearthealthyboomer

Tag Archives: hysterectomy

Boomer Mindfulness

25 Monday Jun 2018

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Mindfulness

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

eating healthy, garden, granddaughters, high blood pressure, hysterectomy, life, Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh

I think it’s been two years since my last post.  Not a whole lot has changed on the outside, but a lot on the inside.

Since my hysterectomy three years ago, I’ve put on 25 pounds, lost a tooth and started taking high blood pressure pills.  The weight gain was expected and a direct result of the hormones I lost from the surgery – information I could have used had my doctor accurately prepared me.  The tooth loss was a misnomer other than the actual surgery which was the worst experience of my entire life in many ways.  And the blood pressure was just a “fact of age,” I’m told by my doctor of record.  But complications from the two surgeries were determining factors that brought the issue to the forefront.

However, I do not want to be one of those people who spend all their conversations talking about their health and tribulations related to their health.  So I want to share with you the good news.  My two young granddaughters moved down the street last year and I am loving every minute of their presence in my life.  It has been a learning experience for us all as they get to know their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins which they have never been around on a regular basis.  All this while their mother learns to be a single mom and they go back and forth every other weekend to be with their dad who lives about two hours away.  Everyone is working kindly to make the change a smooth one.

I’ve been focusing on mindfulness and really enjoying Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh’s book “living Buddha, living Christ.” His approach to mindfulness is simple and empowering at the same time, with tips on how to be mindful when brushing your teeth to walking on the earth to preparing a meal and so on.  Thich-Nhat-Hanh-books-stack

 

The best part is that I’m finally beginning to become mindful without trying!

Now that our backyard garden is producing, I am eating healthy foods and picking them and then eating them immediately which is an amazing experience.  But when done so mindfully, it becomes a spiritual experience.

Like the other day:

I decided to make a squash casserole to contribute to a family dinner to celebrate my great-niece’s first birthday.  I needed at least three pounds of squash and so went out to the garden and picked some.  Inside I gently cleaned the squash and then began to peel them.  As I held the squash in my hands I felt the warmth of the sun and the squash became alive in my hands.  Tears began to run down my cheeks as I blessed the squash for providing the nourishment we were about to receive. It didn’t take long for me to become aware of the beautiful casserole I was preparing nor did it take long for the guests to taste and appreciate the dish I prepared.

first 2016 garden crop

 

Being mindful, reminds me that I am part of a whole and that whole is Life.

 

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Just Stand

26 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by prisnasonshartle in Standing in Faith

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Tags

abdominal adhesions, blessed, divine energy, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, God, good health, hysterectomy, joy, life, lower abdomen, pain, robotic surgery, scar tissue, sixty-three years old

When he was asked what was the secret of an energized life Dr. Norman Vincent Peale said, “Christ is the answer.” Reminding us that in John, we read, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” When I focus on Christ as the divinity in humankind and God as divine energy expressing in each of us, I live and move and have my being. And the next time I feel sluggish or tired, I’ll pick myself up remembering what it means to have a life filled with energy, exuberance, and joy.

Two years ago I had a hysterectomy. I was 63 years old. It was elective surgery due to a fibroid tumor on my uterus. My doctor said my life would be improved “100%,” her words. It was not. In fact the past two years have not been nearly as good as I expected for it took me months to get over the anesthesia; I gained more weight than expected; and I developed pain in my lower abdomen. Because I had a colonoscopy a few weeks before and because my doctor did extensive tests before the surgery, I was assured that I was in good health before going under. So when the pain started a few days after the surgery and continued, I called the doctor and made an appointment. After a sonogram and physical exam I was told it was phantom pain. But I never had pain before the surgery. So I was perplexed. Now two years later the pain is still present and intensified at times.

I am not one to let pain interfere with my life as those that know me can attest. I spent the last few days meditating and visualizing the pain, thanking it for being present so that I could come to resolution for its presence. I knew that it was a direct result of the surgery and never considered other reasons, but felt I needed an answer to what it was. Because I do a lot of research online, I was not afraid to look up my symptoms (although doctors tell us not to make diagnosis online). I went to WebMed and the Mayo Clinic, both reputable online medical sites. I finally narrowed it down and discovered one side effect of both robotic and cut/stitch types of hysterectomies are scar tissue or abdominal adhesions which cause pain in the lower abdomen. And now I have my answer.

In the end, all I need to do is just “stand,” as I am called to do in Ephesians. “Stand fast, I say.” I have done everything possible and am content leaving the results to God. I can now focus on the divine energy of the Christ expressing in me. I have life and I am blessed.

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