I'm not perfect

I'm coming off my worst week this year, health and fitness-wise. I only worked out 2 days for a total of 79 minutes. I didn't track what I ate (or drank). I'm up a few pounds right now, but I know I'm retaining water for not drinking enough of it, and only getting 4.5-6 hours a sleep a night until last night.

I'm in one of those "two week patches of crazy" where my work and volunteer commitments all converge. I'm pretty much getting it all done somehow, except for the diet and exercise. Funny how we always let ourselves go first, huh?

To top it off, I got the results of the ultrasound on my thyroid. It confirmed the goiter that the resident and physician were sure they'd discovered in my physical two weeks ago. It's multi-nodular, so the good news is that it's most likely non cancerous. But to be safe, plus to treat it, I now must go for a fine needle aspiration. From what I have found from research online, it's not much worse than getting blood drawn (except I can't workout for 24 hours afterwards). Not only will they test the fluid for cancer (usually only 5% of goiters are found to be positive from what I read), but this will also determine how stubborn the little bugger is. If it keeps coming back, I may have to try more aggressive treatments of radiation and/or surgery.

I will admit, I'm a little nervous. It seems like a fairly standard procedure, but this is one of my first brushes with a health concern. Now, hypothyroid runs in my family. So I'm not totally surprised, and this might help explain that while I work out pretty hard and watch what I eat most of the time, it's hard to see a change in the scale. So I'm a little excited to see if there's a difference in my metabolism (and to see the results of my blood work coming in the mail to see if I need meds in this area too). I go in about 2.5 weeks and I'm not sure how long after that I get the results. So more hurry up and wait.

Couple this with an elevated BP at the doc's office, which led to her asking me to measure daily and come back in November (hypertension runs on the other side of my family), and it really hit a point home for me.

We aren't perfect. We can't control heredity. And if someone looks "healthy" doesn't mean they don't have their own battles they are fighting.

I appreciate that so many friends and colleagues are always commenting on how I set a good example, that my posts and blogs help encourage them to take ownership in their own health and well-being. But as hard as we try, we will always have times we don't hit the mark, like I'm having right now. It's important to remember that each day is a new day. Bear Bryant said it's up to us to decide whether to use it for good or evil. Our health may not be that dramatic, but we make our own choices every day what to eat and how active we will be. It's my vow that I will do a better job this coming week of at least getting some quick walks in to deal with the stress, chaos, and meals I don't have control of what's on the menu.

But I also want you, dear reader, to walk away with this: be proactive in your healthcare. Get a yearly physical. Ask lots of questions. Go for whatever tests the doctors send you for, even if they are scary. Knowledge is power. I had no idea a few weeks ago these concerns were lurking in my body. At least now, I can work to manage and minimize them to the best of my (and modern medicine's) ability.

What you don't know, could hurt you.