At the peaks- feeling good is possible!

With all the mental processes I go through in dealing with my condition, there are those moments that come around that are just meant to be enjoyed.  After all the work of finding the right things to eat, pacing myself through certain activities, and keeping in a good state of mind, there are those moments where things just go right.  It's moments like that where you just sit back and think simple, thinking of that despite all the hardships in life and things that hold us back at times, life can be good.

As someone who is a musician where I'm constantly trying to get better and perfect my craft of choice, its often easy to forget to just be happy about your current situation in one way or another.  Adding even a little silver lining to things, even things that seem hopeless or nearly impossible to overcome can help.  Setting your mind at ease, stepping back and letting your mind come at ease, even for a moment, is something I practice all the time, even in more fast pace situations (you fellow band members know of that kind of work).

In going to the support group meetings, I've heard many stories which make my situation a pale comparison to others.  Its always amazing to hear how simple they put things in perspective and just learn to live and laugh.  Most importantly, in even the toughest moments, there will come an end to it, and overall as told to me by a fellow member who's been through it all- "Everything will be alright".  A simple phrase, but an extremely important notion to hold onto.

UC Band 2013- Band Camp and the First Game

It's been a bit of a roller coaster ride of sorts through these first weeks of school. Included in that is band season getting back into full swing.  With most of the summer being milder than usual, it seemed like things would go well for me, which they did for the most part of the first few days though the weekend during band camp.  Then Monday hit and things got pretty hot.  This year, however, I came prepared.  Through the earlier part of the year through June, I took it upon myself to do a bit more research into how to do things better in light of my current anatomy.  Things like how best to pace myself, eating things that work better for me, and learning ways to keep hydrated despite lacking certain organs worked out very well.  There were a few issues with my mental state later in band camp, but it worked itself out overall.   Health wise, it was probably the best band camp I've had since 2008.  

The real test came on August 31 for the home game vs Purdue.  I admit I was boarder line on whether or not to attend that game with the heat, but I'm glad I stuck it out.  I guess part of that was getting to that point in my head where I am confident that I could be more active, which is important to me in finding ways for me to be able to exercise and know how long I can go as well as how my body responds to certain ailments.  I actually did pretty well hydration and diet wise, though breathing in all the hot air got to me.   The field turf being an oven didn't help.  A HUGE adrenalin rush hit me as soon as pregame started, which helped me a lot in staying excited and keeping my mind off my physical state.  Knowing that this is usually the worst game for heat, I'm definitely excited to keep it going the rest of the year.