February 19, 2008 – A timely reminder to watch my health

Adam, our resident five year old and big brother, asks God to help Katelynn and Daria get better every time he prays at the dinner table or right before bed.  It’s very sweet to hear him say these words aloud, not because he hears it from mom and dad, but because he sincerely wants to start being a real big brother to his sisters.  He’s a smart kid and I see so much potential in him to grow up living a fulfilling life following the Lord.  Adam recently went to the pediatrician for his pre-kindergarten checkup and we learned that his weight is at the 38th percentile for his age, while his height is at the 95th percentile.  So we have a walking stick in the house, but that’s ok, I was there once.

If you have known me long enough, maybe back to my days in high school, you would have seen me go through quite a change in my weight.  I stand just a hair shy of being six feet tall, but in my family, we round up.  My first driver’s license records my weight at 135 pounds, and mind you, when I was sixteen, I played tennis seven days a week and it seemed I burned all my caloric intake just by thinking about it.  Then college came and eating transformed from an inconvenient necessity to the kind of fascinating hobby you want to spend all your free time perfecting.  Just ask Jenn-Jen, and she will tell you all about our favorite places we ate at in San Diego while we spent time getting to know each other.  I would say I averaged around 160 pounds or so throughout those years, as I began to put on some healthy muscle weight and some weight gained from discovering In and Out hamburgers (back then they were solely a Southern California establishment).  Since graduation, joining the workforce, marrying my wonderful wife and becoming a dad, I slowly but surely increased my girth.  I peaked out last winter with my layers of internal insulation and surprised myself when the scale read over 190 pounds.  My pants were a little tight, but it really didn’t bother me that I was no longer that “walking stick” shape I attribute to my son.

What did bother me was the results of my check up in late 2006.  My lipid profile and blood sugar count were bordering on an unhealthy range that would eventually lead to metabolic syndrome.  Unfortunately, I come from a family with genetics that aren’t necessarily favorable to those who like to eat.  Type II diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and even stroke show up in my family history, with some components on both my mother’s and father’s side.  After looking at my numbers, I was determined not to follow the route of past generations, and make a drastic lifestyle change.  Many of you were there when I decided to reduce my daily calories to 1,600 and increase my exercise a minimum of thirty minutes five days a week.  The changes were dramatic, as I cut off drinking regular soda and diligently made my way to the gym every weekday.  Over the course of three months or so, I lost almost forty five pounds and nearly four inches on my waistline.  I felt energized, but unhappy I had to clear out my closet when my clothes didn’t fit right any more.  Some family members were beginning to worry that I was losing too much weight and asked questions about whether I experienced any fainting episodes.  I just had to laugh and be thrilled that I was back to a healthy diet and lifestyle.  My cholesterol and blood glucose improved by so much, my doctor wanted to make me her poster child.  I couldn’t believe the amazing reduction, especially in my triglyceride levels!

Well, since Jenn-Jen became pregnant with the twins, I admit that most of my efforts began to erode and give way to living a very reactive life.  This meant exercise was now a luxury, and unhealthy, but convenient fast food began to show it’s ugly face at the door a little more often than I’d like.  Still, my last checkup showed that my numbers hadn’t worsened significantly and my doctor pardoned my backtracking.  Ever since Jenn-Jen’s hospitalization back on January 18th, I feel my eating and exercise habits have plunged into a free fall.  My mentality had changed to one that said “Gordon, your health is secondary to everything else right now and your family needs you to be there for them.”  It saddens me to think of where I was about six months ago and where I may be headed.

Nonetheless, during the past few days, I made a promise to not be a victim of poor eating habits and lack of exercise.  I have decided to supplement all of the wonderful and tasty food many of you have generously provided with high-fiber and low glycemic-index nutrition.  I am also looking to incorporate some cardiovascular exercise into my daily routine.  My mobile phone happens to have a pedometer feature built in, so during the past few weeks I have turned it on and would guess I am taking about 7,500 steps each day.  This is simply not enough.  While I am now weighing in at 162 pounds, which in itself isn’t bad, I just miss the days when I felt so healthy and full of energy.

You may be wondering why I spent so much time writing about me instead of the girls today, but I wanted to spill out my thoughts and offer a heartfelt thank you to a very special, yet anonymous, donor.  As Jenn-Jen is still out of commission with a cold, I went to the hosptial this morning to find the girls still doing very well.  The big surprise came when I drove back to my house and found a large box sitting outside my doorstep.  I brought it in to show Jenn-Jen and thought it would be fun to unpack together.  The package was from Diamond Organics (http://www.diamondorganics.com), based out of Moss Landing on the central coast of California.  As I opened up the parcel, I could already smell the rejuvenating aroma of fresh fruit.  It was energizing to unwrap each portion of the package and uncover all of the healthy and nutritious produce and prepared food sent to my home.  Jenn-Jen and I kept looking for a note or packing slip to find out who provided such a thoughtful and timely gift, but it still remains a mystery.  Whoever you are, I want to tell you how grateful I am and you completely inspired me to continue fighting the good fight to stay healthy.  We promise to put your generous gift to good use and I will begin making time to exercise more each day.  I can’t promise you that I won’t call up Diamond Organics to find out who you are, as I want to personally thank you in the near future.

I couldn’t end this post without providing an update on where the girls are, but I promise to make it brief tonight.  Daria continues to be leading the race for weight increase over her sister, but has the advantage of taking a five milliliter feeding of breast milk each hour.  She is now at 840 grams or 1 pound and 14 ounces.  She is still on the bubble CPAP system, but the nurses have been moving her oxygen levels around with the goal to wean off to the nasal cannula as soon as possible.  I am happy to tell you that she is now done with her course of antibiotics.  We learned that the E. Coli she picked up came through her endotracheal (ET) tube while she was on the ventilator.  I still struggle with the idea that you can catch something as nasty as E. Coli through a breathing tube, but the bacteria is really all around us.  Premature babies just have a hard time fighting off what would not give our strong immune systems any issue.  Still, as the evening nurse said regarding events in the NICU, “less is better,” so we are thrilled that Daria is done with this part of her treatment.

Katelynn still concerns us with her big belly, but the x-ray shows that it’s nothing more than an unwelcomed back up of poop.  She is still getting her suppositories every six hours, and stools regularly.  I am a little scared that she may just open the floodgates and let loose everything in one fell swoop.  The poor nurse that would have to deal with this may have to think long and hard about how fulfilling it is to clean up after such a big mess.  All joking aside, Katelynn is doing very well otherwise.  They are still draining eight milliliters of fluid from her VAD each day, and her head circumference remains consistent.  She is weighing in today at 820 grams, or 1 pound 13 ounces, and this signifies a gain of twenty grams.  The results from her most recent complete blood count (CBC) shows that her CRP, or C-reactive protein, levels are down to normal.  This indicator as described here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C-reactive_protein), marks the level of inflammation in the body, and is useful in determining if there is an infection.  So the results tell us that Katelynn is free of the E. Coli infection that was most likely responsible for causing her amniotic sac to rupture before her premature birth.  I am ecstatic to hear this, as infections are so deadly to premature babies. 

All in all, it has been a very good and healthy day.  Again, to my secret gift-giver, thank you for the reminder to watch my health.  I really needed that kick in the pants.