Saturday, May 16, 2009

Nipping off the Runner's World

My Runner Girl is trying to peel herself off my van. I'm a little disappointed because I thought we were tight, like coffee and cream or chocolate and caramel. But I'm thinking she is trying to tell me something or maybe she is hinting that she'll stick around but in a different way. Not as secure, not as dependable. She might fly off on I-475 and never come back. So I'm looking for ways to keep her around, entice her with something exciting, so I signed up for a half marathon. Then I bought new running shoes and a week later invested in trail shoes and another stick of Body Glide because I'll be damned if my fat, lazy, overly-social mitochondria are going to keep me from lacing up my shoes and running.

My mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, are letting me down. According to my neuro-muscular specialist typical mitochondria should be small in size with smooth edges and evenly spaced in the cell, when she called to share the results of my muscle biopsy she did not use any of those words. Instead she said things like prolific, misshapen, clumping, large. I thanked her for the compliments and told her she forgot to use the word "normal". Better luck next life.

So instead of figuring out the keys to my supposed lupus I have been given a new disease to contend with: primary metabolic mitochondrial myopathy. Try Googling that with the word "runner" and the results are not promising. Lupus was/is (because now it is unclear) a challenge but at least I have these little pills that I can take to keep it in check and I'm ready to travel to Africa at a moments notice. Not so with the mitochondrial myopathy. Right now I take a cocktail of over 30 medications/vitamins/supplements a day to try to kick my mitochondria into behaving. And like the children, they just don't seem to want to listen.

6 comments:

Mary Stoinski said...

Yeah...my doctor typically uses the same jargon when referring to parts of my body as well, "prolific, misshapen, clumping, and large."

meredith said...

Holy word choices batman! I continue to assert that there is something in the water that makes life complicated at the Kuchar house (but some complications are a good thing, others just a pain in the - what are those muscley things again)

Kim said...

I didn't know you had lupus...or this other problem you mentioned. I will be praying for you as you endure this physical trial. Great job on persevering through it. I like your new shoes, too! : )

Mechelle said...

Thanks Kim, I appreciate your prayers for me. I don't usually write much about my medical issues but I'm hoping maybe someone else with the same issues will Google it and find me. I found Kelly from "Running Free" when I found out I had lupus and she had been a tremendous inspiration. She has lupus and runs 100 miles races so talk about someone that is enduring. I'm loving my new shoes, nothing like some new cushion to motivate me!

Kim said...

I hope you will share more...sometimes that helps...and it will help people like me to know how to specifically pray for you on this journey. Even through hard times and questions of why, we know God is there--always. We are not alone.

This friend will be praying!

kelly said...

Hey Mechelle, I am so sorry to hear about your health right now. Hang in there and continue to stay postitive. Try to eat as clean as you can and keep moving! My prayers and thoughts are with you and I pray that you can overcome this diagnosis. (I've never heard of it). Please keep us updated so we will know in what direction to pray for you. Take good care.