Baby Steps

I’ve been trading emails with another survivor of Cushing’s syndrome. She’s been a great comfort and sounding board - just to know that there’s someone out there who’s going through the same things I am. I’m a bit farther along in my recovery than she is and she recently asked me how long does it take until the aches and pains start to go away. Ummm?

That’s a tough question. Cushing’s is a rare and complicated disease and recovery is different for everyone. She’s been in recovery for about 3 or 4 months now and is still experiencing a lot of aches and pains in her joints. On the other side, she’s lost a significant amount of weight and the hump on the back of her neck has decreased too. That’s wonderful progress - considering it usually takes a full year before the body completely recovers.

I on the other hand have not had such success with my weight loss. The weight has been painfully slow to come off. I’ve lost 8 lbs to date. But my body has taken on a new shape, so it actually looks like I’ve lost more weight that I actually have (I know, stay away from the damn scale). My face has lost a lot of the fullness, the hump on the back of my neck is starting to disappear and most of all - my stomach is loosing the bloated, pregnant look.

The real progress in my recovery has been the fact that I no longer have aches and pains in my joints on a daily basis. Sure, I have times when my physical ability is limited, but over all, I feel pretty good. Now I need to work on getting my stamina and muscle strength back. I get winded walking up 3 flights of stairs.

Recovery is a slow process. Progress happens over time - most of which we aren’t aware of. Just before my surgery, I was unable to bend over to tie my shoes while sitting down. My stomach was too bloated and it hurt all over. For that matter, I wasn’t able to bend down at all. Now, more than 8 months later, I’m able to bend over to tie my shoes without a second thought.

I like to think of these milestones as baby steps. They’re small victories that only you know about. And it’s what keeps me motivated to stay positive - because the grass is greener on the other side.

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