Tiara's Tuesday Talk – Where We Go From Here

It was a dark and stormy night….
That’s how a good story starts right?
No? Awe nuts. I’ve been thinking things over for a few days, well actually a week or so… Here we are at week 10. THIS is it. Reaching the moon…

I wanted to make this a special post, to really put an EXCLAMATION on this journey we have been on together. As we approach the moon, there are a few things we need to clear up about it. First, it is not made of cheese.

 

Trust me on this one. I would have been the first one there if it was. Cheese is something I hold near and dear to my heart. All kinds of cheese, American, Cheddar, Swiss, Gouda, Feta, Parmesan… Oh sorry. Back to the moon, my second point is that there are no decepticons there. I know Michael Bay had us all believing it.

We all saw it in transformers and I’m sorry to have to be the bearer of bad news here but I’m 110% positive on this one. (Not that I didn’t spend my entire childhood searching for Optimus Prime.)
Now moving on and staying on track (yeah right), who will be there?

Our teams,
our individual walkers,

the people who donated not only their steps but their time and effort.
Also, we will find our cheering sections there. Although, they may be horse from all the cheering they’ve been doing for 10 weeks.

This has been an awesome adventure in awareness and friendship. We learned about other walkers, kinds of walkers and how music can motivate us. We learned that some people can really do a ton with Endurance while some of us Weeble a bit more.
We’ve also made friends. We’re the Home Team and we are Kicking AS & Taking Names with Hope. We are Fusers but Spirited as we Get To Stepping. Standing Tall Together we are Going The Distance and Fusing For A Better Future while using our Legs and Happy Feet.
We are a group on a mission. Does it have to stop here? No. Can we still be friends? Yes. Can we still walk? Heck yes and for those of us with AS or joint issues or any type of inflammatory condition knows. Sitting still makes you stiff. Can we still motivate and help one another to keep moving??? YES!
Awareness also doesn’t stop here. Did you know that in some places they offer “Doctor Awareness” programs? Can you say WOW?!? There are a few doctors I know that need awareness. Ankylosing Spondylitis is no longer a “man’s illness”. There are also so many great places you can go to on the web and Facebook for support. www.spondylitis.org is a great place to look. Also www.TheFeedingEdge.com has a blog role about half way down that can get you to some really great and informative places. Also,let’s not forget the people we have met, the challenges we have faced and the bonds we have formed.

So before I go, did you know that if you weigh 150 pounds on Earth, you’d weigh 25 pounds on the moon? That’s about an 83% weight loss just by going to the moon. Talk about a crash diet… However, muscle mass vanishes at 5% a week and bone at a rate of 1% a month. So obviously the moon has it’s ups and downs so I think I’m going to start working on the steps to get home. Hmmmm…  I seem to be lost.

Can someone tell me how the heck am I getting home from here????

 I hope I remembered my towel…

 
Sara Sheibley is a wife and mother of four.  Through out most of her life she has dealt with chronic illness. Born with small fiber axonal polyneuropathy, she had aches and pains early on but wasn’t diagnosed with AS until 2008. Since then she has had to champion her own cause after she developed hemalytic anemia from treatments. Although she suffers with more than just AS, she feels that this is her primary illness and wants to be active in helping the cause. Sara & her Tiara’s Tuesday Talk will discuss a myriad of topics from assistive devices to walking help when you have other illnesses to consider.