10: October Acceptance

Ah, October is one of my favorite months of the year. It's such a favorite that I named a character in my book The Civilization Loop after the month, the nefarious Willis October. You can go here to see more about my books. You'll also see the eyes of October.

But October is my second favorite month, behind a tie for December (Christmas) and March (my birth month). Halloween, however, is my favorite holiday, right up there with Christmas. From the graphic you can see with this entry, I look for the positive attributes of Halloween that make me love it so much. It's not about the occult or dark, evil spirits. It's about the camaraderie, togetherness, and fun. Scary stuff can be fun, particularly when you know it is not real. There are far more terrifying things real human beings do each and every day that make Halloween pale in comparison.

With October starting up, that already put me in a better mindset. But also, I was starting to take a better perspective on things. I watched a video as part of the RN PREP training we have students doing that was all about perspective. It spoke about how we respond to things, our reactions and how we can let our emotions get the better of us. The video also spoke about ways to react better and allow for resilience to build. I had to learn resilience, where Afib was concerned and how that affected my mindset.

From that day, October 3rd, I felt things progressing in a more positive direction. I was still stressed, but I didn't feel unwell anymore, especially like I had the week before. I was going to see my primary care provider about something to help with stress. My cardiologist was now going to do a stress test and echocardiogram to see where my heart is currently. But I started doing some things for myself to try and help, too. Much of the change centered around diet changes.

Because of some of the concerns I had with Afib, I started reading up on diet modifications you could make. Now, I was actively in Afib, but I felt it couldn't hurt to change some things up anyway. For one, in June 2023, when I went to my cardiologist, I weighed in that day at 219 lbs. A few weeks later, I was up to 221 lbs. I was slowly creeping back up to the range where my weight had been when I first went to my primary care provider about my high A1c.

None of this was good, and even my cardiologist suggested that it would be good for me to get my weight down lower to help with things about my heart. So, after the incident on Labor Day, I switched my diet pieces to some of the things I had done initially when I had an A1c of 10.

Firstly, I cut out all the sweets. No ice cream, no candy, no nothing in that category. I started doing this right after the issues on Labor Day. I also cut down on items like popcorn, pizza, and other fatty foods. I ate more grilled chicken vegetables and bought Smart Ones meals at the grocery store. Part of the reason I did this is I noticed that my Potassium levels were on the low side. It was in the expected range of 3.5-5, but sometimes it was 3.7 or even 3.6 when assessed. On the day I had Afib, my Potassium level dipped to 3.3 momentarily. I began feeling like a lower Potassium was not helping my situation, particularly if a blockage was present. So, I began eating foods with Potassium in them.

We all know that bananas are a good source of Potassium, but I don't eat fruit. Part of the reason I don't is the sugars in some fruits can drive up blood sugars. So, I looked for other sources. Broccoli is a great source of Potassium. Suddenly, I developed a liking for Broccoli like I never had before. Just ask my in-laws how much I used to love Broccoli (very sarcastic now). Broccoli actually led to one of the first arguments Leslie and I had, believe it or not. But now, I love it.

Also, green vegetables are good sources, beans, Salmon, chicken, spinach, the list goes on and on. The other piece with these items, they are healthier most of the time. Of course, too much of a good thing can be bad, but I knew if I ate more grilled things and less fried, as well as things containing potassium because they were better for me, then even if I had a blockage, this change would help.

I was also continuing to walk at least 30 minutes a day. I didn't try to push it like I had on Labor Day. A minimum of 30 minutes is substantial. All of these changes were good things for me to pursue, particularly considering the issues recently with my heart. A heart-healthy diet was something my cardiologist wanted me to look at anyway.

When I began making these changes, my weight was 214 lbs, so it had already come down a bit because of stress and other factors. But these changes, beginning in September and continuing into October, would only help me and not hinder me.

I was accepting that I needed to make changes. I was getting myself right with God, and now I needed to get myself right with me. Fortunately, another waking sleep moment would help me see that my changes were helping me more than I knew.

Tune in for the next segment, 10: Count Your Blessings.