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Thank you Sharon

BikerBabe

By BikerBabe,
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BikerBabe

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Sharon knows me in real life from long ago when we were both in TWI and living in the same part of the country. I was I'm sure a bit more open with her after my last doc visit than I have been when chatting with others I know. What he found even scared me and that's not easily done. Besides the Crohn's flare being out of control, my blood pressure was 150 over 98 (my steady norm my whole life has been 90 over 60), tackycardia is still doing well, I'm skipping every 4th beat or so some days. I'm curling up in a little ball again after some meals now and just have to wait for the pain to pass as the food moves thru the part of my guts filled with scar tissue as I scream and cry, not absorbing the food I do manage to eat has put me into malnutrition, my liver is swollen and tender, probably from all the Tylenol in the meds I take for pain and my knees are sore and tender most days from the Crohn's arthritis attacking them, due to the flare. My Fibro is flaring again on top of everything else and my shoulders feel like someone is sticking a hot knife into them most days and a few days a week I get bad stabbing pains in the kidney area, another Fibro point. My Doc let me know I had to do something or I was gonna die.

I'm not the type of person who will sit and do sit ups. They told me women do that after giving childbirth. I have yet to do one after my first, second or third child were born all those years ago. If I didn't then, I know I wouldn't now. Anyway, no matter how many I did, it still wouldn't have gotten me out of this apartment, into the world again and after 3 years being inside and watching everyone else go by outside my window daily .. I was missing it badly. I was becoming bitter and angry just seeing people out riding their bikes over to the store (the parking lot across the street you see in the one picture is the SafeWay plaza I speak of often) or out walking their dogs. I also knew on my husband's pay we couldn't afford the type of bike I'd need to ride again, so I held my tongue and did my best to never say how much I missed the one that was stolen. I cried when he was away at work, so he wouldn't feel bad about something he had no control over. That's just the way I am.

When I got bad before, all those years ago, getting out on a bike is what got me back in shape. The exercise I get from riding gets my guts moving better and absorbing food a little more. The pedaling works my leg muscles and other muscles get some work too just balancing the bike, but it requires no weight put on my poor knees, which just can't take that right now. In time they too will get stronger though and I will be able to walk further again and not have to be pushed in the wheelchair.

One of the members on the forum I run offered to buy me Oxycontin every month, which my doc would like me back on. That would have only helped the pain though, it wouldn't have done for me what I really needed, exercise. I would have kept getting worse, just not had to deal with the pain after I eat on the bad days. I refused the kind offer and was very open that what I needed was a bike. She was only geared to paying out 500 bucks a month for Oxy, not to what I really needed. Sharon rides with her kids and also has a motorcycle, so understood exactly what I was asking for and knew the bike would cost quite a bit, even with the big price breaks the shop owner gives me on things I buy from him. She was in a position she could get me one, so she called and got the process started.

The trick is to get a quality bike if you are riding for more than just pleasure. (Read: around the block.) We don't have a car, bikes are our only way to get around town and when you are going to spend hours sitting on one, you want it to have a soft 'fat butt' seat, the best shocks, good quality tires, great brakes and good handling. That only comes with the kind you buy from a bike shop, not WalMart. Those cheap bikes would last me about a month or two before they broke down .. or I did. This bike took the curbs I rode down yesterday without me giving it a thought. A cheap bike would have already been starting to break down. Therein lies the difference. With the full suspension frame, I never felt any jolting of my body either. as I went over curbs or bumps in the road/sidewalks. Smooth sailing all the way.

The cheap original bike I got 5 or 6 years ago, was bought before we knew too much about bikes and hubby wanted to make sure I would love riding, before he spent out a lot, so we picked it up for only 500 bucks. I took to it like a duck to water and then we found the yellow bike that was much more expensive and made payments to Erik (owner of The Slippery Pig Bike Shop) until we had it paid off. That 2nd bike was the one that I could ride all day and never get tired on. The first one I can only get about a mile before I was worn out, it was just way too big and heavy. This new bike is every lighterweight yet, with everything on it, it weighs only about 6 pounds total. There is the main thing I needed, the lack of weight, so I wasn't constantly fighting the bike's weight and pushing myself to ride. There REALLY is a difference.

Over the past 3 years since my yellow bike was stolen, I don't think a day went by where I didn't think about it and cry. Whomever stole that bike, stole a big part of me along with it and took away my ability to get out of the house. When we got home that first day after I got the new gold bike, I stood looking at it in the middle of our living room and I finally broke down and cried my eyes out. My hubby at that point finally realized how much I really had been affected by the loss of the yellow one and asked me why I had never said anything to him. I told him the truth, what good would it have done for me to tell him how much I missed that bike, when I knew he didn't make enough income these days for us to get me another one? Then he would have felt awful too and I just didn't feel it was worth talking about. I'm not a complainer and I didn't feel the need to start at this point in my life. I obviously couldn't hide the strong emotions hitting me at that point, so I then talked about it. We talked late into the night and rejoiced together, praising Sharon's name.

The timing on all this couldn't have been more perfectly planned. Hubby has this week off work for his vacation, so he's here to take me out riding every day as I start to build up again. I am not strong enough yet to want to attempt to take the bike down the stairs by myself, but when that time comes in a couple more weeks, I know it's light enough I will be able to do it. I can easily pick it up on a level surface, just need to figure out the best way to take it up an incline. I used to do that with the yellow bike up the 9 stairs to our old apartment and it weighed more, so this bike will be much easier on me. That will be the point that I can then get out whenever I want and not have to depend on him being awake or home. I will have my independence and freedom back in full.

Here are pics hubby took of the bike and me yesterday:

New Bike 1

New Bike 2

New Bike 3

Sharon, I love you lady. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for giving me the gift of my life back. We rode 3 miles today around the neighborhood, stopping to eat and then stopping by the new bird store so I could play with the owner's birds. I had the most wonderful time!

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BikerBabe Rookie

BikerBabe

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bb, is that a monster pineapple behind you ?

Hahahaha. I just had to go look at the pics again to make sure. :) That little palm tree does look like one doesn't it. Next time I run into our apt. manager I'll have to tell him we have acquired a monster pineapple in our driveway and watch his reaction!

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gc Newbie

gc

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What great pictures bb! I'm glad you shared them and the story.

Two thumbs up for Sharon for that beautiful bike and so much more :)

Your nick was familiar to me BB, then when I pulled up the pictures and saw the xworld url, I thought "aha, I've been there before" :wave: I think my nick was esther then. :blink:

gc

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