This is Private (wink, wink)

To be honest, I hardly know how to bring this up.

So, I guess I’ll get right to it.

If you need help with your pelvic floor…GET IT!

Wondering where this is coming from?

Well, I’ll tell you: from my best friend, Stacy, that’s where! 

And for your benefit, she has allowed me to share a bit of her story.

By doing so, I will need to share a bit of mine, as well. 

But we’re all friends here. 

And girlfriends share these things.

So.. imagine my surprise when Stac picks me up for Monday night Bible Study months ago and no sooner do I shut the car door, she lets loose with, ”I think my uterus is hanging out.” I wish you could have seen my face. She’s keeping her eyes on the road and I’m staring at her with my mouth open. WHAT????? And I’m instinctively doing a Kegel at the same time.

Admittedly, while I am writing this, I’m DYING LAUGHING because Stacy and I laugh at just about anything. And we laughed all the way to church.

Ok…moving on. So I ask her, “why do you think your uterus is hanging out?” And she says, “Cuz I think I saw it.” (Me: horrified but already laughing as I’m picturing…well never mind, you get it). It’s just a short drive, so we don’t have much time to get into this, but as we’re walking (gingerly) into our church, I want to take her by the elbow and help ease the impact on her pelvic floor with every step she takes. We put our serious faces on for the next 1 ½ hours, but as soon as we get in her car, I declare I have a name for her new friend. Ginny (for VaGINA (the shortened name of course) as that’s where her uterus appears to have landed.

Stac and her new “friend” see her doc in the following days and it’s worse than she thought.

Ginny has brought along her own friend, .Stacy’s bladder. (Me: “Oh, now THAT’S not funny.”)

Sadly, it’s weeks before she can see the specialist and in the meantime one of Stacy’s sisters renames Ginny as Brenda. Now I’m terribly sorry if any of my readers are named Brenda, but this does seem to be a better fit. Why? I have no idea. 

Eventually, Brenda’s friend receives her own name: Cyssy (from the medical community CYStoscopy, CYSitis…) and we pick up life from there. 

Quickly Brenda and Cyssy become part of the friendship. 

When I hop in Stacy’s car, I ask, “How are you girls doing?”

When I ask what she and the girls have been up to, she says, “Not much, just hanging out.”

(OK, I’m laughing again…I feel like I’m in Jr. High!)

Some days the girls are quiet and some days they’re grouchy. Stac seems to be taking it all in stride. But for me, I seemingly have become more aware of my own internal body parts…as if I can feel them wiggling around inside of me. This new “kinship-awareness” between me and Stac is not without cause. When I had a VERY painful kidney stone in the Fall of 2017, Stacy developed one too….that was very strange. And while we have talked about it in the years that followed and while I appreciated her solidarity in the kidney stone journey, I did NOT want to reciprocate! In fact, every time I saw her, I felt like I was doing one continuous Kegel.

Well finally, she sees the specialist and gets some good news. No hysterectomy! He believes with PT the girls can return to their previous home and stop hanging out between Stacy’s legs. 

Honestly, that does make me feel a bit squeamish. I’m not laughing anymore.

And THIS is the point where I say, “YOU MUST SEE MY PELVIC FLOOR THERAPIST!” 

I saw this amazing young woman in the summer of 2017. I had just retired from nursing and was riding my bike TONS! And even though what I thought was a pelvic floor problem ended up being more of an SI joint issue, I am forever indebted to this dear woman. Stacy has been seeing her and is diligent in doing her homework/exercises…..and is seeing a difference already! Brenda and Cyssy are getting their butts kicked on a daily basis as Stacy goes deep into the Kegel world and beyond. Where we (that’s Stac and I, not the girls) used to go on fast power walks, now we take long bike rides and bring the girls along. They definitely like bike rides better and aren’t so sassy afterwards. Slowly but surely, they are returning to their old home. But the friend group has grown even more. Just when I thought we didn’t have room for anyone else, Stacy has added in Viv! Viv is an internal bladder support called Revive. Viv is so helpful with keeping Brenda and especially Cyssy in place! And as Stacy is feeling better, I too am feeling better. 

So what’s the moral of this story?

It’s not a bad idea to have a pelvic floor therapist take a look (or rather a feel) at what’s going on in there. 

If you are of childbearing years, do it.

If you’ve ever had a child, definitely do it.

If your middle aged, definitely, definitely do it.

And if you’re within driving distance of Bloomington-Normal, IL, 

YOU MUST SEE MY PELVIC FLOOR THERAPIST! Reply to this email and I’ll give you her name.

Hey, I’m as friendly as the next person. But I’m ready to un-friend Brenda, Cyssy and Viv.

But you? I’ll always have time for you! Let’s connect!

Struggling with extra weight? Let me come alongside you. 

You don’t need to carry it around anymore!

Plus…all that extra weight puts pressure on…you guessed it…your pelvic floor.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you lovely readers.

All of my kids (and my precious granddaughter) are coming home this year.

I can hardly wait!

I hope you will be surrounded by those you love, too.

Take good care,

Renee