It's in the blood......

Here is something that I have been thinking about

for a little while now.

Bear with me while I set it up.

Iron is very important to the body.

Being a major component of hemoglobin,

it carries oxygen to all parts of the body.

Iron also assist in oxygen utilization

within cells in every part of the body.

Iron is a very good thing.

It is a much needed thing

and too little of it is harmful to the body.

But what happens if you have too much iron in your body?

My mom has a condition called

hemachromatosis.

Her body absorbs too much of a good thing.

If left untreated this extra iron would cause

her heart, liver and pancreas to fail.

The cure for hemachromatosis is phlembotomy

which is a fancy word for taking blood from the body.

Depending on the serverity,

a person with hemochromatosis

will give a pint of blood once or twice a week

for up to a year to try to get the ferritin levels in the blood

to the low side of normal.

Once the levels are controlled

a person goes on maintenance therapy

and typically gives a pint of blood every

2 to 4 months for life.

I can always tell when my mom

needs her blood drawn.

She sounds exhausted and worn out

and will sometimes tell me of a persistent pain

that she is having in a joint somewhere.

Both of these are usually the result of too much

iron build up.

Once she gives blood,

she's back to herself again.

So lately I have been thinking about the things

that I have let build up in my life.

Things that are seemingly good,

but that have begun to weigh me down and

are keeping me from my full potential.

Things that could eventually cause the failure

some important functions

that are necessary for a helathy lifestyle.

The first thing that comes to mind

is time management.

Part of my temperment is to

strive for the most fun out of life that

I can possibly get.

I'm spontaneous and adventurous.

I love anything that is fun and

brings laughter,

That's all good.

Enjoying life is important,

but too much indulgence in fun can begin to

create an unhealthy imbalance

(and dirty floors because

let me tell ya, floor mopping and laundry folding

is NOT fun or funny!).

I have had to learn (and am still learning) to give my pint of fun

every week so that my family can enjoy

a peaceful orderly home.

Another area that I thought about

was my desire to please.

Volunteering in too many places,

taking on too many responsibilities,

trying to be everything for everyone

can really begin to cause failure

in essential areas of my life.

Volunteering is great.

Social involvment is awesome,

but not when there is an imbalance

to the degree that family life suffers.

I have had to learn to give my pint of

"need to please" every week

so that I can have time to be the kind of mom

and wife that I want to be.

I am not a fan of needles at all.

I don't know if I would be as strong as my mom is

if I had to do what she does.

I know she is not a fan of needles either,

but I think she actually looks forward to

her phlebotomy because the trade off

is that she gets her energy back.

Although my personal pints aren't drawn with

a needle,

I too feel the relief that comes with making

good choices in life.....

which strangely enough is something my mom

taught me not only with her disease,

but with her life.

You are amazing mom,

and no matter how much blood they take from you,

I will always think that you are an

iron-woman!