u/LeeannRose731

Hi everyone! Just wanted to introduce myself and start being a little more active in the group. 😊 I'm also hoping to find some friends and people I can relate too. 🤷‍♀️ I'm sorry if this is too long...I apologize in advanced and you don't have to read it if you don't want! Lol (there are random facts at the bottom)

My name is Leeann. I'm 34, a native Floridian- moved to Pennsylvania (which is where I still live) 9 years ago. I don't miss the South at all! Lol I have 3 kiddos. 2 biological and a step from my previous marriage of a decade. My son is 12, my daughter is 11 and my step daughter (who I raised since she was 7) is 23 and pregnant with her first baby and my first grandbaby...she's having a BOY 💙. Can you believe that? Becoming a grandmother at 35. 😂 I also have an angel 😇 baby who I lost when I was 18. I definitely try to bring light to Pregnancy and Infant Loss.

I am in the best and most amazing relationship of my life with my girlfriend of 4 and a half years now. She has stood by me through more than I've ever been through before. She saved my soul and I couldn't be more thankful for her. We have a cat together, okay technically it's her cat. Her name is Remi. She's older and chunky and she loves me more than her own momma. 😜 haha Fun fact- I even actually made her my official emotional support animal!

I have had a huge health journey lately. (TW? This paragraph is medical talk.)

I am an addict in recovery, currently clean and sober for 3 years! In 2023, I had a 7 month long hospital stay, mostly in ICU, when I developed septic shock, endocarditis/heart disease and mycobacterium abscessus/lung disease. I developed gangrene of my feet because of the vasopressors they had to use for my blood pressure and eventually had to get bilateral transmetetarsal amputations (amputations of my toes). I also lost my hearing from a certain antibiotic I was on for a long time (I was actually on many antibiotics, at least 3 at a time) so I am now legally deaf, with no hearing in the left ear and 20% in my right. I just recently got a cochlear implant on my left side and will hopefully be getting one on my right side by the end of the year. While I was in the hospital, I had to get many different procedures done...some include-- AngioVac heart surgery, TEE's, bronchoscopies, NJ feeding tube, echocardiograms, CT scans, MRIs, x-rays, labs, PICC lines, central lines, arterial lines, swallow studies, and of course having to wear the dreaded bipap mask. I also experienced psychosis and hallucinations multiple times. All of this led to a lot of mental health issues including PTSD, anxiety, depression...the works.

I am actually still recovering and learning a new normal since getting out of the hospital. I'm considered disabled and although I am ambulatory, I do mostly use a wheelchair since I get out of breath SO easily. Luckily though, my heart and lungs made almost a full recovery. I feel SOO fortunate to be where I am today, even with all the battles I'm still facing. If I didn't go to the ER when I did, I wouldn't have made it through that night. And that wasn't the only time I was close to the end... I've had so many amazing doctors and nurses save my life. I never stopped fighting though. My kids and girlfriend needed me to be here. 💪

I don't say all this to gain pity though. I live my life to try and show others that they aren't alone in their struggles or experiences. I've even started to make videos about it. I try to advocate and bring awareness somehow, every day! I take each day as it comes, the bad with the good. And I don't take life for granted that's for sure!

Anyway, that's a little bit about me. If you got this far, kudos to you! I know I tend to ramble on! 😆 I love talking to others so feel free to ask anything you want or comment or DM any time!! I do have a lot of appointments and I sleep a bunch so it may take me a bit to respond most times but I promise I WILL write back eventually!! 💖

P.S... just a few other random facts:

I'm in the process of learning ASL. 🤟

I have a bunch of tattoos and stretched ears. I'm obsessed with DISNEY, plushies, Legos, video AND board games, Pokemon/Pokemon Go, coloring, stickers and other arts.

I love anything witchy, crystals, moons, cats, holographic, iridescent, pink/black and LGBTQ+. 🌈

Well I guess this is multiple questions...

If you use a mobility aid and go to a gym, was it difficult to find a gym to accommodate you and your aid?

How did you find exercises you could do or equipment you could use?

Do you feel it's more difficult to use a gym over doing exercises at home?

Bonus: if you are ambulatory and use a wheelchair as well as a cane or walker, have you found it easier to bring one aid over another?

You don't have to read this part...but the reason why I ask is this:

In 2023, I was hospitalized for 7 months due to a lung and heart infection. I ended up getting transmetatarsal amputations (all my toes are gone) so it's difficult to physically walk, especially for long distances. I also have a difficult time standing or walking because after about 5 minutes my heart starts racing and I start having breathing troubles. I have the same breathing issues when walking at all. (I suspect there's more to this but I'm still seeing numerous specialists for tests). Thanks to all the medication I'm taking and my body being in starvation mode when I left the hospital, I gained a lot of weight very fast. I'm also deconditioned and lost a lot of endurance and stamina on top of everything else.

I need to start exercising more and I'm just not motivated enough to do it at home. I miss the machines at the gym which I could probably transfer to when I use my mobility aides. But I'm nervous and scared for so many reasons. I also have to be careful and be prepared when going.

Edited to add- I used to go to the gym a few years prior to getting sick and being hospitalized in 2023. So I do know the certain machines and exercises. Still feeling lost because of being disabled now.

Any help or advice is appreciated! Feel free to DM. ❤️