What do
and and
all have in common?

We've all been rumored to be dead. Ok, Elvis really is, but Paul and I are still very much alive. I know that my spark attendance has been very spotty as of late. It's gotten so bad that my teams are posting forums of Joanne sightings...

But --

I'VE BEEN BUSY!

Honest. Not making excuses. I will spare you another organ recital, suffice it to say that I'm still in physical therapy for my hip while making the rounds of doctors, chiropractors, and shamans. Ever have a toothache that won't go away?
'Nuf said.

I took on a new position in my office. As you know, I am a nurse in an ob/gyn office and I work up female incontinence. I've blogged about bladders before. Well we purchased a software to do pelvic floor therapy in our office. It's programs that are very similar to biofeedback and used in teaching women to contract their pelvic floor muscles appropriately to strengthen them and aid in staying continent. You can add electrical stimulation to stimulate muscle contractions without patient assistance also. It's used to treat many female pelvic conditions other than just incontinence. I work with the patient in developing behavioral strategies to manage and cope with their symptoms.

I've been studying, developing educational materials, researching reimbursement codes, and scheduling patients - in addition to actually seeing the patient.

I love it! Obesity plays a significant role in conditions like incontinence, and pelvic organ prolapse, as well a chronic constipation. Part of my teaching includes encouraging weight loss. I hand out the Spark People web address on a daily basis! I even discovered these cool printable downloads from SP that say things like: "You've been Sparked"!

Some patients are more motivated than others, just like fellow sparkers. It's tough to try to motivate a person who really doesn't want to be motivated week after week (patients see me for an average of six weekly hour long sessions), but even modest weight loss can facilitate an improvement in symptoms so I am obligated to keep encouraging them to follow through. It is a challenge...

I had a WONDERFUL visit from my dear sister about a month a ago. Some of you may know her as CMRAND54 here on Spark People. Like me she battled weight for a number of years. She says that my weight loss and credit to Spark People for maintaining my loss motivated her to check us out. She was going to be conservative at first and maybe just track her nutrition. She didn't anticipate socializing much...

She now has more friends than me I think! She has lost 58 pounds and looks amazing!

True story: My DH and were waiting at the airport for her plane to arrive - she lives in Virginia and I live in Iowa - and I was eagerly scanning the crowd that disembarked when it finally arrived. I looked over every single passenger I thought when all of a sudden a voice said "Hello" coming from a thin blond woman right in front of me! I didn't even recognize my own sister!!

We spent about 5 days visiting my dad, shopping, more shopping, and sitting together in the evening curled up in our respective chairs sparking on our laptops! She got so many new clothes in her new slimmer size that she had to buy another suitcase to get home!

Anyhow, I'm now sitting at my new laptop (my sister patiently went with me while I tried out each and every model on the market), drinking a cup of Dunkin Decaf (also introduced to me by my sister -- the best decaf coffee out there in my opinion!) We went to several chain restaurants that I'd always been afraid to eat at: Outback and On the Border and taught me how to order "spark -ly" from the menu.

I'm sad she had to go home, but so happy that I can find her daily on SP!

And so dear spark friends --

I am very much alive and although I have spent less time on board, I'm still tracking, exercising, maintaining, preaching weight loss, playing poker, and just generally staying sassy