On Monday, I started back to work after a week off and it took no time at all to get back into the swing of things. But, something has been happening this week that took me back to seeing the doctor this morning for a check-up.
Strangely, a few times every day this week, my heart felt like it was being squeezed for 15-minute stretches. Then on Thursday, I felt like I was going to faint in the middle of teaching a lesson and then felt an instant, almost electric sort of zip along my back and down my right arm. I wasn't sure if these events were related, but after telling my friend at work, he said that the safest thing to do would be to run all of my symptoms by a doctor to see if it was anything serious.
I am very thankful for the NHS because visiting the doctor over this heart pain is not something I would have been comfortable paying for back at home and I probably would have written it off as heartburn or a pulled muscle--even though I know that what has been going on feels much different than those two things.
After visiting the walk-in GP service in Ormskirk today, I did indeed receive a wake-up call to basically change my entire life.
The doctor told me that my resting heart rate is 90 bpm and my blood pressure is 124. She then asked me what I eat, how much I sleep, and what I do for a living. I told the doctor that I eat supper every night, but usually a muffin in the morning and no lunch (because that is what happens the majority of the time). I then explained my sleep routine of sleeping from 9 P.M. to 1 A.M. (sometimes to 2) to ensure myself four hours of sleep and then I work through the night until it's time to get Jackson up. I started doing this in September so that I get to spend as much time with Jackson as possible and to also have a quiet house to work in for marking books and fulfilling the paperwork required every week. Lastly, I said that I was a teacher and she seemed to understand that the workload on teachers in England has skyrocketed and told me that many teachers have been in to see her this year already.
I made sure that she understood that I don't intend on leaving the profession and I really do love teaching and struggle to imagine myself doing anything else. Upon hearing this, she gave me a long list of ways to improve my health because, as he put it, if I "continue on this way, [I] will burn out in the next five years."
Scared straight by her tone and other advice she gave me, I am putting her list of things to do into action today:
- Get more Vitamin D (at least 20 minutes of daylight every day)
- Eat fish twice a week or take Omega-3 vitamins
- Drink two litres of water a day
- Eat protein and some carbohydrates for breakfast
- Have a fruit or vegetable snack for lunch because only two main meals a day is fine
- Sleep for at least six hours a night
- Work before midnight and wake up a little early if necessary because the hours in the middle of the night don't produce the best work anyway
- Exercise for at least 20 minutes a day
- Do something non-work related and fun for at least 20 minutes per day
I did receive more advice as to what I should do if the symptoms continue, but hopefully with the changes she ordered, I can lower the numbers without another doctor's visit.
Walking across the sofa and building ramps with couch cushions
Relaxing and watching Bubble Guppies before heading up to bed
What's left over of our fence after Storm Doris
Developmental updates: Jackson likes to say, "Uh oh," now if something goes awry. He also says, "Yep," when we ask him questions. When he shakes his head for 'no,' Jackson seems to fully comprehend what he is disagreeing to whether it be getting a banana or or putting on his hat. Today he got his picture taken for his first passport photo and it went a lot better than we thought it would. He sat on my lap looking toward the camera, while I sat sideways and out of the way of the shot. Even though he was crying because he wanted to be roaming around the shop instead, he managed to pull-off an adorable photo without any tears or signs of unhappiness. (Lots of credit goes to the photographers who were showering Jackson with compliments and capturing his pose at just the right split second when he looked his best.) Lee and I like to watch The Big Bang Theory and when Jackson hears the theme song, he dances and on the last beat, he raises both of his arms like a sign of victory. We have no idea why he does this, but it happens every time without fail, even if he hears the song from the next room.
If you see Sammie Miles Davis, Jr. and Bella, give them my love.
