The Blessing In Knowing My “Story”

by Darline Turner Lee, Physician Assistant, ACSM Exercise Specialist

Article Last Reviewed: Sept. 9, 2006

The January 2002 edition of Women Monthly contained an article that I wrote about having and being treated for uterine fibroids. In the article, I discussed the importance of knowing your medical and family history to be able to give pertinent information to your healthcare providers and to receive optimum medical treatment. I encouraged people to learn about their conditions and their treatment options. It is imperative to know not only what your provider can offer in terms of treatment, but also what you yourself can do to improve the outcome of your situation. I believe this proactive approach to be highly effective. As this edition of Women Magazine goes to press, I am 9 months pregnant and when it hits the stands, I will read it along with my newborn daughter.

No one can guarantee that knowing all of your medical and family history and being proactive in your care will give you the results that you desire regarding a given medical condition. However, I have found that when you have a provider with whom you feel comfortable and in whom you feel confident, you are less fretful and more compliant. When all of your questions are answered to your satisfaction, you are less fearful. When you have prepared yourself to the best of your ability, you are able to let go of worry and stress and let the process occur. All of these parameters help to facilitate healing. You are not fighting against your body, drawing vital energy away from it, but actually letting it do what it needs to do to heal itself.

When I first realized that I was pregnant, I was shocked. I was very concerned that I had not adequately healed from the fibroid surgery and that I would not carry this pregnancy to term. But my surgeon assured me that all was well. At 20 weeks I had an anatomic ultrasound to evaluate fetal development. I also saw the baby’s sex—a girl. My first thought was, “Oh God, what have I done? Here is another woman in my family doomed to ferocious periods and fibroids!” I was actually depressed for a day or two. Finally my husband asked me what was wrong. When I told him, he was surprised. “You don’t want our daughter?” he asked me. That was not the case at all. I just did not want her to go through so much of what the women in my family had gone through. I felt as though I had somehow cursed her and I wanted to spare her the agony. Then my husband, the simply profound man that he often is, issued me a challenge. “So what are you going to do about it?”

He left me speechless which is not an easy feat. What was I going to do? What could I do? I was having a daughter and like it or not, her genes were already set. What could I do? Then it occurred to me. I founded my business, Next Step Fitness, Inc., on the principle that one can live a full, active life no matter what one’s physical condition. One must take a proactive approach to one’s health and lifestyle. If you know your history you must act in ways to optimize your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. This is the blessing that I have in knowing my history. I can pass this knowledge on to my daughter. My mom did this for me, and though the path was bumpy at times, the outcome has been in my favor. With all of the advances in medicine and wellness, my daughter can avoid much of the pain and agony that has befallen the other women in my family. From the outset she will be a breastfed baby. I can teach her about good nutrition, especially for women with the fibroid history my family has. I can encourage her to be active and to engage in regular physical activity. I can help her to manage her weight, for obesity is an issue on both sides of her family and can aggrivate fibroids. I can explain to her that moderation is key. If she chooses to eat “junk foods” eat them sparingly, as treats. All of the knowledge that I have amassed on adequate rest, water intake, fitness, complimentary treatments and nutritional supplements I can share with her. I have a chance to directly affect an outcome, her outcome! Who knows? Perhaps I can even alter the history of the women in my family.

I am very excited about the birth of my daughter. I feel like I have so much to tell her, so much to share with her. I can’t wait to see the woman that she becomes and how she blesses future generations with her “story”.