Hi there,I got on court the other day and my hamstring got tight. Really tight. My right leg is still weak and that's my own fault. I haven't been doing the rehab I know I need to be doing. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I'm being disciplined about it, because I'm not. Part of the reason is the pain is back. The fistula stuff. And honestly, I hate even talking about it. I hate sharing that update because it feels like I'm always just sharing negative news. Another day, same pain, same...
3 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there,I saw something this week that made me stop scrolling. Researchers at McMaster University just announced a new antibiotic specifically for IBD. It targets the bad bacteria without destroying your entire microbiome. They used AI to figure out how it works in six months instead of two years. Human trials expected within a few years. Here's what got me though. Most Crohn's research focuses on inflammation in the intestines. Which matters. But about 30% of us end up with fistulas,...
6 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there,I’ve hit my morning routine three days in a row now. Read a chapter, journal, do my stretches and band work. It’s not a massive streak, but it feels good to string together a few days of doing what I said I’d do. I’m back on court too. Tomorrow marks four weeks post-op, 28 days exactly. Started with dinks, moved to midcourt and baseline today, hit some transition balls and drops. I’m barely moving, but I’m moving a bit more than yesterday. The knee didn’t swell as much today either,...
8 days ago • 1 min read
Hey friend,I got back on the court last week for the first time since knee surgery. Migo, my co-host on Asia Pickleball Insider came out and basically played human ball machine for me. Just feeding me dinks so I could get some reps, see how the knee felt, get my feet underneath me again. Twenty minutes total. Didn't push it. The knee got a little tight and swollen toward the end, but it didn't hurt. It felt good to be out there. And yeah, there's the obvious lesson about gratitude. You don't...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Hey friend,It’s been a heavy week. I know that’s not the ideal start for a Feel Good Friday, but hang with me. There’s some good in here. I met with two new doctors in Manila, Dr. Sollano and Dr. Chang. One’s a GI, the other’s a colorectal surgeon. I saw them separately this time, but they share an office and work together one day a week at the IBD center. Next visit, I’ll sit down with both of them to go over a pelvic MRI that I need to get and figure out a plan. That alone makes a...
13 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there, It’s been a month since Kheet started working with me, and I honestly can’t believe how much lighter my brain feels. Before she came on, I was drowning in projects. Ramsports, SportsPredict, Ostowear, content, travel. All living in my head at once. I’d wake up already behind, thinking about the dozen things I’d probably forgotten to do. That constant sense that something was slipping through the cracks was brutal. Now there’s structure. Every task has a home. I can dump ideas out...
15 days ago • 1 min read
Hi friend, I was sitting in a coffee shop this week, laptop open, tunnel vision. When I finally looked up, four hours had passed. I’d gone deep into something that didn’t really matter, and I felt drained. My eyes hurt, my brain was foggy, and I just thought, what am I doing? Getting back on the bike post-op has felt great. It’s nice to move again, but it’s also reminded me how much I miss pickleball. Playing has always been my outlet. The thing that resets me and helps me stay balanced....
17 days ago • 1 min read
Hi friend,Quote I’m reminding myself “Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” -Mary Anne Radmacher A real IBD option moving sooner The FDA just updated the RINVOQ label so doctors can use it earlier for moderate to severe IBD when TNF blockers aren’t a fit. I’ve taken RINVOQ before. Post-ostomy, I’m still trying to figure out what helps with the fistulas, so this goes in the “ask my GI” file. If you’re navigating the same questions,...
20 days ago • 1 min read
Hi there,Last week I wrote about how my sleep has been poor. It’s improved a little, but I’m still testing what affects it.Two nights in a row I took local Benadryl. It’s the capsule kind here, not the small pink tablets from the States. Both nights my sleep stress was high. The next night I skipped it and stress dropped to zero. Then last night I tried a melatonin gummy, and sleep stress went up again. So it seems like anything I take to help me sleep is having the opposite effect. Evenings...
22 days ago • 1 min read