Bloggin with Kelley: My life with Spina Bifida and much more!!!

Hey Y'all!  So when I saw earlier this week that North Mississippi was suppose to get a TON of rain today... I panicked! Hitting 500 is such a BIG deal to me and so I decided to push myself harder then I think I ever have.. and I walked a total of 9.13 miles in just TWO days! That is the most I have walked in just a 2 day period!  It was a little bit rough but I made it thru and I'm still able to walk just fine today. Some people may say "Your body can't handle that with your Spina Bifida!".... Well I'm here to tell you my body CAN  and DID handle it! Am I sore today... oh yeah! But that soreness isn't any worse then when I have walked any other day! I have had people tell me that "Oh your pushing yourself too hard!"! Most those people that tell me that don't know ANYTHING about Spina Bifida! Also I have had this body for 32 yrs I KNOW what it can and can't handle! Today is definitely a day of rest and relaxation... But you better believe...

Hey y'all! As of this evening I am only 2.70 miles from 500!!!! I can knock that out in one day!!! Which due to weather will probably be Friday....  This morning I made it TWO mornings in a row to hit over 3 miles!!! It was a GREAT morning weather wise for walking to! My body was a little tired but that didn't stop me from hitting 3.11 miles in exactly an hour!!!  Now tonight's walk.... Yeah that was MISERABLE! I was so pumped and excited when I first started to walk cause it was not raining and I wasn't tired.... Then about halfway thru the annoying misting rain started and at times there were big droplets! I'm sure anyone else would have just cut it short but I have a goal to meet here people! So I suffered thru it and got in another 1.50 miles!!! I'm a little soggy and cold but hey I got it done!  So for the day I ended up with 4.61 miles!!! Not the most I have ever gotten in one day... But it's close! Tomorrow we are suppose to have rain ALL day and earl...

Hey y'all! So I just finished my first 3.10 since the 5k... and it was ROUGH! My body was fighting me the whole way! But even though my body was fighting me I got an EXCELLENT time(Well for me anyway!)!  So after today's walk I am ONLY 8.70 miles from 500!!! And I have THREE days left to hit it!!!  I say 3 cause Saturday Ole Miss Football starts and I will in The Grove tailgating and watching my Rebels beat South Alabama!! So no walking then!! ❤️💙❤️💙 #WalkinwithKelley #Roadto500 #HottyToddy #SpinaBifidaSTRONG  ❤️Hugs💙 Kelley 

Hey Y'all! So today was a fairly good day for walking! This morning started off GREAT! No rain and cloudy which kept the temp nice and cool! I got in 2.09 miles and it felt AMAZING!  This evening wasn't quite as great as I am EXTREMELY tired... But I made it another 1.42 miles!  That makes 3.51 miles for the day!!! So a few weeks before my first 5K a friend of mine sent me an advertisement for the Annual St Jude Walk/Run 5K to end childhood hunger... Well at the time I put it out of my mind because HELLO I hadn't even made it thru the 1st one! So yesterday I was relaxing at home and she text me once again with the add for the St Jude 5K... Well y'all I have decided to do it! St Jude is one of my FAVORITE charities and I just can't pass up the chance to get a team together and raise money for such an AMAZING cause! Also I can't think of a better place to help spread the word about Spina Bifida awareness! So September 23rd it will be 5K round 2!  ❤️Hugs💙 Kelley  ...

Hey y'all!! So after all the excitement yesterday I forgot about this week being THE week that I will conquer 500 miles walked since November!!! I am currently at 483.60!! Y'all I am so excited about hitting 500!! That's halfway to my end of the year goal of 1000(Or as close to it as possible!)!!!  This morning I took it easy and did a 1.08 miler! It felt AMAZING and after my accomplishment yesterday I had a little pep in my step! 😉  So another BIG milestone week is here and all I can think to say is.... Bring it on!  #Roadto500miles #WalkinwithKelley #SpinaBifidaSTRONG  ❤️Hugs💙 Kelley 

Y'all I have so many emotions running thru me right now... I actually did it! I finished the 5K! And with an AWESOME time!(Well awesome for me! I may have finished behind everyone else but none of that mattered because I did it! Walking across that finish line and having everyone clapping and cheering was an AMAZING feeling! As I was finishing all I could think of was the COUNTLESS number of doctors who told me and my parents I wouldn't walk by myself and all the surgeries, hospital visits and doctors appointments I have endured to try to make life easier for me!  I think I just proved all those doctors DEAD wrong!! I CAN walk on my own and I have no one else to thank for that but the good Lord! He gave me the strength and the fight to not settle for what those doctors said! He gave me the will power to defy the odds! All glory definitely goes to him! I also absolutely can not thank these beautiful ladies below enough for walking with me. They are 100% the reason I was able to ...

Hey y'all! I know some of you are wondering "Why is this 5K so important to her?"... I'll tell you why! It's important because of all those doctors who told my parents I would NEVER walk or always walk with a walker! It's big because of those 12 surgeries!  All the sleepless and restless nights my parents had wondering how they were going to deal with taking care of a child with a disability... and the countless hospital visits and ER trips and doctors appointments! It's important because I want to prove to all those that bullied me that I didn't let them break my spirit! It's big because NOONE (Not even my parents!) could have ever imagined the little blue eyed girl whom couldn't even stand by herself would one day walk almost 500 miles UNASSISTED in just 9 months!  My parents weren't even sure I would make it past my 10th birthday! But here I am feisty as ever about to hit 33yrs old in a few months! Most Spina Bifida patients with the for...

We are down to the wire y'all!! With less than 48hrs till the BIG walk today was my last 2 walks before I take a day to rest! This morning was absolutely BEAUTIFUL here in Mississippi! Today I cut my usual Thursday 3 miler in half and did 1.48 miles!! It felt absolutely AMAZING and I almost kept walking!  Tonight was the last easy workout for the week and the weather didn't disappoint either! I got in another 1.08 miles!! Don't mind that time I was walking slower then normal!🙈 Now it's time to relax and completely focus on the big day! Y'all I have had so many thoughts running thru my head today... Some good and some not so good! "Will I really finish?" "Are people going to stare at my legs and laugh?!"  "Will I be dead last?!"... Those are just a few of the not so helpful things running thru my head! But when those thoughts creep up I have to remember to tell myself none of those things matter! Who cares how long it takes me or if I a...

So today and tomorrow I am taking it SUPER easy with my walking! Friday will be an all day rest day with NO walks! This morning I cut my normal 2.50 WAY down to 1.33 miles! It actually felt AMAZING and my time was FABULOUS!  Tonight's walk was only 1.02 miles! Like I said taking it SUPER easy! The time wasn't the best but that's ok!  So here we are a little over 2 days from the 5K and I have to be honest my anxiety is thru the roof! I woke up last night absolutely panicked thinking "What if I am the last one to finish?!" "Will everyone laugh?!"! I just have to keep telling myself it doesn't matter where I finish or how long it takes me... All that matters is that I finish! #SpinaBifidalife #WalkinwithKelley  ❤️Hugs💙 Kelley 

Hey Y'all! I get asked ALOT "When did you actually start walking on your own?"... Well my first challenge was actually being able to stand! I had a little thing called a parapodium that helped me to stand on my own because I just couldn't do it by myself! Only problem with this little contraption was that if I got too excited or moved around too much it would tip over with me in it!  So my AMAZING Grandpa Ray made me this AWESOME table that my momma could put me in my parapodium in the center of the table and she didn't have to worry about me tipping over! Although I have been told my older sisters would at times move my toys to the opposite end of the table where I could not reach them... Big sisters... Gotta love them!  Now starting to actually walk with a walker happened at around 2 1/2! I will admit... I absolutely HATED that thing most of the time! It was so hard to maneuver around! It would get stuck on every little bump and don't get me started on how d...

Hey Y'all!  So since this is 5K week I am trying to do some easy miles! This morning I had PLANNED to do 2.50 but got up late and didn't have enough time to get it all in before I had to leave the house! I did however get in 1.05 miles!  Tonight I was again kind of rushed to get in my walk due to having to walk so late cause of the heat!! But I got in just over 2 miles so I was EXTREMELY happy about that! My time was FABULOUS too!  Tomorrow I tackle my only 3.10 miler of the week... Well except the BIG ONE on Saturday 😉! ❤️Hugs💙 Kelley

Hey Y'all!  It was a HUMID morning here in Mississippi! But I got in a sweaty 1.08 miles!!  Since we are in 5K week I am taking it pretty easy this week. As I was looking at my app after my walk I checked my total miles... and y'all I am 34.30 miles from 500!!!  I totally wish I could hit it Saturday at the 5K but unfortunately I will be about 13 miles short😞😞 BUT the fact that I am close to hitting it at all is a miracle in itself! I am almost halfway to 1000! Y'all I can't even imagine how my life would be if I hadn't been bound and determined to walk on my own! NEVER let someone tell you that you can't do something because of a disability... EVER! You can accomplish anything you set you mind too! #SpinaBifidaStrong  ❤️Hugs💙 Kelley 

Hey Y'all!! We are exactly ONE week till my first 5K!!! ONE WEEK!!  Today I decided to do a "Mock" 5K... I also needed a little under 3 miles to hit 21! Which I hit for the SECOND week in a row!! I really needed to prove to myself that YES you can finish this 5K! I've have been so focused on time in the past but today I didn't let myself worry about that! Just focused on getting it done.... and it went AWESOME! Not only did I finish BUT I finished in JUST over an hour!!! The first mile and a half were GREAT! I did hit a little bit of a wall at 2 1/2 miles but got it back going enough to finish STRONG! I am pretty sure that last mile will be a struggle but I know I WILL finish this 5K!!!  So for the week I finished with 22.35 miles!! The SECOND week in a row over 22 miles!! This week is going to be a VERY easy week... Only one 3.10 (Well other then the big one Saturday!😉)! and this time next week this stubborn brunette whom was told she would NEVER walk on her own...

Hey Y'all!  Today was an absolutely FABULOUS walking day! Nothing like yesterday! This morning I got in a GREAT 2.50 miles! It felt great to not be focused on my time just enjoying my walk!  Tonight I had only planned on doing a little over a mile(1.08)... Well I decided to be adventurous and did 1.43 miles instead! I was tired but I still got it done! So tomorrow marks ONE week exactly till the 5K... What better way to end the walking week the doing a "Mock" 5K(Minus all the people watching me!)! I am currently at 19.25 miles so hitting 22 for a second week... I totally got this! #WalkinwithKelley #Almostto22 #Gettin5Kready #SpinaBifidalife  ❤️Hugs💙 Kelley 

Hey Y'all! Sometimes God likes to throw curve balls at you to get your attention... Today my curve ball came in the form of stomach issues smack dab at the beginning of my 3.10 miles!  I had to go back and take something and sit for a few minutes while my belly settled and FINALLY I could finish what I started(I missed it by .01 miles!)!  While I was doing the last bit of my 2.24 miles I thought to myself "What if I can't finish the 5K without having to stop for a few minutes?!"..... It was then I realized how much pressure I am putting on myself over my times and how many times I stop to rest!  NONE of those matters! What does matter is that I am doing something I didn't even think I could! I am accomplishing something BIG and showing people that someone with a disability can overcome the odds!  Tonight's walk THANKFULLY was GREAT! Another 1.08 miles! After this morning I decided  from now until the 5K I am going to try my best not to be so hard on about my t...

So this week I am answering some questions I have been asked recently! First question " How do you get around without your braces?!"... I can walk without them...But it is EXTREMELY hard and I walk like a a baby who is just learning how to walk! I have to hold onto stuff to keep myself steady and balanced! I also stomp my feet at times REALLY bad! Like you can totally tell when I am coming in the room! I sound like a herd of elephants walking without them! It's actually REALLY bad for me to walk without them. I run a HUGE risk of falling and or breaking my ankles! My momma use to tell me "You shouldn't walk without your braces!"... Well the older I have gotten I now understand why! I now try my best not to walk around without them. As much of a pain as it is I will even put them back on just to walk downstairs to get a drink or a snack! So to answer that question.. Yes I can walk without them... But not very far! #SpinaBifidalife #SpinaBifidaawareness  💙Hug...

"Walking must be easy now that you do it so much!"... Y'all when this comment was made to me the other day I nearly choked on my coffee! No walking is NOT easier for me now that I do it every day! It will NEVER be "Easy"! I have to work hard every walk to not fall on my butt (Which has happened SEVERAL times!). I have to work to keep my balance and making sure I am walking straight so I don't look like a drunk person. I have to work to keep myself from crying some days cause my legs feel like they have 100lbs weights! There are days I have to stop 2-3 times a walk just because my body gets tired faster then most people! Hills feel like mountains most days! Yes I have days where walking isn't quite as hard as others... but trust me it's NEVER easy! Some of you are probably thinking "Well then why keep doing it?!"... I'll tell you why! Because I want to be able to chase my future child and grandchildren around. Because I don't want m...

Hey Y'all! So today has been a fairly easy walking day! This morning I got in 2.24 miles and it felt GREAT!! I actually went farther then I had originally planned! I also did it in just over 40 minutes which made this girls morning!  Tonight... well that walk started off with my falling completely on my butt! So I then had to walk the rest of the walk with mud all over my caboose... Not the best look for me! But I did get in another 1.08 miles so I will take that as a win!  So as I was looking at my app tonight I realized... I am LESS than FIFTY miles from hitting 500 miles walked since November!!  I won't hit it next week at the 5K which is disappointing BUT the fact that I am less then 50 miles from 500 is the best feeling in the world!! I could have NEVER in a MILLION years dreamed I would hit 500 miles walked in less then a year! Just think if I hadn't been so stubborn and determined to walk on my own and prove everyone wrong all those years ago! This journey probably...