Hello, let me introduce myself. My name is Heather aka Matkabjorn8. Here is a little background into my blog name and id. I am of Polish/Norwegian decent. So I used words from both languages to come up with part of my blog ID and blog title. I am Matkabjorn8. So Matka (Mother) Polish and Bjorn (Bear) Norwegian, the 8 is for my kids (2 & 4 legged) . I took the Norwegian work for health which is sunn. I used it instead of the actual work for health. Blog page: Journey 2 My Sunn.
Here is some background on me I am married to a wonderful and very supportive man, have 3 boys, 2 canine kids, 1 feline kid and 2 feline grandkids. I have an 18 year career in healthcare. I reside in the Midwest – Iowa to be exact. Although, on a day like today, I sometimes long to live someplace a little warmer. Today’s temperature is -29 degrees, talk about a heat wave compared to yesterday’s -45. Heck, Alaska is warmer than us at a nice balmy 26 degrees. LOL!
Now for the reason behind this blog. I am in my early forties recently diagnosed with Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) and Liver Disease. In order to help preserve my kidney and liver function, I am on a journey to a healthier me by losing weight, eating a plant-based diet, limiting meat, processed foods, dairy and sodium. I have also eliminated soda from my diet. This blog will share my journey with you and serve as way for me to not only cope with my diagnosis, but also help me connect with others dealing with living change situations.
I would be lying if I said I wasn’t scared at what these new diagnoses mean, but I am determined to make the changes to lead the healthy life I possibly can. Although I am familiar with PKD (Polycystic Kidney Disease) since I have a strong family history. I am still learning and wanting to learn all I can to help prolong my kidney function. The liver disease is the one I don’t know as much about. At this point they aren’t sure exactly the type of liver disease, just that I have signs of liver disease. I can tell you I have had plenty of test these last 3 months and have some frustration at not fully knowing yet. Yes, I know that it doesn’t help in the blink of an eye. This whole thing started in October 2018. I will get more into that in my next blog post. For now, welcome to my blog and my journey to find my Sunn (health).
Journey 2 My Sunn 