Sandra’s Saga: Chapter 4
Hope is only dangerous, if we fail to cling to it. -GP
I Am Sandra: Chapter Four – Energy and Transformation
If someone had told me six months ago that energy would become my middle name, I would’ve laughed—maybe even cried. Back then, everything felt heavy: my body, my mind, my spirit. But here I am today, standing taller, moving easier, and feeling a vitality I haven’t known in years. And it didn’t happen overnight. It happened step by step.
It started with walking. Those small steps, the ones that felt like dragging an anchor at first, became part of my routine. Along the way, I noticed something unexpected: the more I moved, the more my body began to heal. My posture, once slumped forward from years of stress and exhaustion, now felt straighter, lighter. I’m holding myself up naturally, like I deserve to take up space. I never realized how powerful a straight spine could make me feel.
But the biggest change? The one I thought would never happen? The urinary issues. For months, I’d been quietly battling embarrassment, unable to even talk about it. But as I walked, stretched, and strengthened my body, something amazing began to shift. Dilma, ever my cheerleader, told me about the pelvic floor muscles, particularly the levator ani, that hold everything in place. Turns out, walking—just walking—was helping tone them. Slowly, I noticed fewer accidents, more control. For the first time in a long time, I felt confident leaving the house without fear.
And then there’s Dilma’s cooking. I had no idea she was such a wizard in the kitchen. One day, during one of our walks, she mentioned her love for nutritious, mindful eating. I confessed I’d been surviving off frozen meals and too many snacks. Dilma offered to show me how to cook simple, wholesome meals, and I couldn’t say no.
It was a game-changer.
Her meals were full of vibrant vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and those mysterious “good carbs” I’d always heard about. Foods like salmon and avocado—rich in omega-3s—started appearing on my plate. There were colorful salads topped with nuts, olive oil, and bright lemon, hearty soups made from scratch, and grains like quinoa I’d never even heard of before.
At first, I worried I’d miss my old comfort foods, but something surprising happened: my body loved the change. My digestion improved. The stubborn bloating I’d grown used to? Gone. My joints felt less inflamed, and my knees—those knees that had given me so much grief—were no longer screaming every time I took a step. I even started to lose a bit of weight, without ever starving or feeling deprived.
It wasn’t just my body that benefited—my mind did, too. With every meal, I felt sharper, clearer. I’d been reading about how foods like leafy greens, berries, and omega-3s could help protect cognitive health, and now I understood why. My small moments of forgetfulness seemed to happen less often, and my focus improved.
And energy—oh, the energy! I used to hit a wall by mid-afternoon, but now I find myself planning projects, organizing my thoughts, and dreaming again. I’m no longer just surviving my days; I’m living them.
The other night, my husband looked at me across the dinner table and said, “You’re glowing, Sandra. It’s like you’ve found yourself again.”
And maybe I have.
This new version of me is still a work in progress, but every day I’m getting better. My posture is straighter, my core is stronger, and I’m eating in a way that fuels my body and mind. My confidence is building. I look forward to my walks with Dilma, where we talk about dreams—hers, mine—and where we want to go next in life.
I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know this: I’m not the woman who sat on the sidelines anymore.
I am Sandra. I’m energized, hopeful, and ready for whatever comes next.