Recovering

Having new experiences is amazing. Going to new places. Diving into new activities. These are the things that keep life interesting and add sparkle to our existence.

We may get caught in a cycle of "maintenance" when we are in Cancerworld. Traveling through the landscape is hard and there is a strong temptation to do nothing but go to treatment and lay around. And some days that may be all we can do.

And, if we remember that building in time to recover makes things that seem difficult actually become possible, we can build our experience base during our time in Cancerworld. And we can use all the coping tools we need.

I had a friend that knew that fatigue was a killer for her. And so, when she went out with friends she used a wheelchair. She had gotten over her "but I can walk on my own" attitude and moved toward a "this is a tool that allows me to extend my stamina and makes life more fun" mode. I did that with a walker. When my fatigue was at a high point and I found the neuropathy in my feet caused me to have an unacceptable risk of falling, rather than give up walking which gave me freedom, independence and a sense of accomplishment, I just added a walker. I might have looked slightly crazy walking 4-5 miles a day with a walker and I certainly wore out some wheels. Still that tool allowed me to have new experiences and to keep my identity as a "walker."

And tools is just one thing we must remember to protect our potential to do new things and experience amazingness. We must also factor in recovery time. Knowing that we are planning an outing will build excitement and keep our spirits up. And knowing that we may need to follow our adventure with a week or two of very low activity sets us up for success. It helps us manage our energy so that we can revel in the experience we just had rather than lament that we, "can't do things like we used to." Some folks will not understand our need for added recovery time. And we ought not to feel like we are required to educate them. We can simply put "recovery time" as an appointment in our calendar and honestly reply to invitations during our recovery period with, "sorry, I am booked. How about the week after next?" Remembering to build recovery time into our schedules (and, more importantly our expectations) will help us be successful and happy.