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ME/CFS Struggle – Many are on Similar Roads to Recovery

4/23/2013

The bombings in Boston have occupied my mind this past week. I’ve been especially thinking about the people whose lives were lost and those whose lives were permanently changed in an instant - so many who will face a long road of recovery with some of them coping with the loss of limbs. My heart goes out to them.

Good health is a gift that is often not appreciated until one loses it. As ME/CFS sufferers, we know the loss of a normal healthy life and not being able to fully function. And although the causes of our loss of functionality are different, the struggle is similar. While we work to unravel the clues to our own versions of ME/CFS, we fight many of the same emotional and psychological demons, the endless hours of being forced to ‘be a patient’ and the loss of parts of our self-identity. It is a long road to recovery for many with dis-ease. The key to getting there is focus, determination and support.

There are many in our communities who are on similar paths to recovery. Our hearts go out to those in Boston. Do you reach out? Are you connecting? Please COMMENT or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,

Martha

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ME/CFS Stages – Resist Rushing to the Finish

4/9/2013

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I’ve been part of a committee charged with building an outdoor labyrinth at our church. We’ve been working on this task for over four years. It has been, at times, so frustrating to try to continue despite the many obstacles that were thrown in our path. There were moments when I had the urge to construct a quick ‘midnight’ labyrinth that would suddenly appear the next morning. But, of course, that would be a weak effort, not fully sound and would not last very long before degrading back into something unsustainable. The parallels with ME/CFS are unmistakable.

When I was struggling with ME/CFS, I would begin to make progress. I would actually be able to handle a trip to the grocery store. I was elated! And afterward, there was no crash. Yahoo! This was it. I could taste the satisfaction of recovery and being back to my old self. Followed by another day of moderate activity. Still feeling good. And then, in a rush, I would pick up the pace and get back to my old ways. We all know what happened next. Full plunge crash - and feeling worse than ever. I was not fully well and could not sustain the pace before degrading back into ME/CFS. Full disclosure, I’m a bit embarrassed to say, I did this several times. Several times! What was I thinking? I just wanted it SO bad, that I would rush to the finish.

Last Saturday, after years of planning, winning over the congregation and having a contractor lay a solid foundation of compacted crushed stone with a final layer of heavy, screed sand, we assembled the labyrinth. Led by our committee and supported by a hard working army of volunteers, we laid out the intricate pattern of stones, cutting some as necessary, to form the paths of the labyrinth. It looks beautiful and is solid underfoot. It will last a long time - only because we didn’t rush to the finish. We kept to the consistent, detailed pace. It’s a wonderful milestone - excuse the pun. But even now, we’re not done yet. The contractor will return and compact the surface to ensure that all the stones stay in place. Then they will fill all the gaps with polymer sand to lock the stones together. Then they will regrade up to the edge with loam and reseed so the grass will regrow around the labyrinth. And we all know how long it takes for grass to grow and fully take hold.

If you’re struggling with ME/CFS, please resist the urge to rush to the finish. It is SO tempting. But resist you must. How do you deal with keeping to your successful pace? What are your strategies? Please COMMENT or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,

Martha

2 Comments

ME/CFS Recovery - Every Day Counts

4/2/2013

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I have a long-term goal, which I have been aiming to accomplish. I make progress in some ways but fall short in others. It’s been a struggle. I made a recent decision to rethink my time management around this goal and remembered a favorite quote from Annie Dillard, “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.” And I started to see the parallels between my recent approaches to this new goal and how I had initially reacted to my struggle with ME/CFS. My approach had been inconsistent and I misunderstood the need to apply myself every day to my desire to get well.

So much of what I did in those early days of ME/CFS came out of frustration and anger. But even when I moved past that, I still wasn’t focused on the importance of how I spent each and every day. It took a while before I began to see each day as a building block, which was added to the day before. And so on until I had built up a week of days, then a month of days and eventually many months and finally a year of days. That added up to 365 days in a row of consciously working toward recovering my health. When I finally understood the value and rewards of daily focus, that was when I began to see real progress.

So our lives do reflect how we spend our days. And one day at a time, each and every day, you can make progress toward regaining your health. That’s the only way I was successful. How do you focus on your recovery every day? What are your strategies? Please COMMENT or Send in your thoughts and I’ll post them. You can use the Contact Form or send an email to Martha at DefeatCFS dot net.

Look for a weekly posting on Tuesdays. And consider being part of the conversation.

Be Well Again,

Martha

2 Comments

ME/CFS Struggle – Many are on Similar Roads to Recovery

ME/CFS Stages – Resist Rushing to the Finish

ME/CFS Recovery - Every Day Counts

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ME/CFS Struggle – Many are on Similar Roads to Recovery

ME/CFS Stages – Resist Rushing to the Finish

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