© 2011 TSM
Recently I spent some time with an elderly aunt in her 80’s. As I watched her slowly move around with the support of her cane, struggle to see clearly and wrestle with recalling conversations, I was thinking about the slow unraveling of health that we face as we age. And I clearly recalled the similar frustrations that I felt with my low level of functioning when I was sick with ME/CFS. As it was with me, and I would image would be true of most, my memory of what it felt like to be fully healthy was compromised. I had been ill with all the fatigue, pain and brain fog for so long that I no longer had an accurate recall of what it felt like for me when I was able to fully function in my old busy life.
And it was also true of my aunt that she had adjusted her memory of what it felt like to be healthy to accommodate her declining functionality. She would say that she ‘felt well’ even though we could observe this to be inaccurate.
As I gradually began to recover from ME/CFS, I would report to those who asked that I was feeling healthy again. Then a month would pass and I would have to say to the same person that I had been wrong. Now I was feeling even better and was healthy again. Honestly, this uptick in health went on for about six months. It wasn’t until I was fully well again that I remembered what it was truly like to feel strong and ‘healthy’.
By definition, for ME/CFS patients, the chronic nature of the disease adds to the possibility that we will remember an inaccurate perception of what it feels like to be fully healthy. How long have you been struggling with ME/CFS? Do you think your memory of how it feels to be fully healthy is accurate? 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
And it was also true of my aunt that she had adjusted her memory of what it felt like to be healthy to accommodate her declining functionality. She would say that she ‘felt well’ even though we could observe this to be inaccurate.
As I gradually began to recover from ME/CFS, I would report to those who asked that I was feeling healthy again. Then a month would pass and I would have to say to the same person that I had been wrong. Now I was feeling even better and was healthy again. Honestly, this uptick in health went on for about six months. It wasn’t until I was fully well again that I remembered what it was truly like to feel strong and ‘healthy’.
By definition, for ME/CFS patients, the chronic nature of the disease adds to the possibility that we will remember an inaccurate perception of what it feels like to be fully healthy. How long have you been struggling with ME/CFS? Do you think your memory of how it feels to be fully healthy is accurate? 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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