When it has taken all that you have to care for yourself it feels so good to be able to care for others and put their needs first. I was able to do that this week. With, I might add a lot of help from my husband and family.
My brother had planned to visit me last summer after my surgery. He had booked a ticket when we found out I would be requiring a second surgery. He changed the date of the visit to after the surgery and recovery, only to be told I had to go for surgery once again at that exact time.
It's been a year. Throughout that year he and I have talked about him visiting and us being healthy and well enough to go fishing together. He has chronic pain as well so we have been through our struggles. In the meantime our Mother has died and it felt like a very challenging year.
The time had come for Pat to actually make to my place. My sister came from Ottawa to join us for a couple of days and my daughters came home on the weekend to be a part of the visit. It was a great week.
It was fantastic in a lot of ways. He was able to see how I deal with my pain and restrictions. Having been to pain management, Mindfulness meditations for pain and every practitioner I have learned a lot and was able to pass it on.
The most helpful advice I think I can give anyone who is dealing with chronic pain is to not allow it to become your life or let it define you as a person. You are not your condition and your condition is not you.
I remember someone saying once that they had MS, but MS didn't have them. That really stuck with me. There are days when it is all about the restrictions and pain, but those need to be few. Making the most out of what you can do whether you have pain or not is so important.
We walked to parks around the city all week long. We fished and went for boat rides to watch the sunset, and sat at the bottom of the waterfall, cooked great food and we enjoyed each other's company.
Life is about making wonderful memories. Some days you may have to dig a little deeper to do that but where there is a will, there is a way.
My brother had planned to visit me last summer after my surgery. He had booked a ticket when we found out I would be requiring a second surgery. He changed the date of the visit to after the surgery and recovery, only to be told I had to go for surgery once again at that exact time.
It's been a year. Throughout that year he and I have talked about him visiting and us being healthy and well enough to go fishing together. He has chronic pain as well so we have been through our struggles. In the meantime our Mother has died and it felt like a very challenging year.
The time had come for Pat to actually make to my place. My sister came from Ottawa to join us for a couple of days and my daughters came home on the weekend to be a part of the visit. It was a great week.
It was fantastic in a lot of ways. He was able to see how I deal with my pain and restrictions. Having been to pain management, Mindfulness meditations for pain and every practitioner I have learned a lot and was able to pass it on.
The most helpful advice I think I can give anyone who is dealing with chronic pain is to not allow it to become your life or let it define you as a person. You are not your condition and your condition is not you.
I remember someone saying once that they had MS, but MS didn't have them. That really stuck with me. There are days when it is all about the restrictions and pain, but those need to be few. Making the most out of what you can do whether you have pain or not is so important.
We walked to parks around the city all week long. We fished and went for boat rides to watch the sunset, and sat at the bottom of the waterfall, cooked great food and we enjoyed each other's company.
Life is about making wonderful memories. Some days you may have to dig a little deeper to do that but where there is a will, there is a way.
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