A Prescription for Living Well

I’ve written this blog post several times in my head but it didn’t seem to want to come out through my fingers. Should I tell the truth? Or should I put a positive spin on it? No one wants to hear or read doom and gloom, but ….. the truth is, I don’t feel good. I am not well.

I have two holes in my lung from a bad bacterial infection that I was in treatment for two years ago and was discharged after a year of antibiotics last September free of the bacterium. It left me with labored breathing and a shorter work time. Long naps helped. After a few months recovering from the emotionally depressive effects and gastric upsets of the antibiotics, I felt wonderful. Back to my energetic, enthusiastic self. It lasted for three months during which time I helped my husband through hip replacement surgery, finalized my book publication, and went out of town for my first book signing at a conference of people who had polio, like me, who are getting older, yet living well.

You would think that being surrounded by like-minded people, in a positive, up-beat atmosphere, with lots of recognition for my new book, my baby, presenting her to the world after fourteen long years of gestation, would keep me healthy. But no. It was not to be. I got tired. I overdid it. Even good stress was not good for me. I was on a high when I got back home for a couple weeks, then BAM! It hit me again. Coughing up gunk, non-stop, chills, flannel pajamas and a down comforter couldn’t warm me, achy muscles, some of which were from coughing, and pure disgust. I’ve got things to do I told myself. I can’t be sick again.

But here I am, one month later, and still not well. My body is slowly recovering from the achy part of whatever I got, but I’m still coughing and wheezy. Will I never feel better than this? Will this be the rest of my life? Afraid to leave town, to exert myself?

Then I think about the role of illness in our lives. That’s a whole other blog topic. Everyone gets sick and some of us are sick a lot. Why do we fight being ill? It’s such a common experience. I must have spent one third of my life being ill with one thing or another. We spend tons of money and time on wellness programs and remedies to keep us healthy. It is amazing how much the human body can repair itself. But why are we so ashamed of being sick? It’s as if we have failed in some way. All the cards I get, say Get Well Soon. In other words, don’t linger in the illness, or you will be thought of as a malingerer, someone who craves attention. One of my sympathetic friends sent me a card that said “Get well at a leisurely pace, depending on how much you enjoy watching movies and lying around.” I like that. It’s more authentic. Maybe that’s the role of illness. It gives us time to reflect, to prioritize, and to redecide what is really important in life.

So my prescription for living well is:

• Be kind to yourself, ill or well.
• Find someone who makes you laugh.
• Read the lives of famous people who did great things despite and because of their illnesses.
• Tell the truth to yourself and others.
• Read my book.