Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
I wasn’t raised to be on disability. In fact, my military trained father would never allow us to sleep in – up by 5 a.m. on holidays or we’d miss the day – and constantly drilled into us that “idleness was the devil’s playground.” There was no lying around, watching soap operas or movies during […]
Read More“Four treatments should about do it,” the doctor advised while discussing approaches to tackling ME/CFS, which has kept me homebound for the past two years. “Once your body is stronger, we can tackle the Lyme disease.” Wednesday marked the final of four IV Ozone/Ultra-violet light/Glutathione treatments. At the beginning of each visit, the patient is […]
Read MoreHad my third Ozonotherapy last week, and apart from feeling flushed and slightly dizzy afterwards (I then realized I was likely dehydrated) I have felt increasingly stronger. “Or is it that you have a new granddaughter?” my husband likes to play Devil’s Advocate. Having a new grandchild is definitely an energy boost – the motivation […]
Read More“How will we cope when you get out of hospital?” I asked my husband during his week-long stay on the Cardiac ward awaiting surgery. “Let me figure that out,” he promised. “There’s plenty of time to worry about that.” I asked him again just prior to surgery, picturing a frail man returning home, and me, […]
Read MoreA single onion, its papery crisp coating still intact, sits on a small cutting board, signalling intent. Beside it, a sharp-edged knife, and an unopened can of salmon. It is the salmon can that has turned this scenario from an action shot to a still-life. I had planned to have it for dinner last night […]
Read MoreWhile my husband remains in the Cardiac Surgery Recovery Unit (CSRU), I am struggling to maintain some sort of equilibrium so that my own health (ME/CFS) does not worsen. It is a tightrope walk, for sure. The day of surgery, I went to the hospital twice, both for extended periods of time. When I woke […]
Read MorePreoccupation with my own woes blinded me to my husband’s suffering, which culminated in a heart attack on Saturday night. We are shell-shocked. “That’s what happens to caregivers,” a callous nurse commented. Am I supposed to feel guilty? Unable to either drive myself, or push my own wheelchair, I am reliant on the goodwill of […]
Read MoreThere’s that moment, just after having been flat-lined by a wicked cold or the flu, when you know you are on the mend, even though your energy is still low: a restless impatience to be ‘done with it’ so you can get back to life. I find myself feeling that way often, only I don’t […]
Read MoreUsed the ‘f’ word last night – added and ‘ing’ for extra emphasis – flung it with a full throttle hostility. It startled both my husband and myself, and we have been tiptoeing around each other ever since. It is not like me to lose my temper, or at least not to express myself with […]
Read MoreAnother celebrity has been acquitted of sexual assault charges because the female complainants did not hold up in court as credible witnesses. I was neither a witness to the alleged occurrences, nor present for the court proceedings, and therefore, cannot comment on whether or not justice was indeed served. On a personal level, however; I […]
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One Woman's Quest II 