Discussion about activity levels brings back some memories. I hung out, disabled and afraid to do ADR for more than 2 years before my surgery. I knew about ADR, Dr. Zeegers and the AlphaKlinik, but was afraid to take the leap. In 2002, we tried to take a very innocuous trip... driving up the coast to San Simeon. Driving did not bother me, but any type of sightseeing... the musuem stroll killed me. I had such a lousy time on the trip, that I wasn't going to go on another. Diane wanted to take a trip with our daughter and I encouraged her to go without me. It was another innocuous trip... up to Monterey and S.F.... very benign sightseeing.
That was absolutely the tipping point for me. Me being unable to participate in such a simple activity. I'd tried to participate and it wasn't worth it. Finally being completely sidelined and unable to participate really drove home the answers to the "am I bad enough" questions. It really brought me to understand that I was functioning at such a low level, that I really felt like my life was over.
When Diane spoke at my conference in NY, she talked about how important it was for her to let herself take care of herself. Just because we are in jail, we should not expect our families to be in jail with us. (So Dale... don't let Julius' disc herniations hold you down.... Leave him home... let's go dancing! Actually, I can't dance since my surgery, but since I couldn't dance before my spine problems, I'm not sure if it's related or not.)
Mark
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