Bed Rest Blog Coda: The Road To Recovery
A corner was turned. The worst was over. Health, although in no apparent hurry, seemed to
be making a slow comeback. And so did it it seem. One day,
finally, one just finds oneself traveling on the heralded Road To
Recovery.
The speed
limit is slow. There are frequent -mandatory- rest stops on this road; places to
pull over and rest, maybe take a nap. This is a local drag, not a
speedy turnpike or highway. The road is seductive, exhilarating. And
yet it is also fatiguing. Sadly, there are no signs indicating just how
much further one need travel in order to arrive there. Recovery
is on the horizon, but time seems to have moved into some other
dimension.
The raging, persistent and everpresent malady apparently had
crested. Various effects still linger, and the doctor says
to remember
not to overdo it. Rest it out. Don't jump back to "life as
it was" too very quickly. Another way to put it: listen to your
body, not your mind.
Here's the deal: the symptoms are abating. Voice is still a rasp
much of the time, but here and there I can talk for a little
while. The cough is still there, but much less so. The
phlegm remains, but not so much as to seem like it is overtaking my
entire physical being. And, for joy, I am no longer going through
boxes of tissues as though there's no tomorrow.
The hardest part is not so much heeding the doctor's
advice. That seems to take care of itself. This is
because most efforts are so fatiguing that there is little choice but
to go back to bed, rest, and end up taking a nap. Energy is in
short supply. The malady may have crested, but it has more of a
course to run, even as I return to health. I think both the
malady and I are tired, and we will see this thing out together.
Energy
apportionment is now the main focus of my efforts. I have work to
do, a great deal of catch-up after missing most of nearly seven
weeks. There are calls to return, writing to catch up on,
projects that have stalled and must resume production. Speaking
is not something I can do for very long, so I must be mindful to keep
calls to a minimum. On a few Skype conferences I've been
fortunate in being able to listen to the conversation, but to
participate via Skype's chat utility. I am also appreciative that
my colleagues on these calls have been so cooperative, supportive and
understanding that it is difficult for me to speak, but that I do want
to interact.
After the conference calls I need to rest, as just about any effort is
so sapping of energy. But somehow there's been careful allocation
of energy for two trips to meetings.
Going places represents a challenge. Driving takes energy,
meetings sap energy. And then there's the drive back. To
attend a scheduled weekly meeting I arrange my days to get maximum rest
before and afterwards. Fresh air seems helpful, a boon to the healing
process. The walk to and from the car feels good. And
it is also good not to have chest pain when breathing, even the cold
winter air.
Of course, after those trips there was a lot of sleeping and
resting. More so than I would have imagined. But as the
doctor said, there's no fooling around with this persistent bug.
Don't expect it to just vanish. It lingers, and you must wait it
out.
So back on Recovery Road am I. There's juggling of energy and effort,
there's still a bunch of requisite resting. But there's also some
productivity and a sense of accomplishment. For 2006, these are
new and most welcome.