March 1, 2007

• Curing Crankiness

  I like to do things.  I almost never just sit around doing nothing.  The closest I come to such idleness is meditation, and that’s something else entirely.  When I’m not up and about doing things, I am reading, writing, gaming or thinking, at least.

  In recent weeks, the routine of trips to the vet with cats has required that I conserve energy between trips so that I could keep those appointments.  In general, I avoid setting appointments and making time-constrained commitments as much as possible.  That’s because with ME/CFS, I don’t know from day to day how relatively able or incapacitated I’ll be, but I can usually expect to be down for a few days after each busy day.  Spontaneity, and readiness to act when the time feels right, is the way I get things done.

  The effects of these weeks of demanding commitments and self-imposed idleness between periods of grueling activity have included physical manifestations such as the sensorimotor deficits responsible for a number of burns, bruises and cuts, and mental manifestations such as nightmares and cranky/crabby moods.

  Having learned from experience how distressing and/or aggravating I can be to other people when they come into contact with me in such a mood, I have made myself rather scarce online.  Either that, or I’ve just been isolating, hibernating and vegetating — you choose.  Only rarely does any neighbor venture into my hermit’s lair, so that’s no problem.

  I could have forced myself out of the warmth of my bed and onto you here, but most days it was more comfortable over there anyway.  The big challenge around here since mid-February has been keeping the woodstove hot enough to keep the tropical houseplants alive.  That sometimes means having to maintain a differential of up to seventy degrees between indoors and out.  It’s doable with vigilance, but easiest when Doug and I are not trying to sleep at the same time.  Add sleep deprivation to the list of factors contributing to my symptoms.

  I get help to lighten my mood from Doug, who is a natural comic, and from Koji and the cats, who are irresistable four-legged furry things.  Greyfox does a lot for me too, with regular nightly conversations and frequent calls during the day with affectionate or inspirational messages.   Recently, we talked about Aaron Fotheringham, the 15-year-old extreme wheelchair athlete born with spina bifida.

  Knowing that I’ve had a number of concussions, and also knowing how I feel about accepting challenges, Greyfox thought I’d appreciate this quotation from Aaron:

  “Concussions are temporary, but backing down is
  permanent.”

  Yeah, I can relate.

  Some of Aaron’s skateboarding friends enticed him into a skateboard park in his wheelchair.  He learned to do a lot of things, like grinds and flips.  This page has lots of info, pictures and links about Aaron.  To see a video of Aaron’s historic first wheelchair backflip, go here.

  

  • 3:44 pm
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