Re: Hi! I'm New. . .

JHarper33(AT)aol.com
Sun, 31 May 1998 15:34:24 EDT

In a message dated 98-05-31 00:46:26 EDT, rogerp(AT)cyberspace.org writes:

> You need to be thankful
> > for any progress, however small and enjoy life to the fullest.
> >
> > **Thanks Roger. I try. It just seems to be a bit of a 'catch 22.'
> > Living life to the fullest, at least in the physical sense, seems to
> > put progress back some.

I think "living life to the fullest" is meant to fit within whatever
limitations you have. It is a hard balance sometimes to try to find the line
between challenging yourself and over-doing it.

> >And I ask the next question, not in a
> > depressed state, but rather to get a realistic assessment. . .after 4
> > years, do you feel that you will ever be completely well?

For me it has been 2 years and 9 months (as of tomorrow), and while I hope
someday to be completely well, I just don't know. I've progressed a lot from
the first few weeks, and I'm thankful for that, but I sure would like to be
closer to "normal." Most of the time I function on a pretty level state of a
"new normal," what's normal for me and what I feeI can handle. It is the
occasional flare-up of symptoms that most gets me down now, and the fear of
getting worse. Yet I try to put that fear away and not borrow worries that may
never materialize.

Barbara H.