Shared Interests

My week has been calm, aches and pains yes, but things have been stable.  In fact I have quite enjoyed it.  I managed to get to the gym three times this week.  I can now do the leg press of a hundred kilos which I am very pleased about.  Much more importantly however, was the arrival of Penny Wright my cousin from Boonah, Queensland, Australia.  We are great friends and I have stayed at her house many times.  It is a beautiful place in a wonderful rural setting.  It was at a barbecue hosted by Penny when it was suggested by her physiotherapist friends that I should go and see a neurologist, in many ways, the beginning of my MSA story.  At that time she was recovering from breast cancer and the death of her husband, John.  I don’t know how she coped but it was an inspiration to me, here is a small part of her story.

It is lovely to be visiting Simon and Liz and seeing how life is treating them. I was thrilled when Simon told me he had embarked on a blog. I have read it from a personal and professional point of view (I was a physiotherapist) and have recommended the site to many. In fact, perhaps it should be recommended as reading for anyone entering the field of neurology, as it gives such an insight into life with such a disease as MSA.

Simon asked me to focus on how I coped, so perhaps you need a little background first, so you understand where the ‘coped with what?’ is answered. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002 and two months later my husband John was diagnosed with an asbestos disease that we knew would take his life. Luckily, in the maelstrom of my first few weeks of treatment my guiding voice had told me to ‘start writing’. So I did and have not stopped my journaling since.

With journaling you do not need ability with language. All it takes is to put pencil to paper. And just write. Write about what is going on, what your thoughts are and whatever pops up. Looking back –usually a long time later – I am amazed at how many problems and issues are resolved, or the tack to be taken decided, in my journal. And poems have popped up like flowers, which have had their own benefits.

Then last year I was diagnosed with breast cancer on the other side – I’m hoping that with two breasts I have had the lot! – and the lessons learnt with Breast Cancer 1 were quickly refreshed.

Ripples are amazing. Watch them when you toss a pebble in a pool. They reach out and disperse into a wide area. This is not just true with water but I firmly believe, also with us. Our attitude doesn’t just determine our well-being but also that of people around us. On my office wall a quotation that says there is always a choice of attitude. So even in the worst of chemo – and it’s tough – I tried to remind myself ‘it too shall pass’!

Friends and family have been an integral part of my coping – emails, cards, letters, calls, anything that communicates loving. My children are scattered round the world, as is my wider family yet I have felt a strong buoyancy through their messages and support. I am really thankful that ‘communication’ has been one of my steering words over the years.

Best wishes to anyone reading this. Thank you Simon for giving me the honour of writing in your blog. I am sure it provides a ripple of sharing that you cannot imagine how far it spreads.

Thanks Penny. I hope this helps those of you who are facing similar challenges to Penny and me. Perhaps after reading this you can send a comment explaining how you do it.  I think family and friends will be top of the list! Why Is that?  I suspect it is to do with the intangibles such as one’s faith, love, care, a sense of belonging, values so often taken for granted.