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Living with PN, do you find yourself retreating from life?
Neuropathy | Last Active: Mar 5 10:44am | Replies (144)Comment receiving replies
@ray666 Hi, Ray - Yeah, I don't think anyone outside of experiencing PN can appreciate the exhaustion that the constant deliberation and concentration (great words, there!) can exact on a person. All part of the bargain, but it does tend to isolate a person, at least emotionally. At the same time, I don't believe anyone should feel any shame in this. It is how our bodies respond to living to an age for which we were not necessarily prepared. Here where I live, short courses are offered in ways to prepare for, say, selecting an assisted living facility, or for deciding on long-term care insurance, or for preparing a trust, or for planning a funeral, or for leaving a will, documenting a healthcare power of attorney, or for choosing an executor ~ but not for the 24/7/365 hour-by-hour attentiveness needed to keep oneself standing or seated by plan. There is a lot of great advice on Connect about researching what works for some, for staying educated about PN, and for sharing our interconnectedness in our challenges. I'm thankful for the comments and testimonies. Prayers that we all stay safe and well! Barb
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Good morning, Barb (@bjk3) I happened to mention to a friend (a long-distance phone call) my need, if I want NOT to fall, to "talk" deliberately and with conscious concentration to my various body parts as some sort of strange new "phenomenon" now that I'm 80 and have PN. The friend I was talking to now lives halfway across the U.S. from me. Years ago, he and I were long-distance running mates. He replied, "But, Ray, don't you remember? When we were in the middle of some long-distance run, we used to 'talk' to our body parts then, too." On the phone yesterday, we concluded that "talking" to one's body parts (i.e., listening to what your body is telling you) is something we do when it matters. When it's important. As not falling, at 80, is important to me now. // Cheers, Barb! ––Ray (@ray666)