Blogging for a better life

I feel like the only thing consistent in my inner world is I never know how my brain or the rest of my body is going to function from day to day. Once I get the day started, it will pretty much give me a sign as to how my brain and body are expected to function for the day. However, there are always those defining moments that may say otherwise. There are days where I feel like my recovery is in decline mode. Then there are days that I wake up and feel like I’m going to live on top of the world, until reality strikes while brewing that morning cup of coffee. While sometimes it is challenging to even stand there to wait for that cup of coffee to brew, the pain and fatigue are so inevitably real. Frustration sinks in; but defeat is just not an option.

It’s difficult to believe that I’m now a 2-year and 6-month post-chemo cancer survivor. I’ve finally graduated to whereas my scans are now annually. That’s a win to celebrate! My brain has really been scattered, and my focus has completely been off track. Please forgive me if my thoughts and sentences jump around. My determination still exists to continue to write my way through recovery, no matter how raw, revealing, and vulnerable it is. I’ve always been a believer that we don’t go through this life without challenges and struggles, and that those challenges and struggles don’t visit us without the cost of growth, change, and sharing that gift with others. Sharing that gift not only builds and refines our characters; but it also lifts those around us up. Some may never share how it’s uplifted them, and some may not realize that it’s our stories that uplift them. And that’s okay. Our stories are still meant to share.

No matter how slow my recovery seems to be for me, I’m slowly learning how to integrate the tools and techniques into my life that my speech, occupational, and physical therapists have been working with me on. Over these years, it hasn’t been easy in accepting this new way of life after chemo. However, I’m not only learning how to deal with it, but I’m learning how to own it. Theres a lot of learning and owning going on.

This month, I’d like to share with my readers a huge accomplishment that I’m very proud of and am anxious to share with others that are battling pain and fatigue. One of the things my occupational therapist has been working with me on is finding the tools to use that make life easier and whereas I can better conserve my energy. This has finally led me to making apple compote for the first time ever in life and using it for homemade apple crisp. (Please email me for the recipe). The recipe is extremely healthy, rustic, and flavorful!

Cleaning and washing apples were probably the biggest challenge. Why? Because of the pain and swelling in the hands and the standing, it is making it challenging to cut and become fatigued extremely quickly as you take several breaks before completing the task. So, experiencing this adventure is on a good day. However, when the hands start not working properly, there’s been a few times when I almost clipped my fingernails. That’s one of the times I’d stop and take a lengthy break. After this process, it’s pretty much smooth sailing. You just throw the apples in the crockpot, season them up, and you can literally let them cook overnight and wake up to the amazing scent of Autumn!

If the following day is too much, after letting the apples cool you can always just throw them in the refrigerator until you have another good day to finish. The topping is super simple and healthy. If need be, you can always throw the ingredients into the bowl and take the bowl to your comfy chair and finish the mixture while semi-resting. Then, you let your oven do the work. (In my case, I finally made the investment into a full-size countertop air flyer that’s also a convection oven and so much more). This makes things a lot easier vs trying to crouch down in using the full-size oven.

Let me just say that while this is a super easy creative process, it’s nothing that I will be doing on a daily or weekly basis. My fatigue and pain level just isn’t there yet, as I oftentimes crash hard the following days after trying to live a life of somewhat normalcy. However, its is an accomplishment for my readers to try!