GUEST BLOGGER: DAVID HAAS

I would like to introduce to the readers of my blog a fellow blogger, named David Haas. David is a cancer support group and awareness advocate at the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance. David Haas wanted to share his opinions about the importance of staying physically active in the midst of illiness, specifically, Mesothelioma.

I feel David's writing lends support to a conclusion I have already drawn through my own personal journey of limb loss: remaining as physically active as possible has many benefits. I hope you enjoy his writing:

Ways to Stay Physically Active During Cancer Treatments
by David Haas

People who are suffering from cancer must strive to remain as healthy as possible during the course of treatment. Receiving a mesothelioma diagnosis or being diagnosed with other types of cancer can lead to a decrease in the desire to exercise. While remaining physically active during cancer treatments will not cure cancer, it can be beneficial in many ways.

Cancer treatments can vary in length and people who are undergoing  this will see great benefits from remaining physically active during their treatment. Exercise can lead to an improved sense of wellbeing, keep muscles from deteriorating during treatment, and improve circulation, minimizing the risk of blood clots. Many people find that unpleasant physical symptoms are minimized with regular exercise. Nausea, diarrhea, constipation, anxiety and depression are just a few of the symptoms that can be reduced with physical activity. Just how intense a cancer patient's workout should be depends on how advanced the cancer is, the health of the patient  and the type of treatment used to kill cancer cells. Before beginning an exercise program it is important to obtain instructions and precautions from the doctor providing cancer treatments.

Incorporating short bouts of exercise into a daily routine is one way cancer patients can increase their activity level. Walking around the block for 10 minutes three times each day will result in 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise. Since cancer treatments can be stressful, many people find yoga is an activity that keeps them in shape and reduces stress. Certain types of activities are not recommended for cancer patients. Avoid swimming in chlorinated pools, walking on uneven surfaces, and avoid using heavy weights that could cause injury. Cancer patients who are anemic or who experience unrelenting vomiting should not exercise without consulting their doctor.

When exercising during cancer treatments, always start out slowly and warm-up for two or three minutes before beginning. There may be days when fatigue is overwhelming. When these days occur, cancer patients should listen to their own body and take the day off to rest. Choosing activities that are fun makes it easier to be physically active. Working in the garden, dancing, and walking the dog are all activities that increase the heart rate and reduce cancer symptoms. Cancer patients and survivors may also wish to find a buddy to exercise with. Many people find it much easier to stick to an exercise program when someone else is depending on them each day.

**You may read further information written by David Haas and other affiliated writers by going to: www.mesothelioma.com/blog/authors/david/

 

Fear

Fear of  failure, fear of rejection, fear of getting old, fear of falling, fear of fear, fear of almost anything, where does all of this fear come from? Why are we as human beings afraid all the time?

Fear is one of the main obstacles that hold people back from reaching their goals. I know this from personal experience.

It seems like in some areas of my life I feel brave, and yet in other areas I am plagued with fears, sometimes illogical unsubstantial fear, why is that?

Of course some fears are good because it is a human reaction to an actual event that can bring us physical harm, and yet on the other hand, there are fears that seem to come from nowhere, and don't seem to serve any purpose other than to keep us from reaching our full potential.

One of the many fears I have had to face is fear of the unknown. What was my life going to be like once I had lost both of my legs? Well it certainly has not been an ideal scenario but it is manageable. It is still possible to laugh, to have fun and to poke fun at myself and my situation.

I have found that more often than not, when I am facing a situation or anticipating doing something I have to do, I sometimes have feelings of dread. How will I do this or do that?

Usually the anticipated situation turned out not to be a problem at all. The anticipation of doing something unknown or unfamiliar was worse in my mind than actually doing it or facing it.

I know I have written this on previous occasions, but it bears repeating, living in the now, not the past or projecting into the future, will help us as individuals to curtail, if not eliminate, fear of the unknown. How can we fear something that has not yet occurred?

If we strive to look for and meet each new experience with expectations of good, rather than dread, our chances are greater that the experience or challenge will turn out well. It is like a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Living our lives more consciously, staying in touch with our feelings and remaining as postive as possible about a good outcome certainly is not going to hurt us.

I am not saying that life doesn't have it's disappointments, but to conjure up a poor outcome certainly is not going to lend itself to having a good ending.

In reality fear, notwithstanding rational fears, is really a form of pessimism, a projection into the future that the outcome of whatever we are endeavoring to do will not work or will turn out badly.

Fear can enter our consciousness when we do not exercise faith. Faith in our ability to accomplish a task will help minimize our fear of trying something new or experiencing something that may in the final analysis, be benefical to us or for us.

I realize all of this rhetoric may sound all well and good, but how do we implement all of this faith and optimism into our lives?

We do it a little bit at a time. We bite the bullet, step out on faith, and purposely put ourselves in a challenging position, armed with courage and feelings of self confidence, we go for it.

Meeting all of the challenges that life can throw at us may seem daunting at times, but  if we break it down into smaller components it doesn't seem so overwheming or impossible.

For me personally, I ask God to protect me and give me the strength and courage to overcome one of the most useless aspects of our minds, fear.

Do not fear, faith that goes forward triumphs....

*To leave comment please click the comment box below, to reach me personally write to me at my  email address: glennartinc@yahoo.com

Discouragement

I have been feeling a little discouraged lately about my progress. I have written about this previously but this this is a little different, instead of being discouraged about my progress per se, I am more discouraged about my lack of endurance.

Even though I am able to walk short distances in these short legs, I am so fatigued when I am finished that it takes several minutes to recover.

For example, if I walk 25 feet (which is a long distance for me) it may take my residual limbs 10-15 minutes to recover. I have voiced my concern about this seemingly long recovery time  to my physical therapist, Chris. Chris explained about the amount of energy it takes to walk on prosthetic limbs, something I am well aware of, however, I was wondering if my recovery time is longer than most?

First of all, it has been estimated that an amputee, especially a bilateral above knee amputee, uses up to 200 times the amount of energy to walk on prosthetic legs as a "normal" person does to walk the same distance. Think about that for a minute, to put it in it's proper perspective, if I walk 25 feet on my prosthetic legs, I use the same amount of energy as a person wtih natural legs would use walking 5000 feet, which is close to a mile!

When I think about it in those terms it doesn't seem as trivial.

What I am really curious about is, do my vascular issues hamper my recovery time? In other words, those people who have lost their legs through a tramatic injury like a car accident or a war injury may not suffer the long recovery time when they walk on prosthetics, because they do not have, nor have they ever had circulatory problems.

This troubles me to some degree because these long recovery times mean that to accomplish a task, you have to rest longer after having walked to where the task is to be accomplished, than the task may actually take to begin with. Does that sound like it might be frustrating to you?

I think the best way to combat this long recovery issue is first keep everything in it's proper perspective. Although my accomplishments with respect to distance walked, may seem minimal to me, it is nonetheless an accomplishment given the fact I have no leg or knee components.

There are other people in my situation who are unable or unwilling to do many of the things I am still capable of doing, and for that capability I am grateful.

Another way to look  at this might be to remember that perseverance is the key to accomplishment. If you do not persevere, keep working at it, you will never be able to build up the endurance necessary to walk successfully for any distance.

We all deal daily from a lack of delaying our gratification, wanting everything, and wanting everything now. There are so many things in life that can be ascertained, but many of those things take a lot of time and a lot of work.

Rather than being discouraged by the fact that something is difficult or takes longer than we had hoped, we should redirect our focus on what we have already accomplished  and realize we will get to where we want to be, through being sharply defined toward our goal  and reamining positive.

One of the best ways to overcome discouragement is to persevere, keep working at what we want to accomplish and believe in our ability to do just that.

I am as guilty as the next person doling out advice that I, at times, would be well advised to listen to what I myself have said or written.

If you are going to talk the talk, you also have to "walk" the "walk."

*To leave a comment please enter it in the comment box below, to contact me personally write to my email address: glennartinc@yahoo.com

Fairness

Is fairness just an illusion?

We are raised to think in terms of fairness. If we take care of ourselves, work hard, save our money etc.. everything will turn out as we have planned, after all it is only fair.

Why has this terrible thing happened to me (I mean anyone)? I didn't deserve it, it's just not fair.

Well guess what? nothing or very little is actually fair. People who strive to live "good" lives still get cancer. People who have to struggle to "raise their children right" still have children who murder, rape and steal. To make matters worse, a child dies from a disease or is killed in a car accident for no apparent reason, how is that fair?

Fairness doesn't  actually exist. Fairness or thinking in terms of fairness is a societal and religious creation used to help people do the right thing.

We feel if we to this, that will happen. We feel or are raised to feel that doing, acting or believing a certain way is somehow a guarantee that things will turn out the way we feel they should.

When we play into the"why me" game, we are really actually feeling like we should be exempt from all of the possible misfortunes in life, because we did the right thing.

I recently had another conversation with my friend Steve about fairness, he and I have had these types of discussions on many occasions. We both agree that most people live their lives measuring the fairness or unfairness of the events that occur in their  lives.

The fairness or unfairness of the way one group of people is treated by another is one of the foundations on which our country was built. Equality for all is  an ideal to which we all aspire, however, it is seldom reached.

We have all been programed to think and act within the realm of what is deemed fair or unfair.

The fact of the matter is good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people, it is just the way it is. Where does all of this leave us?

Since fairness is often times an illusion, it may or may not exist in your reality, based on your life circumstances and your perception of your reality.  It is likely that if your particular life situation, based upon your judgment, things have gone well, you may think life has treated you fairly.

Conversely, if you feel you have tried to the best of your ability to what is right and just, and yet you have what  seems to be an abundance of misfortunes or tragedies, you make think life has treated you unfairly.

The longer I  live the more it seems this whole fairness thing is an elusive idea. I could look at my life situation and the loss of my legs as unfair. It is actually no more unfair that it should happen to me and not to another. No one deserves to lose their legs, their arms, their sanity or anything for thatmatter.

It is the luck of the draw as to which if any, misfortunes may affect you personally in your life. We may contribute to some illnesses or injuries because of the choices we make in our lives, however, there are others who make similar choices, whose lives are not adversely affected.

It is the luck of the draw as to which if any, unfortunate happenstance should affect you personally in your life.  We my contribute to illness or injury through the life choices we make, however, there are others who make the very same contributory actions, whose lives are not adversely affected the same way.

Suffice it to say since life seems to be made up of judgments about what is fair or unfair, our best hope is to move forward with our lives as they unfold.

It is best not to get caught up in a web of fairness or unfairness. Life is what life is.

I try to move my life forward to the best of my ability, not paying particular attention to the fairness or unfairness of it all, because I feel it serves no purpose and at best is a frivolous pursuit.

Brooding about the fairness or unfairness of the events that have occurred in our lives will hinder us from seeking and finding the happiness we all deserve.

The only guarantee we have in life, is that there is no guarantee.

Do think that is a fair statement?

*To leave a comment, click the comment box below. to write to me personally contact me through my email: glennartinc@yahoo.com

Strength

What does it mean to be strong? There are at least three areas of strength, spiritual strength, physical strength, and psychological strength.

 In my particular situation, being a bilateral amputee, I have found spiritual strength to be of the utmost importance. My belief in a higher being and in a higher purpose has helped me remain strong in my outlook toward my life and in my life situation.

 I refuse to believe that the loss of my legs was some arbitrary act of nature. I think there is a purpose for my loss. Perhaps this is a test of sorts, to see how and what I would do to deal with my legs losses.

 It has always been my suspicion that this leg loss will in some way serve a higher purpose. The introspection I have done has shown me to be a stronger spiritual person than I might othewise have become.

 I believe and have always believed in God. My belief is that God is not an angry God to be feared, but a God of love. Because I believe God is a loving entity, I cannot imagine I have lost my legs because of something bad I have done in my past. I don't believe this is some sort of "payback."

 I have chosen to believe that my loss will somehow benefit other people. It is my hope that the words I impart and the actions I demostrate will in some way make lives better, that we will live lives that are more aware and thankful, not taking for granted all of the blessings that have been bestowed upon us.

 Another area of strength I would like to touch upon is physical strength. When you have lost both of your legs as I have, your physical strength is an immeasurable asset. Exercise, particularly weight lifting, helps give you the physical stamina you need to live your life independently.

 I am so thankful I have remained physically active through my daily exercise regimen. My physical exercise has not only helped me to manitain my muscle tone but also helped my mental state of well being. By routinely working out I have a systematic way of preserving my body and also my mind. Physical exercise helps me retain not only much needed strength to live my life as an amputee, but it also makes me feel good about myself.

 When you have had a physically altering event occur in your life and to your body, your often can develop feelings of inferiority, that you don't, nor will you ever look good, or even that you are ugly.

 These feelings can be offset by physical exercise. Yes, I have lost my legs but I am going to take care of what I have left to the best of my ability.

 The third area of strength I would like to discuss is psychological strength. Psychological or mental strength is not only your intellectual capacity but also your mental outlook on your life. Realizing we are the only ones who can control how and what we think means we can choose the mental state that will be the most benefical to our happiness.

 Because we are only human beings, we cannot be happy one hundred percent of the time. Discouragement, frustration, and disillusionment are going to happen from time to time. Our strength comes from knowing that these are normal human occurances and more importantly, temporary feelings.

 Before the loss of my legs, I would never have thought I would be as strong as I am (or so I've been told). Where did and soes this strength come from?

 I believe strength comes from within ourselves. I think we are all born with an innate strength. It is almost like Darwin's theory of "Survival of the Fittest" if we are going to be happy and survive all the slings and arrows that life can present, we must reach within ourselves and pull forth strength.

 I am not a well known spiritual leader, a championship weight lifter or Einstein, I am simply a man who has lost both of his legs. I am someone who refuses to let my leg loss dictate my happiness.

 By paying attention to and working at increasing my spiritual, physical and psychological strengths, I am being responsible for my own hapiness.

 I thank God for the strengths I have been made aware of and I pledge to continue down my path ever increasing my strengths spiritually, physically and psychologically, something we are all capable of doing.

 Overcoming loss, in whatever form, takes tenacity, determination, and perseverance, qualities we all possess. The question then becomes, are we going to utilize our God given strengths? Only you can answer that question for yourself.

 *To leave a comment please click on the comment box below, to contact me personally via email please write to: glennartinc@yahoo.com

Frustration

I miss being able to change a light bulb. One of the many complications or unfortunate circumstances that has resulted from the loss of my legs is my physical inability to carry out simple tasks.

Even more frustrating than not being able to perform simple tasks, is to have taken the time to learn how to perform more complicated, involved or skilled tasks and be unable to implement what you worked so hard to learn.

When you are unable to execute learned tasks that you were quite competent at performing before your disability, frustration often results. This inpediment is not only the inabilty to perform the task itself but also the distress of having to explain to someone else how to do something for you that previously you could have done for yourself.

I have always been a "do it myself" type of person, not relying on others; either persons being paid or persons doing me a favor. I have always derived satisfaction from learning how to do something and then doing it.

It has been tough for me to have to rely on others for help in doing things that before my leg loss, I would not have thought twice about doing myself.

I have learned that through this whole process of telling others how I would like something done, that basically I am a poor teacher. A teacher who is easily frazzled by someone else's inability to understand what I am saying.

In a nutshell I am impatient. I think this impatience stems from the frustration of not being able to do things myself coupled with the feeling that if I were able to do it myself, it would be done more to my satisfaction.

Learning how to not sweat the small stuff has been an ongoing and difficult hurdle for me. People like things done the way they like things done.

Sometimes when I can't seem to make the other person understand what I want them to do, I just want to do it myself, but often times I am physically incapable.

Where does all of this lead? Frequently it leads to stress and unhapiness. Over the past three or four years I have had to learn to be happy with what is and not with what could or should have been.

Even though I feel the pangs of frustration from time to time I have begun to relax a little and realize that in the scheme of things, the less agitated I feel the happier I will be.

On those days when I can't get something done the exact way I would have done it myself, I have found that humor helps, laughing at the situation. Perhaps even postponing whatever I feel it is that needs to be done to another day or it may not even need to be accomplished at all.

This may sound like I am settling for less than I want or feel I deserve but then again is the agitation worth it?

Focussing on what I can still do for myself and being thankful for my ability to articulate to others what I want them to do, makes me a more mellow person, less frustrated and hence, happier.

Maybe we all now and again allow ourselves to get caught up in the trivialities of our lives and jeopardize our own happiness in the process.

No I can't change a light bulb myself but I am fortunate to have an assistant to do it for me. Remembering the good in your life and not allowing what you can no longer do outweigh what you are still able to accomplish, will make you a happier person.

After all isn't happiness what we all want out of our lives?

*To leave a comment hit use the comment section that follows, you may contact personally by writing to: glennartinc@yahoo.com

Being Appreciative

When you find your life in a position that I find my life in, having lost both of my legs, it is not surprising that you will have received a lot of help from a myriad of people and organizations.

One of the obstacles that must be overcome, that is often overlooked, is to receive the help offered with appreciation, gratefulness, and graciousness. Learning how to accept other people and organization's generosity without feeling like you are unable to repay the kindness shown to you, is sometimes a difficult predicament to deal with.

It seems as though you are walking (figuratively) a fine line between acceptance and feelings of inadequacy. Most of the time people offer help simply because they want to help you to help yourself and even the slightest sign to them from you of your sincere appreciation, is all that is needed. At other times it becomes more involved.

We have all heard the expression, "It is better to give than to receive." When you are in a position where it seems much more is given to you than what you are able to reciprocate, a mental dichotomy can occur. This inability to give back as much as you would like, can create a problem, sometimes guilt, sometimes feelings of worthlessness, and even questioning whether or not you have demonstrated the right amount of appreciation, in whatever form.

I have experienced a number of people who feel uncomfortable with too much "gushing" about grateful you are for their help. Those types of people are satisfied with a simple thank you and a smile because they can sense your understood gratitude without too much verbal acknowledgement.

However, you may encounter others who need constant reassurance that you are not taking their help for granted, or that in some way you feel entitled to their help. In such a situation you may not, no matter how hard you try, convince them of how aware you are of their concern for your well being and all that they have done for you.

When one of my friendships went south because of a small amount of money owed them by me and they felt took too long to repay, I began to question whether or not I had shown enough appreciation and demonstrated a sincere attempt to repay the loan, given the circumstances at that time. Perhaps my inability, or as they saw it unwillingness, to pay them the money owed them within their particular self proclaimed time frame, was viewed by them as unappreciated.

Anyone who knows me well, would already know that I always try to demonstrate my thankfulness not only through my verbal actions but also by doing small things I am still able to do, like making them a card or painting them a painting or even just giving them a call, to let them know I am thinking of them.

I sometimes feel exasperated by my lack of funds, which has put me in a position of owing a lot of people a lot of money. Going through an illness or a series of illnesses is not without it's financial repercussions.

I guess what I am trying to say is that if you are one of those persons who feels that the whole give and take scenario is one sided, you do all the giving and receive nothing in return, you may want to ask yourself if what they have attempted to give back is the best they are capable of under their circumstances.

Some people give to others because they want to help, others give to make themselves feel better about themselves. Are you giving freely of yourself, your time, your money, your support because you are expecting something in return?

I can only speak for myself, based on the position I find myself in, that there are not enough words in the English language to express to anyone who has done anything for me how much I acknowledge and appreciate your kind words of support, the money you have given or loaned and hours spent on my behalf.

I am only able to do what I am able to do, beyond that I have to believe that you already know how much you are loved and cherished by me and how your participation in my life has only added joy and love to my existence.

Please leave any feedback by clicking the comments below to reach me personally write me my email address: glennartinc@yahoo.com