Stuff I pondered on today's run:
• 3 years ago I was mid-chemo
• 2 years ago I was recovering from ileostomy reversal
• 1 year ago I was preparing to lose a lung lobe
• 1 month ago I was training for my first full race season back from 3 years of Hell, on a brand new bike to celebrate tenuous survival
Now I'm preparing for year 4 of putting my life on hold and isolation. Chemo forced me to isolate. Ileostomy reversal forced me to isolate due to (fortunately temporary) severe low anterior resection syndrome (google that. It involved me wearing a diaper at 45). A year ago I struggled to attend my son's HS graduation, since I could barely breathe.
Folks, if you are healthy, still employed, and still have insurance...isolation for a couple of months and to a lesser degree until a vaccination is out in <1 year is really doable. You're reading this on social media. You have streaming entertainment and video-chat. Go spend some time on Cancer Twitter to comprehend what social distancing is like for those of us who have been practicing it for years. Those of us who have been enduring this long-term did so without the rest of the world having any firsthand empathy. We've watched our peers out enjoying the life we weren't able to. I've spent so many days of the past 3 years in tears as I looked at photos and/or read reports of favorite races that I was missing...year after year. This year I registered for races that will be cancelled and I'll be out money, but at least I'm not alone in my misery.
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