Retirement Even Improves Being Sick!

When I was in my twenties I caught a cold, and, being under the impression that I was superwoman, tried to work through it. I felt guilty about staying home from work, so I didn’t. The cold kept getting worse. I finally dragged myself to the doctor, who told me that my cold had turned into bronchitis. If I didn’t go home and go to bed, he’d be admitting me to the hospital for pneumonia in the next few days. I obediently went home and climbed into bed, which is where I should have been all along. After a day or two in bed, I felt much better. The incident changed my view about my health, and from then on, I made sure to rest when I was sick. I always felt guilty about it, though.

I don’t feel guilty anymore. There isn’t anywhere I need to be, and my health is increasingly important. I am at home with a cold today. I was the last person in my house to catch it- I thought I was going to escape it, but I didn’t. I’m still wearing my jammies, I have consumed countless cups of tea and I’m on my second book. I’m about to take a nap, too. Unlike that cold in my twenties, after two days of laying on the couch, I can already feel my energy coming back.

Earlier this year I went to the doctor for a small lump on my jaw which turned out to be a non-cancerous tumor. The non-cancerous part was great. The bad news was that it was going to keep growing and it was eventually going to become a problem. It had to come out. The sooner it was removed the less complicated the surgery would be. It turned out to be a good thing I decided not to wait- the location of the tumor made the surgery was more difficult than expected, even though the tumor was small. It involved a biopsy, blood work, a pre-op visit, and post- op visit, plus an overnight hospital stay and wound care. The tumor was closer to my jaw than expected and I had trouble eating for a few weeks. It was decidedly unpleasant, but I didn’t have to deal with work, figuring out when I was well enough to be back, scheduling my work appointments around all of the doctor’s appointments, etc. I was able to just focus on getting better, and when I didn’t feel like leaving the house, I just didn’t. No guilt at all!

The surgery took longer than expected, but the scar turned out to be in a much better place (for me, not the doctor- it sounds like it was a pain for him), and is nearly invisible at this point. I have a bit of numbness near the incision, which the doctor told me to expect, but overall, it was an excellent result. I actually followed the doctor’s orders too. That seems to work better for me than the previous plan.

My favorite retirement activities for the week have been my exploration of a local park. Its a pitcher plant preserve, and I went hiking one Saturday with a friend who still works. We bumped into a photographer who described two trails on the property. He sort of told us how to find them, but clearly not very well. I went back on a weekday without my friend determined to find them. I got hopelessly lost, but got a pretty good workout- I’m guessing that I hiked at least 6 miles. I downloaded a gps based hiking app and my dad and I found one of them on my next trip over. I’ll find the other as soon as this cold goes away….