Taking the Air

‘Taking the Air’ was considered to be a cure for many illnesses. Life with a chronic illness means that we have to take every moment that is good, and cherish it. As I sat outside today, I was enjoying one of these.

Air. Do you remember those pictures of rows of men and women sitting on sunchairs wrapped in white dressing gowns? They usually were on a beach, and the caption informed us that they were ‘taking the air’. As part of some medical practice that would somehow cure them of their mysterious ailment.

This morning I felt like I belonged in one of these seaside postcards. On the back, I would have scrawled, in a barely legible script, that I was feeling the blood rushing back into my cheeks. Taking it as a sign that I would soon be healthy. Returning to the city, once again sitting at my desk, ready to face the onslaught of the commercial world.

In truth, I woke up with a headache of a level seven out of ten. The previous two days I had been doing some work, and I had spent a significant amount of time in the car. Over two days this amounted to eight hours, plus the concentration needed to complete the tasks I was being paid to do. This inevitable cost of work is my reality, and it is one that I have had to accept with grace. Knowing that it is coming, pain, fatigue and malaise that I fight against, acts as an obstacle to work. It is tough. The pain is real…