Re: Living w/ Pancreatitis / Attending Affairs / Kimber

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 12/30/2002 9:30:37 PM US Eastern Standard Time,

hominid2@... writes:

> Sorry I haven't been very active ... I've had multiple family affairs to

> attend ... And the times I was at home ... all I did was crawl into bed ...

> This is usually the time of year I end up in the hospital ... trying my

> best to avoid that ... I've got one more party to attend... I'm going to

> try and catch up ... please bear with me if my reply seems to be to an

> outdated email. Kimber <<<

Kimber,

I didn't notice your departure, but then I became aware of the lack of your

presence and participation. It is extremely tiring visiting with people and

being " up " and " cheerful. "

I made a promise to myself that I would do whatever I could to not be a

negative effect on the children's holiday season. I realize that when Mamma

not happy ... nobody happy. Now that I don't see my son very often, good

quality time was important so we could create some lasting holiday memories.

We made some that will last a lifetime.

It did feel somewhat like playing baseball. I had to hit a home run, then

dart for the dug out to recoup in time to do it again. This is my 3rd Winter

Solstice & holiday season living with Pancreatitis. I dare not say, " I think

I am starting to get a handle on this " because, sure as I would, I be thrown

a curve ball. However, I have become teachable. (Tull says, " Thank God " ).

Two things have helped me have a successful experience. One is understanding

the principal of pain management. I have known that the reason it is called

that is that we need to manage our pain and not let our pain manage us. That

means not chasing the pain, but staying on top of it. It is like living in

the moment, not before, not after, but right now do what we need to do to

stay comfortable.

The other principal that has been more difficult for me is understanding the

need for and how to 'live' with this disease. I have focused on adapting

permanent lifestyle changes. But I didn't accept the fact that I will be

having Pancreatitis for the rest of my life. Therefore, I found everything I

tried to do that was good for me still was like riding a bike on a gravel

road. Anger, resentment, fear left me fighting the disease instead of living

with it. I finally had to have a moment of clarity, and name, claim, and

embrace the disease, incorporating the disease into my life. That has been

hard because I want what I want when I want it. :-) But because I have

Pancreatitis, I can't keep up with the masses, but have to pick and choose,

and one of the choices has to be to take care of myself, eat, exercise,

sleep, etc. Those things never slowed me down before. Coming to terms with

this, has benefited me two fold.

I guess a third would be adopting an attitude of gratitude. For me, that

means taking the information I learned in the paragraph above and

appreciating the fact that I have the opportunity to take a look at my

lifestyle and take the necessary steps towards making healthy choices. I

really believe that the lifestyle changes I have had to make would benefit

anyone. I am surprised that every health care provider tells people its okay

to continue to smoke and drink, work 12 hours shifts, etc. Taking steps to

eliminate stress in our lives should be every doctor's order. Most caregivers

tell me that they adopted the lifestyle changes to help and ended up really

liking them and feeling better for it.

Karyn

Karyn E. , RN

Founder / Executive Director

Pancreatitis Association International

Corp. Office: Indps, IN, USA 1-

[Guest guest]

Again, What wonderful wisdom from Karyn, Our Hoosier Hostess

Best wishes, Poncho - GA