Four weeks Back and Getting Better

It’s four weeks today since a staggered into the house. All things considered, without a caring, committed partner, the story would most likely be different. Talk about woods and trees.

Despite the Boris-Johnson-equivalent-attack, I’m improving. Although that may be true, the journey still has bumps along the way.

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” ~Confucius

Breathing

When you’ve had the full, high-fevered, wheezing, all percussive-coughing version, it’s hardly surprising you feel weak. Above all, a key learning point is that ragged-breathing and sporadic-hacking are better than no breath at all. Furthermore, within four weeks, things will improve.

For quite a few years now I have done breathing exercises every day:

1. Twenty minutes of breathing on a five-seconds-in and seven-seconds-out pattern.
2. Twenty mindfulness or meditation exercise every day too.

Not surprisingly, I believe this practice supported my recovery. After four weeks at home, I am only now reaching a point where I believe I can resume full-breath work. It’s important to realise that forcing things makes you erupt in arrhythmical, painful, hard-hitting coughs.

In this case, explore your healing boundaries with care. In other words, as I inhaled gently, I found the pinch-point where ticking started. If you press on there’s a bout of painful coughing ahead. If you back off a gentle exhale will help you get back on track.

As you move ahead, the breaths get deeper (no rush) and the comfort greater. Now, at four weeks in, I aim to work back into my breathing plan once more.

Rash

I started to itch over my second weekend. In fact, it wasn’t too annoying at first. Then Monday arrived and with it a rosy, measles-like rash over my trunk and delicate parts of my arms and legs. I called our GP and they had me in straight away.

Armed with ant-histamine pills and skin cream, I spent the next 48 hours in diminishing discomfort. We had thought it might be an allergic reaction. Now, I’m not so sure. However, It may simply be a symptom of CoVid19. It is reported that it can follow “the respiratory manifestation of the disease”.

The rash is gone yet occasional itching remains. In my case, I apply a suitable cream.

Dreams and disorientation

My first night home I went walk-about for a while. It was my home but bigger, with more floors and mountainous Scottish-West-Coast out the moonlit windows.

Dreams were block-busting weird events. I’m happy to report an angel arrived on my second night and helped to settle it all down. By evening three, the strange, hallucinative stuff diminished.

I have to report that both before, in hospital and for the few days after my return, sleeping provided adventure and bewilderment in equal measure.

Exercise

As in the hospital, I resolved to keep working on my wellbeing. Naturally enough, Meg, my ever-patient wife keeps me on the right track, stopping me doing too much and insisting on a healthy diet. Imagine, no alcohol for the first three weeks.

When in the Red Zone the steps recorded by my watch were in the low hundreds. Today, I managed over 3 miles in total, plus the equivalent of 21 floors climbed (I took a slightly hillier route today).

Beyond this I do stretching exercises everyday and coherent breathing.

Sometimes taking a break from exercise  is a good idea too. In a word, if you are tired, respect it. My goal is to be fit for 18 holes of golf. It’ll take a wee while yet.

“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”  Martin Luther King Jr.

© Mac Logan