It dawned on me today that managing my fatigue is like politicians managing the pandemic. They’ve created a roller coaster of lockdown, reopen, restrict, reopen; my fatigue has boxed me into a roller coaster of day-long couch time, add some cognitive activity, rest, add walking, restrict, add walking to cognitive, take a week off. You get the idea.
It’s easy to think about how to get off the pandemic roller coaster. On top of the vaccines, clean the air. Studies show and engineers already know that HEPA of a certain filtration level and UVC, which kills germs given the right amount of exposure time, kill viruses and other pathogens. So if politicians would get their heads out of their ideological asses and fixation of “back to normal,” they would launch a quick, major offensive of grants and forgivable loans to ensure every building, large or small, commercial or home, had these filtration methods. Less or no virus equals nothing to transmit equals less or no COVID-19.
Get Outside!
Yes, there’s the problem of the filters and UVC killing the good bugs that help our immune systems mature, but there’s a solution for that, too — get outside! Expose yourself and your kids to the smorgasboard of bugs to challenge our immune systems. Expand the CafeTO and ActiveTO programs to round-the-calendar and across the country. Create a culture of being outside. We’re Canadian, for heaven’s sake! We live the myth of loving the outdoors, no matter how cold. Why do we whine instead about how cold it is (or how hot and humid, ahem)? Get some fun outdoor clothing that keeps us warm and dry. That means waterproof coats (not jackets — legs get wet). Warm, waterproof boots with good ice grip. We have great Canadian designers. Why are they churning out boring black things, maybe grey for variety, that are either one or the other? That includes Sorels! Time for a change. A real one.
As for me, trying to stop the roller coaster of fatigue, of competing requirements by my body and brain (I have to walk for my bones, but walking drains my cognitive batteries; I have to write and read for my sanity; but that drains my walking ability, which is still not fully automatic because of the blast injury and eye surgery; and don’t get me started on fatigue nixing working on my photos or creating videos).
