When I was sick, I tried to get plenty of rest.
And I tried to not just watch TV and movies all the time.
At the time I was returning from Duke hospital for my brain surgery (March 2003)
the war with Iraq was starting, so I wanted to watch a lot of news.
But I found it stressful, so I deliberately didn't watch too much.
There's nothing like sleep without any distractions.
It can really do you a lot of good.
As soon as I was able I went outside for exercise, fresh air and sunshine.
At first I was not able to do much. It was winter (March 2003).
But still I got on all my warm clothes and weakly shuffled around the backyard with my short slow steps.
It felt ridiculous and I'm sure it looked ridiculous, but it was a place to start.
Eventually I could walk more and further. As spring came and the weather improved, my attitude improved and my body was getting stronger. It was a very gradual process. I never really pushed myself, except just a little to overcome the inertia of getting out of the bed or chair
and getting dresssed and going out.
At that time, I wasn't sure where my health was headed, so it became important to me to do what I could physically. Not heroics, just do what I could do. If I could walk 100 feet then I walked 100 feet. I had the mindset that I didn't want to surrender any of my physical capabilites, no matter how minor they were.
By the grace of God, within 4 months or so, I was actually to do some light short-distance jogging. I could get outside and pull weeds. These activities definitely benefitted me.
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