69 Plan a fun activity for yourself; how I survived my son's at home recovery from brain surgery.
What is your favorite thing to do? Where do you like to do it?
Who enjoys this activity with you?
Plan a fun activity for yourself. What do you want to do?
It does not have to be something huge or expensive, just anything you think sounds like fun. Start planning now to do this thing – in the best way possible, plan out every little detail – and then schedule it into your calendar and enjoy the happy anticipation as the date draws closer and you know your fun activity is coming up. Bring other people on board if they can do this activity with you. Having a friend to join in the anticipation only makes it more fun to await a fun activity.
It is great to be able to just go do something spur of the moment, but also there can be great joy found in the planning and anticipation of something fun. After Ben’s brain surgery and before he could start chemo there was about two weeks for his body to heal. Once we got the doctors OK to be in public, we planned a huge party for him. We did not know how badly he would react to the upcoming chemo and so we wanted to do a big party while he was well enough to enjoy it. We invited everyone he knew. Everyone from his entire school, everyone from church, everyone we could think of. He chose his favorite foods (nachos) and we put together a huge nacho bar at a local park and invited everyone to come celebrate his successful surgery. During some rough days the planning for this party was a fun distraction. The party was awesome, but to be entirely honest I think the planning brought more happiness through anticipation than the actual party did.
2-03-2018 Thank you so much everyone who came to Ben's party to celebrate him and surround him with love starting this new chapter of his life! It was wonderful to see him surrounded by friends and having fun. He has a hard road ahead and I am so grateful to everyone who helped make today special and help Ben feel so loved! Also, a huge thank you to my parents for watching my kids so much this last month. I think you have seen them more than me and I could never thank you enough for keeping them safe so I could focus on Ben!
This is just one of a hundred tools that helped me including:
A: BEFORE DIAGNOSIS
B: Diagnosis and PRE-SURGERY HOSPITAL STAY
C: SURGERY D: RECOVERY in patient
E: At home recovery
56 “best day ever”? Feelings of gratitude can be so uplifting.
57 It is so easy to take family for granted.
58 A nice hot bubble bath can be soothing.
59 IT IS OK TO NOT BE OK.
60 Imagine your very favorite place in the world.
61 Helping kids come to terms with a difficult diagnosis.
62 Checklist to get yourself back on track with self-care.
63 Go for a short walk
64 Yoga can be relaxing and soothing.
65 Making your first thought a positive one.
66 Congratulate yourself for doing difficult things.
67 Pop bubble wrap.
68 DANCE to peppy positive song.
69 Plan a fun activity for yourself
F. CHEMO G. FAILING CHEMO H. WATCH AND WAIT
I. NEEDING NEW TREATMENT
J. END OF NEW TREATMENT / watch and wait
** Living life one day at a time.
Topics I have thought and talked a lot about over the last few years include:
#momguilt #PediatricBrainTumor #Neurofibramatosis
#Glioma #Astrocytoma #PilocyticAstrocytoma
#BrainTumor #OpticNerveGlioma #PediatricBrainSurgery
#NF1 #ParentingChronicIllness
#watchandwait #copingskills
#Carboplatin #Vincrystine
#nevergiveup #thereishope