During these exposures I sometimes feel tired or spaced out but am still functional.
*note* I get hormonal migraines and so there's about one week in the month when I try not to do 3 days in a row like this or it's more likely I will get a migraine.
Friday
- spent 4 hours waiting in a free tax clinic at the local community centre
- walked to and from the centre (I'm slowly building up my exercise tolerance)
- went for walk in some woods in town
- went for non-organic dinner at Mexican restaurant
- went shopping at large chain grocery store for about an hour and a half
Sunday
- took city bus... BUS! (actually 2 buses) to small book sale at a cafe. Coffee fumes used to knock me flat in minutes. This is a photo I actually took on the bus (on a different day). You can see I'm sitting near people.
- browsed books, used bathroom twice (reed fragrance oil diffuser)
- ordered delicious creamed vegetable and curry soup, sat for an hour drawing
- went next door to a used book store, browsed for 30 minutes
- got ride to Giant Tiger (kind of like a cross between a teensy Walmart and a dollar store - very stinky) shopped for about 45 minutes
All of this was with no mask except for a few minutes at the bus stop when I held it to my face while someone smoked a cigarette.
The really neat thing about this is that it was 3 days in a row - I used to have very long recovery times but now they are generally very fast and I can go out the next day again.
Congratulations! It surprises me to see the sort of things that one aims at when 're-entering' the social collective. Riding a BUS would be huge for me. I remember when I first re-entered a cafe ... that was very big, too.
ReplyDeleteYour MCS Improvement posts are truly sign posts of your evolving self and what a chronicle of good things for your dear self.
thanks for the congratulations Mokihana!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first rode the bus about 3 weeks ago, I was totally terrified. I haven't ridden on one in years and it had taken a place in my mind as an MCS nightmare.
The reality was not great but I am glad to be getting over that fear - which was based on how bad I used to be, not how good I am now.
Going to cafes was big for me too because, in addition to all the usual MCS triggers, I used to react so, SO horribly to coffee fumes(and to newspapers which were often there).
Are there any cafes in your area that you are able to be in?
Wow! It's really incredible how quickly you are progressing Libby. Thanks for charting your progress here. It's so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteHi Julie,
ReplyDeleteyes, it so awesome how fast it's happening now.
I feel like I crossed a plateau at one point and things sped up. I guess it makes sense that as my body gets healthier, it will be able to heal quicker. I only just thought of that now after reading your comment.
It is really neat to be able to hear of events like that charity booksale or the free tax clinic - things I'd really like to do, and be able to do them! Extremely liberating.
I wish this and much better for everyone who has any degree of MCS.
☺☺☺
Holy Kamoly Liberty,
ReplyDeleteHow delightful! I speak for my own witnessing of your journey when I say "who woulda thot"...yay for you for all the positive, wise, brave things you've done & are doing to successfully heal.
Big smiles & hugs to you! xoxo
thanks Katie!
ReplyDeletebig hugs back
♥☺♥