Diane Shipley writes about her experiences as an ill person in a well person’s world...
I like to move it, move it.
Gosh, last week's column was a whiny one, wasn't it? Sorry about that! Let's pick up our feet this week, shall we? And I mean that literally...
Getting active when you have M.E can be a tricky business. For example: I'd love to lose weight and get fit, but I need a half-hour's sit down after making my bed and walking up a flight of stairs winds me for a couple of hours. A slow walk is okay, but the walk up the steep hill to my nearest bus stop leaves me a juddering wreck. (I don't let that prevent me of course, but other passengers have complained.)
It's not just that I'm unfit: I mean, I am unfit, but that's not all: you try lying around exhausted and ill for eight years and not having any 'muscle wastage' (nice) or 'low blood volume'. And my stamina? Not so good.
Still, when I attended a old friend's wedding recently, I wasn't going to let any of that stop me having a good time. And for me a good time at a wedding means only one thing: dancing.
I hadn't danced in public for at least five years and at first my body had forgotten what to do. My stiff joints and sore muscles at first spasmed at awkward angles, but as I loosened up (literally and metaphorically) it all came back to me. (Plus, I copied some of my friends' moves...) After a glass or five of wine, I was really throwing myself into things. That's when I invented what I call M.E dancing: I'd dance up a storm for the first few lines of every song, giving it everything I'd got (thank God no-one was videotaping this). Then, in order to last the rest of the number, I'd gradually, imperceptibly at first slooooooooooooooow down my movement, until I was merely swaying by the end of the song. Then I'd sit two or three out, just nodding my head or tapping my toe (it's so frustrating wanting to do something but not being able to, but hey, I'm used to that by now). Then I'd get up and begin the whole cycle again. I was helped enormously by the borrowed heels I was wearing: the pain kept me wide awake.
I have another wedding to attend in June, and have a feeling the ol' M.E dancing will be making another appearance: people, make some room...
My dream is to one day attend dance classes without dripping with sweat and falling into a coma from exhaustion, but I'm going to build up to that slowly. At the moment, I'm so inflexible I can barely cut my own toenails (it's a long process causing major back pain) so I've decided I need to get bendy. As I also need to learn to relax, my next challenge will be some gentle yoga or pilates (why is there no yogalates in my city?) which I will attempt to take at my own pace.
I'll keep you posted...
Diane is aiming for Strictly Come Dancing 2010 (she'll take Darren Bennett, please). In the meantime, she co-edits Shiny Media’s fabulous women’s fiction blog, Trashionista and contributes to TV Scoop and Catwalk Queen, as well as writing a personal blog, What Do You Do?
