Dear readers,
I would like to give you all an update on this neverending story: it's been a long way full of ups and downs, but compared to what I went through at the beginning it has been almost always on the up side. I am trying to learn to live with the consequences of what happened, as I now understand that the situation will never really go back to normal. Something in my digestive system has broken down and who knows if and when it will ever recover. At the moment, I have no intention of going back into the system and visit doctors, specialists, gurus and what not, also because there are no clear visible signs of something wrong with me. No pain, no real symptoms, no clear physical or psychological discomfort. Moreover, I already know what they are going to say: it's all in my head. Maybe later on during the year or next year, when things have improved even more, I will look for a specialist who can answer some of my questions, but it's still a little bit early for that.
In these last months I have had another couple of difficult moments after eating something that compromised my digestion for a short while, but fortunately I reacted quite well and now I've almost recovered from them. Of course, I miss the old days: feeling satiated or full after a meal, having no particular feelings or symptoms after I eat, being able to empty my bowels regularly. However, things change in life and sometimes we just have to make do with what we have.
On the other hand, none of the psycho-somatic problems and issues that I had in 2020 after my stomach infection have come back. On the contrary, after a very dark period that lasted from March / April 2020 until October / November of the same year, it has only been improving and I have fully come back to be the old me. Quoting Shania Twain: "Up, up, up, it can only go up with me" :)
If I could go back, would I want to change anything? Well, of course: I would definitely ask my boss to cancel my participation to that conference when she came to my office to say hello on that fateful day. Most importantly, I would surely not go and have lunch at the canteen the week after the conference, the day everything started, 11th March 2020. However, this is all nonsense talk and we cannot change the past. We have to live with the consequences and make sure it does not happen again, not just only in our lives but also and mainly in the ones of the people we can reach out and help.
If there is any aim at all in our lives, it is to help each other, that's for sure. After having gone through those terrible times, I now would like to be able to help those who find themselves in similar situations. My first cries of help fell on deaf ears at the time, but you can be sure that that will not happen to yours.
Andrew
