Reflections to inspire the journey

Have you ever gone past a shop window and having caught sight of your reflection, took a moment to consider what has gone into you arriving at that point in your life journey? 

It happened to me this morning , I’d just set off for my daily bike ride and was riding past the little row of shops that frame the end of our street. A rather eclectic mix of hairdresser , barber, wedding boutique and take away business .. All facing an uncertain future in the current situation.  What my vision picked up on was the bright lime green Lycra jersey and black shorts combo I was wearing for the ride . To be fair Lycra is a generally unforgiving material , particularly when stretched out improbably across my fifty something torso . Still that’s another story! 

July 2020 marks two years in remission for me , second time around. 

Subjected to the vagaries of leukaemia in 2016, I had recovered well and was enjoying my new life in remission for eighteen months, when I got the call all patients dread, the disease had returned with a vengeance and was ready to take me down again. 

It was February 2018 , it would take until July to get me into a position where I was able to restart my journey properly. 

My wife has been saying for some time that it’s now a good point to begin to move forward and to put all this leukaemia stuff behind me. 

It is certainly a viewpoint I have given much thought to ,but after what is now over four years in the process, one I think I am actually achieving in a good way with my current efforts. 

The old Scott would never have been riding past his reflection and considering the journey in anyway. 

Reflection of any sort was a very alien concept pre leukaemia, life was about the here and now . The usual cliches of hitting the ground running everyday , grabbing opportunities with both hands and seizing the day were as reflective as I got. 

The main change to my life view has been to embrace the phenomenon of exercise with a positivity I hadn’t thought possible before.

I have a schedule that revolves around setting short , medium and long term training goals. 

Three days riding, one day off to recover then repeat on the cycling aspect of the plan ..A weekly target of a hundred and fifty miles , give or take the odd mishap or puncture along the way. 

Aiming for a walking distance of twenty miles a week and daily sit ups at the rate of a thousand a day completes the schedule.. 

Pre corona virus, gym work was done three times a week to finish off the efforts. 

My wife’s point is that if I can do that stuff why don’t I commit more fully to a work return plan and get my old life back ? 

My  thinking is that I now realise the fragile nature of life for its own sake. In any case spending a couple of hours a day enjoying yourself out and about on a bike is nowhere near as taxing or as stressful as engaging in the life cycle I was previously on.. You can’t cut a work day short after an hour and come home for a sleep if you are tired. 

I have been through so many treatments, procedures and generally totally life changing experiences in the past four years that I need more than a little time to process “what the hell was that all about” down time.

The schedule of hospital visits may have eased up in recent times but is still ongoing and will be for some considerable time to come .

Reflection of life on an ongoing basis is helping me navigate through the journey for sure ,no one knows how long that journey may last, but all I do know is at the moment I am enjoying the ride in ways I never thought possible. 

BIOPIC TIMELINE 

Diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia March 2016 

Treated successfully with Chemotherapy,bone marrow transplant and Radiotherapy..

In remission 

February 2018 Relapse

July in remission following successful treatment with CAR T-Cell therapy