Nurse Sees Diversions As A Good Way to Cope With Mesothelioma

• Lisa Hyde-Barrett
• Nurse's Corner

When I decide to write a blog it is usually based on an interaction that I have had, or something I’ve seen that I thought was different, or just something that will help others on their journey with mesothelioma.

I recently took care of someone who was in recovery after surgery for his mesothelioma. Despite the size of his tumor and length of his surgery, he was doing remarkably well. He had a supportive family who were in and out throughout the shift I spent with him. But the one thing I think that surprised me, was that he was involved with starting up a business. This business had been a thought, a dream, before he got sick – but now it was becoming a reality. He and his wife had decided to stick with the plan and go for it. 

As I cared for him, it was clear that his health was his and his wife’s  priority, but this business gave them something else to think about. It provided a healthy diversion during which he was not the patient and she was not the caregiver. It is important to focus on your health, but it is also good to have a diversion.

Diversions or hobbies can help you pass the time during recovery, and keep you from worrying about every single pain, and decision that is being made. Not everyone is going to start  a business, but having seen firsthand the important role it was playing in this patient’s successful recovery, I started thinking about other things that could help other patients.

Everyone’s lives are different and the options are just as different. Maybe a wedding is coming up in the family, a new baby, or just the desire to learn something new – like social media. You could tell the story of your journey, your life before mesothelioma. People are very interested in hearing how people are dealing with their illness and recovery. No one better than you can tell what is like. If you are not into that, possibly you can find a class that interests you. Something low key, like knitting, or an online class about something you have always been interested in, maybe even take the time to learn a foreign language.

Diversions are not about passing the time.  An unknown author once said, “Recreation’s purpose is not to kill time, but to make time live; not to keep people occupied, but to keep them refreshed; not to offer an escape from life, but to provide a discovery of life.”  Everyone’s journey is unique – as are their coping skills.

Mesothelioma might offer you the chance to do something you have always dreamed of doing.