{"id":2390,"date":"2019-09-14T00:19:20","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T21:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/?p=2390"},"modified":"2019-09-14T00:19:20","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T21:19:20","slug":"chronic-hope-5-from-battling-fatigue-to-balancing-an-energy-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yemeniamerican.com\/en\/chronic-hope-5-from-battling-fatigue-to-balancing-an-energy-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"CHRONIC HOPE #5: From Battling Fatigue to Balancing an Energy Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Georgia Coats<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"I knew the call would come, like the expectation of a winter storm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My oncologist forecasted that my body would eventually build up a resistance to my medication for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) after going off of it 3 times to have 3 miracle babies.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That dreaded call came the day after Christmas in the middle of a family movie.\u00a0 The nurse dictated dates for blood tests and biopsies.\u00a0 It was clear as I fumbled for a pen while running out of the darkened theatre that she didn\u2019t care which dates worked for my grad school class schedule, my teaching hours, or my family life.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Bottom line, I needed to rewrite my priority list\u2014ASAP!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I was thankful for a short commute between hospital and university in the heart of Detroit.\u00a0 I naively thought I could change medications and not skip a beat in class. \u00a0I didn\u2019t account for the unexpected toxicities of Sprycel, my new miracle medication.\u00a0 It was super effective in treating cancer.\u00a0\u00a0 But my fatigued body could barely make it through a day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5 Steps of Budgeting<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I know what it\u2019s like to live on a tight budget.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been stretching dollars for decades.\u00a0 Taking Sprycel siphoned off a significant portion of my energy each day.\u00a0 I drastically needed to rebalance my energy budget to account for success within my new limitations of fatigue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Set Goals<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Set clear, attainable goals.\u00a0 Identify the most important places to spend limited resources of energy:\u00a0 Finish grad school.\u00a0 Aspire to excellence\u2014as a mom, wife and student.\u00a0 As I pushed forward with my Master\u2019s degree, I became a goal-setting master.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Prioritize<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Decide the most important ways to expend mental, emotional and spiritual energy, and then let go of the other stuff.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      If I aspired to excellence as a mom, wife, and graduate student, I couldn\u2019t also be an excellent teacher.\u00a0 I quit my teaching job.\u00a0 We creatively rebalanced an even tighter financial budget.<\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Eliminate excess <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Identify and get rid of the unnecessary energy drains.\u00a0 It\u2019s like knowing you\u2019re going to shipwreck if you don\u2019t throw stuff overboard.\u00a0 Learn to say \u201cNO\u201d to superfluous obligations and to excess noise in your head.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

        Nursing a grudge or second-guessing good decisions were luxuries I couldn\u2019t afford.\u00a0 Instead, I learned the energy-rejuvenating power of clear thinking cultivated by a rhythm of rest, walks, and intimate prayers.<\/p>\n

         <\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Show up wholeheartedly<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

          Once goals are set, priorities are clear, and junk has been eliminated, be present in your priorities.\u00a0 Embrace them fully and generously.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

          It was costly to be a mother of three and a non-traditional, cancer fighting grad student. \u00a0I wasn\u2019t going to miss any of those prioritized moments.\u00a0 I studied hard. I also learned to set studies aside and wholeheartedly cherish puppy movies with my feverish 4th<\/sup> grader as the privileged place of being a mom.<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. Celebrate success<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

             <\/p>\n

            Find joy in the things that contribute to success.\u00a0 Setbacks and shortcomings are ingredients for grit when it comes to celebrating achievement.<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            I regularly thanked my amazing professors.\u00a0 When my worn out body ached, I thanked God for my cozy bed.\u00a0 I cried tears of gratefulness as my husband picked up my slack at home.<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            When I finally finished graduate school, debt free, after 5 \u00bd years, celebrations of success were the sweetest.<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            I learned to thank God for Sprycel.<\/p>\n

             <\/p>\n

            It keeps my body cancer-free.\u00a0 It has afforded me peace of mind, power in weakness, freedom in limitations, and grace in weariness.\u00a0 I have learned to live more lightly and freely as I regularly surrender all my priorities to my highest priority of all\u2014loving God with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength.<\/p>\n

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