The good news is that I’m learning things. I think it’s taken me this long to get the big lesson through my head, the one about taking care of myself.

I thought I was getting it, but only recently have I really been able to set aside my obligations and go to bed if I need to, or even go sit by the river and watch the geese. In my old life, that would have counted as “wasting time” and “goofing off.” Now, sometimes it’s the only hope I have today of being well enough to work tomorrow.

So no Karate for now. My new love is my bike. And it hardly hurts at all to ride.

Unbelievable. Yet it is passing. I’m able to get through class again. And I’m back writing again, much to the relief, I’m sure, of my large audience of readers.

If you’re down, or having a flare or relapse, keep the faith! Healing happens.

Not especially interesting in itself, but what I found amazing was the discovery that the resulting symptoms mimic fibromyalgia, exactly! And apparently I’m not the first to notice this. Dr. Mary Lee Esty, in Neurotherapeutic Therapy and Fibromyalgia Using EEG-Based Stimulation suggests that Fibromyalgia is a brain dysfunction. She points out that problems relating to whiplash are “the result of the biomechanical forces of whiplash causing traumatic brain injury and its inevitable central nervous system dysfunction.” She also points out the whiplash, traumatic brain injury and fibromyalgia have an “almost complete overlap” of symptoms.

I haven’t been back to Karate yet. I’ve biked many miles, but not enough. I’ll consider this EEG stimulation at some point, but for now, I’ve got to get moving again.