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Evert 2.0

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July 2024.
After a month and a half in the rehab center, I was allowed to go home for the first night. At the end of my first day at home, things went wrong. It was extremely hot that day (33 degrees), I went grocery shopping at the supermarket and had started new blood pressure-lowering medication that day. To make matters worse, I had also been drinking too little that day. As a result, while stepping up to the living room, I lost my balance and went down. Recovering from the pain, I sat down at the table and called my daughter. In no time at all the same scenario took place as at the beginning of June. The difference was that now the ambulance did not have a siren on. The doctor at the hospital spoke the following magic words to me: “Mr. van den Akker, you are a go-getter and you really want things to go well. All these qualities will be even better if you are a little kinder to yourself and take some timely rest”. I didn't know what I was hearing; the doctor's words felt like a warm blanket. A totally different approach than I was used to. During my rehab, I felt I was often told that I set the bar way too high and felt that as a tap my fingers. Rehabilitation for me was a big struggle of pushing through, dosing, setting limits and taking it easy. Not a tap on my fingers, not a correction for setting the bar too high, but a pat on the back of warmth and appreciation. It opened my eyes and provided more balance in rehab.

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