Tips for getting through self-isolation? Take it from someone who's been doing it for almost a year
Although self-isolating was tough in the beginning, Ken Tizzard said it's changed his life
As people begin to self-isolate to help limit the spread of COVID-19, a Newfoundland songwriter is offering up his tips as a veteran of self-isolation.
"This is weird. It's hard, but it's not bad," Ken Tizzard told CBC Radio's Weekend AM.
Tizzard, originally from St. John's, moved to Ottawa with his wife, Allison Edwards, last year. Edwards was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis several years ago. After the MS rapidly advanced, Edwards suffered frequent and painful attacks from her own body.
Once in Ottawa, Edwards underwent a stem cell bone marrow transplant, a rare procedure that aims to reboot the immune system and prevent attacks from the brain and spinal cord.
Edwards' immune system had to be destroyed and rebuilt at a cellular level, a process that requires two years of recovery. As a result, the couple has been in self-isolation for the last nine months to protect Edwards from the outside world.
"We have a strict regime of being clean.… It's just become a normal way of life for us," Tizzard said. "I think this is probably what a lot of people are experiencing now, suddenly social distancing."
Tizzard said although self-isolating with his wife was difficult in the beginning, doing so has changed his perception on life.
"There's a few things I've had to learn how to do that I kind of have to force myself to do," Tizzard said. "When you're in your house, It's easy to get up and go to the kitchen and make a cup of tea and sit up on the couch and not get up 'til dinner time. Things like stretching, walking, even like some meditation."
"When I was inside the house all the time, I found that I wasn't looking far distances as much, so I'd try to get the to the window every hour. Just simple things like that that you don't think about when you're out in the world all the time."
Tizzard said he has found ways to enjoy the self-isolation, finding the time to work on projects like his upcoming new album. He has also found the time to relax and enjoy life.
"The one thing that I noticed when me and my wife got put into this whole situation was that we actually really like each other," Tizzard said jokingly.
"I kind of knew that.…That sounds silly but throughout the run of a day when spend a lot of time with each other, we really enjoy each other. This has been a time for me and my wife and my family, it's kind of like a reset on everything."
Tizzard said the break is a great way for people to experience what he has: finding the positives and being able to slow life down for a little while.
"I think that's what people can get [out of] this," Tizzard said. "It is a time to examine things. Spend time with family, play cards, read a book. When you eat your meal, enjoy the bites, enjoy the flavours."
"We're all rushing a lot these days, and I think this might be a really good chance for people to reevaluate the way they're living and the way the world is working around them."
With files from Weekend AM