Leisure refers to activities that you do for enjoyment. Another word for leisure activities is play. Some people are lucky in that there is little difference between their leisure and work pursuits. While some people write, play hockey, or paint as a hobby, these are enjoyable professions for others. For most of us, there is some distinction between what we do for work and what we do for leisure.
Unfortunately, given the demands of work and other of life's responsibilities, it is not always easy to set aside time for leisure. Some people spend so much of their time working that they have no time left for leisure. This may occur out of necessity. But in the example of Robert above, circumstances forced him to grow up too rapidly.
He never had much opportunity for enjoyment. There were too many responsibilities. Although Robert might have found greater opportunity to enjoy leisure time as an adult, he was by then in the habit of a steady diet of work. Illness caused a crisis for Robert in part, because he knew little else in his life but work. Others can have exactly the opposite problem. Illness can limit involvement in leisure activities that are very important to them.
Stephen: Stephen knew he was addicted. He loved to bowl. This was his exercise and his outlet for stress. He had met most of his friends through bowling. No matter how busy work became, he always spent weekends on the lanes. If for no other reason, he would have had his kidney transplant just so that he could regain the freedom and strength to bowl more often. Therefore, Steven responded with shock when his doctor told him months after the transplant that he had to stop bowling for awhile. He had developed a bone condition due to an anti-rejection medication and was risking bone fractures in his wrist and ankles if he continued to play. "What am I going to do with myself now?" he thought.
Like work, leisure pursuits can be a source of personal identity, social interaction and pride of accomplishment. For some, leisure activities more accurately reflect their interests and abilities than their work. Leisure may allow more of an opportunity to explore creative, athletic or intellectual abilities than you are able through work. Understandably, sports and pastimes can take on great importance for some.
We remember seeing one young man, Scott, who was training for the Olympic Games when he became ill with liver disease. He decorated his hospital room with pictures of himself skiing. "It helps to remind the hospital staff that I am a real person," he commented. Scott maintained the single-minded goal that he must survive transplant so that he could return to his sport. Pursuit of this goal was a major source of strength to him in the face of illness and transplant. Many others derive greater satisfaction from activities other than their paid employment. Anne, a liver transplant recipient, worked as a secretary, but most evenings, volunteered as a yoga teacher at her local YWCA. Although not paid for the classes, the sense of achievement that Anne derived from teaching yoga was far greater than that from her work.
Given the importance that leisure pursuits hold for some people, we would expect a varying impact of illness. For some, a most distressing aspect of illness is that it limits their pursuit of an interest. For others, time off work may allow more time to pursue interests they never used to have time for. We know of one man who is now a national representative for a model airplane group. He attributes this accomplishment in part, to illness having forced him to slow his pace at work. Rather than work, he now enjoyed his hobby during evenings and weekends. Some will always have an interest at hand to keep them busy. Others are not so ready or able to think of new activities to enjoy. These people can find a distressing void in their lives should illness force them off work.
Someone on the transplant team may notice if you have difficulty in adjusting your activities according to your current medical circumstances. If so, they may suggest that you speak with someone who can help you to redefine your interests. A transplant coordinator referred a man named Colin to us, concerned that he appeared depressed. This turned out not to be the case, but it was clear why the coordinator had been concerned.
Colin: Since his enrollment on the waiting list for transplant, Colin appeared listless. He alienated himself from the other candidates, and showed little interest in much of what was going on around him. When we asked how he spent his time, he could not really say.
Colin had been happy when he was working as a product manager for a small company. Sports took up most of his spare time. He and his wife played softball with local teams in the summer. During the winter, they curled and he coached hockey. Besides work, illness had forced Colin to defer these interests for a time. Sports had also been the main emphasis of his relations with friends. But when we talked about his current schedule, he said, "You might as well not bother with me. It is not as if I'm going to take up knitting." Obviously, Colin had some ideas about what it was that we might suggest for him.
Of course, nobody was going to ask Colin to knit, or to do anything else that would not interest him. But in our experience, there are always alternatives. Fortunately, Colin had a mind that was open enough to consider other options. As it turned out, he told us that he had collected hockey and baseball cards when he was younger. He had a large collection in his basement, but never had the time to organize it. Not much more discussion was necessary. It was obvious that he had reminded himself of his interest in this hobby.
Several weeks later, Colin told us that he had reviewed the collection and had attended some shows. He was enjoying himself and had met some new people through the hobby. And he no longer cared if he had to wait before clinic appointments. He always carried his price guide with him for reading.