Data Driven By Jennifer Looney, Survivor
Survivorship has uncovered new meanings to old words. I had no idea the prevalence the word “recovery” would have in my vocabulary until being diagnosed with head and neck cancer. Seven weeks of chemotherapy and radiation (Monday through Friday) was my new job. I say “job” because I felt employed by this treatment. If you’re like me, you became a lab rat living through your own version of Groundhog Day. Recovery became the doubleedged reward for tackling that treatment. How many times a week did I use this word? I’ve lost count. Little did I know I was already one beat ahead with a personalized wearable to assist my recovery efforts. Let me introduce WHOOP. Doctors monitor labs; nurses facilitate infusions; therapists execute radiation fractions, while WHOOP analyzes strain, recovery, and sleep. My goal was to beat this enemy called cancer and win this game called recovery. Who knew my team would include a wearable with super powers? It’s much more streamlined than a Wonder Woman cuff but provides similar empowerment. Trust me. I was never considered a data junkie; my family of athletes claimed those labels. If this device designed to unlock human performance could help NCAA and Team USA swimmers like my daughter, maybe it could help me recover from cancer treatment more easily.
At first I had a love/hate relationship with WHOOP. It contributed to my athlete image when deep down I felt like I was going to break like a twig. The pretty blue wearable on my wrist armed me with knowledge of my sleep performance, heart rate variability, and much more. Some days I did not give a rip about my resting heart rate overnight, but I had personalized information to validate my desire to take it easy or push harder that day. It would even identify a high level of strain and physical activity when I had simply gathered and loaded the laundry. How rude. Believe me, it’s as if WHOOP knew before I did when my body needed rest. All I had to do was open the app and review my stats. This knowledge became power as I navigated my new race of recovery. Hence, I too joined the ranks of the data-driven. I learned quickly that the fake it till you make it attitude would not always work during recovery. As a wife, mom, daughter and friend, I wanted to participate and be fully present for life events and important milestones no matter how big or small. This became a challenge after radiation and chemo. Treatment, side effects and all, is the gift that keeps on giving. If it’s affected you, you know it’s no joke. However, our ultimate goal is survival, so bring it on! Some days I got very excited to discover that my body was ready to take on strain. Those days I pushed harder. Some days I knew it was time to seek rest. Maybe I saved the workout I bookmarked for another day. Maybe my plants didn’t get watered on schedule. I couldn’t fake out WHOOP data, designed to support my health and wellness. Fortunately, I discovered a recovery tool that has helped me foster a new respect for my amazing human body. Perhaps it could help you too. We are capable of much more than we realize. Likewise, taking it easy can be the name of the game. Sometimes, a glance down at my wrist is the little reminder I need. Thanks, WHOOP.
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