I think some of my friends were also just afraid of their own mortality...and with me getting sick and almost kicking it..and being in much better shape physically than they were.....but what they did not consider was the vast majority of what I have developed is genetic...except for the wear and tear issues...and they came from hockey and figure skating....yes figure skating....Yes I was an athlete ...even up into my late teens early 20's...played competitive hockey right into junior B...and did competitive ice dancing to a gold test level...and partnered hundreds of girls thru their dance tests,,,
I found the ice hockey to be hard on the back and knees...but figure skating was a whole new level of hurt....broke my tail bone several times...
and developed arthritis in the middle of my back big time...from skating around the ice rink full speed... turning ...sinking the toe pick into the ice and launching yourself 3 or 4 feet into the air. while doing triple spins etc......with many a crash landing during practice....
So my former buddies... they were quite a bit heavy than I was and were smokers and drinkers...and when I went down....it def freaked them out....
so I kinda understand them not wanting to be around me... say pulling a 75 pound pack/portable ice hut with 10" gas auger...thru the deep snow....
huffing and puffing....but it was great exercise except for the sitting and fishing part...lol
Wow sounds like you were quite an athlete, kudos. The ability to deal with their own mortality is something I didn't realize so many people have issues with. I was never afraid of dying, I'll kick it when it's my time, not like I have any control over it. But many people have such a hard time dealing with someone who is sick or dying, it's like they shut down. I saw it in different ways when I was diagnosed late stage 4 and given 6-12 months. Some people were great, many were not and just sort of disappeared. I'm a big sports guy and played hockey and soccer until I was diagnosed, took a 1 year break while I was going through treatments and went right back at it. it was my way of saying f*k cancer and a good way to judge where my energy levels were (it took almost a whole year to get back to the point I was before diagnosis, chemo and radiation literally suck the life out of you). My sports buddies were better than some closer buddies about it, they supported me while I got my energy back better than many "closer" buddies.
This is something anyone who gets sick will have seen/experienced in some form. Key is to keep it in perspective that it's not about you. Between dealing with your sickness, drugs that pretty well kill you or cause more issues, including mental issues like depression, there's enough to deal with without being brought down by people who can't deal with sickness/death.
