Slowly, but surely.

I came down with a cold when I got back to Rivne. It was nasty. But amazingly it lasted only 8 days! This may not seem miraculous to you, but I am used to colds lasting a minimum of 2 weeks, so 8 days is wonderful. I've noticed a couple of times this year that my colds have been shorter than usual. It is a huge blessing. For a long time I didn't know that colds could be any shorter than 2 weeks, and it's been a great discovery.
I feel that it is a sign of my overall health. A very positive sign.
Basically at this point, I have virtually no pain from the disk that I herniated almost five years ago. My allergies are about the same as they ever have been, but in the last couple of years I've been trying some nutritional supplements and those seem to be making a difference, just giving my body the boost that it needs to function above the minimum/survival line. I still have a lot of pain and struggle with fatigue at different times, but over the last couple of years I've also realized that I do better pain-wise and therefore energy-wise in warmer weather. Unfortunately, I live in Rivne where the sun frequently is not visible, so lots of pain and tiredness while I'm here, but there is hope that next summer I'll again feel more alive.
And just learning these things helps me develop coping strategies which will help in the future as well.
Overall, I do feel that my health is on the upswing and I feel blessed because of that.