A Life Of Love, Laughter, Faith And Hope, As I Learn To Live Again With A Rare Disease
I love turning over the calendar at the beginning of a new month. I have a pretty wall calendar in my study, so I look forward to revealing a new picture on the morning of the 1st day. It’s a symbolic act in some regards, of saying goodbye to the old month, the good and … Continue reading COVID, Chaos and Calm
I never imagined feeling so excited about receiving an email with the subject header: "Your Wig Is On It's Way" I am, surprisingly, incredibly excited. It's time to embrace what has been one of the most challenging consequences of my chronic illness. Last year I began to face significant hairloss. To say it was confronting … Continue reading Wig On It’s Way!
I've always loved all things French so I quite like sharing my birthday with such an important national day of celebration and remembrance for France...July 14th, Bastille Day! It is the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille and the start of the French Revolution. So What Is A Bastillion? A bastillion is a fortress. … Continue reading Birthday Blues or Birthday Balloons?
Hi Everyone,Firstly I want to thank those whonominated me for eight WEGO Health Awards for 2021. I am so honoured and grateful as this is an amazing opportunity to raise awareness of my Facebook Support Forum, Medical Musings with Friends , and reach out to more people globally in need of genuine care and support. So, now … Continue reading WEGO Health Awards Announcement…Thank You So Much
When we think of Chronic Disease, we wouldn't usually have happy thoughts or find ourselves looking forward to a bright future. Fear, horror, uncertainty and grief are generally the normal response. However, the reality of living a chronic illness life can be quite liberating, as I've surprisingly found over the past 7 years. One of … Continue reading You’ve Created A “Chronic Illness Career”….Don’t Forget To Have A Weekend!
I can cope with most things about my disability. I'm not saying it's easy, it's far from easy. I have though, over the years, developed a toolkit of chronic disease management strategies which I've written about previously. These help me greatly on a daily basis: My Chronic Disease Management PlanBody Behaving Badly) My pain is … Continue reading Sleepless Night Strategies
Many of us who have had multiple abdominal surgeries can find we later have issues with adhesions. I was reminded of this the other day when I was talking to someone about my story. I was further reminded yesterday of my abdominal adhesions, when I spent 8 hours in crippling pain, due to a bowel/stoma … Continue reading A Sticky Story!!
I love life's little challenges. I love problem solving and turning obstacles into opportunities. I love putting a positive spin on what would otherwise be a very negative situation. I've always done this, both in my personal and my working life. So, chronic disease really wasn't going to change my approach to finding a way … Continue reading The Non Negotiable Chronic Illness Rule
This week on my forum Medical Musings with Friends , I posted a segment called "Any Questions?" I wanted to invite my forum members to ask me anything about my life, my disease, my writing etc. It was an open book kind of segment. The recurring question, or theme to the questions, was; "how do … Continue reading Any Questions?
When living with chronic illness, and particularly chronic pain, life needs a level of certainty, of routine. To a large degree we can create workable daily routines, manage our medications and medical appointments, and keep life ticking along so we maintain our equilibrium as much as possible. I actually love change. Throughout my career I … Continue reading Nothing Lasts Forever
