Sunday Snippets - 6th September 2015

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you will recall that before I took a break, I had a regular feature called ‘Sunday Spotlight.’ I fancied a bit of a change, so decided to change the name ever so slightly to Sunday Snippets. The idea of the post will still be the same – to share some things that have happened during my week, but instead of sharing three things every week, I’ve decided to make it more flexible and just share as many things as I fancy. For some weeks I really struggled to find three vaguely interesting events to talk about, whereas other weeks there were more than three events I wanted to talk about, so hopefully by making it more flexible it will take the pressure off me a bit and will hopefully be more interesting for you all to read!

I received some lovely post over the course of the last week, which never fails to brighten my day. This photo only shows some of it – a party bag sent by a friend to celebrate her birthday, a new hair removal gadget I’ve been sent to review and a couple of books my friend sent me, but I also received a few penpal letters and a couple of subscription boxes that I’m yet to open. I don’t know about you, but seeing what’s arrived in the post is one of my favourite parts of the day. I think I love it so much because, since my health declined when I was 15, I’ve had a lot of days where all I can do is make it from my bed to the sofa. Not being able to get out and do nice things can be very isolating and it can be incredibly hard to find the motivation and strength to just get through each day, but I’ve always found that receiving a nice letter in the post really helps to lift my spirits.

Another letter that came in the post this week was from Student Finance, confirming that my Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) recommendations have been approved. This was a massive weight off my shoulders, as I’ve been feeling pretty anxious about how I’m going to manage my University course. But thanks to this support I should now have a non-medical helper to do things like push my wheelchair and carry my equipment, a mentor who I can talk to once a week and a variety of specialist equipment to help make studying a bit easier for me. If you, or someone you know, are heading off to University at some point and have a disability, I would definitely recommend looking into DSA, as it can often be the difference between being able to access University or not being able to go at all.

This week I actually managed to do something vaguely normal – socialise with my friends! Socialising is something I find really quite difficult – my physical health puts a lot of limitations on what I’m able to manage and my mental health can make social situations incredibly anxiety provoking. But I was determined to meet up with some of the girls I went to college with, so I rested up for a few days before. One of the girls offered to pick me up and drop me home, which was a massive help as I’m not allowed to drive at the moment. We headed to the restaurant, Bill’s, for some dinner and I had a really lovely evening. They’re definitely one of the best restaurants I’ve been to for someone with dietary requirements. On their website they have a separate menu for gluten free dishes, which taste just as good as the normal menu. Although I find eating incredibly difficult because of my digestive problems, I was determined to do something normal and enjoy an evening out with my friends.

On Thursday I had to make my way up to London with my Dad. We’ve got quite used to getting around up there with my wheelchair and generally find that people on trains and buses are really helpful, and the taxi drivers are equally accommodating. We headed up to The Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel, as I had an appointment in their GI Physiology department for some tests that I really hadn’t been looking forward to. They weren’t particularly pleasant tests to go through, but the doctor performing them was really nice and so calm, which really helped put me at ease. Thankfully they didn’t take too long, and although I felt pretty unwell after, we had a fairly quick journey back home so I could crash out on the sofa.

What have you been up to this week? I always enjoy hearing about your news and adventures!

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