Sunday Snippets - 10th January 2016

It feels like we’re really back to reality now and Christmas seems a mere memory. In some ways I do like it when things get back to normal, although I hate how dark and empty everything feels now that all the decorations have been taken down. But it is nice to tidy everything up, and my plan for the next month or so is to start a big spring clean and really try to get myself organised!

Last Sunday started with me going to church with my Dad. I haven’t been a regular churchgoer for the last few years, as I’ve found it very difficult to keep my faith when things have been so difficult. But I went a few times around Christmas and enjoyed the atmosphere, seeing old friends and just listening to what was said, so have decided I am going to try and go a bit more often this year. My Dad often helps out at church with the sound or the music, so when he’s not doing that I’m going to hopefully go along with him and just see how things go. I had a fairly productive day doing some blogging, making a photo calendar for my Grandma and opening the rest of my Christmas presents that my friends had kindly sent me.

I also opened up my Good Things Jar from last year and read through all the pieces of paper I had put in it. For anyone that doesn’t know what a Good Things Jar is, it’s basically just a jar that you fill with good things over the course of a year! I went with a different colour paper for each month, which makes it a bit more colourful, but you could put other things in it as well such as cinema tickets, letters or little mementos from things you’ve done. It’s a really nice visual reminder of all the happy things that have happened, and I find it really helpful as I often struggle to remember the good things. I’ve decided that rather than throwing them all away like I did last year, that I’m going to make some sort of scrapbook, which I will then add to each year, as I think it will be a lovely thing to look through when I’m feeling down.

On Monday I started back at Uni – thankfully we were only in for a couple of hours in the morning though, so it was a gentle start! I then came home and decided to film a YouTube video. Yes, you heard it right! I filmed my first video in nine months and can’t wait to get back to doing it properly! I’m just waiting for my Dad to help me install some video editing software (Final Cut Pro for anyone that’s interested) on my Mac, so I can then edit the video and get it uploaded. I’ve missed filming my videos so much, so I’m really hoping I can get back to it properly now. In the afternoon I had to make a few phone calls (mainly for medical things) and my CPN gave me a call to check up on me. We also had to take Jaffa (my cat) to the vets, as I’ve been a bit worried about him recently. Thankfully the vet didn’t think it was anything serious, but we need to keep an eye on him and are giving a ‘Feliway’ a try to see if it can help with his anxiety. I also managed to take my Christmas decorations down in my bedroom and then collapsed on the sofa exhausted!

Tuesday started off quite nicely, but unfortunately went downhill rather quickly. I had a quiet morning and then went to get my hair cut around lunchtime, which I always enjoy. My Dad then picked me up and took me over to the hospital for an appointment with my gastroenterologist. However, when we arrived we were told the appointment had been cancelled by the secretary because she didn’t think I needed to be seen, as I’m having input from the professor in London! That was bad enough, but I hadn’t been informed about any of this, hence why we turned up for the appointment. They went to speak to the consultant, as she was still running a clinic there, and we were told I could either wait to see her at the end of the clinic or rebook (but they didn’t have another appointment for weeks!) We ended up camping out in the waiting room for four hours and were finally seen, by which time I was feeling really unwell. Because the appointment had been cancelled, they didn’t have any of my notes, which made things harder. We talked about the new diet the professor has suggested, but she said changing my diet won’t improve my gastroparesis and that tube feeding may have to be an option if we can’t improve things soon. She’s going to contact a few people and I need to make a few calls to see what we can organise. Thankfully, when I came home I was greeted by these Disney DVDs I’d ordered to add to my collection.

Luckily Wednesday was a bit quieter, so I could relax a bit. A lady came to do some more training with me for my DSA equipment, which I always find quite tiring. I then had to make a few phone calls after Tuesday’s appointment and now have a telephone appointment with the gastro professor at the end of January to discuss what to do next and how to progress with this diet. I then rang Stanmore and found out that the referral letter that was (supposedly) sent to them back in July was never received, so I’ve spent nearly six months assuming I’m on their waiting list when in reality I haven’t been. In retrospect I should have phoned them sooner, but it’s so hard to keep on top of everything when you see ten plus specialists. I spent the rest of the afternoon huddled in a blanket wrapping belated Christmas presents for some of my friends, as I was really crap at getting any sent out in time. While I was sorting through the presents I found these cute Paperchase princess stickers that I picked up in the sales, so I’m looking forward to using them either in my scrapbooking or penpal letters.

Thursday things were well and truly back to reality, as I had my first full day at Uni. I was actually getting really anxious about it the night before, as I’ve been so exhausted recently and my pain has got worse, so I was scared about how ill it would make me feel. But it turned out to be a really fun day, and it was so nice to catch up with some of my friends that I hadn’t seen on Monday. I had a bit of a panic in the morning when I looked at my timetable and saw that we were meant to be in half an hour earlier. After rushing to get there and getting stuck in a flooded road that resembled a river, we were told that the timetable was actually wrong, so I turned out to be early! I was quite happy though, as it meant I didn’t have to stay an extra hour at the end of the day either! The morning was spent talking about our new project, then in the afternoon I had a go at presenting a TV news broadcast, which was so much fun, controlling a camera and helping to direct in the gallery.

On Friday we had another full day at Uni, which was a challenge after having one the day before, but thankfully it’s only happening for two weeks. In the morning we had a timed assessment, which was a bit mind-boggling but I did the best I could. Over lunch I saw my mentor and we had a good catch up, followed by a lecture. On the way home, my Dad and I popped into the chemist to see if their back heat pads were still on offer, but unfortunately they weren’t so I’m going to have a look on Amazon to see what I can find to try. When I got home I opened this sparkle-filled box from Crown and Glory (which I will try and do a separate blog post on if I can get my act together!) then crashed on the sofa with a cup of Christmas tea.

Yesterday was a nice chilled out day, which I really needed after a difficult week. It started with a lie-in, which is something I always look forward to during the week (I probably sound really sad, but when you suffer from chronic fatigue it’s nice to be able to get some sleep!) I then went to see my friend Katy for a back, neck and shoulder massage, which I really needed as pain levels are creeping up as I reduce my Tramadol. I spent a few hours at home snuggled on the sofa with Alfie (our dog) before my friend, Becky, and her boyfriend picked me up. Becky and I went to Costa for a cup of tea and a catch up, which is always nice. Then we had a quick look in Homesense and Outfit, but I was very good and only bought one thing (which I had planned to buy).

If you haven’t read my blog before, I just wanted to let you know that I have a second blog, which mainly focuses on my health in more depth than I talk about it here. It’s largely for friends and family to follow and keep up with what’s going on, but if it’s something you would be interested in reading as well, you are more than welcome to follow me over there. It’s called Unicorns and Floral Crowns and you can find it by clicking here. I haven’t updated it for a while, but I hope to get into a routine soon. I’m also trying to post on Snapchat a bit more, so if you fancy following me, my username is Jennycole44.

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

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