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Arrivederci 2022
(Image: Me in Cortona, Italy 2022) I’m signing off this year with Italian flare. I’m trying to stay positive after yet another messy year. It almost feels like two years have passed in the last 12 months. A mega roof restoration for our Wesleyan Church marked the first year, and the second year was marked with a spectacular trip to Italy. In between, there’s been ongoing pandemic effects, the heartbreak of ongoing war, and a Federal and state election in Australia, where I live. And now the finale of this year is ‘get ready [...]
Remember! Slow Down to Speed Up
Near impossible! Slowing yourself down when you’re feeling great is a pathetic concept for a person living with chronic illness. It’s not like you ever go very fast or get the chance to feel the shackles are off. So when the free moments appear, it’s time to goooo! This pic of me is in beautiful Daylesford. Last month Theo and I booked into the beautiful Lake House to celebrate our anniversary… in Australia. As you all know, we celebrated it in Italy this year also. […]
WorkSafe Victoria Instructed to Treat Injured Workers With Dignity and Respect
WorkSafe Victoria Instructed to Treat Injured Workers With Dignity and Respect My letter has arrived informing me that I am one of the 1,500 long-term injured workers WorkSafe is contacting. So, I had to learn what this was about. It would be best if you were prepared in these distressing situations even though you anticipate the return to the fire pit. A letter from WorkSafe is never a simple letter. It will never be pleasant, never hopeful and nor will it ever be about justice, support or care. Letters from WorkSafe are about WorkSafe and steered at ticking their boxes. Injured workers now have to help WorkSafe clean up their mess.
WEBINAR: Can visualising the personal health experience lead to better care and understanding?
Can visualising the personal health experience lead to better care and understanding? You all know what I think and believe about this. But now, I'm aiming to inform the rest of the world about the importance of visualising health. Join me Date: Oct 5, 2022 Time: 3:30 pm (Melbourne Australia time) Agenda 10:00 AM Welcome 10:05 AM Soula Mantalvanos’s Presentation 10:25 AM Q & A Session 10:45 AM Announcements & thank you Presentation Summary Soula’s lived experience with chronic illness spans 15 years. In addition, Soula had to wait 4.5 years for a diagnosis. Years of living with chronic pain [...]
Pacing (and Baking)
A brief note on pacing Sometimes pacing means trading a walk to manage baking a cake. I wanted to post this as too many of us managing chronic illness are made to feel guilty when we can't exercise. There are many times I don't go for a walk because I either want to do something extra special or I have done something extra special. Stirring, lifting, weighing ingredients, pouring, handling the mixer, and grating beetroot (in this cake’s case), form part of my day’s limits. I recognise these essential factors and live by them. Point of this brief [...]
My Lived Experience at CODA Conference
The Primary Care workshop at this year's CODA Conference was my favorite lived experience contribution to date! The workshop approach was more effective than my other 'standup gigs'. Something has clicked with me lately – I've stepped out of chronic illness's emotional and physical sides and more often partaking in health education. I like it! We must believe that twitches, spasms, toilet function-changing effects, noise, screaming, soreness, stabbing, burning, itching, fatiguing, and draining effects of chronic pain can be controlled. If you had told me this between my first and 4.5-year mark, I would have felt angry and said, 'My issue is severe, far more serious than everyone realises, and my healthcare practitioners are all missing the terrible thing in my body, and I am going to die from it.'