‘Reading’ books, books and more books
Well, not entirely reading; using my ears instead! Where have I been? Seriously, how did I not get into Audible sooner? You would struggle to get me [...]
June 4th, 2023
8:28 pm
December 22nd, 2022
4:35 pm
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 [...]
December 5th, 2022
11:35 am
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 [...]
March 6th, 2022
12:19 pm
It’s my Birthday
I feel like switching the 'anniversary' thingy to a 'birthday.' I know it sounds oddly celebratory, but I also know that you have read stranger things on this website so remain unafraid to explore this latest idea with you.
January 19th, 2022
12:29 pm
I’m on Fire
I bet the first thing you thought was, ‘she’s having a flare’. But you know what? I’m using the word ‘fire’ in the way that people living with chronic pain only dream [...]
February 13th, 2021
10:52 am
Life, Stitched Back Up Again
Everything that chronic pain had undone in the first nine years of this 14-year nightmare, Theo and I have managed to finally mend. Stitch by stitch, we made a new house, founded a new livelihood, purchased a more comfy car, made new friends, welcomed a different breed of fur child and all of this in a new (unfamiliar) town. It's a rebirth! All of this, driven by the hunt for pain management after a ball pop, drop and a bang. Or was it...?
December 19th, 2020
10:07 am
Good Riddance 2020… And Thank you
Aaahh, chronic pain! You bittersweet, endless orb of confusion! And this is why I say ‘good riddance and thank you’ to 2020 – the year of CV-19. From my very comfortable position [...]
October 26th, 2020
3:19 pm
Forwards, Backwards or Somewhere In Between
I've gotten up on my feet only to find myself back down again a few thousand times in the past 13 years. I use my personal chronic health issue to try and understand the management of COVID-19. As mentioned in a few COVID-19 related blogs, there are similarities with chronic illness in the way the virus attacks a human. Qualities like its invisibility, the way it can affect life, the way it has affected livelihoods and the ongoing power over humans are all mountains I've had to get over. And over... and over. And will have to continue to get over.
September 6th, 2020
11:10 am
Life’s Changed
Not knowing what's ahead is a familiar nightmare for people living with chronic illness and injured workers and their families. This lived experience has been misunderstood. This lack of empathy could not have been understood without the personal experience of something like COVID-19 – something impacting the world. Even Governments may just get a glimpse of looking down at their feet and feeling the ground below them is trembling. Being unable to make plans and left dangling, waiting to hear about a way forward – whether you can resume work or even have a job (or business) is excruciating. Add a long-term health issue to that equation and the world begins to fall in on you. You can't help but ask, 'will I get through this?'
August 28th, 2020
8:14 pm
Aug 28, 2020
8am – 12noon tradies here ‘fixing’ heating/cooling unit (making noise, causing disruption and breaking much-needed silence). + Phone calls, all day (important, relating to mum’s future care plan). + Huge tree on [...]