RIP Will. Xxx
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Will's anniversary
Today is 2 years since Will died.I made a post in his memory here, so today I'm just going to post up my favourite photo of Will and his mum.
RIP Will. Xxx
RIP Will. Xxx
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
My week so far
On Sunday I had quite a busy day. In the morning I babysat for H and we had fun playing on her Wii together, but again I had an achy arm the next day! Then me and mum went to a local carboot sale for a look round. The weather was very hot, so we didn't stay long as I'm not very good with the heat. But I covered myself in factor 50 sun cream, as the steroids I'm on to prevent my transplanted organs rejecting mean I have to be careful in the sun. At the carboot sale I picked up some bargains, including The Da Vinci Code and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on DVD for just £2 each and some lovely earrings for just 50p :D
Then Sunday afternoon my nan had quite an adventure! She lives in a neighbouring village about 4 miles away and has always been very independent, but currently has mobility problems because a few years ago she badly broke her leg and it never mended properly. So to help her gain back some independence she bought herself a mobility scooter and has been practising up and down her street with it. However, my nan has never driven a car, so it's taking her a while to get the hang of driving a mobility scooter. On Sunday my dad cycled over to see her and brought her back to our house on her mobility scooter! She managed really well, despite it being the first long journey she'd done on her scooter and it being a really hot day. It did take them about an hour and half to cover 4 miles though! So it was nice to see my nan that afternoon, even though I was feeling quite tired after a busy morning. She enjoyed seeing my May Ball photos and I showed her Holly's Battlefront programme. And me and my parents visited her again on Monday afternoon to check she was ok after her expedition (she drove back home on her scooter as well on Sunday). She was fine, just a bit tired!
Sunday evening I enjoyed watching the first semi final of Britain's Got Talent, and I've been watching the rest of the semi finals this week. This is the first series I've watched of Britain's Got Talent, but I'm enjoying it. I think out of the 6 acts that are through to the final so far, Diversity are my favourite :) But I may change my mind as the week goes on.
From Sunday evening for a couple of days my hands were very irritated, my knuckles were red, dry and very very itchy. I'm not sure why, but assume it could have either been the sun from being outside at the carboot sale on Sunday morning (although I did have sun cream on) or possibly an allergy to the soap I used in the toilets there. Luckily it seems to have cleared up now though.
On Monday I was very tired from a busy day the day before, so spent most of the day just relaxing -reading a good novel, listening to my iPod and watching TV - I love Ashes to Ashes! :D That morning I decided I really ought to start keeping my own diary, rather than relying on my Mum to keep track of everything for me. So I ordered a lovely purple filofax from the Internet and am hoping it should arrive in the post tomorrow (Thur). It was quite expensive, but I know filofaxes last for a long time as my mum has had hers for around 20 years!
I tried another high calorie drink on Monday, but it was disgusting. It was supposed to be strawberry juice, but didn't taste of strawberries at all, which was very frustrating! Very excitingly though, on Tuesday I finally discovered a high calorie drink that I liked, which was like strawberry milkshake and did actually taste of strawberries :D It was called Fortisip Strawberry Flavour for anyone reading this who has experience with high calorie drinks! And today I found another drink that I don't mind, like a neutral milkshake (called Fortisip Neutral), so I'm feeling much more positive about the drinks now :) And my weight this week was a little lower than last week, but it often fluctuates a bit from week to week, so I'm not worried. In response to Cat's comment on my last post, I have tried Vanilla Scandishake and think it's ok, but prefer normal cow's milk. I'm going to give the carton drinks a try, but knowing I can fall back on Vanilla Scandishake if neccessary.
On Monday evening I was brushing my teeth and I felt something in my mouth. To my shock I discovered that it was one of the brackets from my braces, which had fallen off my tooth! So Tuesday morning I rang the orthodontist to ask their advice. I'm due to see my orthodontist on June 5th to have the wires on my braces tightened, but on the phone it was suggested that I should get my braces fixed sooner. Luckily tomorrow (Thur) I'm at the orthodontic department of the hospital for my initial meeting with the orthodontic surgeons about the 4 teeth extractions I need, so they will try to fit me in to have my braces fixed while I'm there.
A little while ago I mentioned to my consultant at hospital B that it looked like I'd need some teeth removed for my orthodontic treatment, so he gave me a copy of a document from the hospital with details of antibiotic cover required when small bowel or liver transplant recipients need dental treatment or other small surgical procedures. I read through this document earlier in the week in preparation for seeing the orthodontic surgeons tomorrow, and the wording of it suggested that I wouldn't need any antibiotics, but I thought I'd best check this with my consultant, Dr G, at hospital B. So I emailed him about it, but got an automated reply saying he was out of his office until 1st June. So I rang the liver unit yesterday and one of the liver nurses said she's ask another consultant who knows me, what their advice would be. I heard back today that they'd like me to have antibiotic cover for the extractions, but it'll just be one tablet. And they thought that the document was worded wrongly, so they're going to rewrite it to make it clearer!
About a month ago my friend Cat told me about the CEA cinema card. If you are receiving disability living allowance, you can buy a card for just £5.50 a year and it allows someone to accompany you for free to participating cinemas. I receive disability living allowance and often visit the cinema, so I sent off for a card about a month ago and it came in the post a week or two ago. So last night me and my mum tested the CEA card out at our local cinema, and it was accepted with no problems. Thanks Cat :D We saw Coraline 3D and it was fantastic, I'd highly recommend it. It's advertised as being a children's film, but I thought there was lots in it for adults too. The story was very original and the animation was great. The 3D effects were good too :)
Today I took my laptop into the shop where H's dad works and he said he'd have a look at it for me. My laptop has just been really really slow, taking between half an hour to an hour to turn on, and then taking ages to do even the simplest things. H's dad soon gave me a ring and said he'd worked out what the problem was. Apparently the hard drive was very scratched, which just happens sometimes to computers with age (mine is nearly 4 years old) and that explained why it was so slow, because apparently the scratches had damaged Windows. But it can be fixed by installing a new hard drive and reinstalling Windows, which is great because I thought I might have to buy a new laptop! It'll cost £95, but that's ok, as it's much cheaper than buying a new computer. And H's dad will fix it for me tomorrow when he gets the hard drive and will drop it back here tomorrow evening. I'm really looking forward to having my laptop back working again and not having to share the family computer any more :D
This week I've also made a start on clearing out and tidying up my room as that's a big formidable task I'd like to get done over the summer - it's quite a mess at the moment because I have too much stuff! Yesterday I only managed to sort out one drawer, but it's a start! Planning to try to do a bit everyday :)
The rest of this week looks quite busy. I'm babysitting for H again this evening and then hopefully I'll be back home in time to watch The Apprentice. If not, then I'll record it, but I'll have to try to avoid all media til I can watch it tomorrow, as I wont want to know who was fired! Tomorrow I'm going to the orthodontist in the morning (for my appoinment with the orthodontist surgeon and hopefully also to get my braces fixed) and then might be meeting up with a friend that afternoon. Friday and Saturday I'm looking forward to relaxing :D And Sunday evening me and my parents are going bowling with my friend Claire as I need to get some practise in before I compete at the British Transplant Games this summer! From next week I don't have as much planned though, so hopefully I'll be able to rest and relax a bit. I don't feel any less tired yet since I've finished school, but I'm hoping I might start to feel a bit better with time and rest. Fingers crossed.
In response to Cat's comment on my last post I still don't really know what kind of career I'd like. At the moment I'm really enjoying helping out Holly a bit with her Battlefront campaign, chatting to others who've had transplants like mine on the TK forums and Intoto and I'd like to get more involved with Live Life Then Give Life because I think the work they do is great. So I wondered about some kind of career or job related to raising awareness of organ donation or supporting others who are waiting for or have received transplants, but I don't know what there is in that area. Or maybe a career in journalism or working with children. Not really sure yet.
Then Sunday afternoon my nan had quite an adventure! She lives in a neighbouring village about 4 miles away and has always been very independent, but currently has mobility problems because a few years ago she badly broke her leg and it never mended properly. So to help her gain back some independence she bought herself a mobility scooter and has been practising up and down her street with it. However, my nan has never driven a car, so it's taking her a while to get the hang of driving a mobility scooter. On Sunday my dad cycled over to see her and brought her back to our house on her mobility scooter! She managed really well, despite it being the first long journey she'd done on her scooter and it being a really hot day. It did take them about an hour and half to cover 4 miles though! So it was nice to see my nan that afternoon, even though I was feeling quite tired after a busy morning. She enjoyed seeing my May Ball photos and I showed her Holly's Battlefront programme. And me and my parents visited her again on Monday afternoon to check she was ok after her expedition (she drove back home on her scooter as well on Sunday). She was fine, just a bit tired!
Sunday evening I enjoyed watching the first semi final of Britain's Got Talent, and I've been watching the rest of the semi finals this week. This is the first series I've watched of Britain's Got Talent, but I'm enjoying it. I think out of the 6 acts that are through to the final so far, Diversity are my favourite :) But I may change my mind as the week goes on.
From Sunday evening for a couple of days my hands were very irritated, my knuckles were red, dry and very very itchy. I'm not sure why, but assume it could have either been the sun from being outside at the carboot sale on Sunday morning (although I did have sun cream on) or possibly an allergy to the soap I used in the toilets there. Luckily it seems to have cleared up now though.
On Monday I was very tired from a busy day the day before, so spent most of the day just relaxing -reading a good novel, listening to my iPod and watching TV - I love Ashes to Ashes! :D That morning I decided I really ought to start keeping my own diary, rather than relying on my Mum to keep track of everything for me. So I ordered a lovely purple filofax from the Internet and am hoping it should arrive in the post tomorrow (Thur). It was quite expensive, but I know filofaxes last for a long time as my mum has had hers for around 20 years!
I tried another high calorie drink on Monday, but it was disgusting. It was supposed to be strawberry juice, but didn't taste of strawberries at all, which was very frustrating! Very excitingly though, on Tuesday I finally discovered a high calorie drink that I liked, which was like strawberry milkshake and did actually taste of strawberries :D It was called Fortisip Strawberry Flavour for anyone reading this who has experience with high calorie drinks! And today I found another drink that I don't mind, like a neutral milkshake (called Fortisip Neutral), so I'm feeling much more positive about the drinks now :) And my weight this week was a little lower than last week, but it often fluctuates a bit from week to week, so I'm not worried. In response to Cat's comment on my last post, I have tried Vanilla Scandishake and think it's ok, but prefer normal cow's milk. I'm going to give the carton drinks a try, but knowing I can fall back on Vanilla Scandishake if neccessary.
On Monday evening I was brushing my teeth and I felt something in my mouth. To my shock I discovered that it was one of the brackets from my braces, which had fallen off my tooth! So Tuesday morning I rang the orthodontist to ask their advice. I'm due to see my orthodontist on June 5th to have the wires on my braces tightened, but on the phone it was suggested that I should get my braces fixed sooner. Luckily tomorrow (Thur) I'm at the orthodontic department of the hospital for my initial meeting with the orthodontic surgeons about the 4 teeth extractions I need, so they will try to fit me in to have my braces fixed while I'm there.
A little while ago I mentioned to my consultant at hospital B that it looked like I'd need some teeth removed for my orthodontic treatment, so he gave me a copy of a document from the hospital with details of antibiotic cover required when small bowel or liver transplant recipients need dental treatment or other small surgical procedures. I read through this document earlier in the week in preparation for seeing the orthodontic surgeons tomorrow, and the wording of it suggested that I wouldn't need any antibiotics, but I thought I'd best check this with my consultant, Dr G, at hospital B. So I emailed him about it, but got an automated reply saying he was out of his office until 1st June. So I rang the liver unit yesterday and one of the liver nurses said she's ask another consultant who knows me, what their advice would be. I heard back today that they'd like me to have antibiotic cover for the extractions, but it'll just be one tablet. And they thought that the document was worded wrongly, so they're going to rewrite it to make it clearer!
About a month ago my friend Cat told me about the CEA cinema card. If you are receiving disability living allowance, you can buy a card for just £5.50 a year and it allows someone to accompany you for free to participating cinemas. I receive disability living allowance and often visit the cinema, so I sent off for a card about a month ago and it came in the post a week or two ago. So last night me and my mum tested the CEA card out at our local cinema, and it was accepted with no problems. Thanks Cat :D We saw Coraline 3D and it was fantastic, I'd highly recommend it. It's advertised as being a children's film, but I thought there was lots in it for adults too. The story was very original and the animation was great. The 3D effects were good too :)
Today I took my laptop into the shop where H's dad works and he said he'd have a look at it for me. My laptop has just been really really slow, taking between half an hour to an hour to turn on, and then taking ages to do even the simplest things. H's dad soon gave me a ring and said he'd worked out what the problem was. Apparently the hard drive was very scratched, which just happens sometimes to computers with age (mine is nearly 4 years old) and that explained why it was so slow, because apparently the scratches had damaged Windows. But it can be fixed by installing a new hard drive and reinstalling Windows, which is great because I thought I might have to buy a new laptop! It'll cost £95, but that's ok, as it's much cheaper than buying a new computer. And H's dad will fix it for me tomorrow when he gets the hard drive and will drop it back here tomorrow evening. I'm really looking forward to having my laptop back working again and not having to share the family computer any more :D
This week I've also made a start on clearing out and tidying up my room as that's a big formidable task I'd like to get done over the summer - it's quite a mess at the moment because I have too much stuff! Yesterday I only managed to sort out one drawer, but it's a start! Planning to try to do a bit everyday :)
The rest of this week looks quite busy. I'm babysitting for H again this evening and then hopefully I'll be back home in time to watch The Apprentice. If not, then I'll record it, but I'll have to try to avoid all media til I can watch it tomorrow, as I wont want to know who was fired! Tomorrow I'm going to the orthodontist in the morning (for my appoinment with the orthodontist surgeon and hopefully also to get my braces fixed) and then might be meeting up with a friend that afternoon. Friday and Saturday I'm looking forward to relaxing :D And Sunday evening me and my parents are going bowling with my friend Claire as I need to get some practise in before I compete at the British Transplant Games this summer! From next week I don't have as much planned though, so hopefully I'll be able to rest and relax a bit. I don't feel any less tired yet since I've finished school, but I'm hoping I might start to feel a bit better with time and rest. Fingers crossed.
In response to Cat's comment on my last post I still don't really know what kind of career I'd like. At the moment I'm really enjoying helping out Holly a bit with her Battlefront campaign, chatting to others who've had transplants like mine on the TK forums and Intoto and I'd like to get more involved with Live Life Then Give Life because I think the work they do is great. So I wondered about some kind of career or job related to raising awareness of organ donation or supporting others who are waiting for or have received transplants, but I don't know what there is in that area. Or maybe a career in journalism or working with children. Not really sure yet.
Saturday, 23 May 2009
The end of school (and May Ball photos)!
Last Monday I had bad stomach ache all day. I do get stomach ache sometimes, but on Monday it was worse than it usually is and lasted for a lot longer too (til Tuesday morning). I've no idea why though. I managed to get to Hospital H for bloods on Monday though, which all went very smoothly :) I rang the liver unit at Hospital B on Thursday to chase up the blood results, as Hospital H always fax them through. The results all came back fine. Which I suppose is good, but I was a bit disappointed as I'd really hoped that they might show a reason for my extreme tiredness. So that's a bit frustrating.
My weight has remained stable, which is good :) I've tried one more high calorie drink since my last update, but I really didn't like it. It was supposed to be apple juice, which I usually like, but it was really strong and tasted odd, lol. I hope I can find at least one high calorie drink I like!
Earlier this week my mum had an appointment with our GP so she asked him about the progress of my referral to the M.E. unit. He's submitted it and is just waiting to hear, so hopefully I'll soon get an appointment, fingers crossed.
On Tuesday I didn't have any exams, but went into school anyway to sort lots of odd things out, so I wouldn't have to rush around on Friday after my last exams. So I returned all my textbooks, got my book deposit back, asked all my teachers to sign my yearbook, said a final goodbye to some friends whose exams finished on Tuesday... And then I started my psychology revision. That evening I babysat for H for a couple of hours. We had a lovely time and I got lots of exercise playing on Wii Sports with her. I really regretted it the next day though when all the muscles in my right arm ached! H's dad works with computers, so I asked him if he'd be able to have a look at my laptop for me. He's just set up a computer repair shop in my local town, so said he'd be happy to have a look at it for me if I took it into there. So I spent this morning backing up all the stuff on my laptop in preparation for taking it into the shop sometime next week.
On Wednesday I felt awful, just really really exhausted. I attempted revision as I'd got so much to revise for my exams on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, but I struggled with it. That evening after revising for most of the day, I relaxed and watched The Apprentice. I'm so glad Ben went, I couldn't stand him!
Thursday morning I did some last minute cramming before my first psychology exam that afternoon. It wasn't as bad as I expected, so that was relief. There was one horrible question though, that I was sure we hadn't covered in class. I didn't want to leave it blank though, so I made an answer up ;) All of my friends struggled with that question too, so it wasn't just me. We spoke to the teacher the following day about it and she felt ever so bad that she'd not gone into that topic area specifically with us, but had just mentioned it in passing. However, apparently it had never come up in past exams. Next year she's going to add something specific on that area into the syllabus! Thursday evening I attempted to revise everything for my other 2 psychology papers the next morning, so that was quite stressful. Friday's exams went fine, I think!
I couldn't quite believe it that all my exams were over when I walked out of the exam room on Friday and unless I choose to go to uni in the future, I'll never have to revise or sit another exam again! I'm glad the stress and pressure is off now and I'm hoping that with some relaxing I might start to feel a bit better. I'm quite nervous about my future though, as I really don't know what it holds. I'd imagined that when I'd finished school I'd be looking for an apprenticeship or a job, but I'm just not well enough at the moment. So my plan is just to have a break over the summer and then see how I feel after that.
Friday afternoon was sad saying goodbye to everyone, but Facebook is an amazing invention that we'll be able to use to keep in touch. I gave cakes out to my favourite teachers to say thanks for all their help and support over the last 2 years. The last 2 years have been the best years of my life, despite my health problems, because of the amazing sixth form I've attended and the fantastic people I've met there. There are so many people I'm really going to miss.
This afternoon I've finally worked out how to post photos on Facebook, so I've put the May Ball photos and some photos from the final few days at school up on there. Rather than posting them all up again on here, I'll just post the links you can use to view the albums. They should work even if you don't have a Facebook account. So click here to see my May Ball photos (fingers crossed that this works!). The girl in the blue dress is Catherine (my best friend from school and someone who went to Japan with me) and the girl on the right of photo 8 is Abi (another very good friend who also went to Japan). And in photo 15 the teacher on the left of me is my lovely psychology teacher and the teacher on the right of me is Mrs K. And click here to see 2 photos from my final days of school. The first photo is of me and Abi with our Japanese teacher and the second photo is of me with Mrs K (on the left) and Mrs M (on the right).
Yesterday evening I had a lovely time just relaxing and being happy that all my exams were over when my friend Claire came round. I showed Claire and my dad Holly's Battlefront programme and they were both very impressed with all of Holly's work and surprised that me and mum had been on TV :)
This afternoon I was planning to attend a friend's BBQ to celebrate her birthday and the end of our exams, but I've been exhausted today, so didn't feel well enough to go :( So I've been mainly relaxing today, but have been a bit productive too with backing up my laptop, putting my May Ball photos on Facebook...
My weight has remained stable, which is good :) I've tried one more high calorie drink since my last update, but I really didn't like it. It was supposed to be apple juice, which I usually like, but it was really strong and tasted odd, lol. I hope I can find at least one high calorie drink I like!
Earlier this week my mum had an appointment with our GP so she asked him about the progress of my referral to the M.E. unit. He's submitted it and is just waiting to hear, so hopefully I'll soon get an appointment, fingers crossed.
On Tuesday I didn't have any exams, but went into school anyway to sort lots of odd things out, so I wouldn't have to rush around on Friday after my last exams. So I returned all my textbooks, got my book deposit back, asked all my teachers to sign my yearbook, said a final goodbye to some friends whose exams finished on Tuesday... And then I started my psychology revision. That evening I babysat for H for a couple of hours. We had a lovely time and I got lots of exercise playing on Wii Sports with her. I really regretted it the next day though when all the muscles in my right arm ached! H's dad works with computers, so I asked him if he'd be able to have a look at my laptop for me. He's just set up a computer repair shop in my local town, so said he'd be happy to have a look at it for me if I took it into there. So I spent this morning backing up all the stuff on my laptop in preparation for taking it into the shop sometime next week.
On Wednesday I felt awful, just really really exhausted. I attempted revision as I'd got so much to revise for my exams on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, but I struggled with it. That evening after revising for most of the day, I relaxed and watched The Apprentice. I'm so glad Ben went, I couldn't stand him!
Thursday morning I did some last minute cramming before my first psychology exam that afternoon. It wasn't as bad as I expected, so that was relief. There was one horrible question though, that I was sure we hadn't covered in class. I didn't want to leave it blank though, so I made an answer up ;) All of my friends struggled with that question too, so it wasn't just me. We spoke to the teacher the following day about it and she felt ever so bad that she'd not gone into that topic area specifically with us, but had just mentioned it in passing. However, apparently it had never come up in past exams. Next year she's going to add something specific on that area into the syllabus! Thursday evening I attempted to revise everything for my other 2 psychology papers the next morning, so that was quite stressful. Friday's exams went fine, I think!
I couldn't quite believe it that all my exams were over when I walked out of the exam room on Friday and unless I choose to go to uni in the future, I'll never have to revise or sit another exam again! I'm glad the stress and pressure is off now and I'm hoping that with some relaxing I might start to feel a bit better. I'm quite nervous about my future though, as I really don't know what it holds. I'd imagined that when I'd finished school I'd be looking for an apprenticeship or a job, but I'm just not well enough at the moment. So my plan is just to have a break over the summer and then see how I feel after that.
Friday afternoon was sad saying goodbye to everyone, but Facebook is an amazing invention that we'll be able to use to keep in touch. I gave cakes out to my favourite teachers to say thanks for all their help and support over the last 2 years. The last 2 years have been the best years of my life, despite my health problems, because of the amazing sixth form I've attended and the fantastic people I've met there. There are so many people I'm really going to miss.
This afternoon I've finally worked out how to post photos on Facebook, so I've put the May Ball photos and some photos from the final few days at school up on there. Rather than posting them all up again on here, I'll just post the links you can use to view the albums. They should work even if you don't have a Facebook account. So click here to see my May Ball photos (fingers crossed that this works!). The girl in the blue dress is Catherine (my best friend from school and someone who went to Japan with me) and the girl on the right of photo 8 is Abi (another very good friend who also went to Japan). And in photo 15 the teacher on the left of me is my lovely psychology teacher and the teacher on the right of me is Mrs K. And click here to see 2 photos from my final days of school. The first photo is of me and Abi with our Japanese teacher and the second photo is of me with Mrs K (on the left) and Mrs M (on the right).
Yesterday evening I had a lovely time just relaxing and being happy that all my exams were over when my friend Claire came round. I showed Claire and my dad Holly's Battlefront programme and they were both very impressed with all of Holly's work and surprised that me and mum had been on TV :)
This afternoon I was planning to attend a friend's BBQ to celebrate her birthday and the end of our exams, but I've been exhausted today, so didn't feel well enough to go :( So I've been mainly relaxing today, but have been a bit productive too with backing up my laptop, putting my May Ball photos on Facebook...
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
A special day
Just a quick blog as I'm having a very busy day, but today marks 2 and a half years since I received my transplant. My donor and her family have been in my thoughts a lot today, as without them I wouldn't be here now.
If you haven't signed up to the organ donor register yet, then you can do it now by clicking here. It only takes 2 minutes and can make such a difference to someone's life. If you've already signed up, then please talk to your family and friends about the need for more organ donors.
Thank you xxx
If you haven't signed up to the organ donor register yet, then you can do it now by clicking here. It only takes 2 minutes and can make such a difference to someone's life. If you've already signed up, then please talk to your family and friends about the need for more organ donors.
Thank you xxx
Sunday, 17 May 2009
A busy week
Sorry for not updating my blog for a week, I just seem to have been busy. When I originally updated weekly it resulted in some very long posts, so I'm sorry in advance if this post ends up ridiculously long ;)
Last Tuesday I went into school for the day as my Japanese teacher said she'd be around all day to help us with revision. I thought the majority of my class would take advantage of this, but barely anyone turned up. I was on my own with the teacher for most of the morning, but that was good as I got some really productive revision done. And then a friend joined me for the afternoon and we continued to revise while eating loads of lovely Japanese sweets that our teacher kindly provided to give us energy! I'm not very good at motivating myself to revise at home, but that day I did about 7 hours of Japanese revision! And we finished the day by experimenting with the self-timer on my camera to get a photo of the 3 of us, as I thought that might be the last time I saw our Japanese teacher. And she wrote me a lovely message in my yearbook, but it was in complex Japanese, so I can't actually read it, lol. But my teacher explained what it said to me :)
On Thursday I had my 2 Japanese exams. There was an hour and a half reading paper followed by an hour and a half writing paper. We were in the coldest room in the whole school, so the majority of us sat the exams in our coats - in May! The reading paper consisted of 4 sections, the first 3 of which were fine. However, section 4 was very difficult and it had a little writing exercise tagged on the end of it. I spoke to my friends after the exam and none of us had been able to work out what we were meant to write about, lol. But I had a go. And the writing paper was good :) That was split into 2 sections. For section A we had a choice of 2 shorter writings, both of which were a bit odd. But I had a go at one - writing a letter to make a hotel reservation. And for section B we had a choice of 3 longer writings and I really liked one of them. So I chose that one and wrote about a holiday to Japan, which is the kind of thing we'd practised a lot in class. And I managed to get loads of different grammar structures in.
The only exams I have remaining now are 3 psychology exams. One is on Thursday afternoon and then the final two are on Friday morning. I've not actually done any psychology revision yet, so am planning to make a start on that today. I'm a bit concerned though as I know I need to get lots of revision done before the first exam on Thursday afternoon, and how much I can do will depend on how I feel. Tomorrow I'm planning to go into school even though I don't have any exams. I need to return all my textbooks to the relevant teachers and get my leaver's form signed off before I leave for good on Friday. One of my closest friends also finishes her exams on Tuesday, so I want to say a proper goodbye to her and maybe take some photos. And I'm going to try to get more friends and teachers to write messages in my yearbook. Hopefully I'll also be able to fit in some revision tomorrow around all that, as I revise much better at school than at home. At home there are too many distractions!
Last Thursday Holly's Battlefront programme was on TV. If you missed the programme you should be able to view it here soon and also on 4 on demand shortly. I thought the programme was brilliant and Holly came across really well on camera. She's such an inspiration with her campaigning :) I was also on TV briefly in the photoshoot and in the crowd scenes at the drinks evening. There was a very unflattering close-up shot of me and my mum at one point though, lol.
On Friday I attended my sixth form's May Ball. I was quite nervous beforehand as I've not really been to anything like that before, but I had a fantastic time :D There was a lovely buffet, a great band playing and it was a really good social event. I forgot my camera, but my friend Catherine took loads of photos for me, so I should be able to put them up later in the week, once I get them from her on Thursday. And there were a couple of professional photographers around, so I need to find out how I can get hold of those photos. My friend Claire helped me get ready, as I'm a complete novice with make-up and dressing up, but she was great. That was the first time I'd ever worn high heels, so that was a very odd experience, but I managed! There were some fruit drinks available as we went into the May Ball, but because I have to avoid grapefruit (it reacts with my anti rejection medication and stops it from working) I gave it a miss after the people serving it couldn't reassure me it was grapefruit free. Then one of my friends who had taken a glass said it definitely had grapefruit in it, so I was glad I avoided that! I'm not a dancer, as I have absolutely no sense of rhythm and so as the dancing started I opted to just sit and watch. Later in the evening I felt like maybe I should give dancing a go, but I was just too tired, which was quite frustrating. But all in all I had a really good time and it was a fitting end to my time at sixth form. Although I still have some exams to go, lots of people finished their exams last week, so on Friday I had to say goodbye to some friends. We will keep in touch though and try to meet up every so often.
I've been exhausted since the May Ball though, which I suspect is just because I had such a busy night. I spent a lot of the weekend just relaxing as I felt so tired, and had a great time watching Eurovision with my family on Saturday night - it was a real laugh! I'm hoping I'll feel a bit better today though, as I really need to start my psychology revision. At some point today I'm going to go to my local hospital (hospital H) to have blood taken. Hospital B ask me to have bloods done 3 monthly now, so the next ones weren't due til the middle of June. However, because my tiredness seems to have been worse recently I rang the liver team at hospital B and asked if my bloods could be brought forward because I wanted to be sure there wasn't any medical explanation for my tiredness increasing. The results will be faxed from hospital H to hospital B and then hospital B will contact us about the results. And I will also have my B12 levels checked, as the M.E. referral unit asked for that.
My dietician has been concerned about my appetite as when I'm tired, my appetite decreases, so I eat less, so I get less calories, so I become more tired... And so it continues. But my weight is remaining stable. So I had a shock last Tuesday when she suggested that she thought me going back onto overnight enteral feeds might help my tiredness. To me going back onto enteral feeds is like a last resort, as I love the freedom being off of them allows me. So I spoke to my dietician and asked her if I could try some other things first, and she agreed! So we'll review it in a few weeks. The plan is that I'm making a conscious effort to eat more, I'll try some high calorie drinks, I'm going to have my bloods done to rule anything else out and I'll see if my tiredness improves once all my exam stresses are out the way, which I suspect it might. So my dietician sent me a huge box containing a variety of different high calorie drinks on Saturday. I've only tried 2 drinks so far, the first was disgusting and made me feel very sick for a few hours and the second was ok, but I didn't really like it. I'm hoping in amongst all the drinks I'll be able to find one or two I like, as my dietician said ideally she'd like me to drink two a day.
On Friday I visited the orthodontist as I'd arranged an appointment because one of the wires on my braces had come loose, so I was worried it wasn't doing its job properly. At the appointment my orthodontist told me that my braces weren't broken, in fact the wire had just loosened because my teeth were moving like they were supposed to! I wish he'd warned me in advance as I just felt so stupid and that was time and petrol wasted driving 20miles to and from the hospital just to be told there were no problems. I've got to return in about 2 and a half weeks to have my braces tightened.
In this post, I mentioned that a few children in the transplant community were having a tough time. Luckily there's now some more positive news :) K is out of hospital and the little girl I spoke of who'd had complications with a liver transplant has now received another liver and is doing well so far.
Last Tuesday I went into school for the day as my Japanese teacher said she'd be around all day to help us with revision. I thought the majority of my class would take advantage of this, but barely anyone turned up. I was on my own with the teacher for most of the morning, but that was good as I got some really productive revision done. And then a friend joined me for the afternoon and we continued to revise while eating loads of lovely Japanese sweets that our teacher kindly provided to give us energy! I'm not very good at motivating myself to revise at home, but that day I did about 7 hours of Japanese revision! And we finished the day by experimenting with the self-timer on my camera to get a photo of the 3 of us, as I thought that might be the last time I saw our Japanese teacher. And she wrote me a lovely message in my yearbook, but it was in complex Japanese, so I can't actually read it, lol. But my teacher explained what it said to me :)
On Thursday I had my 2 Japanese exams. There was an hour and a half reading paper followed by an hour and a half writing paper. We were in the coldest room in the whole school, so the majority of us sat the exams in our coats - in May! The reading paper consisted of 4 sections, the first 3 of which were fine. However, section 4 was very difficult and it had a little writing exercise tagged on the end of it. I spoke to my friends after the exam and none of us had been able to work out what we were meant to write about, lol. But I had a go. And the writing paper was good :) That was split into 2 sections. For section A we had a choice of 2 shorter writings, both of which were a bit odd. But I had a go at one - writing a letter to make a hotel reservation. And for section B we had a choice of 3 longer writings and I really liked one of them. So I chose that one and wrote about a holiday to Japan, which is the kind of thing we'd practised a lot in class. And I managed to get loads of different grammar structures in.
The only exams I have remaining now are 3 psychology exams. One is on Thursday afternoon and then the final two are on Friday morning. I've not actually done any psychology revision yet, so am planning to make a start on that today. I'm a bit concerned though as I know I need to get lots of revision done before the first exam on Thursday afternoon, and how much I can do will depend on how I feel. Tomorrow I'm planning to go into school even though I don't have any exams. I need to return all my textbooks to the relevant teachers and get my leaver's form signed off before I leave for good on Friday. One of my closest friends also finishes her exams on Tuesday, so I want to say a proper goodbye to her and maybe take some photos. And I'm going to try to get more friends and teachers to write messages in my yearbook. Hopefully I'll also be able to fit in some revision tomorrow around all that, as I revise much better at school than at home. At home there are too many distractions!
Last Thursday Holly's Battlefront programme was on TV. If you missed the programme you should be able to view it here soon and also on 4 on demand shortly. I thought the programme was brilliant and Holly came across really well on camera. She's such an inspiration with her campaigning :) I was also on TV briefly in the photoshoot and in the crowd scenes at the drinks evening. There was a very unflattering close-up shot of me and my mum at one point though, lol.
On Friday I attended my sixth form's May Ball. I was quite nervous beforehand as I've not really been to anything like that before, but I had a fantastic time :D There was a lovely buffet, a great band playing and it was a really good social event. I forgot my camera, but my friend Catherine took loads of photos for me, so I should be able to put them up later in the week, once I get them from her on Thursday. And there were a couple of professional photographers around, so I need to find out how I can get hold of those photos. My friend Claire helped me get ready, as I'm a complete novice with make-up and dressing up, but she was great. That was the first time I'd ever worn high heels, so that was a very odd experience, but I managed! There were some fruit drinks available as we went into the May Ball, but because I have to avoid grapefruit (it reacts with my anti rejection medication and stops it from working) I gave it a miss after the people serving it couldn't reassure me it was grapefruit free. Then one of my friends who had taken a glass said it definitely had grapefruit in it, so I was glad I avoided that! I'm not a dancer, as I have absolutely no sense of rhythm and so as the dancing started I opted to just sit and watch. Later in the evening I felt like maybe I should give dancing a go, but I was just too tired, which was quite frustrating. But all in all I had a really good time and it was a fitting end to my time at sixth form. Although I still have some exams to go, lots of people finished their exams last week, so on Friday I had to say goodbye to some friends. We will keep in touch though and try to meet up every so often.
I've been exhausted since the May Ball though, which I suspect is just because I had such a busy night. I spent a lot of the weekend just relaxing as I felt so tired, and had a great time watching Eurovision with my family on Saturday night - it was a real laugh! I'm hoping I'll feel a bit better today though, as I really need to start my psychology revision. At some point today I'm going to go to my local hospital (hospital H) to have blood taken. Hospital B ask me to have bloods done 3 monthly now, so the next ones weren't due til the middle of June. However, because my tiredness seems to have been worse recently I rang the liver team at hospital B and asked if my bloods could be brought forward because I wanted to be sure there wasn't any medical explanation for my tiredness increasing. The results will be faxed from hospital H to hospital B and then hospital B will contact us about the results. And I will also have my B12 levels checked, as the M.E. referral unit asked for that.
My dietician has been concerned about my appetite as when I'm tired, my appetite decreases, so I eat less, so I get less calories, so I become more tired... And so it continues. But my weight is remaining stable. So I had a shock last Tuesday when she suggested that she thought me going back onto overnight enteral feeds might help my tiredness. To me going back onto enteral feeds is like a last resort, as I love the freedom being off of them allows me. So I spoke to my dietician and asked her if I could try some other things first, and she agreed! So we'll review it in a few weeks. The plan is that I'm making a conscious effort to eat more, I'll try some high calorie drinks, I'm going to have my bloods done to rule anything else out and I'll see if my tiredness improves once all my exam stresses are out the way, which I suspect it might. So my dietician sent me a huge box containing a variety of different high calorie drinks on Saturday. I've only tried 2 drinks so far, the first was disgusting and made me feel very sick for a few hours and the second was ok, but I didn't really like it. I'm hoping in amongst all the drinks I'll be able to find one or two I like, as my dietician said ideally she'd like me to drink two a day.
On Friday I visited the orthodontist as I'd arranged an appointment because one of the wires on my braces had come loose, so I was worried it wasn't doing its job properly. At the appointment my orthodontist told me that my braces weren't broken, in fact the wire had just loosened because my teeth were moving like they were supposed to! I wish he'd warned me in advance as I just felt so stupid and that was time and petrol wasted driving 20miles to and from the hospital just to be told there were no problems. I've got to return in about 2 and a half weeks to have my braces tightened.
In this post, I mentioned that a few children in the transplant community were having a tough time. Luckily there's now some more positive news :) K is out of hospital and the little girl I spoke of who'd had complications with a liver transplant has now received another liver and is doing well so far.
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Quick update
Just a quick update to let you know that I did survive today's Japanese exams and I actually think they went quite well :)
I hope to post a full update tomorrow as I have more to tell you about exams, Holly's Battlefront programme being on TV (and me being on it!), a recent discussion with my dietician...
But very excitingly, tomorrow night is my sixth form's May Ball (and I have an orthodontist appointment tomorrow afternoon), so my full update might be delayed til the weekend. If so, I will post up some May Ball outfit photos! :)
I hope to post a full update tomorrow as I have more to tell you about exams, Holly's Battlefront programme being on TV (and me being on it!), a recent discussion with my dietician...
But very excitingly, tomorrow night is my sixth form's May Ball (and I have an orthodontist appointment tomorrow afternoon), so my full update might be delayed til the weekend. If so, I will post up some May Ball outfit photos! :)
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Battlefront is on TV tomorrow
Just a quick reminder that Holly's Battlefront programme will be on channel 4 from 11.30am til 12pm tomorrow morning. So please remember to watch it or set your video.
Thanks x
Thanks x
Monday, 11 May 2009
A bad weekend and another exam
I didn't have any exams on Friday, so planned to spend the day relaxing. But I woke up feeling good, so decided to pop into town for a change of scene. However, after visiting just a couple of shops in town I felt exhausted, so soon came back home. I felt exhausted that afternoon, all of Saturday and all of Sunday. All weekend I was too tired to do anything, very cold (I'm often cold, but this weekend I just couldn't warm up at all) and my parents noticed how pale I looked. I took my temperature a couple of times, but it was fine. My parents were concerned, but I think this is just the fatigue I've been suffering with since last July, but more severe. I don't know why it's more severe though, possibly partly due to exams? I also had headaches over the weekend, but I think that might just be connected with exhaustion. I'm also concerned about getting enough calories, as when I'm very tired my appetite goes, so I eat less, so I get less calories, so I feel more tired... And it continues. My regular blood tests aren't due for another month, but we're trying to get in touch with hospital B to ask them to send the letter out sooner, so we can just check that there isn't anything else causing me to feel so exhausted. My mum tried to get hold of someone from the liver team at the hospital today, but with no luck, so we'll try again tomorrow.
This morning I managed to make it in to school for an exam, despite such a bad weekend and trouble sleeping last night. It was my second (and final) English Literature exam and lasted for 2 hours. I think it went ok, as I had a good go at it, but it's difficult to tell. At least it wasn't a disaster.
I'm back at home now and feeling ok, so am planning just to relax this afternoon before my friend Claire comes round this evening. It's my sixth form's May Ball on Friday, which I'd really like to go to if I feel well enough, so Claire is coming round later to help me plan my outfit. I haven't worn a dress for many many years, but have borrowed one for the Ball, so it's all very exciting. I promise I'll post some photos up here after the event. I missed my year 11 prom (due to still being in isolation post transplant) and chose not to attend my sixth form's May Ball last year (due to not feeling very sociable and not really enjoying dressing up), but have decided to go this year as it's my year that are leaving (and my friends have all been persuading me to go!).
Tomorrow if I feel up to it I'm planning to go into school for the day to revise Japanese with my friends and the teacher will be around to help us out. I've got nothing planned on Wednesday, then I have both of my Japanese exams on Thursday morning. Friday afternoon I have an orthodontist appointment to fix my broken braces and then Friday evening is the May Ball.
Over the last week or so there's been some sad news in the transplant community. On May 1st a brave little boy who was 17 months old died just one month after receiving a liver and small bowel transplant. His family set up a website to raise awareness of organ donation, which you can visit here. Rest in peace Ethan xxx Yesterday a little girl of just 9 months old with liver disease was called for her transplant. It went ahead, but there were complications and she now desparately needs another liver transplant. And K (who I've mentioned before) who had a small bowel and liver transplant a few years ago, is back in hospital again.
But on a more positive note, William, who received a small bowel transplant last November, has just passed an amazing milestone. Have a look at his mum's blog here. Well done Wills!
This morning I managed to make it in to school for an exam, despite such a bad weekend and trouble sleeping last night. It was my second (and final) English Literature exam and lasted for 2 hours. I think it went ok, as I had a good go at it, but it's difficult to tell. At least it wasn't a disaster.
I'm back at home now and feeling ok, so am planning just to relax this afternoon before my friend Claire comes round this evening. It's my sixth form's May Ball on Friday, which I'd really like to go to if I feel well enough, so Claire is coming round later to help me plan my outfit. I haven't worn a dress for many many years, but have borrowed one for the Ball, so it's all very exciting. I promise I'll post some photos up here after the event. I missed my year 11 prom (due to still being in isolation post transplant) and chose not to attend my sixth form's May Ball last year (due to not feeling very sociable and not really enjoying dressing up), but have decided to go this year as it's my year that are leaving (and my friends have all been persuading me to go!).
Tomorrow if I feel up to it I'm planning to go into school for the day to revise Japanese with my friends and the teacher will be around to help us out. I've got nothing planned on Wednesday, then I have both of my Japanese exams on Thursday morning. Friday afternoon I have an orthodontist appointment to fix my broken braces and then Friday evening is the May Ball.
Over the last week or so there's been some sad news in the transplant community. On May 1st a brave little boy who was 17 months old died just one month after receiving a liver and small bowel transplant. His family set up a website to raise awareness of organ donation, which you can visit here. Rest in peace Ethan xxx Yesterday a little girl of just 9 months old with liver disease was called for her transplant. It went ahead, but there were complications and she now desparately needs another liver transplant. And K (who I've mentioned before) who had a small bowel and liver transplant a few years ago, is back in hospital again.
But on a more positive note, William, who received a small bowel transplant last November, has just passed an amazing milestone. Have a look at his mum's blog here. Well done Wills!
Saturday, 9 May 2009
Battlefront TV programme
As I've mentioned before, my friend Holly has been doing a lot of campaigning to raise awareness of organ donation recently and Donor Day (which I blogged about last month) was all her idea. The campaigning she's been doing has been filmed for a channel 4 series called Battlefront and the episode featuring Holly's campaign will be on TV this Thursday (14th May) on channel 4 from 11.30am til 12pm. Part of Holly's campaign will also be featured in the following episode on Friday (15th May) on channel 4 from 11.30 til 12pm. So please set your video! I might be featured on Thursday's episode, but I'm not sure as I spent a lot of time at the photocall and drinks evening trying to avoid the cameras ;) Holly has set up an event on Facebook with more details which can be found here.
Friday, 8 May 2009
Mika
I can't remember if I've mentioned before that I happen to be a huge Mika fan :D
Me and mum saw him in February 2008 on the last date of his 19 month tour and his concert was fantastic. Now we've just booked tickets to see him again next month when his exclusive acoustic tour comes to London. I'm so happy and excited :D :D :D
Me and mum saw him in February 2008 on the last date of his 19 month tour and his concert was fantastic. Now we've just booked tickets to see him again next month when his exclusive acoustic tour comes to London. I'm so happy and excited :D :D :D
Thursday, 7 May 2009
No more science exams!
I had a relaxing evening yesterday after a busy day and really enjoyed watching The Apprentice. I'm so glad Philip went at last. I probably should have been revising though. I had a better night's sleep last night too :)
This morning I sat my final biology paper :D It lasted 1hr 15mins. It was quite difficult, but I expected that and I managed to attempt every question. After that I was expecting to have to go into solitary confinement again as the head of sixth form had told me yesterday that I wouldn't be sitting the final environmental systems paper til the afternoon, so would have to be kept away from other pupils as they'd sat it while I'd sat my biology exam. But I was shown to another room straight after the biology exam to sit my environmental systems exam! I was a surprised, but was happy to sit the exam then as I felt quite confident about it. And it'd get it out the way so I could go home sooner. It lasted for 1hr. There were a couple of tricky questions, but overall it was a good paper.
So now I've sat 7 exams and have 6 to go, so I'm more than half way through. And I've done all my science exams :D Now I've got a break til my second English Literature exam on Monday, so I plan to spend tomorrow mostly relaxing, but doing some revision too.
This morning I sat my final biology paper :D It lasted 1hr 15mins. It was quite difficult, but I expected that and I managed to attempt every question. After that I was expecting to have to go into solitary confinement again as the head of sixth form had told me yesterday that I wouldn't be sitting the final environmental systems paper til the afternoon, so would have to be kept away from other pupils as they'd sat it while I'd sat my biology exam. But I was shown to another room straight after the biology exam to sit my environmental systems exam! I was a surprised, but was happy to sit the exam then as I felt quite confident about it. And it'd get it out the way so I could go home sooner. It lasted for 1hr. There were a couple of tricky questions, but overall it was a good paper.
So now I've sat 7 exams and have 6 to go, so I'm more than half way through. And I've done all my science exams :D Now I've got a break til my second English Literature exam on Monday, so I plan to spend tomorrow mostly relaxing, but doing some revision too.
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
A very busy day
Yesterday morning I felt great, but it didn't last for long and I soon felt exhausted again. I managed to do a little bit of revision last night for my environmental systems exams this morning. I had a bad night last night though, as I couldn't get off to sleep for a couple of hours. I think it was becuase I was nervous about today's exams. I fell asleep eventually, but didn't have as much sleep last night as I would have liked.
This morning I had 2 environmental systems exams. The first one lasted 45mins and consisted of 30 multiple choice questions. The second exam lasted for 1hr and 15mins and consisted of short answer questions and an essay question (for which I had a choice of 3). Both exams went well as I find environmental systems an easy subject because it seems that most of it is just common sense!
I take environmental systems and biology, which apparently is an unusual subject combination, as there is some overlap between the two syllabuses. So the International Baccalaureate Organisation scheduled the exams at the same time, which meant my exam timetable said I was to sit 5hrs and 15mins of exams this afternoon. I realised this a few weeks ago though, so the deputy head of sixth form rescheduled 2 exams (the environmental systems ones) to this morning. However, this meant that I sat those papers before the rest of my class, so I had to be kept in solitary confinement over lunch, so I couldn't tell anyone else what was in the exams. Between my morning and afternoon exams I had just less than 2hrs which I had to spend in a room just outside the exams office on my own. I ate my lunch and skim read my entire biology revision guide in the hope that something would sink in before my afternoon biology exams. Biology was the subject I'd not managed to do any revision for in the weeks before the exams, but I wasn't too worried as I know I can resit in November if neccessary.
Eventually I was released from solitary confinement to attend the biology exams. There were 2 exams again. The first one was 1hr long and consisted of 40 multiple choice questions. I don't find multiple choice exams too hard as you can usually make an educated guess, but this one was difficult. Even my friends who'd done much more revision than me found it hard. I guessed quite a few answers, as I had no idea, so finished a bit early, but spent my spare time graffiti-ing my rubber ;) The second paper lasted 2hrs 15mins and consisted of some data handling and short answer questions and 2 essay questions (out of a choice of 4). The data handling questions were fine and the short answer questions weren't too bad, but the essay questions were a bit of a disaster! All 4 possibly essay questions were split into 3 parts, so I worked out which I might be able to do better at and attempted them. Some things I knew, some things I made an educated guess at and some I made up, lol!
So my first 2 biology exams weren't great, but I wont really know how I did until I get the results. But I can always resit in November if I want/need to. I'm just relieved they're over now :)
Tomorrow I have my final biology paper and my final environmental systems paper. They were both scheduled for the morning, but I was ok with that as they only total 2hrs 15mins. But the environmental systems exam has been rescheduled to the afternoon for me (which I didn't ask for!) so I'll have to spend lunch tomorrow in solitary confinement again, but it'll be for longer than today, around 2hrs 30mins. Never mind, I'll take some revision, a book and my DSi ;)
This morning I had 2 environmental systems exams. The first one lasted 45mins and consisted of 30 multiple choice questions. The second exam lasted for 1hr and 15mins and consisted of short answer questions and an essay question (for which I had a choice of 3). Both exams went well as I find environmental systems an easy subject because it seems that most of it is just common sense!
I take environmental systems and biology, which apparently is an unusual subject combination, as there is some overlap between the two syllabuses. So the International Baccalaureate Organisation scheduled the exams at the same time, which meant my exam timetable said I was to sit 5hrs and 15mins of exams this afternoon. I realised this a few weeks ago though, so the deputy head of sixth form rescheduled 2 exams (the environmental systems ones) to this morning. However, this meant that I sat those papers before the rest of my class, so I had to be kept in solitary confinement over lunch, so I couldn't tell anyone else what was in the exams. Between my morning and afternoon exams I had just less than 2hrs which I had to spend in a room just outside the exams office on my own. I ate my lunch and skim read my entire biology revision guide in the hope that something would sink in before my afternoon biology exams. Biology was the subject I'd not managed to do any revision for in the weeks before the exams, but I wasn't too worried as I know I can resit in November if neccessary.
Eventually I was released from solitary confinement to attend the biology exams. There were 2 exams again. The first one was 1hr long and consisted of 40 multiple choice questions. I don't find multiple choice exams too hard as you can usually make an educated guess, but this one was difficult. Even my friends who'd done much more revision than me found it hard. I guessed quite a few answers, as I had no idea, so finished a bit early, but spent my spare time graffiti-ing my rubber ;) The second paper lasted 2hrs 15mins and consisted of some data handling and short answer questions and 2 essay questions (out of a choice of 4). The data handling questions were fine and the short answer questions weren't too bad, but the essay questions were a bit of a disaster! All 4 possibly essay questions were split into 3 parts, so I worked out which I might be able to do better at and attempted them. Some things I knew, some things I made an educated guess at and some I made up, lol!
So my first 2 biology exams weren't great, but I wont really know how I did until I get the results. But I can always resit in November if I want/need to. I'm just relieved they're over now :)
Tomorrow I have my final biology paper and my final environmental systems paper. They were both scheduled for the morning, but I was ok with that as they only total 2hrs 15mins. But the environmental systems exam has been rescheduled to the afternoon for me (which I didn't ask for!) so I'll have to spend lunch tomorrow in solitary confinement again, but it'll be for longer than today, around 2hrs 30mins. Never mind, I'll take some revision, a book and my DSi ;)
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Lots of positives
After my last post I had a few more bad days, where I continued to feel exhausted and very fed up. However, on Sunday evening I felt a bit better and I had a good day yesterday :) Yesterday I also sat my first of thirteen exams. It was an English literature exam, lasting for 2 hours, and it wasn't a disaster! ;) I think it went quite well, although it's very difficult to tell. Today I have no exams, so am planning to spend the day sorting emails and phone calls out and of course doing some revision for tomorrow's exams. Tomorrow I have 4 exams totalling five and a quarter hours!!
As I've said in a previous post, my GP is struggling to get me a referral to a local M.E. unit at the moment. So I'm going to try to speak to my adult consultant, Dr W, to see if there's an M.E. unit at hospital A, as it's a big hospital. He also has lots of contacts, so I hope he'll be able to help. However, as my outpatient clinics are now 6 monthly, my next appointment with him isn't until July 1st, which to me seems a long time to wait, as I know if he puts me a referral through there will then be a wait for that. So I'm hoping to ring his secretary this week to see if the appointment can be brought forward at all.
On a more positive note I've recently sent off all the forms to enter this year's British Transplant Games which take place in Coventry from the 30th July to the 3rd August. I've entered 3 events - 50m backstroke, 50m breastroke and 10 pin bowling - but I'm not at all sporty and struggling with my energy at the moment. I'll have a try at the events if I feel up to it, but if not I can just support my team (hospital B's children's team). I've never been before, but it sounds like a great social event, so I'm really looking forward to it. While I'm there I'll also be introduced to the adult team from hospital A, so I can hopefully particiapte with their team in the future.
And some more very exciting news is that in August I hope to fly out to Pittsburg in the USA to help out at a summer camp for children who've had liver and/or small bowel transplants :D I first met Beverly, the doctor who runs the camp, at the Intestinal Study day at hospital B, which I blogged about here. The actual camp runs from Friday 14th August to Monday 17th August, but I'd like to fly out a few days earlier and fly back a few days later to leave time to get over jet-lag and hopefully see some of Pittsburg. It looks like my dietician and one of the liver nurses from hospital B will be going too and possibly some other children from hospital B who've had transplants like mine. The camp takes children from 7 to 17 years old, but because I'm 18 I'd be a junior counsellor ;) All of the junior counsellors there will also be transplant recipients. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity to meet other people my age who've had small bowel transplants, as they're much more common in the USA than here in England. Just to give you an idea of the numbers, here in England, very few adults have received small bowel transplants, I think the number is around 10. I was the 43rd (I think) child in the UK to receive a small bowel transplant, and at present just over 60 children have been transplanted. The longest survivors have now had their transplants for just over 10 years. However, the survival rate isn't that good and the majority of small bowel transplant recipients are under the age of 2 at the time of transplant, so I haven't met many small bowel transplant recipients my age. There is only one other small bowel transplant reciepient now transitioning from hospital B to hospital A with me. I hope to hear more about the camp from Beverly soon, but she's in the middle of moving hospitals, so it might be a few weeks, but I'll let you know when I hear more.
My weight this morning was the same as last week, which I was very relieved to see. When I'm at my most exhausted my appetite greatly decreases, which makes keeping my weight stable quite difficult. However as yesterday was a good day, I've got my fingers crossed that this week will be a good week and my appetite will return a bit.
Last night I discovered that my braces have broken - again! I've not quite had them for 6 weeks and this is the 3rd time I've had a problem with them :( I phoned the orthodontist this morning and have got an appointment to have them fixed a week on Friday.
I've just realised how long this blog is, so I think I'll stop now ;)
As I've said in a previous post, my GP is struggling to get me a referral to a local M.E. unit at the moment. So I'm going to try to speak to my adult consultant, Dr W, to see if there's an M.E. unit at hospital A, as it's a big hospital. He also has lots of contacts, so I hope he'll be able to help. However, as my outpatient clinics are now 6 monthly, my next appointment with him isn't until July 1st, which to me seems a long time to wait, as I know if he puts me a referral through there will then be a wait for that. So I'm hoping to ring his secretary this week to see if the appointment can be brought forward at all.
On a more positive note I've recently sent off all the forms to enter this year's British Transplant Games which take place in Coventry from the 30th July to the 3rd August. I've entered 3 events - 50m backstroke, 50m breastroke and 10 pin bowling - but I'm not at all sporty and struggling with my energy at the moment. I'll have a try at the events if I feel up to it, but if not I can just support my team (hospital B's children's team). I've never been before, but it sounds like a great social event, so I'm really looking forward to it. While I'm there I'll also be introduced to the adult team from hospital A, so I can hopefully particiapte with their team in the future.
And some more very exciting news is that in August I hope to fly out to Pittsburg in the USA to help out at a summer camp for children who've had liver and/or small bowel transplants :D I first met Beverly, the doctor who runs the camp, at the Intestinal Study day at hospital B, which I blogged about here. The actual camp runs from Friday 14th August to Monday 17th August, but I'd like to fly out a few days earlier and fly back a few days later to leave time to get over jet-lag and hopefully see some of Pittsburg. It looks like my dietician and one of the liver nurses from hospital B will be going too and possibly some other children from hospital B who've had transplants like mine. The camp takes children from 7 to 17 years old, but because I'm 18 I'd be a junior counsellor ;) All of the junior counsellors there will also be transplant recipients. It sounds like a fantastic opportunity to meet other people my age who've had small bowel transplants, as they're much more common in the USA than here in England. Just to give you an idea of the numbers, here in England, very few adults have received small bowel transplants, I think the number is around 10. I was the 43rd (I think) child in the UK to receive a small bowel transplant, and at present just over 60 children have been transplanted. The longest survivors have now had their transplants for just over 10 years. However, the survival rate isn't that good and the majority of small bowel transplant recipients are under the age of 2 at the time of transplant, so I haven't met many small bowel transplant recipients my age. There is only one other small bowel transplant reciepient now transitioning from hospital B to hospital A with me. I hope to hear more about the camp from Beverly soon, but she's in the middle of moving hospitals, so it might be a few weeks, but I'll let you know when I hear more.
My weight this morning was the same as last week, which I was very relieved to see. When I'm at my most exhausted my appetite greatly decreases, which makes keeping my weight stable quite difficult. However as yesterday was a good day, I've got my fingers crossed that this week will be a good week and my appetite will return a bit.
Last night I discovered that my braces have broken - again! I've not quite had them for 6 weeks and this is the 3rd time I've had a problem with them :( I phoned the orthodontist this morning and have got an appointment to have them fixed a week on Friday.
I've just realised how long this blog is, so I think I'll stop now ;)
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