Thanks Emma for this meme :)
1. What time did you get up this morning?... 8.30am because I had an orthodontist appt. That's very early for me though, it's usually 10am ish.
2. What is your favourite TV show?... That's hard. Doctor Who, Absolutely Fabulous, The Vicar of Dibley, Life on Mars and Ashes to Ashes, Dragon's Den, The Gadget Show, Film 2009, Horizon...
3. Where would you like to live if you could choose anywhere in the world?... London :D
4. What foods do you dislike?... Peanut butter, brussel sprouts, mince, beans and peas. I'm not a fan of chocolate or sweet things either.
5. What kind of vehicle do you drive?... I can't drive, but my mum drives a Ford Fiesta and my dad drives a Toyota Corolla. I love minis :)
6. What are your favourite clothes? Jeans and either a poloneck in winter or a t-shirt in summer. Comfy clothes :D
7. Where would you visit if you had the chance?... Isles of Scilly again to see my family there, Scotland, Japan again but a different area this time - maybe Tokyo, China, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, New York, more of America... Loads of places ;)
8. Where would you want to retire?... No idea yet, will have to see more places before I decide.
9. Favourite time of the day?... From 11pm ish because that's when I feel at my best :)
10. Where were you born?... In Hosp H.
11. What is your favourite sport to watch?... Gymnastics.
12. Bird watcher?... Nope, don't have the patience :P
13. Are you a morning or a night person? Night most definitely, I'm nocturnal!
14. Do you have any pets?... Nope, not allowed any while I live at home. I'll have pets when I've got a place of my own though :)
15. Are you a cat or dog person?... I prefer dogs and hope to have one in the future.
16. Are you married?... No, lol!
17. Always wear your seatbelt?... Yes
18. Been in a car accident?... Nope
19. Any pet peeves?... People who are disloyal or rude.
20. Favourite flower?... Hmmm, I don't know. I used to like growing pansies.
21. Favourite ice cream?... I don't really like ice cream, but when I do rarely have it I have vanilla.
22. From whom did you get your last email?... My dietician.
23. Broccoli?... I'll eat it, but I don't really like it.
24. What are you listening to right now?... Just me typing. And I can hear the very noisy family computer buzzing too. It's surprisingly quiet in my house at the moment. I was watching Top Of The Pops: New Year's Eve a little while ago.
25. What is your favourite colour?... Purple
26. Coffee drinker?... Nope, don't like hot drinks. I only really drink milk, apple juice and water.
27. What time did you finish this quiz?... 5.39pm
Thursday, 31 December 2009
Imogen
I think I mentioned Imogen a little while ago on my blog. I met her when I was under Hosp G when I was on TPN and she was on TPN too. After I left Hosp G I kept in touch with Imy every so often via email and then we found each other on Facebook.
Imy began to have a very poor quality of life on TPN and even though she wasn't life threateningly ill, a small bowel trasnplant was suggested. Imy had a lot to think about because animals have always been her life and if she was to have a small bowel transplant then she would have to limit her encounters with animals because of infection risks. But Imy decided to have the transplant because she knew it would likely vastly improve her quality of life. She was listed shortly before Christmas.
When I turned my phone on this morning I discovered a text from Imy that had been sent in the middle of last night. She had been called for her transplant (not at Hosp B, at a different hospital that have recently started doing small bowel transplants) and said she'd be in touch again when it was all over. Imy will probably be in theatre now. I'm thinking of her and her family and really hoping it all goes smoothly. When the worst is over I'm hoping to go and visit Imy in hospital in London. And I'm thinking of the brave donor family too.
Imy began to have a very poor quality of life on TPN and even though she wasn't life threateningly ill, a small bowel trasnplant was suggested. Imy had a lot to think about because animals have always been her life and if she was to have a small bowel transplant then she would have to limit her encounters with animals because of infection risks. But Imy decided to have the transplant because she knew it would likely vastly improve her quality of life. She was listed shortly before Christmas.
When I turned my phone on this morning I discovered a text from Imy that had been sent in the middle of last night. She had been called for her transplant (not at Hosp B, at a different hospital that have recently started doing small bowel transplants) and said she'd be in touch again when it was all over. Imy will probably be in theatre now. I'm thinking of her and her family and really hoping it all goes smoothly. When the worst is over I'm hoping to go and visit Imy in hospital in London. And I'm thinking of the brave donor family too.
Wednesday, 30 December 2009
Since Christmas update
Christmas left me quite exhausted, so I spent a few days doing very little apart from watching TV and DVDs :) And I've been very nocturnal too :P
So on TV I've watched:
~ Catherine Tate: Nan's Christmas Carol - which I really enjoyed. David Tennant was great and the programme was very funny :)
~ The Gruffalo - which was a good idea, but aimed at children.
~ The Day of the Triffids - this was a remake on the BBC over 2 evenings this week. It was quite good, but I struggled to concentrate through both 90min parts.
~ The Doctor Who episode Blink - I recorded this off the TV a few months ago and rewatched it with my mum today. I loved it, but it really scared mum!
And I've watched 5 Absolutely Fabulous episodes and 3 Black Books episodes on DVD.
On DVD I've watched:
~ My Sister's Keeper - a fantastic film, but not quite as good as the book.
~ Miss Congeniality - one of my favourite films, it always makes me laugh.
~ Sleepy Hollow - a good Tim Burton film.
And I watched a film called Just Like Heaven on TV, which was quite good.
I've bought a few DVDs this week too. I was looking on the Internet to buy a DVD called Stepmom which I rented a few months ago, but liked and wanted to buy. And then I found that it was in this Julia Roberts boxset, so I ended up buying the boxset and am looking forward to that arriving soon :) And I persuaded mum to buy the first series of Gavin and Stacey on DVD because we missed it on TV.
And on Monday I went to Tesco with mum and they had a DVD sale on :D So I bought 4 DVDs in that - Beetlejuice, 27 Dresses and The Snowman for £3 each. And 17 Again for £5. And mum bought Pride and Prejudice.
Dad and Alf went to the cinema earlier this week to see Avatar 3D and they both really enjoyed it. After seeing trailers I didn't fancy it, but Alf has managed to persuade mum that she'll like it, so Alf is hoping to see it again with mum next week. The only film I like the sound of in the cinema at the moment is Where The Wild Things Are. We all want to see that though, so I'm not sure if we'll manage to get it together to go before it disappears from the cinema! :P
I quite fancied going to a carboot sale on Sun, but discovered that our local ones are not on again til the middle of Feb :(
iTunes are currently doing a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. Some of their free downloads so far haven't appealed to me, but I've downloaded 2 music videos. My new laptop is very whizzy (post on it coming soon), but unfortunately our Internet connection isn't so great - the 2 music videos I downloaded took 45mins and 1hour to download!
As well as getting out to Tesco on Sun, yesterday I went round to the post office to post off some parcels for mum (a DVD return to Amazon because Chris had already been given the Eddie Izzard DVD my mum bought him for Christmas and the socks she knitted for dad's favourite nurse at Hosp B). I had to queue for 20mins at our village post office! Hmph! And then when it was my turn I was told that I had to fill out a customs form because the Amazon return was going to their warehouse in Jersey! Got it done eventually though.
Yesterday mum also took me to Hosp H to have my bloods repeated, but luckily the more experienced phlebotomist was there as well as the new one, so she took my blood. I was a bit nervous about them losing my blood results though! Apparently Hosp B always phone Hosp H for my blood results, so I don't know why we thought that my results were faxed through. As far as I know, Hosp B haven't got my latest blood results yet, but unexpectedly this morning I received an email from my GP with my latest blood results attached. And all but 2 of my LFTs are within the normal range :D And one of the results that is marked as high is only just out of the normal range (it's 21 instead of being between 5 and 20). Yay!
I took my Tac blood at home this morning via a fingerprick. I should have done it yesterday, but mum was at work yesterday morning, so I attempted to do it myself as I couldn't leave it too late to take my Tac. Me and mum usually do it as a team and yesterday I discovered when trying to do it on my own that I needed 3 hands! So I gave up and we did it together this morning. Hopefully my Tac level will be ok today after my Tac dose has been changed, fingers crossed. We went to the post office to post that off to Hosp B and I also posted off a letter and a birthday parcel to my AYME buddy, Kate. While we were out we also called in at the GP surgery to collect some of my overnight feed and some high calorie drinks.
Yesterday while me and mum were at Hosp H, we also went to visit my nan. She was very cheerful and looked brighter than she had when we saw her before. She's still waiting for the results of some of her heart tests and is also still waiting to see the cardiologist. She's having loads of tests and scans done in the meantime though, they seem to be being very thorough, which is good :)
Yesterday morning I received a letter in the post from Hosp B saying that my consultant had requested for me to have 2 heart tests, so I had an appointment for them. That was a surprise, I don't have any heart problems, so why does my consultant want me to have heart tests? And why do I have to travel to BCH between clinics for them, can't they wait til my next clinic? Why weren't they done when I was in hospital 2 weeks ago? Hosp B is in a city which is about an hour and a half drive away, so I was not impressed with being given a 4.15pm appt on a Fri aft, how ridiculous! So I've rung Liver Direct at Hosp B and have left a message on the answermachine querying the tests. Hopefully they'll reply soon. If I do need them and if my consultant wants me to have them before my next clinic, then I'll have to change the appt. As well as it being a silly time, my mum works on Fri nights, so I wouldn't be able to get there.
I mentioned in a previous post that I had hurt my arm when I slipped over on the ice on Christmas Eve and although it was very sore for a couple of days it's completely better now :)
Today I was supposed to be going to see Lizzy and her family, but we had to cancel it because Lizzy has a tummy bug. We're hoping to go in a couple of weeks instead, but I'm a bit disappointed.
I was invited to a sixth form meet-up for New Year, but it's an overnight thing, so I'm not going to be able to attend it. I'm not too bothered though. Catherine, my closest friend from sixth form, is going to come round to see me next Thur evening before she goes back to uni, so I'm looking forward to that :)
There's no more news on M yet. The latest from Jess' Facebook page is that she's still in ITU, ventilated and sedated, but that's to be expected at this stage and she's stable. This article was in the Mirror today.
On Mon morning I had a very scary nosebleed. Before my transplant when my liver was failing I used to have profuse nosebleeds that would usually end up with me being admitted to hospital because they just wouldn't stop. And I'd need blood transfusions because I'd lose so much blood. Since my transplant I'd only had tiny nosebleeds until Mon. So when I had a big one on Monday it did scare me as it brought back so many horrible memories. Luckily it did stop, but it took about an hour to do so. I also had another one on Tuesday, but it was very small that time.
On Mon night I should have been on enteral feed, but the nostril that bled is the one I put my NG tube in. So I couldn't risk putting it in that one as it would likely start my nosebleed again. I tried to put it in the other nostril, but that was so unbearably painful (I'm not sure why though), I had to take it straight out again. So I missed my enteral feed on Mon night, but drank more than usual to make sure I didn't get dehydrated. That was tricky though because I'd swallowed lots of blood which made me feel very nauseus. And because of that I only had half a high calorie drink on Mon, instead of a whole one. So last week I only had 2 nights of enteral feed and missed half a high calorie drink, so I wasn't surprised when my weight on Tue morn was down by 0.5kg to 50.0kg. I emailed my dietician about that (and also asked for some advice on excluding foods from my diet to try to find out what is causing my tummy pains) and am waiting for a reply.
Yesterday I managed a whole high calorie drink as usual and then put my NG tube in with no problem in the evening, so had enteral feed overnight last night. Out of interest I weighed myself again this morning and my weight was 51.0kg. So I think my weight really depends on when I weigh myself!
Watching so many DVDs and so much TV this week has really got me thinking that I ought to find a hobby or something more productive to do with my time. So I posted on the AYME forums yesterday evening asking for suggestions. I got quite a few responses with loads of ideas. So I feel really inspired now and am going to enjoy trying some things out over the next few weeks :) Last night on someone's suggestion I downloaded Windows Movie Maker and am going to have a play about with that because my camera also takes videos too. Last night I made a slideshow with it using some photos I already had on my laptop.
I have loads of medical appts coming up over the next few weeks. Tomorrow I have an orthodontist appt at Hosp A where my braces will be fixed and my wires will be tightened, which will probably leave my mouth quite sore for a few days. Then next week I have a Pathways To Work interview in town on Wed (about seeing whether or not I can do a bit of work at the moment) and then my dreaded ESA medical appt in the city on the Fri, eeek! :( On Mon 11th I have a physio appt at Hosp A to see if physio might be able to help my ME. And Fri 14th is my current appt for my heart scans at Hosp B, but if I need them then I wont be keeping that date. Mon 18th I have a hygeinist appt at Hosp A. And depending on what Hosp B think of my latest blood results and what my Tac level comes back as, then I may need more blood tests over the next few weeks. Phew!
So on TV I've watched:
~ Catherine Tate: Nan's Christmas Carol - which I really enjoyed. David Tennant was great and the programme was very funny :)
~ The Gruffalo - which was a good idea, but aimed at children.
~ The Day of the Triffids - this was a remake on the BBC over 2 evenings this week. It was quite good, but I struggled to concentrate through both 90min parts.
~ The Doctor Who episode Blink - I recorded this off the TV a few months ago and rewatched it with my mum today. I loved it, but it really scared mum!
And I've watched 5 Absolutely Fabulous episodes and 3 Black Books episodes on DVD.
On DVD I've watched:
~ My Sister's Keeper - a fantastic film, but not quite as good as the book.
~ Miss Congeniality - one of my favourite films, it always makes me laugh.
~ Sleepy Hollow - a good Tim Burton film.
And I watched a film called Just Like Heaven on TV, which was quite good.
I've bought a few DVDs this week too. I was looking on the Internet to buy a DVD called Stepmom which I rented a few months ago, but liked and wanted to buy. And then I found that it was in this Julia Roberts boxset, so I ended up buying the boxset and am looking forward to that arriving soon :) And I persuaded mum to buy the first series of Gavin and Stacey on DVD because we missed it on TV.
And on Monday I went to Tesco with mum and they had a DVD sale on :D So I bought 4 DVDs in that - Beetlejuice, 27 Dresses and The Snowman for £3 each. And 17 Again for £5. And mum bought Pride and Prejudice.
Dad and Alf went to the cinema earlier this week to see Avatar 3D and they both really enjoyed it. After seeing trailers I didn't fancy it, but Alf has managed to persuade mum that she'll like it, so Alf is hoping to see it again with mum next week. The only film I like the sound of in the cinema at the moment is Where The Wild Things Are. We all want to see that though, so I'm not sure if we'll manage to get it together to go before it disappears from the cinema! :P
I quite fancied going to a carboot sale on Sun, but discovered that our local ones are not on again til the middle of Feb :(
iTunes are currently doing a 12 Days of Christmas giveaway. Some of their free downloads so far haven't appealed to me, but I've downloaded 2 music videos. My new laptop is very whizzy (post on it coming soon), but unfortunately our Internet connection isn't so great - the 2 music videos I downloaded took 45mins and 1hour to download!
As well as getting out to Tesco on Sun, yesterday I went round to the post office to post off some parcels for mum (a DVD return to Amazon because Chris had already been given the Eddie Izzard DVD my mum bought him for Christmas and the socks she knitted for dad's favourite nurse at Hosp B). I had to queue for 20mins at our village post office! Hmph! And then when it was my turn I was told that I had to fill out a customs form because the Amazon return was going to their warehouse in Jersey! Got it done eventually though.
Yesterday mum also took me to Hosp H to have my bloods repeated, but luckily the more experienced phlebotomist was there as well as the new one, so she took my blood. I was a bit nervous about them losing my blood results though! Apparently Hosp B always phone Hosp H for my blood results, so I don't know why we thought that my results were faxed through. As far as I know, Hosp B haven't got my latest blood results yet, but unexpectedly this morning I received an email from my GP with my latest blood results attached. And all but 2 of my LFTs are within the normal range :D And one of the results that is marked as high is only just out of the normal range (it's 21 instead of being between 5 and 20). Yay!
I took my Tac blood at home this morning via a fingerprick. I should have done it yesterday, but mum was at work yesterday morning, so I attempted to do it myself as I couldn't leave it too late to take my Tac. Me and mum usually do it as a team and yesterday I discovered when trying to do it on my own that I needed 3 hands! So I gave up and we did it together this morning. Hopefully my Tac level will be ok today after my Tac dose has been changed, fingers crossed. We went to the post office to post that off to Hosp B and I also posted off a letter and a birthday parcel to my AYME buddy, Kate. While we were out we also called in at the GP surgery to collect some of my overnight feed and some high calorie drinks.
Yesterday while me and mum were at Hosp H, we also went to visit my nan. She was very cheerful and looked brighter than she had when we saw her before. She's still waiting for the results of some of her heart tests and is also still waiting to see the cardiologist. She's having loads of tests and scans done in the meantime though, they seem to be being very thorough, which is good :)
Yesterday morning I received a letter in the post from Hosp B saying that my consultant had requested for me to have 2 heart tests, so I had an appointment for them. That was a surprise, I don't have any heart problems, so why does my consultant want me to have heart tests? And why do I have to travel to BCH between clinics for them, can't they wait til my next clinic? Why weren't they done when I was in hospital 2 weeks ago? Hosp B is in a city which is about an hour and a half drive away, so I was not impressed with being given a 4.15pm appt on a Fri aft, how ridiculous! So I've rung Liver Direct at Hosp B and have left a message on the answermachine querying the tests. Hopefully they'll reply soon. If I do need them and if my consultant wants me to have them before my next clinic, then I'll have to change the appt. As well as it being a silly time, my mum works on Fri nights, so I wouldn't be able to get there.
I mentioned in a previous post that I had hurt my arm when I slipped over on the ice on Christmas Eve and although it was very sore for a couple of days it's completely better now :)
Today I was supposed to be going to see Lizzy and her family, but we had to cancel it because Lizzy has a tummy bug. We're hoping to go in a couple of weeks instead, but I'm a bit disappointed.
I was invited to a sixth form meet-up for New Year, but it's an overnight thing, so I'm not going to be able to attend it. I'm not too bothered though. Catherine, my closest friend from sixth form, is going to come round to see me next Thur evening before she goes back to uni, so I'm looking forward to that :)
There's no more news on M yet. The latest from Jess' Facebook page is that she's still in ITU, ventilated and sedated, but that's to be expected at this stage and she's stable. This article was in the Mirror today.
On Mon morning I had a very scary nosebleed. Before my transplant when my liver was failing I used to have profuse nosebleeds that would usually end up with me being admitted to hospital because they just wouldn't stop. And I'd need blood transfusions because I'd lose so much blood. Since my transplant I'd only had tiny nosebleeds until Mon. So when I had a big one on Monday it did scare me as it brought back so many horrible memories. Luckily it did stop, but it took about an hour to do so. I also had another one on Tuesday, but it was very small that time.
On Mon night I should have been on enteral feed, but the nostril that bled is the one I put my NG tube in. So I couldn't risk putting it in that one as it would likely start my nosebleed again. I tried to put it in the other nostril, but that was so unbearably painful (I'm not sure why though), I had to take it straight out again. So I missed my enteral feed on Mon night, but drank more than usual to make sure I didn't get dehydrated. That was tricky though because I'd swallowed lots of blood which made me feel very nauseus. And because of that I only had half a high calorie drink on Mon, instead of a whole one. So last week I only had 2 nights of enteral feed and missed half a high calorie drink, so I wasn't surprised when my weight on Tue morn was down by 0.5kg to 50.0kg. I emailed my dietician about that (and also asked for some advice on excluding foods from my diet to try to find out what is causing my tummy pains) and am waiting for a reply.
Yesterday I managed a whole high calorie drink as usual and then put my NG tube in with no problem in the evening, so had enteral feed overnight last night. Out of interest I weighed myself again this morning and my weight was 51.0kg. So I think my weight really depends on when I weigh myself!
Watching so many DVDs and so much TV this week has really got me thinking that I ought to find a hobby or something more productive to do with my time. So I posted on the AYME forums yesterday evening asking for suggestions. I got quite a few responses with loads of ideas. So I feel really inspired now and am going to enjoy trying some things out over the next few weeks :) Last night on someone's suggestion I downloaded Windows Movie Maker and am going to have a play about with that because my camera also takes videos too. Last night I made a slideshow with it using some photos I already had on my laptop.
I have loads of medical appts coming up over the next few weeks. Tomorrow I have an orthodontist appt at Hosp A where my braces will be fixed and my wires will be tightened, which will probably leave my mouth quite sore for a few days. Then next week I have a Pathways To Work interview in town on Wed (about seeing whether or not I can do a bit of work at the moment) and then my dreaded ESA medical appt in the city on the Fri, eeek! :( On Mon 11th I have a physio appt at Hosp A to see if physio might be able to help my ME. And Fri 14th is my current appt for my heart scans at Hosp B, but if I need them then I wont be keeping that date. Mon 18th I have a hygeinist appt at Hosp A. And depending on what Hosp B think of my latest blood results and what my Tac level comes back as, then I may need more blood tests over the next few weeks. Phew!
2009 Meme
Thanks Posh Totty for this meme :)
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? ... Managed for 6 months without artificial feeds. And I went away with school for 10 days without any artificial feeds and without my parents :D
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? .... I don't think I made any this year. I'm not sure I'll make any resolutions for next year, but I do have hopes that you can see on this blog post.
3. How will you be spending New Year's Eve? ... I will be spending the afternoon at the orthodontist :( I was invited to a sixth form meet-up that night, but am not well enough to go so will probably spend the night at home watching TV.
4. Did anyone close to you die? ... No
5. What countries did you visit? ... Japan :D
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? ... More energy
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? ... That's a hard question, I really don't know about a specific date, but my memories of Japan will stay with me.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? ... Completing my International Baccalaureate Certificates :)
9. What was your biggest failure? ... At the time dropping maths at school seemed like a failure, but looking back on it dropping a subject was the only way I could keep going at school while I was ill. And I'm really disappointed that I wasn't photographed for the Gifts of Life photography exhibition, but that was out of my control.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? ... Yup, ME. But that was ongoing from 2008.
11. What was the best thing you bought? ... A sofa and bigger TV (with an inbuilt DVD player) for my bedroom. And my new laptop :D
12. Where did most of your money go? ... DVDs
13. What song will always remind you of 2009? ... I'm not sure about specific songs, but I've enjoyed discovering some fantastic albums this year including 'Funhouse' by Pink, 'It's Not Me It's You' by Lily Allen 'Hands' by Little Boots, 'Taylor Swift' and 'Fearless' by Taylor Swift, 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much' by Mika, 'Turn It Up' by Pixie Lott and 'Overcome' by Alexandra Burke.
14. What do you wish you'd done more of? ... I know I should have rested more to stop my ME getting worse, but I can't just do nothing.
15. What do you wish you'd done less of? .... I know I shouldn't have overdone it so much, which lead to my ME getting worse. But what would I have missed out on then?
16. What was your favourite TV program? ... I rediscovered Absolutely Fabulous on DVD. And Ashes to Ashes series 2 was great.
17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? ... Don't think so.
18. What was the best book you read? ... I've not been able to read novels this year because of my poor concentration and memory :(
19. What was your greatest musical discovery? ... Taylor Swift, Little Boots and Pixie Lott.
20. What was your favourite film of this year? ... At the cinema - The Proposal, My Sister's Keeper. The Hangover and Up 3D I think. And of course, how could I forget Coraline! :D I've watched loads of DVDs too, but can't remember specifics. Recently I've really enjoyed watching Memoirs of a Geisha and Girl Interrupted though.
21. What did you do on your birthday? ... Claire came round so I spent the day with her and my family watching DVDs, playing games and Dad cooked tea on a BBQ. I also took Claire to meet my nan for the first time.
22. What kept you sane? ... My family and friends
23. Who did you miss? ... I often miss my best friend Lizzy because she lives 80 miles away so I'm not able to see her as often as I'd like to.
24. Who was the best new person you met? ... I can't just name one, but I've met some amazing people though the online ME communities I've joined.
25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: ... ME is frustrating, but it's not the end of the world. It won't kill me and I will get better, I just don't know when, so need to try to be more patient til then.
1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? ... Managed for 6 months without artificial feeds. And I went away with school for 10 days without any artificial feeds and without my parents :D
2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? .... I don't think I made any this year. I'm not sure I'll make any resolutions for next year, but I do have hopes that you can see on this blog post.
3. How will you be spending New Year's Eve? ... I will be spending the afternoon at the orthodontist :( I was invited to a sixth form meet-up that night, but am not well enough to go so will probably spend the night at home watching TV.
4. Did anyone close to you die? ... No
5. What countries did you visit? ... Japan :D
6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009? ... More energy
7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? ... That's a hard question, I really don't know about a specific date, but my memories of Japan will stay with me.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? ... Completing my International Baccalaureate Certificates :)
9. What was your biggest failure? ... At the time dropping maths at school seemed like a failure, but looking back on it dropping a subject was the only way I could keep going at school while I was ill. And I'm really disappointed that I wasn't photographed for the Gifts of Life photography exhibition, but that was out of my control.
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? ... Yup, ME. But that was ongoing from 2008.
11. What was the best thing you bought? ... A sofa and bigger TV (with an inbuilt DVD player) for my bedroom. And my new laptop :D
12. Where did most of your money go? ... DVDs
13. What song will always remind you of 2009? ... I'm not sure about specific songs, but I've enjoyed discovering some fantastic albums this year including 'Funhouse' by Pink, 'It's Not Me It's You' by Lily Allen 'Hands' by Little Boots, 'Taylor Swift' and 'Fearless' by Taylor Swift, 'The Boy Who Knew Too Much' by Mika, 'Turn It Up' by Pixie Lott and 'Overcome' by Alexandra Burke.
14. What do you wish you'd done more of? ... I know I should have rested more to stop my ME getting worse, but I can't just do nothing.
15. What do you wish you'd done less of? .... I know I shouldn't have overdone it so much, which lead to my ME getting worse. But what would I have missed out on then?
16. What was your favourite TV program? ... I rediscovered Absolutely Fabulous on DVD. And Ashes to Ashes series 2 was great.
17. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? ... Don't think so.
18. What was the best book you read? ... I've not been able to read novels this year because of my poor concentration and memory :(
19. What was your greatest musical discovery? ... Taylor Swift, Little Boots and Pixie Lott.
20. What was your favourite film of this year? ... At the cinema - The Proposal, My Sister's Keeper. The Hangover and Up 3D I think. And of course, how could I forget Coraline! :D I've watched loads of DVDs too, but can't remember specifics. Recently I've really enjoyed watching Memoirs of a Geisha and Girl Interrupted though.
21. What did you do on your birthday? ... Claire came round so I spent the day with her and my family watching DVDs, playing games and Dad cooked tea on a BBQ. I also took Claire to meet my nan for the first time.
22. What kept you sane? ... My family and friends
23. Who did you miss? ... I often miss my best friend Lizzy because she lives 80 miles away so I'm not able to see her as often as I'd like to.
24. Who was the best new person you met? ... I can't just name one, but I've met some amazing people though the online ME communities I've joined.
25. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009: ... ME is frustrating, but it's not the end of the world. It won't kill me and I will get better, I just don't know when, so need to try to be more patient til then.
Tuesday, 29 December 2009
Looking back at 2009 and forward to 2010
I've been thinking for a long time about what to put in this post as I wanted to make it really meaningful, but I can't think of anything meaningful to write. I thought that an easier option would be to write about what has happened to me this year and what I hope will happen next year, but my memory is awful :P After a bit of thinking I came up with some thoughts though.
This year:
~ My post transplant health has continued to improve
~ My eating has become more 'normal' and I managed 6 months with no artificial feeds at all
~ My tummy pains have become worse and more frequent, but I don't know why
~ I've had my 3rd transplant anniversary
~ My ME has become worse
~ I finally received a diagnosis of ME in August after being ill for 13 months
~ I joined AYME and Foggy Friends for support with my ME
~ I attended my first AYME meet-up
~ I went on an amazing trip to Japan in Feb
~ I completed my sixth form course and gained 5 International Baccalaureate Certificates
~ I cleaned and decluttered my bedroom and gave it a make-over
~ I promoted organ donation through the events National Transplant Week, Donor Day 2009 and the Save Jess campaign and also just generally without special occassions. I also spoke about organ donation to a large group of health professionals.
~ I attempted to attend the British Transplant Games 2009, but came home early because I wasn't feeling well
~ I've had just one planned hospital admission
~ I've got braces
~ I've stayed with my best friend Lizzy and her family twice
~ I began to write a blog and gained 7 followers
~ I've attended many concerts
Next year I hope:
~ My post transplant health will remain stable
~ I'll be able to come off enteral feeds for good
~ The cause of my tummy pains will be found and my tummy pains will be able to be controlled
~ My ME health will remain stable or improve
~ I will continue to promote organ donation. My friend Claire is a teacher and so I am hoping to give a talk to a group of teenagers about organ donation in the new year.
~ I will continue to write my blog regularly
~ I'll find a more productive way to spend my time than watching too many DVDs, lol
~ I'll start consistently spending less than my income
~ I will have a postive outcome from my ESA medical assessment and so will be granted the ESA benefit
~ To attend more concerts (including The Noisettes and Mika in Feb)
~ To attend more AYME meet-ups
~ To try to be less shy around new people
~ To possibly attend the transplant camp in the USA that I didn't manage to attend this year because of my health. That will depend on my health next summer though.
I also hope that my Nan's health improves so she can soon be discharged from hospital and get back home. And I hope that the health of all my family, friends and contacts in the ME and transplant communities will improve or at least stay stable. I hope that raising awareness of organ donation really will make a difference and hopefully stop 3 people dying in the UK each day while waiting for transplants.
And finally I'd just like to say thank you to my donor and her family for giving me the gift of life so I can look back on the year just gone and look forward to the year to come.
This year:
~ My post transplant health has continued to improve
~ My eating has become more 'normal' and I managed 6 months with no artificial feeds at all
~ My tummy pains have become worse and more frequent, but I don't know why
~ I've had my 3rd transplant anniversary
~ My ME has become worse
~ I finally received a diagnosis of ME in August after being ill for 13 months
~ I joined AYME and Foggy Friends for support with my ME
~ I attended my first AYME meet-up
~ I went on an amazing trip to Japan in Feb
~ I completed my sixth form course and gained 5 International Baccalaureate Certificates
~ I cleaned and decluttered my bedroom and gave it a make-over
~ I promoted organ donation through the events National Transplant Week, Donor Day 2009 and the Save Jess campaign and also just generally without special occassions. I also spoke about organ donation to a large group of health professionals.
~ I attempted to attend the British Transplant Games 2009, but came home early because I wasn't feeling well
~ I've had just one planned hospital admission
~ I've got braces
~ I've stayed with my best friend Lizzy and her family twice
~ I began to write a blog and gained 7 followers
~ I've attended many concerts
Next year I hope:
~ My post transplant health will remain stable
~ I'll be able to come off enteral feeds for good
~ The cause of my tummy pains will be found and my tummy pains will be able to be controlled
~ My ME health will remain stable or improve
~ I will continue to promote organ donation. My friend Claire is a teacher and so I am hoping to give a talk to a group of teenagers about organ donation in the new year.
~ I will continue to write my blog regularly
~ I'll find a more productive way to spend my time than watching too many DVDs, lol
~ I'll start consistently spending less than my income
~ I will have a postive outcome from my ESA medical assessment and so will be granted the ESA benefit
~ To attend more concerts (including The Noisettes and Mika in Feb)
~ To attend more AYME meet-ups
~ To try to be less shy around new people
~ To possibly attend the transplant camp in the USA that I didn't manage to attend this year because of my health. That will depend on my health next summer though.
I also hope that my Nan's health improves so she can soon be discharged from hospital and get back home. And I hope that the health of all my family, friends and contacts in the ME and transplant communities will improve or at least stay stable. I hope that raising awareness of organ donation really will make a difference and hopefully stop 3 people dying in the UK each day while waiting for transplants.
And finally I'd just like to say thank you to my donor and her family for giving me the gift of life so I can look back on the year just gone and look forward to the year to come.
Monday, 28 December 2009
Opening lines in 2009
Thanks to Emma for this meme idea :) Here are the first lines of my blog from each month over the past year.
January - I've never written a blog before, but after following several blogs I've been inspired to start one of my own.
February - As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I went to see 'Seven Pounds' at the cinema last weekend, but didn't think it was very well put together.
March - I had a great relaxing weekend.
April - Tuesday 7th April is Donor Day.
May - After my last post I had a few more bad days, where I continued to feel exhausted and very fed up.
June - After I wrote my last blog update I went out to babysit for H.
July - This year National Transplant Week runs from today (5th July) til next Saturday (12th July).
August - My plan of avoiding rice to help my tummy aches hasn't worked.
September - On Sunday I felt exhausted after a busy afternoon the day before at the family get together.
October - Last Saturday I went to a local safari park with my mum, dad and Alf.
November - I've been quite tired since my last blog update, but that might be a result of going out to the concert on Thursday.
December - I think the biggest news since my last update is that my ESA medical assessment was cancelled at the last minute this morning by them, not me!
January - I've never written a blog before, but after following several blogs I've been inspired to start one of my own.
February - As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I went to see 'Seven Pounds' at the cinema last weekend, but didn't think it was very well put together.
March - I had a great relaxing weekend.
April - Tuesday 7th April is Donor Day.
May - After my last post I had a few more bad days, where I continued to feel exhausted and very fed up.
June - After I wrote my last blog update I went out to babysit for H.
July - This year National Transplant Week runs from today (5th July) til next Saturday (12th July).
August - My plan of avoiding rice to help my tummy aches hasn't worked.
September - On Sunday I felt exhausted after a busy afternoon the day before at the family get together.
October - Last Saturday I went to a local safari park with my mum, dad and Alf.
November - I've been quite tired since my last blog update, but that might be a result of going out to the concert on Thursday.
December - I think the biggest news since my last update is that my ESA medical assessment was cancelled at the last minute this morning by them, not me!
Yay!
After becoming so ill yesterday, Jess received her transplant last night after 4 years on the waiting list! The latest news this morning is that she's in ICU. Fingers crossed she has a smooth recovery. Updates on Jess' progress will be posted on her Facebook group here. Jess' life has been saved thanks to a very generous stranger. You can give the gift of life here.
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