I cannot believe that it is almost a year that ago that I fell ill and overnight, literally, that my life changed for ever.
Who would have thought this time last year as I was rushing around filling every hour of the day that I would face the biggest challenge of my life in the blink of an eye? It was to push me to the lowest points possible and swing me up to highs that left me with tears of gratitude thanking those around me who have unwaveringly supported me over the past 12 months.
I have to say that I have used the time wisely and thought long and hard about what and who is important to me. One of the biggest things that I have achieved is to set up this Blog. It is my first and was set up with two distinct reasons in mind. When I was first diagnosed we were told by the Professionals and I quote what I have “Is as rare as rocking horse poo” and that there” is only 10 documented pieces of material on the internet with information about HUVS. So the reasons were;
1. To set up a support network for HUVs sufferers and to offer some simple tools to assist them in things like acceptance or getting back to work.
2. To keep friends and family up to date on what was happening with
me and how I was feeling.
I can thankfully say that I have been successful on both accounts. I have been mailed by people who have had HUVs for years and by those who have only recently been or had close family diagnosed. It is a frightening time and I am so fortunate to have been able to reach out and just be there for them. I have also been supported when the low times came and I needed a bit of advice. As for keeping friends and family up to date, well those who know me well know that I can talk the hind legs off of a donkey but I do not always tell the truth or let on exactly how I am….forever on stage J
It took me a long time to accept that I had changed and I still have a little wobble every now and then. My inner strength stopped me from crawling under the duvet and hiding. Sitting in the wheelchair for the first time or having people see me and cry was very difficult, but by far the hardest was watching my children each time I was rushed into hospital, eleven in total, and what it did to them. It has taken a long time for both Jacob and Boo to come to terms with what has happened but they have a bit of their Mum in them and have bounced back. The highs have been quite simply what people have done for me. From the Xmas party thrown at my house by my work buddies, a friend coming down from London to walk the dog, a sugarless cupcake party, a certain friend and cousin who have both been there constantly, my parents who though frightened have been strong and refrained from crying in front of me to my husband, who lost 2 stone in the first month, who has completely proven time and time again that he is actually the best husband in the world J
I have made new friends, lost old friends and re-acquainted myself with ones that I thought I never would. Even though this could have been the worst year of my life…it hasn’t been. I consider that through what has been an extreme experience I have been given a second chance at my life and to grab it with both hands. To kick incidental things to the kerb and to hold on to the things I care for with what ever strength I have.
So where am I at the year end?………….well, fingers crossed I am going to achieve my main goal. Yep, back to work in October. It will be a slow reintroduction but a reintroduction all the same J
The Drs are still trying to get my medication right but at least I am 100% better than this time last year so something must be right, another tick in the box!
The children are back to bickering like they are in World War 3 so they are definitely feeling better lol.
I want to thank everyone who has followed my blog this year and hopefully you will continue to do so over the next 12 months.
The photos this time are ones that were taken just after I fell ill and last week. You can see how much better I am J
Below are the lyrics to a song that I think captures this post.
Lyrics to Life Is Good :
(Jo Dee Messina/Mark Selby)
I used to think that life was all about the joneses
Trying to find a way to just keep up some how
I had to have it, do it, be it, had to own it
A little secret that I finally figured out
I used to think that life was all about the joneses
Trying to find a way to just keep up some how
I had to have it, do it, be it, had to own it
A little secret that I finally figured out
We spend so much time climbing up the ladder
And then we're missing all the things that really matter
And then we're missing all the things that really matter
Chorus:
I've got my two feet on the ground
Breathin' in and breathin' out
Oh yeah
Life is good
I'm gonna grab on to today
Live every minute in the way I know I should
Life is good
I like to move, I like to run, I like to get it done
Or I can stay home on the couch and watch tv
Give me sunshine, give me rain, it makes no diffence to me
It's all the same, all the same to me
Call me simple, call me crazy
I believe that it's all in what we make yah
Check it out on http://youtu.be/_gLjcZrn29c
OK, I know that I am different and that I probably always will be but I have accepted this and in time others will too. But at this moment life is good!
Until next time
Sarah©
