Tuesday 24 June 2014

Things That Made Me Happy This Week

I thought I'd make this a regular post because they're fun to write and it's always nice to think about all the good things that are happening rather than the bad.

1. Eating

Yes! I'm finally getting hungry again. I'm fancying lots of nice things and eating much more by snacking and having bigger portion sizes. Whereas before I'd really struggle to think of anything I wanted to eat, I'm eating pretty much anything that someone wants to cook me now. I've been out for a meal a few times and eaten a full starter as well as nibbling on everyone else's food too! I loved food so much before I had my liver and tummy swelling problems, so I'm really happy that I can enjoy eating again and should make putting on weight a thousand times easier. 

2. Clinic Day

So going to hospital isn't usually a reason to feel happy but my doctors were really pleased with me and reckon I look a lot healthier and happier than when they last saw me two months ago. I hadn't really noticed a change but now I think about it I think I do have more energy now, or at least I feel less lethargic and lazy. They're really hopeful that the new drug might be working already as I look so much better and it might be why my appetite is getting better too. They said flolan usually makes people feel sick so the fact that it's doing the opposite is brilliant. They took the stitches out of my line, which didn't hurt at all so that's awesome and it looks like it's healing up really well. I also attempted the 6 minute walk test so that if my meds start working both me and my doctors will be able to see just how much it's helped. I barely managed 30 seconds but it was much better than I thought it was going to be. I obviously would avoid that kind of exercise outside hospital as it feels awful and it isn't really safe for me to push myself physically with my heart and lungs struggling so much. The fact that I managed not to feel like I was about to die is a success in my book! 

3. Awards

I won an award! My creative writing course at university gives out a number of awards each year and this year I won the Short Story Award! I don't think I've ever won anything individually before. I've had dance medals and things but they were the kind of prizes everyone got, and I always got one of those certificates they give everyone at the end of the year. (Most Outstanding Student of The Year award, thank you very much secondary school!). But I've never won a proper award where I beat other people to get it. It's funny that I won it considering my short story module was the only module I managed to finish and therefore pass this year. Makes up for the fact that I didn't get to finish my second year. I might not have ngot a final grade but I got a nice little award. 

4. Weekend Celebrations

It was my stepdad's birthday this weekend so we had a lovely garden party with all of his family. It was a really good day even though I was pretty tired and struggling with the heat. I had to lie down inside quite a but but I still managed to play a game of croquet, (probably the only sport I can play now!) which was fun and the food was great and it was just nice to see everyone enjoying themselves. The weather was really nice too so it was a really nice calm day, just chatting and chilling out. It was a bit hot for me but I managed not to come out in a rash thanks to a new sun cream I've found! If you ever have trouble with heat rash try neutrogena's ultimate sport, which is an aerosol can of factor 100 plus sun cream. You can only get it off amazon shipped from America but it's worth it to not itch for days after sun exposure. I'm sure I would definitely have got my usual rash if I wasn't wearing it as the next day I went outside and sat in the shade for half an hour and came out in a pretty big rash over my arms even though I wasn't in direct sunlight. To be able to spend more than five minutes in daylight without coming out in a rash will make the summer a lot more comfortable. All in all a pretty good weekend and there's still lots of nice cake left over to stuff my face with over the course of the week. Result! 

5. Healing Powers

My line is all healed up now and feeling good! It took a while to stop hurting when I laid on my left side, and when I reached for something with my left hand but it doesn't hurt at all now, even when I give it a good clean and change the dressings. The wound at my neck just looks like a freckle now. I can feel a bit of hard scar tissue under the skin but it's not painful. I'm also happy to say that I'm so far not coming out in a rash from the dressings. I usually get itchy when I have heart monitor stickers on too long so I thought I might have trouble with the dressings but they're actually pretty comfortable. When they get wet they're a bit rubbish at staying on so I'm making a bit more of an effort to keep it dry and that seems to be working well. 

Nice, clean and tidy wound! The patch is an infection precaution, I'm not sure how it works but it's supposed to reduce bacteria around the line. Makes it look a bit less disturbing too! 


6. Wimbledon!

Yes, Wimbledon has started and I finally have something I can just stick on and relax to. Evening tv is rubbish at the moment so I'm really low on things to watch on catch up, and with the World Cup on most of the quiz shows I usually stick on aren't running. I do really enjoy Wimbledon and it feels like summer has started now it's on. It's quite rare to have a sport where the women's is televised just as much as the men's. I actually prefer watching the women's tennis because the matches are usually under two hours whereas the men's can start to drag on over four or five hours especially when we get to the tougher matches. I'm not sure who I'm backing to win yet. I think it'll be good to see the good old Serena vs Venus Williams final in the women's but we'll see what happens. I feel sorry for people who don't like the football, tennis or cricket at the moment though. There is literally nothing else on tv at the moment.

7. The Bake-Off Advert

Have you seen the advert for the new series of The Great British Bake-Off yet? It is pure genius! Mary Berry cartwheeling across the bake-off lawn is the best thing I've seen on tv all year. Seriously, tv producers, you need to get some good stuff on! I don't think the bake-off actually starts for a while yet but I'm really looking forward to it, as well as strictly, a bit of I'm a celebrity and a new James Corden creation would be brilliant. I really enjoyed The Wrong Mans last year, which was on straight after the Bake-Off. Good tv please come back soon! Anyway here's the Bake-Off Advert if you haven't seen it. http://youtu.be/FMbr-xFMjFo

I hope someone or something made you especially happy this week! Thanks for reading! 


No comments:

Post a Comment

 

Template by BloggerCandy.com