A belated Happy New Year to you all! What are you all hoping for this coming year?
Daisy (2 Months Old)
A New Symptom?
Not ‘New Year, New Me’ but instead ‘New Year, New Symptom’! Well, not new as such, I’ve experienced it a lot in the past but I finally figured out what it is.
It’s linked to my hearing loss, along with tinnitus I sometimes hear this swooshing noise, once every so often. When it happened for the first time this year, it bought on a headache and made me feel a bit sick.
I was desperate for some sort of relief, and tried different movements and positions with my head. I came to realise that moving my head was making the swooshing noise worse.
So, I tried closing my eyes and moving my head… at last the noise wasn’t intense! I cherished those few seconds of peace until I opened my eyes and the noise began again. Ugh!
I eventually realised that the whooshing noise was made worse when I had my eyes open and moved them in any direction. It wasn’t due to my head movement. The only relief was looking at something, then closing my eyes, turn my head, then open my eyes. What a palaver!
Its interesting to learn new ways of draining my energy… not!
Basically, I can hear my eyeballs move. Which fascinates me, yet disgusts me at the same time. I will speak to my consultant at my next appointment about this.
The Breakdown
My first contribution to an article of this year! In this article, Do You Suffer From Chronic Nightmares? You’re Not Alone, I briefly talk about the nightmares I experience on a regular basis, and the impact they have on me. Its the first time I’ve spoken publicly about them, it wasn’t easy.
I had to take several breaks when writing my answers because it did upset me at times, depending on which part I was writing. However, it was a topic I wanted to contribute to and raise awareness.
Metro
I also had the amazing opportunity of being featured in The Metro, a UK newspaper! This was a first for me, and very surreal. Never did I think I would be able to have my story (not the full version, of course) published in a newspaper.
The initial intention of the article was to raise awareness of my disabilities, Sensory Ataxia, Transverse Myelitis, hearing loss, central vision loss and Mitochondrial Disease. However, the article explores many aspects of what I’ve been through within the last 3 years.
Ranging from my health deteriorating, to my 9-month hospital and rehabilitation stay, the stigma I’ve endured and being pregnant with Daisy. I feel very thankful to have had this opportunity!
You can read the article here, Mum Shuts Down Idea You Can’t Be A Good Parent When You’re Chronically Ill or Disabled.
My Birthday
On the 23rd, I turned 26! I was spoilt very much, I received a Loki hoodie, a Loki t-shirt, a Tom Hiddleston pillow, another Loki t-shirt, a poster of Loki quotes, a necklace, a sarcastic t-shirt and a Tom Hiddleston pillowcase.
Some might say I had a low-key birthday… get it? Did you get it? Yeah, don’t worry, I rolled my eyes too.
I did also receive lots of birthday messages and cards too, which was lovely. But the best thing of all, was lots of Daisy cuddles and kisses!
COVID Vaccine
How could I forget this, the NHS also thought of me on my birthday as I received my first dose of the COVID vaccine! I know it was just the timing but I was just trying to make it light-hearted.
The side effects were not so pleasant, at first I was afraid, I was petrified… no, in all honesty I felt fine. Until the evening when my arm began aching, I felt very cold and couldn’t get warm – but to be fair, it was freezing that day!
I felt under the weather for a couple of days, but it was the horrible ache in my arm that really got me. There were points where it was so painful, I couldn’t move it. I will have the next dose in April.
Tip: Don’t have the jab in your most used arm. This is just my advice, of course its entirely up to you.
A Mother’s Diary
For once, I actually kept to my word and published the first entry of a new section on my blog, A Mother’s Diary. Albeit the day before the end of January, but still I did it!
Anyhoo, in A Mother’s Diary – Entry 01, I talk about why I struggled to feel like I was Daisy’s mummy, explaining more about the baby blues and why it affected me so much. Also, I share with you the moment I finally realised and actually felt like a Mummy.
It was another piece which wasn’t easy to write but I’m pleased with how it turned out. As I mentioned, when I introduced the series, these entries will be sporadic.
What’s Happening in February?
I will be writing a guest blog for Scope which should be published at the end of the month, I’m going to ask if I can write another guest blog because I’d like to raise awareness about both topics.
I’m really hoping to buy a laptop in the near future, I’m currently doing a lot of research as I need to find one which will suit my needs.
It will be a year since I had my last physiotherapy session at rehab, I really hope I can return to sessions when things settle.
How was your month?
– Ami ?
