2014–What a Year

WOYWW visitors – please scroll down to the first post for today.

The second of three posts for today, and the first of two “update” posts – I realised there was going to be too much for a single post, because such a lot has gone on this year. I have therefore decided to devote this first one to personal and health issues and other miscellaneous things, and to make a new post about my creative endeavours during the year, of which there have been many!

I can’t believe it’s that time of year yet again when I look back on the months that have passed and take stock, and look forward, hopefully always with optimism, to the year ahead. This is the fifth annual review post I have made – have I really been blogging this long???

We have celebrated our first year living in our new house, and reaped the benefit of so many months of upheaval, anxiety, stress, joy and fun that took place during the previous year, during the renovations, and this year we have been able to enjoy to the full all the carefully planned alterations which have made life easier for everybody.

One of the things which has been the most fun was finally to be able to move into my beautiful new ARTHaven and get it up and running and planned exactly how I wanted, so that it at last became my favourite room in the house, where I can immerse myself in art and creativity and shed the stresses of the day, in an environment carefully designed and planned by me, and brought to fruition by our wonderful builders, to enable the creative process to take place with the minimum of difficulty.

Heath Issues

The year 2014 has been characterised by a series of health crises for us all – myself, my hubby and my mum, who lives in a flat occupying half the downstairs of the house. Just when we seemed to be entering a more stable period, something else happened, until I got to the stage when I wondered, “What next?” I know that compared with some people, our trials have been light, but nevertheless sometimes they have seemed hard to bear.

At the beginning of the year, now that we were really settled in, my hubby went up country to pick up my buggy (mobility scooter) which had belonged to my uncle, and this was installed in the garage with its own power supply, and enables me to trundle forth at the magnificent heartstopping rate of 4 mph to do my local errands – church, shopping, visiting etc. This is liberating!

In February I caught a nasty throat infection which left me coughing for months, and eventually in the summer I saw the doctor about it, and it became clear that the cough was a result of GORD (Gastro-oesophageal reflux disorder) and I was put on medication for this (Omeprazole) and referred to an ENT surgeon at the hospital for a proper examination, which revealed that there was still evidence of inflammation so I was put on revolting Gaviscon which is a sore trial to take!!

In the summer I also had problems with an extremely dry mouth, but after seeing another hospital consultant, a disease cause was ruled out, and we came to the conclusion that it was just another recurring M.E. symptom raising its ugly head again. I was given some good advice, though, about nasal decongestion which has helped a lot.

I suffered very badly this summer with swollen ankles and again sought medical advice. Several pieces of advice bore good fruit, and I also invested in a Circulation Booster which helped a lot. The cooler weather helped considerably, later on.

Since our return from holiday when I was shocked at how much weight I’d gained, I decided to embark on the famous 5:2 diet, and am happy to report that having hit another plateau recently, with my weight remaining constant for several weeks, I have lost a total of 2 stone 3 lb (31 lb) in six months. I have another 2 stone to lose until I am at the optimum weight for my height, but it is great knowing that I am now officially “overweight” and no longer “obese”!

In the summer also, I was diagnosed with mild anaemia, probably as a result of my ongoing ulcerative colitis, and have been on ferrous sulphate ever since, although now on a reduced dose, with my Hg levels being checked monthly.

In August I had my regular gastro-enterology appointment at the hospital to check on the state of my ulcerative colitis, and I have a colonoscopy coming up in January 2015 (something that has to happen every 2 years). He is pleased with my progress and how I am responding to the medication (Pentasa (mesazaline)).

However, my main health event of the year was a coronary artery spasm causing severe chest pain at the end of July, landing me in hospital for a couple of days. I’ve had no recurrence since, apart from a few periods of much less severe chest pain, all of which have been brought on by stress. I have a nitro-glycerine spray for such events. Coming out of hospital I became a soggy emotional heap, and when that passed, I moved into a period of several months’ mild depression, feeling generally “out of sorts” with myself, which is apparently a very common reaction to any cardiac event.

My M.E. continues much the same. The condition appears to have “bottomed out” and while I am not improving, neither am I continuing to go downhill as I did at the beginning. I have many days when I am pretty well unable to function and need to rest, which can be frustrating at times, but there’s nothing to be done about it and one just has to go with the flow and try and be as sensible as possible. Having a new adjustable bed is giving me more comfort and better nights and I no longer hanker after my wonderful hospital bed that I wanted to take home with me! This is also helping a lot with the reflux. Life is certainly easier with the renovations we had done in the house to suit my needs and also that my hubby isn’t having to run around after me quite so much as in the past.

A few weeks ago my hubby had an accident on his motorcycle and broke his wrist. He was in plaster for several weeks, and is now wearing a wrist splint after the latest X-ray revealed that the bone had knit. He will have another X-ray in a couple of weeks’ time and hopefully then will be back to normal. It feels painful now the rigid support of the cast is gone, and it will take time for it to regain its full strength. The worst part of it from our point of view was that he was not allowed to drive with a cast, and with all the running around he has to do on our behalf, this added to the already considerable inconvenience for him.

Mum’s health has presented us with several crises this year – firstly the common occurrence of minor injuries to her paper-thin skin necessitating hospital visits and the regular and frequent re-application of dressings. She is now very deaf and also needs her ears syringing regularly. She has also started suffering a series of TIAs (mini-strokes) and has been diagnosed with AF (atrial fibrillation) and is now on warfarin, which necessitates weekly visits to the surgery for her blood to be tested to determine the dose. Her short term memory is poor, and since her most recent bout of TIAs she has become more difficult, which is stressful for me, and my dear hubby is trying to shield me as much as possible, by taking on most of the contacts with her. We both experience ongoing low-level stress, interspersed by the high-octane version brought on by frequent confrontations with Mum on various issues. How true it is that whatever one’s personality, this tends to be exaggerated in old age.

It wasn’t just us humans in the family who had health issues this year. Our senior kitty, Beatrice (aged 14), after being registered with our new vet, had four teeth extracted, and was discovered to have a growth in the back of her neck that had to be removed, which proved to be quite major surgery, but was fortunately proved to be non-malignant. In order to protect the wound, she wore a premature babygro!

Then followed a series of urinary tract infections which have become ever more frequent so that she is more or less constantly on antibiotics now, but keeping pretty well, and with a good appetite. She is too thin, and with her delicate stomach has to be on a prescription diet, and requires frequent small meals in order to prevent vomiting. She continues to be a great character and much loved by us all, and she and “Granny” have developed a strong mutual affection and she enjoys spending time with Mum in her flat. The vet, “Uncle Luke,” is extremely fond of her, and everyone down at the vets’ has a huge soft spot for this very unusual kitty who is bursting with character and a bit too intelligent for her own good sometimes!!

All these health pressures have definitely been helped by having my hair permed again in the summer! Luuurve the curls. Thank goodness for good hair days, fragrant baths, kitties, art, and my wonderful hubby.

Technology

I was devastated this year that my faithful old sewing machine (21st birthday present) bit the dust, but delighted to get a new Brother machine, which, as things have turned out, I haven’t had a lot of time to get up and running – just a few boring household jobs to be done, and I still have to look up in the book how to thread it!!

At the beginning of the year I invested in an iMac and after an initial trial period trying to run both the Mac OS and Windows on it via a system called Parallels, eventually came to the conclusion that Windows didn’t work well enough on this for me, and I would continue with my two (now fairly elderly but excellent) laptops for Windows, and use the Mac pretty well exclusively for video. I had a brief experience with an upgrade to the latest version of Pinnacle video editing software on Windows but as with earlier versions, was frustrated by its instability, and decided to bite the bullet and move to Final Cut Pro for Mac which has proved to be a very successful move indeed. With my new video camera setup I can now produce good quality HD videos and the program is a total dream to operate – makes me wonder why I didn’t stop messing about years ago and spend the money and get serious – I’d have saved a great deal in the long run! I have not had as much time to create videos this year as I would have liked – it is a highly time-consuming process but also very creative and enjoyable.

The House

Finishing touches to the renovations included the installation of solar panels in the summer. We had been at a bit of a loss to know which company to approach, but our visit to the County Show was very fruitful, as we were able to speak one-to-one with several companies and come home armed with fliers. It was not hard to make our final choice, and the work went ahead very smoothly.

Personal

The major event of this year was my hubby’s retirement in the summer. He continues to be quite overwhelmed by the tremendous send-off he received, and all the gifts, cards, letters, emails etc. etc. I was a bit worried that he might feel the loss of role quite badly but he has had an incredibly busy time since, being carer for both Mum and myself, and various other commitments, but I am glad that he has been able to fit in quite a few days out doing the things he enjoys the most, and spending time with his friends. In the summer, for the first time he was able to volunteer on the local annual archaeological dig on a full-time basis. Knowing how precious these times are for him, I guard them jealously and try not to add to his commitments by asking that he drive me to things that aren’t strictly necessary, but we have had some nice outings together, and had a wonderful holiday (our first for 4 years) in the summer, coinciding with my school reunion, and the opportunity to immerse myself in some fabulous art. Our major and best day outing was to Bristol to view the Kaffe Fassett exhibition (click on the link at the top of my sidebar for pictures).

Since moving here, I have found an excellent church to join, and was admitted to full membership in the summer. I am thrilled that is is right on the doorstep and takes only a few minutes on the buggy to get there. I have made new friends there and the quality of worship and teaching is excellent.

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For information on how to join in the nosey fest where we all see what everyone has on their messy work desks, please click on the WOYWW logo in my sidebar, which will take you to our hostess Julia’s blog.

Sorry folks – couldn’t get online last night and then this a.m. forgot all about uploading this post and signing up for WOYWW! Better late than never, I suppose. It is still Wednesday, after all!!

My main work area has been cleared now that I have finished my recycled mini-album, so nothing of interest to photograph! However, this is the work surface on the other side of the room, where I have dumped all the soaps, bath bombs and bath melts that I’ve made in the soap making class, together with some wrapping materials, ready to wrap them and prettify them ready to give away! You can also see the box which contains my essential oils and other bits and pieces, and the bottles of my home-made infused lavender oil.

Please see my previous post for details of the final three soap making classes and some photos of the soaps etc. that I made. I simply hadn’t the time to keep up to date with posting about those, being so busy completing the album, and there’s been lots of other stuff going on, too. My mum had 3 TIAs last Thursday and in the late afternoon we found her on the floor and couldn’t get her up, so she ended up in hospital for a few days. She made a good recovery and came home again yesterday. We are busy trying to get things organised for her so she is safer around the house. There is no guarantee she won’t have more of these mini-strokes and they could be the prelude to a big one, but all we can do is continue to give her her warfarin and hope for the best.

With my hubby’s broken wrist and not being allowed to drive, this has complicated matters considerably. Thank goodness all our amenities are close by, because we’ve had to rely on taxis and lifts. It is likely that he will have to remain in plaster for another four weeks after Christmas until they are sure that the tiny, but very important, bone, has mended properly. Never rains but it pours, does it.

I have heard from the hospital with details of my upcoming colonoscopy which is now to take place in January. That will be nice to look forward to in the New Year (not…)!

Yesterday I managed to pick up my knitting again and am working on the final stage, picking up the stitches for the neck. I am hoping to finish it this week and hopefully have some photos of it for you to see.

Happy WOYWW, everybody, and again, my apologies for visiting so few of you last week.

Health Update–September 2014

Following my last health update, I have been taking the Omeprazole for some time now, and it definitely seems to be helping with the reflux, although I am still aware of something at the back of my throat. I am not coughing as much, and haven’t been disturbed at night by acid in my throat, but the GP said I should definitely see the ENT surgeon just to make sure everything was OK.

I had my hospital appointment today, and after a brief consultation he shone a light in my mouth, and palpated my neck. I thought that was going to be it, but no… he then sprayed some local anaesthetic up my nostril and proceeded to poke a light up my nose!! It was very small, on the end of a flexible tube, but despite the local anaesthetic, it felt like a lamp-post! It was pretty unpleasant. My nasal passages are apparently very narrow (which would explain why my nose is so often blocked). He said he needed to examine my vocal cords and the back of my throat in general, and said that there was still evidence of reflux there.

He prescribed Gaviscon Advance for six weeks, and said to continue with the Omeprazole, and then see my GP. The Gaviscon puts a blanket layer over the top of the stomach contents, and along with the acid-reducing Omeprazole, this should sort the problem. He also recommended propping the head of the bed up on bricks to elevate my upper body so my hubby is going to sort that – although what it will look like I don’t know – it’s a four-poster and might look like a ship on the high seas!

I saw the gastroenterologist a few weeks ago about my ulcerative colitis, and he continues to be pleased with my condition, which is responding well to the Pentasa medication. I had thought that my next colonoscopy wouldn’t be until August 2015 (two years after my first one) but he wants me to have it in February, which will be something nice to look forward to after Christmas (not…)!

Following a recent blood test, I have been told I am still mildly anaemic, so continuing with the iron for another few weeks. I am probably bleeding from the bowel although I’m not aware of it, but it could be enough to lower my haemoglobin sufficiently to need medication.

I bought a circulation booster from Ebay and it really helped with the swollen ankles. Now the weather has cooled off, the problem really isn’t so bad, and I have stopped using the machine for now, but it’s there if I need it.

Since my recent heart attack, I haven’t really been feeling myself – not exactly depressed, but feeling under the weather and a bit down, and rather unsettled. This is very unlike me because I’m usually very upbeat and bubbly. My creative mojo seems to have departed a bit recently, too. I had put it down to the constant low-level stress I suffer from with Mum in the house, but the other day I thought to myself that whenever I’ve had a day feeling like this, after a good night’s sleep the feeling generally disappears, but recently this has not happened. I mentioned it to my hubby at this point, and he said he wished I’d said something before, because he knows that it is very common indeed for people to get depression after a heart attack. I had no idea, but since then have spoken to several people who have experienced it. My hubby told me to Google it, and 18,900,000 search results appeared!!! He said, “Well, get reading then…” and I said if I read all that lot I’d be severely depressed by the end, not to mention still being at it well into the New Year!! It made me feel a lot better knowing that this was quite normal, and although I felt very down a couple of days ago, I’m feeling very much better again today.

I think I have to accept that it’s going to take time, and that my whole system suffered more of a shock than I was aware of. The most important thing is not to worry, and to know that it will pass. I don’t feel it’s bad enough to approach the doctor with.

My M.E. is ongoing, of course, and fluctuates from day to day, but there’s nothing new to report there, except to say that the dry mouth problem was probably a recurrence of this very common M.E. symptom, which has now gone into abeyance again. I have been continuing with the Sterimar routine before bed, and making sure my nose is as clear as possible before I go to sleep, and this is helping.

Ending on a cheerful note, I have been doing the 5:2, or “Fast” diet since our return from holiday towards the end of June, and am happy to report that this is the most brilliant diet I’ve ever been on. Because you reduce your calorie intake on only two days a week, and eat normally for the rest of the week, it is sustainable. Having to watch one’s diet every day, and deprive oneself of all the things one enjoys, soon becomes very tedious, and this is why so many people give up, especially when the weight loss tends to plateau, sometimes for several weeks.

I have had a three or four week plateau when I lost no weight, but I’ve stuck with it, and over the past couple of weeks, the weight loss has started again, resulting in a further half-stone coming off! I have now lost a total of 1 1/2 stone since June, and I am highly delighted. It doesn’t seem to be showing much – at least, not where I want it to (my stomach and bum) but one or two people have asked me if I’ve lost weight as it’s showing round my face, apparently!

So, generally speaking, I am pleased with how things are going. I am hoping that will be the last of the hospital visits for the rest of this year, at least for myself!

Mum, on the other hand, seems to be constantly going to the hospital or GP surgery these days. She had a TIA (transient ischaemic attack, or mini-stroke) a little while ago and has been undergoing tests since then, resulting in a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF) and she is now on Warfarin, necessitating a weekly blood test until they stabilise the dose. Her blood pressure continues to be very high, and she is therefore at increased risk of another TIA or more serious stroke. She has bashed her leg again… and a few weeks ago, Phoebe, one of our kitties, scratched her arm, both of which needed an A&E visit and dressings which required changing – each time she has such an injury to her paper-thin skin, she digs her heels in and refuses point-blank to go to the hospital and we have to go through the whole process every time, of my hubby getting really stroppy with her and bullying her into submission! She never learns… she has no idea how serious such things can be at her age (93), and how they could easily get infected and lead to ulceration and worse. Oh well, my sister can deal with it for 10 days – we are currently enjoying a lovely break! After everything that’s happened recently, I think we deserve it – my hubby especially, as he is the one who has to drive her, and pick up all the prescriptions, etc.

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I’m afraid there’s nothing changed on my desk from last week! I simply haven’t had the opportunity to spend any time in my studio this week. Anyone who has visited my blog since last week will know that Mum had a TIA and we had to spend some considerable time at the hospital with her. I’m happy to report that after an overnight stay, she’s made an almost complete recovery, although her balance is slightly worse than before. I have been busy with two visits from the community team – I am amazed how quickly the system swung into action and therapists were sent to assess her at home. I have also been very tired after the experience and have been trying to rest, but with the fitting of the solar panels I’ve had a few early starts which isn’t terribly good news for me!

The electrician and his team were here yesterday connecting it all up, and the system started generating electricity immediately! We have a monitor attached to the consumer unit which broadcasts wirelessly to a small box connected to our broadband router, and I can go online and view a constantly-updating summary of the electricity we are consuming, what we are generating, and how much is being fed back to the grid. It even gives a weather summary for our postcode! Today was the first full day, and it was an interesting test, because I had the tumble drier on for 2 loads of towels, then I did over an hour’s ironing, and then my cleaning lady came and was running the vacuum cleaner, and I’ve done a bit of cooking. It was a fairly high-demand sort of day, and the sun was shining most of the day. We generated slightly over half the total consumption till the early evening, which is great, and uploaded 0.6 kWh to the grid! Amazingly, the panels were still generating electricity at 10 p.m., although at a lower level as dusk began to set in. I shall be interested to see what happens tomorrow, when we should be using a lot less power. Anyway, it has already proved that it is going to be saving us money long-term, as long as we are organised and use the high-demand stuff during the day as much as possible.

Diet news. I’ve moved my weigh-day from Monday to Sunday (so I can tell my friends at church how I’m getting on!). I refused to let myself get demoralised this time, but I was disappointed to see that I’d actually gained 4 lb last week! My only explanation is that we went out for a slap up meal the night before. Still, I have lost a total of 8 lb since I started, and I am sure this is only a temporary blip, and that the trend is generally downwards.

Talking of church, I was admitted to full membership on Sunday, with a lovely welcome from everybody, and some very nice things said about me up front – afterwards the minister said to me, “Embarrassing, isn’t it!!” I was given a lovely card, and was one of the people chosen at the end of the service to be given the flowers. They always have fresh flowers on the platform which are given away at the end – the last time I received them was on the first Sunday I attended. My hubby came with me which was lovely, and he mentioned that in the past I have sung in church. I was approached afterwards and asked if I could learn a new song for us to sing, and introduce it as a solo. It is a long time since I’ve played my guitar and was a bit tentative at first, but after my hubby found it in the loft, I managed to play a bit and was amazed that I remembered all the chords! With a bit of practice, and if I take a perching stool to rest against, I think I should be fine. I feel very much at home at this church, which is literally around the corner from where we live, and I can get there under my own steam in either the buggy or the wheelchair.

So many new and wonderful things since we moved here, including, or course, my fabulous new ARTHaven, and so much to look forward to now my hubby has retired. Life is good.

Have a great week, everybody, with lots of opportunity for creativity.

Mini-Stroke

On Wednesday morning I woke very late, with a headache (a common occurrence with my M.E.) so I didn’t get in to see Mum until about noon, which is later than usual, and I found her lying on the bed resting (something she frequently does in the morning). However, this time she told me she wasn’t feeling well, and although she’d managed to get up and wash her hair and get her breakfast, she said she felt very dizzy and unsteady. Her speech was a bit slurred. I thought perhaps she’d developed an ear infection, and told her I’d phone the doctor and organise a home visit. Her speech became more slurred as time went on.

When I phoned, they said the doctor concerned was out on a visit, but he would phone on his return. Almost immediately after this, they phoned again to say that the slurred speech indicated something other than an ear infection, and it sounded to them as if she had had a mini-stroke, or TIA (transient ischaemic attack), and that we should call an ambulance right away and get her to A&E. she was very much against this, but it had to be done.

Things began to happen pretty fast then, and I had to dash upstairs and throw on some clothes (on bad days I don’t always get dressed until late in the day, if at all), and I ended up having no lunch! I couldn’t shift the headache but had to put my own concerns on the back burner while we got Mum sorted.

The paramedic with the ambulance did a basic examination of her and did the standard “FAST” test for stroke patients – Face, Arms, Speech, Time – time to get her to hospital quickly if any of the former were present – a falling face on one side, inability to hold the arms up, problems with speech. All these were normal except for the speech, and her blood pressure was pretty high.

I phoned my hubby who came straight home, and I went in the ambulance with Mum, and he followed in the car, bringing my wheelchair.

Then began the usual long and arduous wait in A&E, which she was not happy with! Eventually, after many hours, she was admitted to the ward (again, she was very unhappy about this and didn’t want to stay in hospital) where she stayed overnight. As the afternoon and evening progressed, her symptoms improved, but her balance was still not quite right and they were unwilling to send her home.

It was interesting watching her undergoing the standard neurological examination, and it brought back many memories for me as I experienced the same procedures in the early, pre-diagnosed, days of my M.E. She performed all of the tasks pretty well, with a few slight abnormalities in co-ordination showing up, and slight nystagmus.

We got home around 10 p.m. eventually! Having had nothing to eat all day since a late breakfast, except for a kitkat and a couple of small bags of crisps, I was way past eating a proper dinner!

In the morning my hubby took me back in and I spent the second half of the morning with her on the ward – we were anticipating the arrival of the solar panels fitting team and only after phoning them did we discover the message they’d left on our answering machine the day before, to inform us of the delay. After we left, she had a CT scan which revealed some degenerative changes in the blood vessels in the brain, but no evidence of a bleed at the back of her head where they’d identified the site of the problem to be, although they thought there probably had been a small bleed which wasn’t showing up on the scan.

She was discharged with a prescription for Simvastatin for cholesterol, and low dosage aspirin, which will be replaced by a stroke-prevention medication in a fortnight, when we are making her an appointment at the GP’s surgery.

At the hospital they also set up home visits by the OT and physio, and other community support workers. I am very pleased about this because it means that they will be keeping a proper eye on her until her personal goals have been met, and they are satisfied that she is stable, and able to function well. We have been warned of the possibility of further TIAs but with medication, the risk of this should be reduced. I am also pleased that she is now on their books for community support, because being in my own present state of health, there may come a time, quite suddenly, when the level of care I am able to give her will simply not be enough, and we may need to call in extra help quickly.

The whole experience was pretty stressful for us all! We are glad she is safely home, and seems fine. The OT arranged for immediate delivery of a trolley, and insisted that Mum used it for carrying things around her flat, because her risk of falling has now increased. Next week, her mobility outdoors will be assessed.

All we can do now is put ourselves in the hands of the professionals and hope for a good outcome, and the best health possible for her at her age (93) for as long as possible.