Michelle woke up and I didn't tell her I'd called her in sick. I wanted to wait until she had had a cup of coffee, but unfortunately, her Manager phoned me back and she heard. So she took the phone to tell them she wasn't sick; she just had a bit of earache and would be coming in to work. And was I told off! The thing is, she was crying with pain a lot of the night and she never complains of pain. It was so sore that she woke us up to ask for an analgesic which, again, is completely out of character.
So she is going to work. I just hope she will be all right.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Helping a Friend
Uncle Brakkie's foot was sore, so Woozle tried to bandage him up.
While Woozle was helping Uncle Brakkie, Fat Jack took a snooze in the brick trolley.
I have to say that I sometimes wonder if things like this go on in other households.
While Woozle was helping Uncle Brakkie, Fat Jack took a snooze in the brick trolley.
I have to say that I sometimes wonder if things like this go on in other households.
Study Companion? I don't think so!!
Its no secret. I love my Feline Friends very dearly, and they are very good cats. However, I am on a course of studies and I need to use the computer.
My dear kitties like to be close to me, but this is not helpful.
Fat Jack drapes himself over my trusty old CRT monitor and it obscures my view of the screen.
I give up! There is nothing for it! I will have to invest in a flat LCD monitor if I'm to have a hope of seeing the screen. If I chase Fat Jack away, Madam Spikkeldy jumps up straight away. And when I evict her, Fat Jack is back in a flash. Sometimes, though, they do a double act. Twice the fun, twice the trouble.
My dear kitties like to be close to me, but this is not helpful.
Fat Jack drapes himself over my trusty old CRT monitor and it obscures my view of the screen.
I give up! There is nothing for it! I will have to invest in a flat LCD monitor if I'm to have a hope of seeing the screen. If I chase Fat Jack away, Madam Spikkeldy jumps up straight away. And when I evict her, Fat Jack is back in a flash. Sometimes, though, they do a double act. Twice the fun, twice the trouble.
Michelle
Michelle had earache at work on Friday. She hardly slept last night and was crying with pain. Her glands are up and she looks ill. I'm about to phone work to say she probably won't be in this afternoon, although she will probably be annoyed with me once she wakes up. That child urgently needs an antibiotic, but where oh where do we find a GP on a Sunday morning?
Its ironic that finding a doctor on a Sunday in the wilds of Africa is childs play compared to finding one in the UK.
Its ironic that finding a doctor on a Sunday in the wilds of Africa is childs play compared to finding one in the UK.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Friday Family Night
Caelyn checks Richard's hair for lice. He was working with someone who was infested and he couldn't rest until he knew he was clear. It made us all itch though!
Michelle
Michelle was at work. She says she has serious earache and the area around the ear is swollen, which makes me think she has otitis externa. She finishes work at 12 tomorrow and there is no way she will be able to see a Dr until Monday, so she is a bit stymied. It can be a very painful condition. She should have seen the Dr ages ago for her chest infection. UK GPs work from Monday to Friday. If you have a problem out of hours, you have to go to Casualty in a big hospital a long way away and sit and wait until the drunks and druggies and brawlers and other patients are dealt with before you can be seen. On a Friday night, she could wait for 6 to 8 hours, and besides, there isn’t any reasonable transport. The buses stop running early and although the train stops at Ashford until about 1am, the taxi fare from the station to the hospital is in excess of £11. After midnight when there is no public transport, taxis charge double rates so to get back from the hospital in a taxi would be almost £40. We dread getting ill on a Friday. It’s a logistical and financial nightmare.
Richard
Richard wasn’t going to come tonight because he was justifiably angry about the way a patient at work had been treated by another staff member. Nigel persuaded him though and he soon cheered up when he got here. He had been working with someone who had lice so he asked Caelyn to check his hair for him, but he was clear. Then Wendy began combing his hair. It inspired her and she went off to her great-gran to comb her hair for her.
I have started my studies but am not feeling well. I'm having a bit of a relapse, plus I have a dental abscess which isn't responding well to antibiotics. It can go from 'OK' to very swollen and sore within 10 min. Then it 'pops' and the pressure and pain eases. Tonight the pressure seemed to be building on a nerve and it was very painful for a while. It has been an ongoing problem and if it is still doing this on Monday, I'll phone the dentist again.
Michelle
Michelle was at work. She says she has serious earache and the area around the ear is swollen, which makes me think she has otitis externa. She finishes work at 12 tomorrow and there is no way she will be able to see a Dr until Monday, so she is a bit stymied. It can be a very painful condition. She should have seen the Dr ages ago for her chest infection. UK GPs work from Monday to Friday. If you have a problem out of hours, you have to go to Casualty in a big hospital a long way away and sit and wait until the drunks and druggies and brawlers and other patients are dealt with before you can be seen. On a Friday night, she could wait for 6 to 8 hours, and besides, there isn’t any reasonable transport. The buses stop running early and although the train stops at Ashford until about 1am, the taxi fare from the station to the hospital is in excess of £11. After midnight when there is no public transport, taxis charge double rates so to get back from the hospital in a taxi would be almost £40. We dread getting ill on a Friday. It’s a logistical and financial nightmare.
Richard
Richard wasn’t going to come tonight because he was justifiably angry about the way a patient at work had been treated by another staff member. Nigel persuaded him though and he soon cheered up when he got here. He had been working with someone who had lice so he asked Caelyn to check his hair for him, but he was clear. Then Wendy began combing his hair. It inspired her and she went off to her great-gran to comb her hair for her.
I have started my studies but am not feeling well. I'm having a bit of a relapse, plus I have a dental abscess which isn't responding well to antibiotics. It can go from 'OK' to very swollen and sore within 10 min. Then it 'pops' and the pressure and pain eases. Tonight the pressure seemed to be building on a nerve and it was very painful for a while. It has been an ongoing problem and if it is still doing this on Monday, I'll phone the dentist again.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Family Night In
On the coffee table looking for mischief. See the anticipatory glee on her face!
She like this game a lot.
Caelyn and Nigel
The most exciting thing that has happened to them is that they now have reliable wheels. They are both working very hard at college. Wendy has been cutting a molar and has had an upset tum with it. Recently, she has broken her arm, had a holiday in Wales which was fantastic but it wasn’t her house, been to nursery for a couple of sessions and had her life turned upside down by her parents going to college. She is a bit unsettled by all these things, but she is coping. She is lucky compared to lots of other children though, as she has had both her parents look after her for most of her life and when they can’t, she is looked after by someone she knows and loves, in a familiar environment. She was 18 months old before her mum left her for several hours at a time, and she was left with her dad or her gran or her great gran or auntie Michelle. A lot of children don’t ever have that ongoing constant care.
Its surprising that she still has so much fun with the brick trolley.
Wendy won't eat alone. Dolly has to be offered food too.
Josie
Josie has made the sweetest offer. Now that everyone is studying, she has offered to cook for the Friday Night Family Night In. That will take a lot of pressure off us. We enjoy our Friday evenings but feel a bit bogged down by the studies, so her kind suggestion is very welcome indeed. Wendy did her hair too after she finished Richard’s hair. She now has a new mobile number because the rest of us are on the O2 network and they are offering a good tariff, so she has joined as well. You can ask for a free sim card on the internet and they post up to 4 to your address.
Our O2 mobiles
We all own our own handsets and we are on Pay-as-you-Go. We are on the Favouriteplace tariff. We have to top up with £10pm, but that £10 does not pay for Favouriteplace, because those minutes really are “free”. With the £10 top-up, we buy a text message bundle. I get 200 texts for £9.99. So for my £10 top-up, I get 500 minutes from my city postcode to call landlines or other O2 phones, plus 200 texts. That is a good deal. The postcode is not my specific address, it is for the town itself. So if I chose a Tonbridge postcode, the free minutes would apply to the whole of Tonbridge and not the specific house or street in the postcode.
500 minutes is 8 and a half hours, and those minutes can be used at any time of the day or night. If you want to use your phone in another postcode, the tariff is a reasonable 25p per min for the first 3 min of a 24hr period, then 5p per minute after that for the rest of the 24hr period. You can change your chosen postcode every month if you want to.
She like this game a lot.
Caelyn and Nigel
The most exciting thing that has happened to them is that they now have reliable wheels. They are both working very hard at college. Wendy has been cutting a molar and has had an upset tum with it. Recently, she has broken her arm, had a holiday in Wales which was fantastic but it wasn’t her house, been to nursery for a couple of sessions and had her life turned upside down by her parents going to college. She is a bit unsettled by all these things, but she is coping. She is lucky compared to lots of other children though, as she has had both her parents look after her for most of her life and when they can’t, she is looked after by someone she knows and loves, in a familiar environment. She was 18 months old before her mum left her for several hours at a time, and she was left with her dad or her gran or her great gran or auntie Michelle. A lot of children don’t ever have that ongoing constant care.
Its surprising that she still has so much fun with the brick trolley.
Wendy won't eat alone. Dolly has to be offered food too.
Josie
Josie has made the sweetest offer. Now that everyone is studying, she has offered to cook for the Friday Night Family Night In. That will take a lot of pressure off us. We enjoy our Friday evenings but feel a bit bogged down by the studies, so her kind suggestion is very welcome indeed. Wendy did her hair too after she finished Richard’s hair. She now has a new mobile number because the rest of us are on the O2 network and they are offering a good tariff, so she has joined as well. You can ask for a free sim card on the internet and they post up to 4 to your address.
Our O2 mobiles
We all own our own handsets and we are on Pay-as-you-Go. We are on the Favouriteplace tariff. We have to top up with £10pm, but that £10 does not pay for Favouriteplace, because those minutes really are “free”. With the £10 top-up, we buy a text message bundle. I get 200 texts for £9.99. So for my £10 top-up, I get 500 minutes from my city postcode to call landlines or other O2 phones, plus 200 texts. That is a good deal. The postcode is not my specific address, it is for the town itself. So if I chose a Tonbridge postcode, the free minutes would apply to the whole of Tonbridge and not the specific house or street in the postcode.
500 minutes is 8 and a half hours, and those minutes can be used at any time of the day or night. If you want to use your phone in another postcode, the tariff is a reasonable 25p per min for the first 3 min of a 24hr period, then 5p per minute after that for the rest of the 24hr period. You can change your chosen postcode every month if you want to.
Thursday, September 27, 2007
A Great day Out at the Petting Zoo
I have always had a soft spot for goats and think this is a very fine fellow indeed. Look at his beard. And his horns!! Very impressive.
The place was well fenced and it was a safe area for a child. Wendy needs to get out every day, even in bad weather, because she gets very cranky if she doesn't go out. She is an outdoors sort of child who needs to be able to run free and Lathe Barn was perfect for her. There was enough to keep her interested and occupied and there was loads of room to run around it. When she first started walking, she walked well without the usual 3 paces, flop on bum gait that most babies have at first. She had been walking less than a week before she was insisting on walking for up to a mile. I don't know how she managed it, but she does. She really loves walking and running so it is great that there are places where it is safe for her to do so.
She loves a slide, but we had to be careful with her because the inclines on these slides aren't suitable for such a young child. My mum lifted her halfway and I stood at the bottom to catch her. She had a whale of a time.
She was tuckered out when we got back, but still had the energy to play with her great-gran. In fact, Great Gran and Gran were tired long before Wendy was.
All in all, it was a great day, and we are glad we took her before the place closed for Winter. It is a cheap day out for a family, as it only costs £2 for an adult. We didn't have to pay for Wendy. If you want to feed the animals, they sells bags of animal food for 30p. There are picnic tables where people can eat their own stuff or there is a restaurant on site that serves teas, coffees and light meals. The lavatories and washrooms are immaculate.
Overall, a cheap day out for a family in an area that has good facilities and lots to occupy youngsters and is kept safe for children. I hope the owners do well - they deserve to.
The place was well fenced and it was a safe area for a child. Wendy needs to get out every day, even in bad weather, because she gets very cranky if she doesn't go out. She is an outdoors sort of child who needs to be able to run free and Lathe Barn was perfect for her. There was enough to keep her interested and occupied and there was loads of room to run around it. When she first started walking, she walked well without the usual 3 paces, flop on bum gait that most babies have at first. She had been walking less than a week before she was insisting on walking for up to a mile. I don't know how she managed it, but she does. She really loves walking and running so it is great that there are places where it is safe for her to do so.
She loves a slide, but we had to be careful with her because the inclines on these slides aren't suitable for such a young child. My mum lifted her halfway and I stood at the bottom to catch her. She had a whale of a time.
She was tuckered out when we got back, but still had the energy to play with her great-gran. In fact, Great Gran and Gran were tired long before Wendy was.
All in all, it was a great day, and we are glad we took her before the place closed for Winter. It is a cheap day out for a family, as it only costs £2 for an adult. We didn't have to pay for Wendy. If you want to feed the animals, they sells bags of animal food for 30p. There are picnic tables where people can eat their own stuff or there is a restaurant on site that serves teas, coffees and light meals. The lavatories and washrooms are immaculate.
Overall, a cheap day out for a family in an area that has good facilities and lots to occupy youngsters and is kept safe for children. I hope the owners do well - they deserve to.
She found a toy pedal car tractor and she loved it. It made her day. Here she is visiting the pigs on her tractor. Unfortunately, her legs are still a bit too short to reach the pedals, but they will grow, so she will be able to enjoy pedalling herself along at some time in the future.
She enjoyed the roundabout too, but not as much as the slide or the toy tractor.
I was really surprised that a sheep would stand on hind legs like this.
There was even a black sheep. Of course we couldn't resist singing Baa Baa Black Sheep to it.
She enjoyed the roundabout too, but not as much as the slide or the toy tractor.
I was really surprised that a sheep would stand on hind legs like this.
There was even a black sheep. Of course we couldn't resist singing Baa Baa Black Sheep to it.
Wednesday at the Petting Zoo
Caelyn and Nigel are both in College on a Wednesday and Wendy's Nursery placement only starts next week, so my mum and I looked after her yesterday. We took her to the Petting Zoo at Lathe Barn, and it was just as well because they are closing for the winter at the end of the month.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Still up
My dental abscess is ballooning at a great speed and it throbs so I can't sleep.
I'm wondering whether to take some painkillers and try to sleep - in which case, I won't wake up early enough to phone for an emergency dental appointment - or to stay up and sleep after I have seen the dentist.
Going to sleep for a short while and then waking up again is terrible. I really can't do it. It leaves me muzzy-headed and feeling hung over and miserable.
Come to think of it, I should stay up because Sean will be popping in tonight and I have an early start on Wednesday. Between my Mum and I, we are going to look after Wendy on Wednesday while both of her parents are in college. Her Nursery School placement will be available from next week so there shouldn't be a childcare problem after that. I'm glad my mum is coming along to help as I don't think either of us could physically cope with a very active toddler on our own for a whole day. If there are two of us, it will be a great deal easier. We both adore Wendy - she is such a sweet little poppet. It isn't a question of affection - it is a question of stamina.
I'm wondering whether to take some painkillers and try to sleep - in which case, I won't wake up early enough to phone for an emergency dental appointment - or to stay up and sleep after I have seen the dentist.
Going to sleep for a short while and then waking up again is terrible. I really can't do it. It leaves me muzzy-headed and feeling hung over and miserable.
Come to think of it, I should stay up because Sean will be popping in tonight and I have an early start on Wednesday. Between my Mum and I, we are going to look after Wendy on Wednesday while both of her parents are in college. Her Nursery School placement will be available from next week so there shouldn't be a childcare problem after that. I'm glad my mum is coming along to help as I don't think either of us could physically cope with a very active toddler on our own for a whole day. If there are two of us, it will be a great deal easier. We both adore Wendy - she is such a sweet little poppet. It isn't a question of affection - it is a question of stamina.
A worry
As I've just mentioned, I have started my course but I'm a tad apprehensive as my health has been playing up again. I've got aches everywhere and feel weak and dizzy. My brain isn't doing too well either and I'm terribly nauseous. Also, I'm having trouble sitting and I have to sit at the computer to do the coursework.
I have a dental abscess too.
No matter how difficult this all is, with God's help, I'll persevere and get on with it as best I can.
I have a dental abscess too.
No matter how difficult this all is, with God's help, I'll persevere and get on with it as best I can.
Study Aides
I took these photos tonight while sitting at my computer. I was trying to do a Tutorial for a course I am on. I have to send in a Tutor Marked Assignment this week, and I was looking at a lecture on DVD. My dear little pussycats thought they would sit on the monitor and show some moral support.
Then Jack thought swishing his tail over the screen would be helpful.
I give up! I'm off to bed with the textbook!!
Then Jack thought swishing his tail over the screen would be helpful.
I give up! I'm off to bed with the textbook!!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
The discussion of the day and its new changes
A giggle with Gummy
Being cute with Granny
Family snacktime
Time to rehash the day. They were telling us about their day in College and we were telling them how Woozle coped with not seeing them for a whole day.
A friend looked after Woozle in the morning and she handed her over to me at lunchtime. For about 5 min she was crying and looking out of the window calling 'dad, dad, dad' and I think that was because she was expecting her parents to be at home. She settled down quickly though and had some lunch. She began giggling at playing then settled for a long nap before Caelyn and Nigel came back home.
Being cute with Granny
Family snacktime
Time to rehash the day. They were telling us about their day in College and we were telling them how Woozle coped with not seeing them for a whole day.
A friend looked after Woozle in the morning and she handed her over to me at lunchtime. For about 5 min she was crying and looking out of the window calling 'dad, dad, dad' and I think that was because she was expecting her parents to be at home. She settled down quickly though and had some lunch. She began giggling at playing then settled for a long nap before Caelyn and Nigel came back home.
A Hairy Tale
Yesterday afternoon, I looked after Wendy while her parents were both at College. When they came home she was very pleased to see them. After having a drink at mum's snack bar, she got her father on to the floor and brushed his hair for him. Every time he tried to get up, she got him back down to brush his hair again.
Poor Nigel! Thats is what he gets for leaving his Woozle to go to College.
After Daddy's hair had been done, it was Uncle Brakkie's turn. It seems that Woozle thought both blokes in the huse needed a bit of a tidy up. So, if you are a man who knows Woozle - watch out!
He is taking it in good part too, as you can see.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Nice guidelines "unworkable"
Dr Charles Shepherd of the ME Association has had an article published in the British Medical Journal. The article is here, and is very interesting.
It is well worth a look, especially as a lot of money has gone into the making of the NICE guidelines. The ME Association has been opposing the proposals for the guidelines for years and NICE made certain modifications as a result, but the guidelines are still "Unworkable".
Taxpayers Unite! The worst that can happen is that you will save money by stopping its lavish waste on "treatments" that cannot work and spending a fraction of the amount on research into biophysical markers leading to a foolproof diagnostic test. It is because there isn't such a test that quackery abounds as desperate people seek help for a life-stealing illness that may make them too ill to talk, eat, drink, tolerate light or the slightest sound or smell, have very considerable pain levels with sore throats, swollen glands, fever, weakness and serious cognitive impairment.
ME and Chronic Fatigue are not the same thing at all as ME is defined by the World Health Organisation as a neurological illness. CFS could be due to other causes but it lacks the chronic infective symptoms of swollen glands, sore throats and fever that are standard stuff in ME patients.
The word "Fatigue" is problematic because the public associate it with being tired. They very rightly think that they get tired too but don't retire to bed for years on end. The fatigue in everyday tiredness, which is resolved by getting enough rest is like a dripping tap compared to the 'tsunami' of ME. They aren't in the same league and it is foolish to equate them.
People die of ME and have it recorded as the cause of death on death certificates. Nobody dies due to everyday tiredness that a snooze can easily fix up.
This is not to trivialise CFS because it is also serious and debilitating. People may have CFS as a result of debilitating medical treatments such as cancer treatments or as a result of serious illness such as kidney or heart disease. People may have CFS as a result of adrenal exhaustion as a response to chronic severe trauma, or as a symptom of depression or something like Myaesthenia Gravis, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic Brucellosis, TB, Glandular Fever, chronic poisoning or other serious conditions.
So there is 'everyday tiredness' that a cozy snooze will sort out. Then there is CFS which is serious and debilitating and could be due to all sorts of reasons, and then there is ME. It makes no sense to lump all these things together and come up with management advice. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot work any more than a burst appendix turning into peritonitis cannot be effectively dealt with by a routine antacid offered for indigestion.
Treating different conditions differently makes sense to me.
Do gardeners try to grow cactus alongside ferns? No. They are too different.
Do Vets treat budgies the same way they treat leopards? No. They are too different.
Do people use Minis the same way they use tractors? No. They are too different.
These are not difficult concepts. Why is there so much difficulty in grasping that different things, although they may have certain similarities, have to be treated differently if treatment is to have any good effect at all?
It is well worth a look, especially as a lot of money has gone into the making of the NICE guidelines. The ME Association has been opposing the proposals for the guidelines for years and NICE made certain modifications as a result, but the guidelines are still "Unworkable".
Taxpayers Unite! The worst that can happen is that you will save money by stopping its lavish waste on "treatments" that cannot work and spending a fraction of the amount on research into biophysical markers leading to a foolproof diagnostic test. It is because there isn't such a test that quackery abounds as desperate people seek help for a life-stealing illness that may make them too ill to talk, eat, drink, tolerate light or the slightest sound or smell, have very considerable pain levels with sore throats, swollen glands, fever, weakness and serious cognitive impairment.
ME and Chronic Fatigue are not the same thing at all as ME is defined by the World Health Organisation as a neurological illness. CFS could be due to other causes but it lacks the chronic infective symptoms of swollen glands, sore throats and fever that are standard stuff in ME patients.
The word "Fatigue" is problematic because the public associate it with being tired. They very rightly think that they get tired too but don't retire to bed for years on end. The fatigue in everyday tiredness, which is resolved by getting enough rest is like a dripping tap compared to the 'tsunami' of ME. They aren't in the same league and it is foolish to equate them.
People die of ME and have it recorded as the cause of death on death certificates. Nobody dies due to everyday tiredness that a snooze can easily fix up.
This is not to trivialise CFS because it is also serious and debilitating. People may have CFS as a result of debilitating medical treatments such as cancer treatments or as a result of serious illness such as kidney or heart disease. People may have CFS as a result of adrenal exhaustion as a response to chronic severe trauma, or as a symptom of depression or something like Myaesthenia Gravis, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic Brucellosis, TB, Glandular Fever, chronic poisoning or other serious conditions.
So there is 'everyday tiredness' that a cozy snooze will sort out. Then there is CFS which is serious and debilitating and could be due to all sorts of reasons, and then there is ME. It makes no sense to lump all these things together and come up with management advice. A one-size-fits-all approach cannot work any more than a burst appendix turning into peritonitis cannot be effectively dealt with by a routine antacid offered for indigestion.
Treating different conditions differently makes sense to me.
Do gardeners try to grow cactus alongside ferns? No. They are too different.
Do Vets treat budgies the same way they treat leopards? No. They are too different.
Do people use Minis the same way they use tractors? No. They are too different.
These are not difficult concepts. Why is there so much difficulty in grasping that different things, although they may have certain similarities, have to be treated differently if treatment is to have any good effect at all?
Sunday, September 16, 2007
News of Changes
Change is in the air for all of us. We are all going to be studying, and I'm not quite sure how it came about.
Caelyn and Nigel are each doing two and a half days a week in College in Dover. Caelyn is doing Beauty Therapy, which isn't a "Tracey" course. It takes 3 years and involves a lot of anatomy and physiology, legal aspects, chemical reactions etc. It isn't for the faint-hearted, but she is determined to get a qualification she can use from home becuse she wants to spend a lot of her young life actively bringing up Wendy. Her motivation for study is that she wants to create a good life for Wendy. Caelyn won't be able to work full time outside the home because of the kidney damage and head injury she had as a child. She gets far too fatigued and it runs her health right down when she gets too tired. If her work/play balance is right, she does very well. She knows it will be hard work to do this course and succeed in it but she is determined.
Nigel doing his second year as a student Motor Mechanic. He did brilliantly in the last academic year and he will do very well this year too. And Motor Mechanics can find work in any part of the world they choose. He did last year's course while waiting to see the Gastroenterologist about his Crohns Disease. He has also had to help Caelyn a lot because she has needed help with Wendy and the house while her kidneys have been bleeding and forming stones and getting infected. Her last renal function test came back at 37% for the left kidney. It is small, scarred, misshapen and not functioning well at 37%. The other is prone to stone formation, bleeding and chronic infection.
Michelle has passed her probation period and has been proposed for Advanced training. The management get to select two people out of the whole group of companies to do the advanced training every year. The training is expensive so they only propose people who they are confident are worthy of the investment. Michelle is undoubtedly excellent in her niche vocation and I'm delighted that even during her Probation period that her talent and potential has been recognised. This is a great honour and she is justly very proud of herself. She has worked hard and she is being rewarded.
I have accepted that my nursing career is over, never to be practiced again. It was something I did not want to acknowledge to myself. I have spent years hoping my health would improve. My health has improved, but not enough to practice as a nurse again. I still have problems with bright light, background noise, concentration and sensory stimuli. The difference is that I have now accepted this change in my life and have decided to pursue a home-based career. I have already done two computer courses at the local college and was sad that nothing further was offered locally. Almost casually I clicked on a link about IT training and I've surprised myself. I've signed up for a CIW course which is technical and well respected. I will learn how to be a webmaster and design websites, write technical code and a lot of stuff like that. When I qualify, I will be able to do most of my work at home in the right lighting and sound conditions, during the hours I have energy and without being exhausted by commuting. As soon as I get exhausted, I get very nauseous and lose my concentration so wouldn't be much use at work anyway. The company I am studying with actively help their students into work on completion of their courses so the future looks rosy. I have studied by distance learning before ad although it isn't easy and takes a heck of a lot of work and discipline, I know I can do it so I have a new sense of optimism.
So - change is in the air for all of us. We hope you wish us well.
Caelyn and Nigel are each doing two and a half days a week in College in Dover. Caelyn is doing Beauty Therapy, which isn't a "Tracey" course. It takes 3 years and involves a lot of anatomy and physiology, legal aspects, chemical reactions etc. It isn't for the faint-hearted, but she is determined to get a qualification she can use from home becuse she wants to spend a lot of her young life actively bringing up Wendy. Her motivation for study is that she wants to create a good life for Wendy. Caelyn won't be able to work full time outside the home because of the kidney damage and head injury she had as a child. She gets far too fatigued and it runs her health right down when she gets too tired. If her work/play balance is right, she does very well. She knows it will be hard work to do this course and succeed in it but she is determined.
Nigel doing his second year as a student Motor Mechanic. He did brilliantly in the last academic year and he will do very well this year too. And Motor Mechanics can find work in any part of the world they choose. He did last year's course while waiting to see the Gastroenterologist about his Crohns Disease. He has also had to help Caelyn a lot because she has needed help with Wendy and the house while her kidneys have been bleeding and forming stones and getting infected. Her last renal function test came back at 37% for the left kidney. It is small, scarred, misshapen and not functioning well at 37%. The other is prone to stone formation, bleeding and chronic infection.
Michelle has passed her probation period and has been proposed for Advanced training. The management get to select two people out of the whole group of companies to do the advanced training every year. The training is expensive so they only propose people who they are confident are worthy of the investment. Michelle is undoubtedly excellent in her niche vocation and I'm delighted that even during her Probation period that her talent and potential has been recognised. This is a great honour and she is justly very proud of herself. She has worked hard and she is being rewarded.
I have accepted that my nursing career is over, never to be practiced again. It was something I did not want to acknowledge to myself. I have spent years hoping my health would improve. My health has improved, but not enough to practice as a nurse again. I still have problems with bright light, background noise, concentration and sensory stimuli. The difference is that I have now accepted this change in my life and have decided to pursue a home-based career. I have already done two computer courses at the local college and was sad that nothing further was offered locally. Almost casually I clicked on a link about IT training and I've surprised myself. I've signed up for a CIW course which is technical and well respected. I will learn how to be a webmaster and design websites, write technical code and a lot of stuff like that. When I qualify, I will be able to do most of my work at home in the right lighting and sound conditions, during the hours I have energy and without being exhausted by commuting. As soon as I get exhausted, I get very nauseous and lose my concentration so wouldn't be much use at work anyway. The company I am studying with actively help their students into work on completion of their courses so the future looks rosy. I have studied by distance learning before ad although it isn't easy and takes a heck of a lot of work and discipline, I know I can do it so I have a new sense of optimism.
So - change is in the air for all of us. We hope you wish us well.
Port Meirion
The visit to Port Meirion was fantastic. An Architect dreamed that an area of outstanding natural beauty could be developed without spoiling it. The village was completed when he was 90 years old in 1976. Here are some of my photos. Notice that he has used colour very cleverly - the houses and buildings are the colour of sand, sea and sky. What a visionary! His work should be required study for all student architects as I think you will agree when you browse through the photos. Just double click on the picture and it will take you to my Picasa Web Album.
Read more about Port Meirion here
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| Port Meirion |
Read more about Port Meirion here
Fun in Ty Mawr
Taking Wendy for a swim
In a tunnel that leads on to a slide
On the slide, completely undeterred by the fact that her arm is in plaster. I should mention that this cast is made out of soft rubber and the hospital gave us a leaflet explaining that it was OK to get it wet. The padding against the skin isn't cotton wool, it is something else that dries quickly. After getting the cast wet, the advice is to rinse shampoo or chlorine or anything else off the cast or it could cause skin irritation and itching.
In the car
Taking Uncle Brakkie for a walk.
In a tunnel that leads on to a slide
On the slide, completely undeterred by the fact that her arm is in plaster. I should mention that this cast is made out of soft rubber and the hospital gave us a leaflet explaining that it was OK to get it wet. The padding against the skin isn't cotton wool, it is something else that dries quickly. After getting the cast wet, the advice is to rinse shampoo or chlorine or anything else off the cast or it could cause skin irritation and itching.
In the car
Taking Uncle Brakkie for a walk.
On the way home
We stopped frequently and here we rested in the shade behind a billboard at a Welcome Break service station. It was so hot we all needed a cool shady place to stretch our legs.
A game with Mum
Looking forward to getting home
Wendy slept a lot of the day.
For part of the journey I sat in the back reading the map and giving directions. I must be the only mother-in-law in the world who has been asked to be a back seat driver!
It was a fabulous holiday and my dear son in law Nigel gets a huge vote of thanks from me. We had a whale of a time in Wales and we created memories which we will recall with delight for many years to come.
A game with Mum
Looking forward to getting home
Wendy slept a lot of the day.
For part of the journey I sat in the back reading the map and giving directions. I must be the only mother-in-law in the world who has been asked to be a back seat driver!
It was a fabulous holiday and my dear son in law Nigel gets a huge vote of thanks from me. We had a whale of a time in Wales and we created memories which we will recall with delight for many years to come.
The longest name in the World!
This place on the Isle of Anglesey has the longest place name in all the world! The translation is: "The church of Mary in the hollow of the white hazel near the fierce whirlpool and the church of Tysilio by the red cave"
The railway station
This is how it is to be pronounced
This shop provided Caelyn with the highlight of her holiday. She has broad size 9 feet and struggles to find shoes. She needed a pair of flat black shoes for her uniform for her College Course and had despaired of finding any. Here, in a one horse town in the middle of nowhere, she found the very pair! They were Hush Puppies and the shop was charging £36.99 for them instead of the RRP of £54.99. We know that Hush Puppies are sold at that price in Kent and although Caelyn has walked Kent to find shoes for her course, she hadn't found any in her size even at the dearer price. The find made her day and her holiday.
The railway station
This is how it is to be pronounced
This shop provided Caelyn with the highlight of her holiday. She has broad size 9 feet and struggles to find shoes. She needed a pair of flat black shoes for her uniform for her College Course and had despaired of finding any. Here, in a one horse town in the middle of nowhere, she found the very pair! They were Hush Puppies and the shop was charging £36.99 for them instead of the RRP of £54.99. We know that Hush Puppies are sold at that price in Kent and although Caelyn has walked Kent to find shoes for her course, she hadn't found any in her size even at the dearer price. The find made her day and her holiday.
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