Finviui: December 2010

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

My 2010 in Pictures

My year..... (to see more like this and the chance to win a CyberMummy 2011 ticket visit Mummytips and add your Year in Pictures)

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

What a difference a Year makes

Last year, about this time, I was full of good intentions.

Two cups of coffee a day, weight loss, exercise, write a novel and some other stuff. Now traditionally I review my good intentions and go GAH! #Fail and generally get down on myself about how little I have achieved.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't achieved much of any of that.

I spent the first half of the year feeling really tired and quite low. I made efforts to sort out my mental health but the tiredness was still there. I put it down to working full time, being a Mum of a 4 year old and 8 year old and my lack of exercise.

Then in August I went for a Health Check-up paid for by work. There were no massive surprises, I wasn't surprised to hear I was overweight but I was pleased that my heart, my cholesterol and my posture were all OK.

There was just anomalies with my blood. They tested it twice. My white blood count was way too high. I think, I realised it was serious when the Doctor at the clinic phoned my GP to make an appointment for me.

Then everything moved really quickly. My GP had my blood re-tested and told me we were in a 'free fall situation' he was the first one to mention the possibility of cancer he sent me to the Haematology Day Ward. He didn't tell me it was the Haematology & Oncology Ward.

Long story short and after a bone marrow biopsy I was diagnosed with Chronic Myloid Leukaemia

This kind of thing changes your perspective on things.

I don't have new year resolutions this year. I have new life resolutions.

5 years ago, in this country, I would have been having traditional chemo-therapy. My quality of life would have been poor and my prognosis would not have been good.

I am on a clinical trial drug, the side effects are minimal (like the disease, they make me tired, and I get headaches) and my prognosis is excellent. I am extremely lucky. Blood Cancer medication has come on leaps and bounds in the last few years.

I can't deny that it has messed with my head. I struggle with it at times, with the unfairness of it (even though I have no illness that I can see or touch) but I am also aware that there is no reason for me not to see my children grow up, hopefully, they will never see me go into the accelerated or blast stages of the illness where hope is limited.

So what are my new life resolutions?

Stay alive
Stay healthy
Exercise
Be happy

If I can get those 4 sorted, surely everything else will just follow naturally...And I will always have this...

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Silent Sunday - The post Christmas lull.

To see more silent Sundays go here

Monday, December 20, 2010

Colds, Coughs, Snow, Nits and Christmas

I love Christmas.

Every year my husband has to stem my Christmas spirit to grotto our house and keep the decorations in moderation.

The lead up to this Christmas has not exactly been as smooth as I would like. There was the family weekend of snot in late November which was pretty disgusting. All the family full of an extremely snotty cold. Ugh.

Then the first spell of really frosty weather, we didn't have much snow, but boy it was cold. Everything looked beautiful though.

Sniffles continued into December but no one was properly sick. Then the dreaded nits came (I blame a soft play place we went to) We are still doing the repeat treatments. I haven't had them but I can't help but feel itchy...double ugh!

And now, just when we all really want to be festive and see friends and family, my eldest has a cold and chest infection that has properly floored her. I have never known her to stay in bed all day before this. I have had to cancel two visits already with people we really really wanted to see before Christmas. (There was a brief concern that it may be swine flu. Fortunately, after a visit to the doctor today we have found that it is not).

And now there is proper snow.

Still, the Christmas Lego collection is coming along nicely ...

And we are fortunate enough to have presents under our tree.

So with antibiotics and plenty of Christmas fayre, all will be well...and just in case I don't blog between now and Christmas, Merry Christmas everyone xxx

The Gallery - Love

When I got married I was fit to bursting with love - I genuinely thought that we could not be more in love.

But then nearly ten years on, our love has matured, and as life throws big splats and happy puddles at us it grows and we continue to be very much still in love.

None the less, I was not prepared for the love I feel for my children, strange, unconditional, totally overwhelming. My heart skips a beat for them regularly.

Here are two of my favourite pictures - the first one with my husband and my eldest daughter in Ireland on Christmas Day. The snow was unexpected so my husband had to borrow a hat from his Dad. It snowed all morning and was a completely magical Christmas. She is two in this picture.