Whalley Abbey was originally a Cistercian Monastery and is now a retreat centre belonging to the Church of England Diocese of Blackburn. The cafe itself is autism friendly so no loud music and glaring lights and some of the staff identify as being on the autism spectrum. It was good to support a worthy cause that is almost on our doorstep. We made it home in time for me to have a well deserved lie down before heading out the door to collect Ben and drive to the hospital for a diabetic appoinment.
Hot chocolate at the Autisan cafe.
A replica of the Cistercian Monastery
Beautiful Tapestries
Pip's photo of me!
Now that Ben is over sixteen he no longer attends the paediatric clinic and this was our first time at the transition clinic on another part of the hospital site. The building itself worked well for Ben as it didn't shout at him, this is a hospital! Even though he has been attending since he was four and cannot remember ever not having diabetes, over the last few years he has found it increasingly stressful attending the clinic sessions and so the appointments have always been met with dread. Unfortunately the appointment itself was not straightforward :-(
Benedict's blood sugars have once again been all over the place resulting in a lot of hypos, either at college or late in the evening. The team want him to try a Flash Libre CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor) which he isn't to keen on as it will require another piece of kit to carry around. However it will give us much needed information regarding his blood sugar levels throughout a 24 hour period and providing he is stable it will also reduce finger prick testing on his good days. Thankfully we did get to catch up with the dietician and offered some useful advice in the interim period. Fingers crossed things should hopefully improve :-)
5 comments:
The abbey looks beautiful. I am sorry to hear that Ben has had problems with his blood sugar. I hope it will all work out.
The Abbey itself is now in ruins, it was too cold to wander and there was a charge as the grounds are partially owned by English Heritage. The Blackburn Diocese of the Church of England own the lodge house and it is used for retreat days and conferences. The cafe is housed in a refurbished out house situated next to the impressive stone arch at the front of the grounds. It's been a while since we had any major diabetic issues and hopefully the CGM will sort things x
The cafe sounds wonderfully peaceful . . no glaring lights and loud music: my cup of tea! I like Pip's photo of you.
I hope Ben's levels even out. I remember my cousin once having to wear a monitor like this, to keep track of her heart as she has an irregular rhythm. I think she did it for a week. Does Ben have to go that long, or only twenty four hours? Good luck to him. I hope all goes well :) xoxo
He will probably have to track his sugars for a 14 day period at the least possibly longer. The cafe was lovely x
It sounds a wonderful place to visit but I am so sad to hear about the hypos etc! Poor Ben!
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