Ten Month Post Covid Update

 I've noticed some glimmers this past month:

I'm now able to clean my teeth whilst standing.

The whiteboard is back in use. At the start of each week I brainstorm little tasks that I would like to accomplish over the course of the week, and in the main most of them get done.

Knitting and reading are still part of my covid recovery and self care.

To help improve my cognitive function I pick out one recipe book to work from and plan the week's menus from that source.

I'm working with an OT therapy practitioner from the Long Covid Clinic and together we have worked out tasks that are spread throughout the week.  I've also been really focused on implementing targeted rest times throughout the day: 10:30-11:00, 2:30-3:00 and 6:30-7:00.

I regularly take a targeted range of supplements (guided by a qualified nutritionist) but this past month I also added a daily supplement of 200mg Co-Enzyme Q10 and I do believe this has helped my energy levels.

I'm still dealing with MCAS, PoTS, and Long Covid issues which impact me on a daily basis but with pacing, resting and really listening to my own 'ecosystem,' I am making small, slow and sustainable increments which is encouraging to see 😊

Butterbean, roasted onion and lemon hummous served with vegetable sticks and tortilla chips.

Chilli and onion cornbread.

Tea Time Treats and Mindful Making

 Two posts in two days, that's a record!!  In between Pip finishing for the school year and everyday life stuff we've managed some local cafe stops - they break up the monotony of an otherwise 'ground hog day' life.

Pip and Dave frequently travel into the village for a Booths cafe stop, shopping and library visit.  Dave buy the Independent Newspaper and he reads the main part whilst Pip tackles the puzzles.

On one particularly hot day we drove eight minutes down the road to Barton Grange and enjoyed tea and ice creams.  I know that might seem a weird combination but it was utterly delicious ❤️

I've been fortunate enough to take part in an eight week course "mindfulness for stress" which is organised by the breath works foundation, and they also run the mindfulness for health one too.  Last week's homework was based on acts of kindful-ness towards oneself - to undertake activities that bring about contentment and peace, and the library book, 'The Mindful Maker' drew my eye.

I really enjoyed trying out the Japanese technique of visible mending known as Boro stitching.  I have a pair of boyfriend jeans that are super comfortable but the factory made holes were proving to be too draughty 😂. Placing a patch behind and stitching over the top has lengthened the life span of the jeans, and I'm hoping over time to add more decorative patches.  I used the net and spiral permaculture designs to remind me of the interconnections I've made through the web and that abundance can occur in the smallest of spaces - the Winter. Jasmine in the garden is living proof of this.

The simple act of repairing incorporates the 'produce no waste' permaculture principle as well as the people care (my wellbeing) and earth care permaculture ethics.  It also means I can avoid the shops for a while longer, as I cannot abide clothes shopping at the best of times, let alone doing so in my current health state 😂. 

More Snapshots

 I had hoped to pop by more regularly but screens are still an issue and by the time I have the headspace to think it's often too late, but hey it's a Friday night so we'll go with the flow 😁

The Reading List was a surprise find at my local library - it was located on one of the end aisles.  The front cover initially caught my eye and when I read the blurb my curiosity was sparked.  I'm so glad this book came home with me.  A truly wonderful, heart warming and yet at times quite sobering well written book.

The story is centred around an anonymous reading list - To Kill a Mockingbird, Rebecca, The Kite Runner, The Life of Pi, Pride and Prejudice, Little Women, Beautiful and a Suitable Boy.  The list brings together two unlikely souls, Mukesh and Aleisha.

Aleisha is a bright but anxious teenager, spending her summer break working at the local library that is under constant threat of closure.  She finds the crumpled reading list and sets herself the challenge of every title contained therein.  As she works her way through the list she recognises life lessons and nuggets of wisdom that are applicable to her own life, and the magic within the pages transport her away (albeit briefly) from the painful realities of home.

Mukesh, a widower living a quiet life in the London Borough of Ealing, spends his days in front of nature documentaries interspersed with visits from his daughters and grandkids and occasional visits to the temple.  His teenage granddaughter Priya always has her nose in a book, just like his beloved late wife.  In an attempt to enrich his relationship with Priya he tentatively crosses the threshold of the library doors.

The initial meeting between Mueksh and Aleisha is quite strained, him over anxious in a strange place and her frustrated and bored with life, and so she comes across as being quite rude.  Realising the error in her ways, Aleisha attempts to make amends and shares the reading list with Mukesh, and soon they are discussing plot lines, characters and their own interpretation of each book.  Before too long a beautiful friendship is formed.

This book was a birthday gift from Kath and it was so good I read it in two days.  During a clear out of her mother's home the author finds a book entitled 'A Fortunate Man' which documented a country GP at the beginnings of the NHS.  Upon closer inspection she realises that this book is in fact based on a the valley where she lives, and so she makes contact with the current GP in that same area (during the height of the pandemic and all that entailed) and so 'A Fortunate Woman' is brought into being.

The author skilfully weaves tales from the past into those of the present, and the GP herself walks the thin line between professional, care giver and friend.  Patient confidentiality is paramount so the stories and accounts are an overview of GP life.  Reading the book gave me a new appreciation for the work of the General Practitioner and made me appreciate further, and be thankful for the excellent GP care that I have had over the years.  Some books are for keeping and others are for sharing, so I gifted this book to my wonderful GP (another country doctor) and she in turn will share with her colleagues 😊

I'm still plodding my way through the permaculture course, it is certainly taking a lot longer than anticipated!  Some days my cognitive function is reasonable and other days its on a go slow, so no chance of planning it's a case of doing what I can when I can 🌿

Thirteen figs on the tree 🌿

A mini plant guild of tomatoes, chives and flowers.

Winter Jasmine

Guns n Roses at Glastonbury

I joined in with some chronically ill pals to watch the Glastonbury Festival - my Pyjama bottoms were my version of festival pants and you cannot attend a festival without either wellies or Crocs!  Thankfully no worries about finding the loos or the state of them 😂

Pip and Beth had their yearly fairy day last Saturday - later than normal due to other things going on around the Summer Solstice.  They had fun at the crazy golf at Barton Grange Flower Bowl and Dave and I sat in the cafe whilst they did their thing.  It's hard to believe but we've been running a yearly fairy get together for nine years ❤️

In car knitting - I finally have some knitting ability, yay!  It started with my Long Covid socks, the first finished before I got sick in a matter of days and the second took five months to complete, it was frogged back several times over 😳. I kept making the simplest of mistakes.  I was so glad when they were off the needles!

This was my view on Wednesday morning as I'm back doing PA work for Ben.  Driving is still an issues for me so it was easier to stay on site and the chap he was working for very kindly kept me topped up with cups of tea.

As far as Covid is concerned I'm still dealing with dysautonomia issues and have resorted to medication on top of other things to try and keep things under check.  I had a lovely virtual appointment with the Occupational Therapist attached to the Long Covid clinic and she has given me a few simple things to do before our next appointment.

Sorry for the long ramble, its no good I'm going to have to pop by more regularly x 

Time Flies …

It’s nearly two months since I posted.  Most days I’m in survival mode with the occasional glimmer of feeling well enough to undertake a half hour of sitting down gardening, or cook a meal sitting down with rest breaks in between, but most days you will find me on the sofa 🙄  My heart rate still isn’t right and I’m now dealing with another long covid complication called Mast Cell Activation Syndrome or MCAS for short.  This means I don’t tolerate eating a lot of foods containing histamine and certain cleaning smells can have me feeling like I’m short of breath.  

Despite life in the mundane slow lane I have been taking photos so here is a rough round up of the past six weeks or so:

Books Galore

Permaculture and Nature Therapy

The garden has been a valuable healing space, on good days I’ve eaten breakfast outside, photographed flowers, learned to love weeds (a real sign of resilience and my watch word this year 🙂) and adopted slow solutions in tackling my Permaculture Design Certificate- not giving up!

Painting the compost bin and fence panel was a joint effort family affair.  The other panels will be painted at some point. 

Out in my PJs on a Saturday morning moving buckets to collect extra water using the permaculture principle of ‘use and value resources.’ 

Meditative sky watching. 

Planting a variety of free seeds gifted by a friend, some have already begun to germinate.

Dave tying in the Egremont Russet apple tree. 

A whiskey barrel plant guild - food to eat, food for pollinators and nitrogen fixing plants. In the barrel there is a variety of flowers, tomato plants, lettuce and beetroot seeds and I’m hoping to plant some beans for nitrogen. 

Tulips in the front garden. 

Sorry for my absence to anyone who stops by here on a regular basis, I do hope you are well and hopefully I'll manage to pop by more frequently xx 

February Already?!!

 Must admit I’m glad to see the back of January. It has been another month of me mainly on the sofa 🙄. My heart rate is reasonably steady if I do very little which makes daily living a bit of a challenge 🤪. Other post covid problems have appeared such as terrible abdominal pain which has thankfully eased due to a low FODMAP diet, the effect was almost instantaneous ie within 24 hours, Praise God!  I have an appointment with our nutritionist as I’m sure there’ll be some additional supplementation needed for the time being.

The swollen glands have been constant but the scratchy throat and vocal changes occur the more fatigued that I become.  Alongside that is the headaches, word finding problems (calling the washing machine the fridge 😂)and inability to complete a sentence or deal with conversations.

I’ve been using the permaculture principle of observe and interact and have kept a bio time diary since the start of the month tracking heart rate variability, symptoms, sleep, food and drink and any activities either physical or mental.  If I sit down to make a meal and wash a few pots then I am wiped out for several hours afterwards.  

Despite all of this we are bumbling along reasonably well and I know for sure that things could be a whole heap worse!!  I think I’ll try and pop by over here a bit more regularly and post a snippet of daily life in the mundane 🙂

Here are some pics from my phone, which I’m also using to write this blog whilst lying down:

Dave and I managed a short outing to a nearby cafe on Saturday, the first non medical outing in nine weeks.

My brother’s school yesterday was closed due to the strikes so part of his day was spent in the kitchen making this yummy concoction ❤️

My symptom log lay out that is helping track what is going on 👍🏻

The lovely Milton ‘helping’ in the kitchen 😻

Poppy resting on my legs whilst I had a much needed lie down yesterday afternoon ❤️

Ollie was tasked with making a dinosaur den as part of his ‘homework’ so he devised this elaborate structure on Minecraft- he’ll be five in March.  Mum and Dad have printed his efforts and stuck the design in his book.  Well done Ollie 🙂

Advent

Goodness me where has this year gone?!  As per tradition in this household, it is a mad scramble on the first Sunday of Advent to hoik the advent box from under the eaves, and scurry around finding the wreath candles bought earlier in the year!  Before I share yesterday's photos here is a quick catch up from the previous few weeks:

Dave's Luggie scooter was in the repair shop a few weeks ago which meant our yearly visit to Bents Homes and Gardens, it was also a chance for Dave to snap some Christmassy photos for the family calendar and for Pip to turn mum into a reindeer 😂

 The stove is in but we cannot at the moment use it!  The installer is waiting to receive is accreditation through HETAS and until that happens we are relying on hot water bottles, hats, scarves and blankets - with the occasional input from the central heating system.  Hope that paper work comes through soon!

Ottilie is 16 weeks old.  Poor gal is teething at the moment and is just recovering from a cold.

Milton our adopted cat from next door often pops by to say "Hello."

Whilst Pip was at her monthly young carers session in Fleetwood (a 45 minute drive from here) Dave and I spent a lovely two hours in the library and this stack came home with me.  The two gardening books will help enormously with my permaculture design course.  This month we are working on maps and overlays, which is fascinating and challenging in equal measure 🤪

Dave had his last session in the MSTAT research trial at Preston Hospital.  His baseline score from the initial visit hasn't changed in those three years despite a fractured spine and four months of rehab, which is pretty astounding.

His appointment ran over into the lunch time so we were treated to a lovely lunch - thank goodness I carry emergency back up meds for Pip!!

And now for yesterday's activities:

Turmeric, ginger and cinnamon latte. 

The last few weeks of constantly having to 'do' has really caught up with me and not only are my glands swollen but I had another weird heart episode in the middle of the night.  I think I need to mention it to a doctor as it is the third time it has happened.

The Christmas crockery appeared and we had yummy blueberry pancakes fro lunch that were full of all the good things - walnuts, chia seeds, desiccated coconut plus the usual pancake mix 😋

It was a spur of the moment decision but most definitely the right one and out came the fire pit.  Whilst Ben readied the fire I cut back some of the scraggy looking herbs, Lemon Balm and Thyme which I will dry in the oven today.  It was really lovely to sit by the fire and ponder this upcoming Advent season.  

Happy Monday to you dear friends x