Continue reading “Infographic: Profile of patients with PoTS (work/education)”
Category: Living with chronic illness
Infographic: Profile of patients with PoTS (mobility)
Infographic: Profile of patients with PoTS (Most common symptoms)
Life is not a highway
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
I was one of those crazy people who knew the answer from a very young age.
I wanted to be a teacher. Continue reading “Life is not a highway”
Product Review: Fenici 40cm Fan
NOTE: I purchased this product myself, and am sharing my own views about it. I have not been compensated in any way for this review.
I can hear you thinking, “Really? A product review about a fan? Have you just run out of things to blog about?”
Firstly, never!
Secondly, I’m blogging about a fan because YOU NEED THIS FAN IN YOUR LIFE! Continue reading “Product Review: Fenici 40cm Fan”
Why do I blog?
When I first started blogging, my mentor Rachel from The Chronicles of Rach told me about the importance of asking myself questions. Why did I want to blog? What did I want to blog about? Who did I want to read it? She explained how having a clear focus would help me to create better content.
She pointed me to the seven questions the wonderful Pip Lincolne (from BLog with Pip) had assigned her during a recent blogging course. I read Rachel’s answers in her post The Whys and Wherefores, and then eagerly scribbled down my own answers. I’ve referred to those scribbled sentences many times over the last six months.
I realised that if I shared them here, it may help people to understand why I started Reflections Of A Bear. So here they are: the secrets to my blogging…
Wheelchair “miracles”
I finally gave in and bought a wheelchair last year, when a local store had them on special.
It’s not something I need every day, thankfully. Not even most days. In fact, I’m pretty sure my Mum has borrowed it and used it for my grandmother more times than Mr Happy has used it for me! But thanks to my Dysautonomia and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, I suffer from debilitating fatigue, I’m unable to stand for long periods / walk long distances, and I have a propensity for dislocating body parts. So Mr Happy kept prompting that it would be handy for us own one, and after missing out on several events where I could have gone if we’d had one, I gave in.
That’s why things like this BuzzFeed post hit me really hard.
Because I know, that could have been me. Continue reading “Wheelchair “miracles””
Little Things
Day to day, it’s the little things that bother me the most about my life with chronic illness.
Don’t get me wrong, the big things hurt too; not being able to have kids, not being able to drive, not being able to eat proper food. Those definitely hurt.
But I tend to pack the big things away into a box, squash the lid down as best I can, and tuck it away in a corner of my heart. They hurt too much to let them just roam free. Continue reading “Little Things”
I’m a minimalist hoarder…
When it comes to ‘stuff’, there’s an interesting dichotomy in my nature.
I’m the kind of girl who, if healthy, would happily spend hours browsing op shops and garage sales for interesting and beautiful things. I love repurposing objects; filling up an antique tin with freshly baked cookies for a gift, reusing part of a birthday card to make a cute tag, or turning an old piece of furniture into something attractive. Like these old pallets, turned into a glossy, colourful, visually textured table!
(No, sadly, this is not my table…but I can dream…)
Happy New Year!
It’s the 1st of January.
*Cue all the motivational quotes about the new year being a clean slate, a fresh start, a new day, the chance to seize your dreams…*
But my 2016 was ushered in by our neighbours loud, drunken partying, complete with obnoxious music turned up to 11. We had the bedroom door, windows and blinds closed, and put the air conditioner and fan on for white noise. I had headphones over my ears. But I could still feel the bass thumping, and the shrieking and hollering made it impossible for me to sleep until after 1.30am.¹ Continue reading “Happy New Year!”
Reflections Of A Bear 