A few months ago, one of my healthy friends suddenly became quite sick with an as-yet-undiagnosed illness.
I wanted to tell her why it was so crucial that she rest. I wanted to explain that her body was under attack, and that nothing was more important than helping it to win the fight. But I didn’t have the words.
This poem spilled out of that place.
Tough, sturdy back
Broad, muscular chest
Long, powerful legs
The horse is strong
But wolves are circling Continue reading “The Battle”
I made it.
It was a long crawl through a dark, putrid tunnel. But I made it to the other side.
Note: If you’re new here, you probably haven’t read the series of posts about my recent surgery / subsequent rough recovery. I’ll pop the links below for you.
(Prequel) Heartache
(Announcement) The problem with your but (it’s not what you think!)
Hysterectomy: day 1
Hysterectomy: night 1
Hysterectomy: recovery week 1
Darkness
Hysterectomy: recovery weeks 2- 6
At the time of my last blog post (six weeks post surgery), most of my abdominal pain had subsided, and I was starting to ease my way back into life. I was still experiencing intense fatigue and brain fog though (more than was usual for me).
I’m glad to report that, over the following month, those symptoms gradually eased back to my normal level. Which is to say, the other day I carefully wrapped an overripe banana in a plastic bag, and put it in the cupboard…instead of the freezer. (Luckily I found it again that afternoon, and not a few weeks later! Yuck!) But I can write a coherent lesson again, and read blocks of text instead of staring blankly at the page…most of the time (which is my normal).
I do still get pain in my abdominal muscles sometimes, and my hip joints are still extra cranky. But, apart from that, I’m pretty much back to pre-surgery me!
Well, pre-surgery me minus an organ…and minus the days lying on the shower floor losing copious amounts of precious fluids; the agonising cramping / stabbing / kill-me-now pains; the bleeding on all my clothing / bedding / towels; and the epic nausea. (This new me is pretty awesome, just quietly!)
So, if I’m back to normal… why has it been over a month since my last blog post?
I have a good reason, I promise.
A really good reason. Continue reading “Hello from the other side!”
English is a funny language.
One bear, two bears. One horse, two horses. But one mouse, two… mice. One goose, two… geese. One octopus, two… octopi?! (I guess neither ‘octopuses’ or ‘octopeese’ would have worked…) Fish and sheep? Doesn’t matter how many. One fish, fifty fish. One sheep, a million sheep.
And what about that whole, ‘i’ before ‘e’ rule? Yeah, that works great: except when you want to run a feisty heist on a weird beige foreign neighbour… Continue reading “That little word, ‘tired’”
Reflections Of A Bear 