When I was first diagnosed with Pulmonary Hypertension, back in 2013, I was really ill. After a month of lying in a hospital bed, overwhelmed with weakness, incapacitated with fatigue, and breathless with movement; I was like a living corpse. Phil would spend every day on the ward, by my side, emotionally supporting and physically … More Beating My PB
I’m not a fan of Cardio-Pulmonary exercise tests (CPET). They’re exhausting. Professional athletes regularly enjoy them as part of their training regimes. Keen amateurs pay big bucks to have a go. And Phil would love love love to strap on the probes and push himself really hard. 😉 But not me- I’m not a fan. … More Some Long Overdue Tests
For the past eight years, I’ve been slightly fearful of snow. Whereas once it represented adventure and excitement and fun, since developing Pulmonary Hypertension, it makes me feel trapped and isolated and in danger. The cold air further restricts my airways and lungs, making me breathless after just a step or two. My rural village … More The First Snow
It was dawn on Christmas day. The puddles had turned to ice, the muddy swamps were frozen solid, and the grass was covered in a pretty layer of white frost. But instead of being tucked up in a warm bed, we were wrapped in extra layers, sitting atop our local hillfort, waiting for the sun … More A Different Christmas
It was the final day of the hardest week of my life. And I was exhausted. My heart was a-twitching, my lungs a-panting, and I felt sick. After seven days of pushing myself to the extreme, my body was screaming for rest. But I barely noticed. 🙂 Instead, I had the biggest smile on my … More The Longest Walk
It was late afternoon. In the middle of the Firth of Clyde. Phil was swimming in the sea, Lottie was sniffing the seaweed, and I was peering through the binoculars trying to spy on bobbing boats. The sun was shining, the waves were lapping, and there wasn’t a soul to be seen… just us, and … More A Memorable Arran Adventure
Last week I had a birthday. A big one! I am now the grand old age of forty! 😛 And although I can no longer describe myself as a ‘young’ lady, and will now have to tick the middle age box on official forms… I am beyond elated to be entering my fifth decade. It’s … More Reaching 40
It’s Thursday. In life before lockdown, it was just another evening. Maybe a game, maybe some cleaning, maybe catching up with the box. But for the past seventeen weeks, ever since the coronavirus forced us all to stay in to safe safe, Thursday has become ‘Theatre Night’! Drinks and snacks and rushing to get seated … More Life In Lockdown
For the past five months, a handmade poster has been blue-tacked to my front door. Throughout March and April and May and June and July, it has stood like a sentry on the threshold of my castle. Greeting visitors, thanking visitors, advising visitors we won’t be answering the door. We. Are. Shielding. The colours are … More The End Of Shielding
It was the last place on earth I wanted to be during a pandemic. The last place. After four months of shielding, of staying home, of seeing no one. After 16 weeks of washing my shopping, quarantining my mail, not answering the door. After 113 days of doing everything I could do to keep myself … More Going Into The Lion’s Den
