The champagne was poured, the buffet mostly devoured, ‘Articulate’ pushed to the side. As the London fireworks whirled and whizzed and burst and boomed on our tv screen, we stopped singing Auld Lang Syne and joined together in one long Conga. Turning my oxygen machine up to maximum, I joined the line, as it snaked … More Making It To Midnight
I met my tribe at university. I arrived at York on a cold October day, with a lava lamp, yellow dinner plates… and an enormous desire to do something different, exciting, adventurous. To make the most of my uni life. So I joined the canoe club. Over the next -amazing- three years, those black-and-yellow clad … More Rekindling Friendships
Six months ago, I was lost in the storms of depression. My happiness had upped and left, my enthusiasm was missing, and I couldn’t find joy in usual loves. With rain pummeling the windows and my heart, with coronavirus restrictions still creating uncertainty and loneliness, and with the rampant virus still causing fear; summer seemed … More The Sunshine After The Storm
I’ve never looked forward to a wedding so much. After being postponed twice, due to lockdown, one of my oldest and closest friends -Kate- was hoping for third date lucky. After a year of staying in and bad news and being apart, I was ridiculously excited at the prospect of a celebration and a long … More A Lockdown Wedding
This time last year, my brother linked me to a couple of newspaper articles. One was hailing the latest vaccine breakthrough, and the other suggested we’d soon be able to buy coronavirus tests online. Although, we were only a few months into the pandemic, it felt like we’d been living under lockdown forever. Washing food … More The Road Back To Normality
My brother had a baby girl in January. Libby. His first child. As we started shielding a month after Emma and Gary announced the happy news, and because they live a couple of hours from us, we had to watch the pregnancy unfold over the internet. Congratulatory cuddles were replaced with squeals down the phone, … More Finally Meeting My Niece
The bees were buzzing, the sun was beaming, and the drinks were chilled. Lottie was sniffing for stray chips, the ‘Aunt Sally’ team were throwing balls at a dummy, and Phil was critiquing his pint. It was a normal August evening in our village pub garden… except it wasn’t quite! 😉 The benches were spread … More Navigating The New World
This time ten years ago, I was packing up my home and job and life, in readiness for a move to Ethiopia. At the same time, one of my best friends was also boxing up her world, and preparing to move to Belgium. Neither of us had worked in those countries before, so we were … More A Longed For Trip To Brussels
I’ve been keeping something to myself for a few months now. Something unexpected. Something nice. Something a little confusing. For three and a half months, I’ve been watching and waiting and wondering and wishing. I’ve been monitoring and second guessing and speculating and hoping. But all in my own head, alone. I’ve not dared to … More The Unexpected
Before I got my diagnosis of PVOD, I’d been immersed in the world of Pulmonary Hypertension for three years. Deeply immersed. I read blogs by fellow PHers, followed the latest research, and was a member of two global Facebook groups for patients. Each day I’d read and comment and learn from posts with questions about … More Strength In Numbers
We Can Adjust The Sails 