I used to assume that anyone who needed a new organ would be placed on the organ transplant waiting list. However, since entering the world of ill heath, I’ve sadly learnt that there is no guarantee that anyone will be accepted. Through transplant groups on facebook, I’ve observed daily, distraught people from around the globe, … More Final Transplant Assessment
When I was a child I was desperate for a dog. Instead of pop singers and movie stars, I had posters of puppies adorning my bedroom walls. I’d lie on my bed and learn the names of the different varieties, and dream of which one I’d own in the future. I loved visiting my relatives … More My Furry Baby
Driving down the M40 on the way to the Brompton hospital, I was adamant that I’d be returning without the steroids. Having suffered their side effects for the last two months, I had my fingers crossed that I’d be able to stop taking them now the trial period was over. However it didn’t quite work … More Have the Steroids helped?
My childhood garden was full of flowers and plants. All year around, it was rife with colour from new flowers blooming. In the spring the borders would be over-run with daffodils and tulips, and in the summer they were replaced with irises and lupins. The hanging baskets and pots were so large that they began … More The Chelsea Flower Show
Steroids have a bad reputation. They have gained fame for being a dichotomy in the world of medicines- a wonder drug responsible for performing great medical miracles, yet a fiendish drug responsible for sending the rest of the body haywire! Having learnt about the many negative side-effects, nowadays doctors try and reduce the amount of … More The Problem With Steroids
One of the worst parts about being ill is when I am on a decline. For six months I could feel myself deteriorating every day. Slowly being able to do less and less. Slowly getting more and more breathless. Slowly getting weaker and weaker. I felt helpless. It is a scary experience, as you are … More Enjoying Some Good Weeks….
It’s a very strange feeling starting the transplant assessment journey. I feel like my life is in the hands of someone else. The final answer could be a yes and the potential to save my life, or the final answer could be a no and that’s it, the end. I’d deliberately not really thought about … More The Start of Transplant Assessment
My husband is a runner. A crazy, keen, committed runner. He can stumble out of bed hungover and still manage a 10 miler before I’ve even made it downstairs. He can put his suit in his backpack and run a marathon home after a full day at work. He has even twice run one hundred … More The Benefits of Running
I’m a big fan of Gareth Malone. If you’re not familiar with the name, then he’s the young TV choir master that converts the roughest of voices in to a beautiful song. Over the last ten years, we’ve watched him train hundreds of awful singers, and be responsible for the Military Wives phenomena and the … More A Concert for the PHA
When I was working I used to keep track of my life in my head. I didn’t need a diary, I just about managed to work out where I was supposed to be and when. I didn’t really plan too far ahead, so the months calender in my head was sufficient. At the beginning of … More Juggling Fun and Rest
We Can Adjust The Sails 