How would your life change if you suddenly had to use a wheelchair all day, every day? Would it be negative or positive? Well, I think we all know the answer to that. But it isn’t all negative. Yes, I will talk about ‘bad’ stuff but I’m also looking at ‘good’ and ‘very good’. Trust me, this is from one who knows - I think over 25 years in a wheelchair qualifies me to comment, don’t you?CopingLet’s get the negative stuff out of the way. First of all, a new wheelchair user has to cope with ..read more

They say there are two sides to every story. I’d never thought about applying that to medication until I read a news story last week…Goodies and baddiesThe heroine of the story (hurray) is a little girl, four years old. Sadly, she has cystic fibrosis, one of the UK’s most common life-threatening illnesses. It will be a miracle if she reaches the age of 60 but there are so-called ‘wonder’ drugs that could improve and extend her life expectancy. She will need them when she is six. The drugs ..read more

I posted a version of this blog last November. I make no apology for updating and reposting it this year. It is all still relevant, perhaps even more so...Let’s not sugar-coat our current situation. Wherever we look there is turmoil. Our wonderful world is being torn apart by war, famine, climate change, politics, illness and, let’s face it, evil. We all have our own ways of coping. Personally, the bad ‘stuff’ makes me more grateful for the good ‘stuff’ that is personal to John and me. But we ..read more

A mirror has no choice but to reflect the truth of what it sees. That can satisfy or depress depending on what the viewer sees. Just think of the Queen in Snow White. These days, like her, I don’t like what the mirror is telling me. I see an older woman with bags under her eyes and a careworn face. I know that the last few years of illness have taken their toll, but for goodness’ sake! As for the rest of me, I still have slim arms and legs but my sick liver has probably doubled in size in the ..read more

Do you remember the covid pandemic? No, seriously, don’t you remember it?  Lockdown, social distancing, lateral flow testing, queuing for vaccinations, no partying (well, for most of us). Then on July 15th 2021 the government, which obviously knows about these things, proclaimed ‘freedom day’ and life could return to normal. Whoopee. There were reports of excitement at the impending end of covid restrictions, tempered by worries of rising case numbers and downright fear among the vulnerable ..read more

So I’m 70, an age that seemed positively ancient when I was young (then again, I thought people of 40 were getting on a bit…) but now that I’ve achieved it I object to being referred to as ‘old’. My mind doesn’t seem to be old (most of the time) but, if I’m honest, my physical state - like many of you - is a very different story…A ‘thing’There is no doubt that as we get older we have more aches and twinges, sometimes in unlikely places. Even getting out of bed takes longer. And sometimes you ..read more

There's a campaign this week that you might not have seen. Several charities supporting Multiple Sclerosis are working together for MS Awareness Week, an annual event at this time of the year. The focus of this year's campaign is to help people understand the reality of what it’s like to live with MS. (#MSMakesMe) Those of us who live with and fight the disease (called MS-warriors for this article) are being asked the question “How does MS make you feel?” Well, for me the simple answer is ..read more

In my last article I mentioned John’s stepmother Kath and my Uncle Arthur had both recently passed away. Their loss left family and friends devastated, in the true sense of the word. (It really isn’t devastating if you don’t win a reality television show!) But this isn’t an article about grief and sorrow, it’s about the practicalities when someone dies. And despite the subject matter, I’ll try and avoid the ‘death’ word and all its derivatives…Wishing and hopingUnfortunately, when someone ..read more

Another year, another year of blogging, although it’s the end of January already and this is my first blog. Better start with something lighthearted then…January’s quite an interesting month isn’t it? Christmas gone, perhaps starting to think about summer vacations and perhaps making a few New Year resolutions. So how resolute were you feeling at the beginning of the month? Apparently one in five of us made a New Year's resolution for 2023. But why do we do this? Is it literally a case of new ..read more

Today (November 14th) is World Diabetes Day 2022 so why not begin with something dramatic….I broke into a cold sweat. I felt myself drifting away, unable to concentrate. I felt I could pass out at any minute. I tested my blood sugar which, ideally, should be between 4.0 and 7.0. Mine was 1.8. Oops! My blood sugar was far too low. I was hypoglycaemic. I could lapse into a coma at any time. I grabbed a pack of jelly babies (each one full of sugar). The recommended number to eat is five but I ..read more