2016Regular readers of this blog (all 3 of you 🙂 ) may remember that last year I published a list of new year’s resolutions (click HERE to read the article). So I should start 2016 with an update on how I got on.
1, Walking
Zombie
I need more bandages, but the walk is the same.
Unfortunately I made no lasting progress, despite a lot of effort. I had temporary periods when I managed to walk awkwardly, zombie-like, across my lounge and back, but it got progressively more painful. It felt like walking on broken glass at times and it wasn’t sustainable. I had physio and regular massage on my calf muscles for a while, but I seem to have too many old injuries in my feet that have never fully healed to be able to consistently walk anymore. It’s physically and psychologically good for me to try to walk, so I’ll always keep working at it, but over the last year it hasn’t gone well. FAIL.
2, Gain weight and sustain it.
In the few months before writing the list I’d lost a stone in weight, which is what motivated this resolution. I weighed 9.5 stone last January, and I hoped to reach between 10 and 10.5 stone. – Twelve months on I now weigh 10 stone and 3 pounds (65Kgs). So I am bang on target! PASS.
3, Stay Out of Hospital.
I spent much of Christmas 2014 and the first few days of 2015 in hospital with an infection. I’ve spent too much time in my life in hospitals so I was desperate not to go back for a while. …Thankfully, I haven’t spent a single night in hospital since. PASS.
4, Have More Fun.
Hmm, difficult to judge this one. It’s hard to quantify ‘fun’. Based on my diary over the last couple of years I had more evenings out in 2015 than 2014, and more visits from friends and my nieces. I finally had the barbeque I’ve been promising my family for 10 years, which was definitely fun, and my collection of daft toys and playstation games has noticeably grown. So based on a cold statistical comparison of fun events in my life, I had more fun in 2015 than 2014.
However, the process of getting my malfunctioning body to a fun event, on time, in a large clumsy wheelchair, often attached to an IV drip, can take real determination and military precision. It can also leave me in pain for several days afterwards. All of which can really sap the fun out of the funnest of occasions. So as I said, it’s difficult to judge. But I did try very hard, I finally had that barbeque, and I saw the great new Star Wars film! PASS.
So 3 out of 4 resolutions completed. A solid grade B.
After starting 2015 in hospital it turned out to be a stable and positive year for me, which was great. So what are my aims for 2016? – I don’t want to post another list of resolutions as they would be very similar, but a new year gets all of us making plans. Thanks to parenteral nutrition my health is stable now after several difficult years. The challenge I’m left with is generating quality of life despite joint pain, tachycardia, being unable to eat and spending 20 hours a day attached to feeding pumps. It’s not easy, but seeing friends helps, getting out helps, writing this blog helps, and of course spending time with my nieces. I have some ideas for new and interesting things to try in 2016. If any of them go very well or very badly, you’ll read about it here! I’d also welcome any suggestions. They must be fun but require minimal energy (and also legal). ?
Thanks for reading and I hope you all have a very happy new year, Ceri.
ps. Happy Birthday to Paul, an old school chum of mine and a regular commenter on this blog. Have a great day buddy!