hypermobile spoonie

I planned on posting this last night when I got back from my holiday but I got halfway through writing it and couldn't write anymore. I don't often talk about my allergies. Maybe because they are just a part of me, or maybe because I hate thinking about allergic reactions and how close I come to death. For whatever reason I stopped. So here is my entry... started yesterday and finished today. I've just gotten back from my (nearly) week long holiday with no internet so sorry for no posts. I had a really good time and did a lot of relaxing on the beach, however we also did a lot of walking which was seriously not great for my hip! Fraser island is beautiful and I hope to go back soon, although maybe with less walking. I think we did maybe 10kms of walking, whereas I don't think I've walked that far in 6 months since I hurt my hip. Everything was great until last night when I had a pretty bad allergic reaction to an unknown food which has left me pretty tired and sic...

Yesterday was physio day as I like to call it. It's the day when I walk into the physio and wonder is this the last time I'll be here? Not because I'd be recovered, but because I'd give up. I'm a perfectionist, I don't give up, but isn't there some point at which enough is enough? I guess that flows on to day 23's question about what do you say to yourself when you need a pep talk. Anyway, I'll answer that in a minute :) So off I went to the physio and we talked and she asked about the doctor I went to see and the tests he'd sent me off to have and all I could think about was, one day I'll walk in here and just lose it. Just start crying. I don't cry in public, I rarely cry at all over pain or illness. Sure I cry in movies but I don't cry any other time. I'm scared that if I start crying, I won't be able to stop. My point is, I started doing my exercises with my physio and I thought... I can't feel my knees. Not in a '...

Hey! Sorry for being MIA the past couple of days, things have been pretty hectic. Had a nice time with my girlfriends on Saturday, however I was so not ready to do my first shift in forever on Sunday. On the plus side, my cousin got engaged so there's going to be a wedding! I'm so happy :) Was very sore after work. Not just my hips and back, but everywhere, so I think my body just needs to get back into it and it'll be fine. Then yesterday I started my Winter Intensive uni course in the morning. But exciting news!! Which happens to relate to the day 22 question! Whilst on my break I got a call from a mystery number. Turns out it was this really important/recommended specialist offering me an appointment that afternoon. I had been on the cancellation list with an appointment booked in for September. Basically this guy is very hard to get into, so I was seriously seriously excited to get this call. This guy has come highly recommended at getting to the bottom of random, uni...

My formal. My elbow (with the corsage) has been broken for 4 weeks at this point. It was another 2 weeks before we knew what was going on. Well I'm well and truly finished my first semester of uni, only seven to go! haha :)  As a celebration, my friend and I were meant to go out to a party last night, however she isn't 18 yet and no-one told us it was 18+ so I didn't want to leave her to find her own way home so we went into the city for icecream before heading home. All in all it was actually pretty good, because I know that I would have been super tired and sore today which would have made my babysitting job extremely difficult. Tonight however I'll be making up for it ;) My parents have gone out of town so I have a few friends coming over for a small party. Pizza, movies, drinks, that sort of thing.  With my rock. At Pain Clinic 'graduation'. Day 18: Do you think you've become a better person through being ill? Explain  I have no way to mo...

Day 17 of the 30 day chronic illness challenge really got me thinking. Day 17: How would things be different if you weren't ill? This is a hard one because being ill kind of defines my life at the moment. One day at work I was complaining to my friend about how my life seems to revolve around doctors appointment's and physio sessions and she told me 'schedule your appointments around your life, not the other way around.' Whilst this is pretty hard to actually do, it really got be thinking about how I define myself. There are a lot of 'what if's, how's and why's' when you have a chronic illness. Why doesn't my body work the way I want it to? How am I meant to complete a task when I can't walk? What if I wasn't sick. The last one is probably the toughest to answer, because many people end up becoming defined by their illness. Before I had chronic pain and everything that came after it, I had severe allergies. Correction. I have sev...

I'm half way through the 30 day chronic illness challenge, yes! This challenge has already taught me so much and I can't wait to finish the rest, although I don't know what I'll do when I finish. Well I officially have one exam left to take on Friday before the end of my first uni semester :) I'm so ready for a holiday! Come Friday night I'll be out partying/ drinking my sorrows away after exams. I'm pretty keen actually, especially after this semester has been so stressful. I know that a combination of heels and alcohol won't have me feeling amazing on Saturday morning, in fact I'll be lucky to even be able to walk, however I'm so ready to party! So ready to relax. This exam... I haven't studied. It's only worth 25% and I've actually already passed the subject and there is just so much content that I can't bring myself to study :( I guess I'll be winging it on Friday. Except, I actually don't care. I couldn't care les...

After my first hospital admission for my hip... Crutch buddies :) If being chronically ill has taught me anything, its that therapy is an important part of recovery. For me, as there is no cure or really treatment for Ehlers Danlos Syndrome- Type Hypermobility (EDS-HM), my health and wellbeing relies solely on different therapy tools. From physios and OTs, to crutches and theraputty, all these tools are important to maintaining a liveable lifestyle. Purple thumb splint to ease the pain Dynamic tape holding my thumb into hypeflexion instead of hyperextension Today I spent an hour at the OT whilst we tried to figure out how to best manage my thumb, hand and elbow pain, especially when writing and occasionally when typing. We tried 4 different types of splints, different sized pens, different pen grips and it look 4 goes to tape up my thumb. In the end, the result is not pain free movement, its practically no movement and adapted equipment. Beds with tape around them to make...