12 days of christmas Archives

In Chronic Illness

On the 12th Day of Christmas…

December 24, 2012 No Comments

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Welcome to the 12th (and final day!) of the ’12 Days of Being Chronically Thankful’ a series of posts in which I divulge and explore all that for which i am thankful for whilst also living with a chronic illness.

And finally, on the ’12th Day of Christmas’ I was thankful for…a TV show!

The one TV show that I would say that I am thankful for is ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ – one of the TV shows that I will watch when I am unwell, and especially on the days when I am so weak and dizzy that I am stuck in bed. The show is incredibly dramatic for it to be gripping, but also has an incredible amount of humour thrown in for it to make me laugh and cheer me up when I am feeling down.

And for that I am ‘chronically’ thankful!

In Chronic Illness

On the 11th Day of Christmas…

December 23, 2012 No Comments

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Welcome again to the ’12 Days of Being Chronically Thankful’ in which I share all those things which I am thankful for whilst living with a chronic condition.

On the ’11th Day of Christmas’ I was thankful for…a photograph! And this is the photograph that I have chosen to be thankful for:

I am grateful for this photograph as it is a reminder of my greatest achievement – that despite living with a chronic illness, although at that point it was still undiagnosed, I still managed to leave university with a degree! A reminder that although I, and many people like me, are chronically ill, and although we may have more bad days than most other people, that does not mean that our lives has to be meaningless and empty, and that we are still capable of achieving our goals.

It’s also a reminder of a great day – graduating after 3 years of hard work and sharing that moment with the most important people in my life – my family.

And for that I am ‘chronically’ thankful!

In Chronic Illness

On the 9th Day of Christmas…

December 20, 2012 No Comments

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Welcome again readers, to another post for the ’12 Days of Christmas’ in which I divulge all the things that I am ‘chronically’ thankful for despite living with a chronic illness.

On the ‘9 Day of Christmas’ I was thankful for…a painting! Again, I am not a huge fan of art, and do not really have a favourite painting, but funnily enough I did fall in love with a painting which I saw whilst out on an outing with my personal assistant, and is by a local artist Sylvia Hughes Williams.

I just love the incorporation of the inspiring quote with the gorgeous picture of the butterfly. The quote reads:

“Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over…it became a butterfly”

I read this quote a while ago, and caught my eye, as not only because I love butterflies, but also I love the positivity of this quote. In relation to living with a chronic illness, it reminds us that just because we have limitations due to whatever illness we may be living with does not mean our lives our over but instead something positive can come out with such illnesses…these positives may only be small but they still make life worth living.

So, as soon as I saw this picture, I really found myself resonating with the quote and the print itself, and at some point during the year I hope to even buy the print and place it in my bedroom, and can look at it on those bad days, and remind myself of the positives in life…because there are so many.

And for that I am ‘chronically’ thankful!

In Chronic Illness

On the 8th Day of Christmas…

December 19, 2012 No Comments

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Welcome everyone to another instalment of the ’12 Days of Being Chronically Thankful’ in which I share some of the things that I am thankful for (based on given categories – see above) despite living with a chronic illness.

Today, on the 8th Day of Christmas, I was thankful for…a poem! Now I am not really a huge fan of poetry, and there are only a few that I am familiar with. But if I were to choose one which inspires me then I would choose ‘If You Think You Are Beaten’ by the writer Walter D. Wintle:

If an inspirational poem

I love the poem as it is a reminder that we must all believe in ourselves and how we see our selves is the most important – rather than believing in what other people think of us. It is so easy when living with a chronic illness is to think and act like a victim, but as the poem suggests we should rather act like a victor and challenge aspects of ourselves and our conditions to be winners in whatever we do; to do things that we may never thought were possible due to certain limitations. It’s all about attitude and our view of self as well as overcoming challenges that will inevitably face everyone.

And for that I am thankful!

In Chronic Illness

On the 7th Day of Christmas…

December 19, 2012 No Comments

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Again, I so sorry to have missed another day for the ’12 Days of Christmas’ – again, yesterday was a bad day so I was unable to get the opportunity to write a post.

The 7th ‘Day of Christmas’ asks us to write about a physical activity or sport that we are thankful for whilst living with a chronic illness. I suppose for me, I am thankful for the ‘AeroPilates’ machine that I together with my Mum. Conventional exercise such as aerobics, or even sports such as hockey, netball or football is no good for me due to the weakness in my legs, I am unable to stand or even walk for very long, so any forms of exercise is very difficult for me.

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This is why I am so grateful for the ‘AeroPilates’ machine as I am able to do exercise without worrying about my legs giving way, as all the exercises I am able to do whilst lying down. The machine also comes with a rebounder, which is like a mini trampoline which fits at the bottom of the machine – with this, you are able to get a cardiovascular workout, and can even get your heart rate faster than jogging on a treadmill.

So, with the ‘AeroPilates’ machine I am able to get a full body workout with one machine without the worry of my legs giving way potentially causing a serious accident! This is especially important for a condition like mine, as without exercise, the muscles that are already weak can go into atrophy – making them even more weak, and leaving me with the inability to use these muscles. As my doctor says ‘use it or lose it’! Thanks to the ‘AeroPilates machine’ I can!! I have seen no real improvement in terms of my legs becoming stronger, and have been getting worse, but hopefully with exercising regularly on the machine the weakness won’t progress even further.

And for that I am ‘chronically’ thankful’!