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HAWMC: A Reflection

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Welcome to the very last post of the WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge – a time to reflect on the last thirty days, writing everyday based on prompts provided.

I personally would like to thank WEGO Health for the opportunity to take part in the ’30 Days, 30 Posts’ Challenge.  The prompts provided allowed me the opportunity to think about my condition and the challenges associated with it in more detail and also made me think about my health, and the difficulties I face in more detail, and how I may be able to overcome them.  The HAWMC also challenged me as a writer, writing in different styles that I may not have used otherwise, and the ‘fun’ prompts such as the Haiku poem or the madlib was completely different to anything I have tried before.

My favourite prompt?  My favourite prompt was those using images to convey my health condition and health focus.  It was difficult at first, as my particular condition is ‘invisible’ but I found clever ways to portray the neurological condition I live with.  The Word Cloud was really fun, just choosing particular words or phrases that I associate with my condition, and the word cloud itself looked amazing.

The most difficult prompt?  One of them which I found most challenging, emotionally and bringing up painful memories from the past was the ‘Dear 16-year-old-me‘, although I found the Health Mascot also challenging, particularly as I am unable to draw, which my efforts probably showed!

Which ideas will you reuse? I am not sure whether I will reuse any of them, as I like to write fresh ideas or themes, so am not sure whether I would be able to reuse any of the prompts giving them a fresh perspective but will give the bonus prompts a go.

Who was your favourite fellow blogger?  I have several one that I have followed and read all of their prompts that they have written, finding them interesting, informative and inspirational.  One of them is Theresa, a close friend of mine, and as we have similar problems such as living with chronic dizziness I was really able to relate to her posts.  Another favourite is Katina, at Butterfly Lessons, a blog about ‘living a fabulous life with lupus’, a really interesting and uplifting read and love the positivity the blog exudes.  And my third favourite is Kim over at Hope Whispers, about living with a rare liver disease called Budd-Chiari Syndrome – another really positive and uplifting blog, and really highlights the importance of organ donation and is also really interesting reading about other illnesses or conditions different from your own.

Thanks again WEGO Health for the opportunity to take part in the ’30 Days, 30 Posts’ Challenge – I have enjoyed every minute, enjoyed even the prompts that challenged me.  And thank you for the opportunity to not only write about different aspects of my health condition but also the opportunity to write about other aspects of my life – after all we are not defined by our health conditions, illnesses or disabilities.  And thank you for challenging  and pushing me as a writer, maybe I have even become a better writer because of it.  Even though I have found some aspects and prompts very difficult, I DID IT!!!

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HAWMC Day 29: Six Sentence Story

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Welcome to Day 29 of the WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge – a challenge which will see me writing a brand new blog post everyday for the whole month of April using the prompts provided by the organisers of the challenge. Let’s find out what today’s prompt is:

Six Sentence Story…In this day of micro-blogging – brevity is a skill worth honing. Can you tell a story and make it short and sweet? What can you say in six sentences? Check out some here: http://sixsentences.blogspot.com/

Okay so this is my attempt at a six sentence story, enjoy!:

The Shopping Trip

A young child grasped her father’s hand as they walked into the supermarket. The young child looked in wonder; everything looked so inviting, her favourite chocolates filled the large shelves. As she looked around,her father was no longer in sight. Panic surged inside of her, the sound of her heartbeat filled her ears, her feet unable to move as if they were rooted to the spot. A moment passed, and she finally saw the familiar red jacket her father always wore. And as father and daughter were reunited, their adventure ended, both left returning to the safety of home.

So, what did you all think of my short six-sentence story? Please leave any comments or suggestions you may have below.

What can you say in six sentences? Would love to hear all of your attempts at ‘micro-blogging’. Again, feel free to leave your attempts, if you’ve had a go, or leave the URL of your blog so I am able to read them.

Until Tomorrow…

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HAWMC Day 28: The First Time I…

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Welcome everyone to another post of ‘My Brain Lesion and Me’.  For those readers just joining me, I am taking part in WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge in which I am writing a brand new blog post everyday throughout April, based upon prompts given by WEGO Health.  Today’s prompt reads as follows:

The First Time I…Write a post about the first time you did something?  What is it?  What was it like?  What did you learn from it?

Well, on first thoughts I was going to write about the first time I went to University, but as I have already written about that during a previous post I decided against it.  Instead I have decided to change the challenge a little bit and write about the first time I ‘experienced’ a dizzy spell.

At the time of my very first dizzy spell, I was around the age of 8, and it must have been around November or December as I distinctly remember that during the time the dizziness first started the school was busy with preparations and rehearsals for the annual Christmas Play.

Anyway, the very first attack of the dizziness occurred whilst on a shopping trip at a local DIY store with my parents, looking for new wallpaper for the living room.  We were walking around the large, imposing store and out of the blue with no warning, I became incredibly dizzy, as if the room was spinning out of control around me, as if at any moment if I didn’t hold onto something quickly I would fall, and so I quickly grabbed and held on tight to my Mum’s hand to stop by body from collapsing.  Obviously at the time I was very young, and had no clue as to what was happening to me, so my first instinct was to panic, it felt as if all the air in the store had vanished, and I was unable to breathe, my mouth became very dry and felt as if I was no longer able to swallow.  My vision became disturbed – became blurry and was unable to focus on any visual clues around me, adding to the panic I was experiencing.

After what seemed like an eternity, we left the store, and being able to sit down in the car, felt like a huge relief, although the dizziness still continued for a while longer, but felt much safer sitting down, knowing that I wasn’t able to fall.

And that was the beginning of the dizziness, which gradually became worse, more frequent and intense until it became a constant in my life around a year ago, the dizziness with me 24/7.

Someone recently told me, it was important to get my story out there,  especially as the majority of what is written about dizziness and vertigo discusses it being very much a symptom amongst the elderly, and so is important to make it clear it is something that can occur at any age.  When it first started with me, with the exception of being sent for some blood tests, the dizziness was very much brushed under the carpet instead it being blamed upon psychological factors such as anxiety, instead of being referred to more specialised doctors for further testing.  Dizziness isn’t something that should be ignored, and whatever the age of the person complaining of the symptom it should be taking seriously and investigated until everything has been ruled out.   Believe me, it isn;t a nice symptom to live with, and can at times be totally debilitating.

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the post, and able to adequately describe the dizziness and what it was like when it happened.  Please feel free to leave any comments and thoughts, I also appreciate any comments made…

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HAWMC Day 27: 5 Challenges and 5 Small Victories…

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Welcome Everyone to another edition of ‘My Brain Lesion and Me’.  A new post for a new day of the WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge, in which I have been writing a new post every day throughout the month of April.  Today’s prompt reads the following:

5 Challenges & 5 Small Victories…Make a list of the 5 most difficult parts of your health focus.  Make another top 5 list for the little, good things (small victories) that keep you going.

My 5 Challenges:

  1. The fact that the condition is invisible, unable to see the suffering that I go through or when everyone presumes that I am healthy because I look ‘normal’.  Especially when going to see doctors and consultants, sitting there and having to justify why you have taking up an appointment to see them as you look fine and healthy.  Having some doctors not believing the symptoms that I am experiencing are real, and using the “it’s all in your head” excuse when they can’t find an explanation for the symptoms
  2. Not being able to make plans – It’s very hard living with a condition which fluctuates between ‘not  feeling too bad’ and able to function on some level and ‘feeling absolutely terrible’ and being hold up in bed, feeling as sick as a dog! And as I am unaware of how I am going to feel on a particular day or not knowing when symptoms are going to arise, it makes it so difficult being able to make definitive plans on going anywhere.  Am unable to book those tickets to see a concert that I want as I do not know how I will feel on that day, and so on.  And as you cancel plans on going out with friends, they soon stop calling and asking, and then are left with feelings of loneliness and isolation, even as if your friends are ostracising you, as if your condition is somehow contagious.
  3. Not being able to leave the house unaccompanied due to the risk of injury or the onset of an attack of vertigo.  This is particularly hard, especially as friends have come and gone in my life, which only really leaves my parents taking me to places where I may want to go or need to go.  And of course they both need to work, leaving me the majority of the time being stuck in the house alone, lonely and depressed without company.
  4. The weakness and unpredictable nature of my legs – As I have previously mentioned due to the spastic paraparesis, my legs are incredible weak and tend to collapse from under me with no warning, and also means that I am unable to stand for very long.  This means that if I am going out anywhere, it can really only be for only a short period of time, or if I am going out for a while for any reason, I need to take regular breaks to sit down in case of a fall and to prevent an injury occurring.
  5. Being reliant and a ‘burden’ on other people.  I would love to be much more independent and being able to do much more things for myself.  There are so many ambitions and little things that I have wanted to achieve such as passing my driving test, which I am unable to do because of the condition.
My 5 Small Victories:
  1. The friends that I have made on Social Networks such as Facebook and other support groups.  These amazing people have really kept me going through the dark and painful times in my life.  I live for the meetings on Skype, where we discuss our conditions and how we are feeling, picking those up when they are down and celebrating our achievements.  They have become like a second family to me, and are all amazing and special people. It’s also amazing to have people there who can relate and know what I am going through and reminds me that I am not alone.
  2. Being able to achieve little goals such as doing some chores around the house for my Mum, or doing a little bit of cooking for myself, is at times a major achievement for me as I often feel so unwell, and often having to battle through especially when I have the tremors in my legs, making it so difficult to stand.  And is also a great reminder that even though I do have a disability that I still have skills and other things that I can offer.
  3. Going somewhere new without any problems is sometimes a major victory for me, especially as I often feel anxious about going somewhere new, not knowing what it’s going to be like there, as particular features such as high ceilings, or particular lights can set off an episode of vertigo.  It also creates anxiety as even if it hasn’t any features which I find triggers vertigo, I still am unable to determine how I am going to feel once I’m there, or if my legs are going to collapse from under me leading to a fall, which can be very embarrassing in public places with everybody looking.
  4. Completing voluntary work every week is a small victory that I can say that I have achieved.  Even if I feel relatively unwell, or am having troubles with my legs I still am able to push through to go to the Resource Centre, where my voluntary placement is based.  It provides myself with the opportunity to leave the house for a few hours every week, being able to talk to new people, and being able to make themselves feel good about themselves or helping them in some small way is fantastic and again is a great reminder that I still have things I am able to offer.  It can also be a great way to forget about your own troubles for a while, and to focus on others can be very uplifting.
  5. My major accomplishment that I have achieved has to be completing my degree in Psychology.  Having the problems that I do, made it so much harder to achieve – but I still managed it.  Just goes to show that even with a chronic condition as myself doesn’t have to stop you from achieving something that you want from life – I’m unable to drive or even learning to drive but gaining a degree is something that I CAN achieve!!
This has been a great prompt – and has been a great way of thinking differently about my condition and the ways in which it affects me.  The Small Victories section and was great at being able to think positively and ways in which we with health condition such as myself can still contribute in the community at large.  Thank you WEGO Health!
Again would love to hear from you all regarding your thoughts.  What are your Challenges and Small Victories in life?
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HAWMC Day 26: Health Tagline

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Welcome everyone again to ‘Brain Lesion and Me’ for those just joining me, welcome. Throughout April I will be writing a new blog post everyday as part of WEGO Health Activist Writer’s Month Challenge – ’30 Days, 30 Posts’. The posts will be inspired by the prompts given by WEGO Health. The prompt for today, the 26th day of the challenge reads as follows:

Health Tagline…Give yourself, your blog, your condition, or some aspect of your health a tagline. Make sure it’s catchy!

I have given this some thought about what to choose as a tagline, and have come up with the following:

“Once Upon a Dizzy Spell…”

Why have I chosen this tagline? Well, for starters, the dizzy spells at the age of 8 was the beginning of the journey of my condition and the fight it took to get a definitive diagnosis. It was to some extent the first sign that there was something wrong – especially as dizzy spells amongst children seems to be an unusual symptom even though the doctors seemed to just brush them under the carpet and sent me on my way without referring me for further testing.

And another reason why I have chosen the tagline is that I am enjoying the new series, ‘Once Upon a Time’. The show is an American fairytale drama starring Robert Carlyle, Jennifer Morrison and Ginnifer Goodwin in which the fairy tales from our childhood and our world collide. And what is the first thing you think of when you hear the words “Once upon a…”, a story, right? Well, that’s exactly what my blog is about – it’s my story of living with my health condition and how it affects me, so think the tagline fits in perfectly with what I am trying to achieve with writing the blog.

So, “Once Upon a Dizzy Spell…’ is my chosen tagline! What do you all think? Should I use it on the blog?

If you had to choose a tagline for yourself, what would it be? Again would love to hear from you – please feel free to leave any comments and thoughts…

;

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