[ Post a Response | ECHO Dialogue ]
Posted by Pippa Duffy
on July 22, 2009, 11:33:33, in reply to "Re: Leo's Biopsy Results"
86.161.168.18
Hi Amanda
I think my brother was about 8 when he decided to find out what would happen if he stuck a pebble up his nose. What happened was that he was taken to our GP, given a right 'telling off' and made to blow his nose until the pebble flew out! Did Katie poke it up (young scientist!) or did she manage to inhale it and snort it down her nose?! I also have fond memories of a school friend evacuating spaghetti (yes really) out of her nose at the lunch table!
I know what you mean about the SF. I went to a girls' dinner on Monday night and my closest friend out of our little group, decided not to come because her husband, Paul, had been out drinking with a colleague on the Wed eve who then showed flu on the Saturday. Her daughter (8 months) has also had lots of medical challenges and so they've spent a lot of time in hospital. She erred on the side of caution and took her 2 girls to her Mums so they'd all stay away from Paul for a few days. We talked about it at the supper table and another of my group, who is Marketing Comms Manager for our local PCT was very 'snorty' about her over-reacting and how she/girls couldn't possibly catch it. I found myself piping up and saying that obviously people ARE catching it, and speaking as Leo's mother, I would also err on the side of caution. They just didn't get it. It's so hard, isn't it? I felt so isolated from women who I used to feel I really connected with, but these days, whereas there's a central theme of medical management with an underlying worry, it seems as though most of their conversations are focused on the material things. I know this is an unfair judgment, and that it's also not healthy to start to shy away from friends and become isolated, but at the same time, I go out so little, and at the end of the night, rather than feel reinvigorated, I felt drained and sad. Equally, I am determined not to become a mother who is defined by her son's medical file and a 'career medical victim by proxy'!!!!
I've emailed Trish in the Outreach team and asked her if they could qualify for us how cautious we need to be about 'secondary' contact via siblings/partners etc. and also to clarify if we should have a prescription in the house 'just in case'. Inevitably, with August bank holiday coming up, someone will get caught out with the nightmare of A&E run etc. as the surgeries will be closed over that long weekend. OH GREAT! Just had an email reply saying 'no outreach service until 4th August'! That's marvellous. Right, I'm going to call Savannah and will post up any info I manage to extricate.
Lastly, Amanda, you are STILL strong. But the fearless, I fear (!) has left you because you have become aware that there are things in life to fear. But that's acceptable, it's then about acknowledging the fears and putting little structures in place to help you deal with them. Me too. So I'm writing this to myself too! This is why I'm very active on the forum. I find that feeling like I'm part of a community, listening, sharing and being listened to, really helps me to stop those feelings of isolation. My poor husband also gets a bit of the side swipe of it, in that I may be worrying about Leo etc. and that depletes my energy, but this then means I'm less able to deal with the 'small stuff' and silly things get me down, and my expectations of him get a bit too unrealistic, which sets him up for failure. Bless him, as he's so marvellous! We had one of those talks last night and now we're much more aligned again. I'm going to go out and take Leo for a little walk and try to blow those cobwebs away. Oh yes, and as you know, I'm an acupuncturist (but with only about 2 patients at the moment as no time/energy!) but I also make sure that I have treatment myself every 3 weeks. It is probably what's keeping my head above water - that and Leo's gorgeous smiles and cuddles. What do you do for yourself that is about restoring your energy? xxxx
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