December Catch up *editited in March*

December 2010 catch up blog!


I had a fairly good December for all the catastrophes that came in the months before it. It did however start the month with a pretty nasty fall, after I dodged our aging senile cat. I transferred all my weight onto my bad leg, so i would not run into her, however my leg gave way and I accidentally kicked the cat accross the room as I went flying head first into the tiles. I ended up with lots of scrapes and bruises, a nasty bump to my left eye and side of my cheek and forhead, a very sore right knee, and a jarred left hip! Luckily the cat was fine! I had had another cortisone injection into my hip in the very beginning of the month, which allowed me to have a night out with some of my newer friends and get through christmas and new year. Andrea, Hayley and I have all met in person before, even though we all originally met each other off twitter. Hayley and I have become extremely good friends over the last 18 months and have become very close as we share a similar issue with pain (check out Hayleys blog here ). This night out with her and Andrea (This was our second time hanging out with Andrea) was incredibly fun and we met her at Felix bar in St Kilda for a night of drinks, a bite to eat and Wednesday night comedy. Here’s a few pictures from a very enjoyable night. I hope to do it again soon.

Andrea, myself and Hayley at Felix Bar in Stkilda

Hayley playing around after a few drinks

Hayley and I

Christmas time


I managed to get through Christmas down in Geelong at my Cousins house. It’s a 35+ year tradition, that every year we trek down there for the day, have a big lunch with the family, sleep, pass out our KK gifts and head home about dinner time. This year was so lovely, as many other years are. One of my cousins had come home from London where she has been living for quite a few years now, so it was lovely to see her. Us “kids” all have a good laugh at the expense of our parents and grandparent/great uncle as they age, making under the table jokes and somehow turning things round so that they sound like some sort of sexual innuendo! Its crazy but always a lot of fun. I always have a good laugh with the Notini’s.

My Cousins Suzy and John Paul

Christmas Tree!!!

and here is my brother Scott... Pondering the thought of christmas (NOT)

NYE


Finally to cap off December, I was invited to Hayley’s house for NYE. She only had a small number of friends over, but it was lovely to just chill, chat & air our grievances (as opposed to making resolutions). As the clock struck 12, and we screamed happy New Year, we ran out the front to find the nearby fireworks. As we stood at the corner, we looked around to see many of her neighbours doing the same. I remember standing on the corner of her street and seeing in the distance, what looked like what was about to become a nudie run. I saw it coming. Both of them, as the two boys ran past us and stopped under the streetlight. It was incredibly funny, and I think we all had a good laugh at their expense. I had much fun, until *some of Hayley’s other guests became a bit “overwhelmed” with there alcohol intake. As being the 'sober' person of the group, I sent everyone to bed once it started to get messy.




** Ive been requested by one of the individuals at this small NYE party to edit out my last part of the NYE adventures (Even though i had previously posted this blog peice a long time ago). It's really not something i wanted to do, however out of respect, i've deleted my telling of a story which WAS the highlight of MY night.**





This latest post brings me to 2011, and now that I’ve caught you up with all my drama, and I have read all of yours, ill soon blog again with more recent happenings in my Chronic Life.



Take care, and don’t slip!
Xx Jen

December: point form.

Hi you guys,
I apologise for putting off blogging for so long. I’m not quite sure why, because I don’t fill my days like a normal 23 year old would during uni holidays due to my hell of a life. I use this place not only to vent but to almost document what happens in my life.
I have a massive tendency to blah on a bit and I’m hoping to compress December into a not too massive read for you.

- Pain got worse. Saw my surgeon; he’s decided to operate after three months of declaring there was nothing more he could do. He examined my hip for much longer than he normally would and I believe he must of felt something unusual, to have such a change of mind. However I am happy for this outcome because WE ALL knew I have a mechanical problem in the joint so now he can fix it! I’m not over-optimistic that this will take my pain away, however I know for certain it will reduce the high levels of the unliveable pain I have been going through. Surgery date: 3rd Feb.

- I have been in and out of my GP’s office for reasons other than needing medication. My thyroid tests have comeback abnormal. This is a first for me, and it also explains why I have put on almost 5kg since the end of October when I’ve been sleeping most of the time, and have a good-decent diet. I had the levels retested within a month of finding out that I had a new problem, and I found that not only were my THS levels up, so were my T3 and T4. Unfortunately due to the medical marvel that I am, when one (T3 or T4) is up, the other goes down. Mine are both up? Regardless, I cannot afford to put on weight. However I cannot move to exercise particularly cardio! Although the problem is my hip, it’s not only affecting the left leg, but also the buttock and my back. It hurts to even sit on the loo!
Also thanks to my current lifestyle of the last 4-5 months of either being on the couch or in bed, my lungs have gathered a fair amount of gunk on them and in the past month its been quite hard to breath and I’m out of breath quite quickly and have been very wheezy. In the last week I’ve had a chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia and also a spirometry test. The spirometry test, I did today and boy is breathing hard! I felt like I had maxed out at the gym, my body was so tired!

- Christmas was lovely as usual. Every Christmas day, the whole of my father’s side of the family has Christmas dinner at my Aunty and Uncles place in Geelong. They live in a lovely big old property, and it always brings back fond memories. This year, my cousin Suzy had gotten a kitten, so I spent most of the day playing with this adorable black and white ball called Jenkins.

I received lovely gifts, mostly gift cards, Sex and the city DVD (season 5… they had sold out when I bought the rest in 2007) and a small amount of cash. Mum is yet to choose her Christmas gift as yet, as she wants a steam mop. Making sure I keep money saved for that.
Christmas day was the first day I had gone without a nap in months. I slept for 22 hours the following day.

- I visited and met my brand new cousin (my cousin’s baby) in the few days between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. Chloe is gorgeous and growing stronger and bigger each time I see pictures of her.


We (mum and I) stayed with family friends in Myrtleford for 3 days, and as well of receiving the love of Billy, their 9 month old border collie… whos still all arms and legs! He's such a loving dog.

And we travelled out to Milawa, to see the cheese factory (oh how I heart cheese) and Brown Brothers winery. Unfortunately we only got to the winery, but it was lovely especially since I’m not a fan of red or white wine, I got to try a few sparkling wines, and with the help of a twitter friend, settled on a lovely fruity bottle of Zibbibio. I finally came back home and spent new years nanna style as I was simply too tired from the car trip.

I hope that this wasn’t too much of a bullet point document of my December for you. My next post which I will also write tonight may be much better.
Peace and love you guys,
Jen xx