An Update: Crafting and a Visit to the Doctor

Things have been up and down since I last wrote on here. I have been battling a fluey cold for a while; it really does not want to go away! It has been a bit disappointing as I really wanted to get things done for the holidays. That being said, just before I totally collapsed with this 'thing', I did manage to finish making 2 presents and get 6 handmade Christmas cards done.

Hand Made Christmas Cards

I am really proud of my creations.

The upside of doing this craft work, is that it has reignited my passion for crafting. It's been buried for a long while. I have dibbled and dabled at a little knitting, some drawing and so on, but I've just been so busy trying to figure out how to help myself medically, that it's taken precedence along with my business plans. Now, I am desperately striving for a better balance so that I can manage to do the crafting alongside the other things. One reason I really want to manage to continue doing it is because whilst it is exhausting, it is also really relaxing and therapeutic. That probably sounds a bit weird, but I just go into the 'zone' and get my mind focused on this one thing... and I am pulling ideas out of my brain... which means I can't think of anything else. I like that!

Personalised Hand Made Applique Dog Cushion

Anyway, the bad news is that I have finally had to face a fact. Something else is going on in my body... again. It's been developing for some years, but... I have not been able to get a doctor to take me seriously about it. So a few years ago, I just gave up. I thought: 'Well, if they won't help me or listen to me, or take me seriously, then I might as well just stop trying to get them to and just live with it (manage it as best I can).' This kinda worked in the sense that I was somewhat managing it and gritting my teeth and grinnning and bearing it, but then it was getting worse and worse each month, and the past few months (especially the last two) it got so bad that I can no longer cope anymore. The thing which finally made me give up and go to see the doctor is that I was in so much pain that if it got one bit worse I was going to have to go to the ER, and basically for me to go there means I am at an 11 on the 1-10 pain scale.

It's quite bizarre... I rang up the GP's surgery to be told there were no appointments this side of Christmas (this was last week). I explained the problem. The lady told me to call back two days later at 8 a.m. and they would book me a call from the doctor. So I did that and the doctor called me back and booked me an appointment to see her that morning. What a convoluted system!

I will explain more of what is actually wrong, when I find out. Suffice to say, it's now bad enough that I am being taken seriously. At the moment I am waiting for a scan appointment at the local hospital and pending the outcome of that, I will then know if I need to be referred to a consultant.