Kath Lewis

Last September I saw a personal trainer at the gym in attempt to find a form of exercise I could do to supplement my walking and swimming, that would not upset my guts. We had a quite in-depth discussion where I did my best to explain my problems and what my limitations were. After which I was taken through a routine, and at the time the session seemed ok, nothing to strenuous.  In hindsight though there was a lot of stress put on my stomach muscles, and the next morning my guts protested aggressively and continued to do so for a good few days. I should have gone back (as agreed) and got it re-adjusted, but I didn’t. So for the last 12 months I have bumbled along, trying a few classes here and there, and swimming when I could.

I realise now that my confidence had been knocked, it is hard to come to terms with the fact that you are no longer the person you were. For the last few years my exercise routine has been sketchy to say the least due to various symptoms and tiredness, but when treatment first started I hoped to get back to some semblance of normality. My mental being hadn’t changed, but my physical being had slowly been changing over the last few years. I know that as we get older we slow down, but this is a whole different ball game. I can walk for miles, just don’t ask me to climb any steep hills these days, I can do gentle exercise, but not high intensity,so that’s the rowing machine out, and definitely no cardio classes. So 3 weeks ago I bit the bullet and went back to give it another go, and got myself a new circuit.  So far so good, so long as I have a 1-2 day gap and listen to my body.

I think as well that the new probiotics are helping too, however the urinary tract infections continue to cause me issues.  I went to see the urologist and he agreed with my GPs suggestion of taking the prophylactic approach, so I am now on a low dose of antibiotics once a day for 3 months.   At the end of that period I will be re-assessed so see if any further action is required, so fingers crossed this works.

It is good to feel my energy levels creeping up again, it makes life so much more enjoyable. It also means that I feel confident to be able to look after my grandson occassionally for the day without any adverse affects. He is in full walking mode now, and I definitely need eyes in my bottom!!  He is very inquisitive, and certainly keeps me on my toes. The week before I had him though I went with my daughter to get his 12 months vaccinations as moral support.  Four injections were given, one in each limb, the poor little thing didn’t know what to do with himself.  I though it was very cruel, and neither his mum or me were expecting that either. As a treat afterwards he had a chocolate marshmallow stick whilst we had a coffee.   It kept the tears at bay for a while, but there were intermittent tears all the way home. Can’t say as I blame him.

We also went to the annual food festival in Stone, but no pictures this year, as it was very wet and muddy. I bought some new pans as well as some delicious food goodies, and Ade bought me a lovely teapot. I slightly overindulged in the red wine though, which I blame on the weather, and apart from tasting food samples, not eating properly. Well that’s my excuse anyway and I am sticking to it!!

Now we don’t often have a chinese take away, I much prefer indian food, but I have now decided that Chinese take-away is well and truly off the agenda. This is not due to my Nets, but because I am allergic to wheat, and the only dishes I can have are to bland and boring. So I think I may need to get some practice in with the wok, that does not just consist of stir fries! As compensation for this I tried the new tearooms in Stafford last weekend, which is gluten and dairy free. I met up with my old work mate Amanda for afternoon tea, and we were not disappointed, although I will admit I did over indulge again, but this time on tea and cake and not red wine.

The volunteering is going well too, it is only a few hours a week, but it keeps the brain active and the people I work with are lovely. As well as feeling useful, it puts a bit of routine back in my life, and helps fill the gap left by not going to work.

“I’m not afraid of dying, it’s time I’m afraid of…” Interstellar 2014