* It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year * - It's the 2016 Christmas Chatter Thread

3forholidays

Pinksteps wrote: »

To be honest I am just glad the physio and occupational therapists have reports going back years with the treatments he has had, otherwise I feel they are treating us as some kind of frauds. He has had so many treatments, adaptions and aids over the years and seen goodness knows how many professionals and they have all agreed that it is tendons and muscles and then this one new consultant who has rubbished the lot. He told DS to literally throw his splints away then when I asked about his walking frame/wheelchair/hoist etc he then started mumbling about maybe he should keep using them. I don't think he even realised that DS uses them!!

Pinksteps
As I have mentioned previously I have a disability and use splints to aid my walking so I kind of understand where you are coming from regarding the consultant's attitude. My orthotist mentioned in conversation that young people tend to throw them away as they don't like them only to come back 15-20 years later with issues that might have been prevented if they had continued to wear them. I don't like my splints but I'm better at walking with them so my needs must come first. :T

Peppapig

Wow JJ you don't do things by halves! Lovely to have you posting again though and hope the plans for the fab new shunt work out and you and your mum can get your lives back. You've made me realise what a wimp I'm being about my silly routine procedure next week. I shall man up and think of you sending lots of positive thoughts your way sweetie.

PINKSTEPS I agree totally with MRSINVISIBLE in her summing up of the consultant!

CHRISSY it's going to be a tense time for you while she's away but I bet you'll both feel a real sense of achievement when she comes home and she's had a fabulous time. Bless her being upset about the driver but if she knows you're picking her up at least she won't be worrying all week about the return journey.

FREE hope DD2 is coping ok. It's so hard to fight your natural instincts. My DD has arthritis in her hands and shouldn't pick the boys up as much as she does but for your DD it's even more important. Hopefully she will find ways round it like lots of sofa cuddles or sitting on the floor cuddles. Has she been given any timescale for improvement or hope that it will get sorted? I know what you mean about your dog being like a puppy - our Bonnie (JRT) is 11 now nod still acts like she's a pup. Mind you, her face has a lot more white hair than it used too.

Ha ha PINKSTEPS, good job your DS was on the ball I always think of everyone on here by their screen names even I know what their actual names are.



Well no real plans for the weekend - was going to DD's but DGS might have got scarlet fever so think I'd better play it safe until we know. It's rare for adults to get it but if anyone can get it it'll be me lol. He was poorly yesterday and there has been a confirmed case at his pre-school so although he feels ok today I think I'll hedge my bets for a day or so. Will see him Monday anyway if he's ok so not too long to wait.

If DH is ok today I might go to the AgeUK warehouse - I really want a corner tv unit that I can do up. I'm fed up with our straight one and I think I'd like one that's a bit lower too.

FeistyFidget

Gettingtherequickly wrote: »

Hello there!

Back at work Monday, off Tuesday Think I picked up norovirus somehow, been in this job nearly 9 years and that was only the second day I had off ill. Still not feeling great, but so much better than I was Tuesday. On the plus side, think I lost about 7lbs!

Have started for this Christmas, would it be wrong to wrap as soon as I have things? That is one job which I hate, so was thinking about wrapping as I get things. Think I will limit to 2 gifts each this year, so will have to be giving some thought as to what to get, and ideally no odd shapes! Will do clothes for the teenagers as main and something small. They all loved the personalised slate coasters they got, so will possibly do something along that line.

Will be doing a blitz in spare room this weekend, now that I can see it, so plan on putting things I already have for Egypt in a case rather than the various bags they are in, sorting out what I have left over from last Christmas and planning what to do with that and generally having a good clear out.

One of my friends had her very own nephew born on NYE, she has one sister. He is a honeymoon baby and wasn't due until 3rd week in Jan, but mum had a rough pregnancy, she had been in hospital since beginning of November and the consultant said there was no choice now, especially as she is an older first time mum, and had to do the C section on NYE. Quite ironic, she was was a mum within months of getting married and her sister had to wait 11 years!

Not having any joy at finding Christmas crackers, so if anyone knows who has the expensive ones going cheap, that would be good. I paid about £8 for a £30 M&S box last time, having almost had heart failure at seeing the original cost still on the box, the rellies thought they were very good value because of the quality of the gifts inside.

My poor mum has senior moment after Christmas, was sorting out my brother's birthday for me to take back and gave it to me. I looked at it very blankly as the envelope was a tad pink! Had a look at the table to see his card still in the wrapper so I opened the one she had signed - don't think he would appreciate "Happy 30th birthday to the birthday girl"! Silly woman forgot there were 3 cards in the bag, 2 for my cousin and 1 for brother, so when she took out 1 of the girlie cards, assumed the next was his. At least he saw the humour in it!

It is the bosses birthday in a couple of weeks and I have no idea what to get the man who has everything and if he hasn't got it, buys it, any suggestions? I know he would be quite happy with a homemade chocolate cake, but the surgery which he has had to put off will be done in February, so won't want to put on any weight beforehand.

My plan is to wrap as I go too as this Christmas will be very manic!

Norovirus is horrible, although I've luckily not witnessed it first hand, I have heard the stories - fab for weight loss though I do hope you are fully recovered x

Pinksteps wrote: »

Well today we went to get DS test results, consultant has not got a clue, well his official diagnosis was "I'm baffled if I know", blood tests fine, nerve tests fine. So he is now being referred back to a neurologist, how long this will take I will never know. So basically we are back to he beginning although I am seriously giving up.
Plan this weekend is to stay in my PJs and do absolutely nothing although I might find a notebook and write out all the things I should be doing and allocate times next week. Feel exhausted and done nothing, guess it's mentally draining and catching up with me.
Need something positive for DS and me to focus on.

Oh Pink you poor thing! I think when they are teens dealing with something like this is harder for them as their friends and peers are all at that 'indestructible phase' and it just makes it even more obvious how their illness effects them. I really hope you get some answers soon. I know it's hard, but try and find solace in the fact that they haven't flagged up any of the more common, nastier diagnosis's x

junior_j wrote: »

Well hello there you lovely lot!

Thanks GettingThere For updating these lovely people. Thanks for everyone's kind words and well wishes! Its been a long , painful , scary , life threatening time since November.
I went to work one evening feeling awful and thought I would get myself through the six hour shift. I didn't want time off as was only in the second week of the job. After a hour or so there I couldn't hack it and told my manager I needed to go home. I went home where I slept but when I woke I was boiling , being sick and just not right. That's when everything turned into a blur I guess. I remember being ambulanced to my local hospital. I remember them saying my temperature was dangerously high. I remember them drilling into the bone marrow of my leg in a desperate attempt to get access to me. I then remember the room going funny and some one shouting to get my mum and close friend out of resus. After that I am told they couldn't bring temp down which caused seizures , they put me in a induced coma and rushed me to the neuro unit at a more specialist hospital. Apparently I had a infection in my shunt (so brain and inflammation in the brain) I am told the first few days after the coma I was confused , aggressive , wondering off. I have flash backs of two security officers stopping me leaving the ward and a doctor injecting me with me something. I then had the shunt removed and an external drain put in so my brain fluid was being drained to the outside of my body. I then had further surgery to replace the shunt and remove the drain but the surgery failed within 24 hours so I had it done again and again it failed , the shunt blocked. I then had the whole shunt out of my brain and stomach and a new on put between my spine and stomach. This seems to be faulty to a degree so my surgeon now wants me to have a MRI to see if I can have the fabby do new shunt put in the left side of brain and the spinal shunt removed. There is a chance he won't be able to do this as one side of my brain is scarred from surgery and infection and the other side , the ventricles are tiny which makes this sort of Op risky. So its a waiting game.
Whilst in hospital my brothers girlfriend gave birth to my beautiful niece I have met her once but there is a rift in the family at the moment (I find this harder then my health)
Xmas day my friends mum and step dad came up in the morning with presents , then my close friend and another friend came up for the afternoon with presents and they were great and then in the evening another friend brought my mum up. Then Xmas night I apparently went into a three hour seizure which my mum witnessed (usually she stays in the hospital but won't watch me have a seizure as me being that bad scares her) So boxing day is a blur as I slept off all the drugs they used to stop the seizure.
There has been many tears shed. Today was more positive , I shaved all my hair off to raise money for the ward I am on and have been ordering stuff for the ward such as fans , radios ect. I managed to drink and eat quite well too! I will know in a few days if I am having the other big op on Friday or not. It will give me a better quality of life and less invasive ops in the future!

I am sending love and hugs to everyone! I will have a post poned Xmas when I am out.

Oh JJ I cannot believe what an awful time you've had! I really have everything crossed for you for this operation as your quality of life could really do with a boost! You are a true inspiration, you just keep going with no grumbling or complaints. Much love to you xxx

Free, lovely to see you back on here. I think some R&R was definitely needed, but typical that you'd end up ill after trying to look after yourself!

Well I did manage a 30 minute nap yesterday, but it would appear I must have over-done things as my legs swelled up to such scary proportions that the skin went all tight and shiny and I was getting severe ankle pains :eek: luckily I managed over 8 hours sleep last night and they have gone down again, I'll definitely be taking it easier today though.

If anyone fancied having a go themselves, here is the nutella and almond roll recipe. I had one for breakfast re-heated and my goodness it was lovely!

princesskitty29

For those wanting to get ahead for Easter Sainsbury's have got some eggs out already! I'm pleased as I popped to ASDA this morning and they had some berry garlands reduced to £2.50, I picked up two and when I swiped them through the till they were only £1 each! I wish i'd got another one but don't think DH would have appreciated hanging around any more! They will lovely on a banister. We've had our mortgage offer through so unless we change our minds before exchange we're full steam ahead with the new build! It will also mean we will have to go into rented in March which is a bit daunting as it'll come around before we know it!

Treasurequeen it sounds like you got some great bargains!

fiesty well done on using your food up, the nutella swirls sound lovely! Thanks for the recipe. I'm like you and want to really concentrate on cutting down my food waste. We had a takeaway on Wednesday and don't usually keep any leftovers, but this time we did. So last night we had aloo chana, naan bread and poppadoms to go with a lentil dhal i'd made. Lovely! It's a good feeling isn't it? Please take it easy now, and keep an eye on those legs and any pains you're getting in them.

Gettingtherequickly oh no the norovirus sounds awful, I do hope you are feeling better. I don't think it's wrong to wrap now, you do what is best for you!

Oh freespirit it does sound like you had it rough. I am really glad to hear you took some time out for yourself, I know it's horrible feeling like you've let people down but sometimes you really do have to put yourself first, otherwise you risk burnout and it sounds like that's where you were heading. I do hope you start to feel better about things now and we are all here for you. Oh your poor DD, it must be incredibly tough for her, especially with little Thumper. I really do hope they can find something to help her this year. It is amazing how pregnancy and childbirth can affect your body, it's something you just don't realise until you go through it. Well done on coping with the boiler man coming round, it's never pleasant having strangers in your house. And it's great that you only put on 2lb over Christmas, that's nothing considering everything we trough through! I hope little Thumper is ok after his fall, it's horrible when they do that isn't it? I do hope 2016 brings you good things free, that you are happier and they can help your DD.

murie glad to hear doggy is back to full health!

Pinksteps oh I am sorry they still can't find a diagnosis for DS, how frustrating and upsetting for your both. Sometimes even if it's not pleasant, having a diagnosis can make you feel better as it's a starting point to take action. I know you feel like you will never get anywhere, but hang in there. I hope that somebody can find what the cause is.

JJ oh my dear I just can't even begin to imagine what you are going through. What an absolutely horrible time for you and very scary. I sincerely hope they can operate on you to give you a better quality of life, Lord knows you deserve it. As ever you are amazingly upbeat, and good on you for shaving your hair of to raise funds, amazing! Wishing you lots of luck and good health, and I do hope they can help you ASAP. Big hugs. Xx

CHRISSYG I can imagine you must be worried and unsettled, hopefully your DD will have the time of her life and she'll talk non stop about it when she's back! I know you must have said but I can't remember who she's going with?

nitnurse-not2

Hi All,

Free...Lovely to see you back. I agree with princesskitty29.Your decision to take time out to address your emotional health is the best thing you could have done. Those few days you took may have staved off months of unpleasantness had you just tried to soldier on. We are all guilty of trying to be everything to everyone but others can take inspiration from you and try putting themselves first on occasion.

JJ. OMG! What more can I say? I hope things pick up for you soon.

Well, Christmas has GONE! I have put everything back in the loft and my home looks as bare as everyone elses. I tried looking around some of the shops in town but I had no idea what I was looking for so came home. I will just do as I always do and pick stuff up throughout the year.

I am on a spring cleaning roll. My DS is returning home so the spare room is being attacked to turn it into his room again so some sorting needed there.
I have defrosted both freezers and meal planned for the week ahead. I am NOT buying any food this month, apart from fruit, veg, milk and bread as we have so much to use up.
I have batch cooked soup and chicken and pasta meals. These are frozen in individual portions for me and DD who are back to SW this week. It is so easy to just pull a couple of cartons out each day for lunches. I try to do at least one day cooking each month so there is a variety of meals in there for us. I have counted today and there are 44 ready meals so no need to do any more this month.

I am just finishing my coffe then off up the stairs to finish DS room and then scrub the bathroom. Oh and NO MORE TOILETRIES…...There are so many from Christmas that they should last the whole year!!!!!!

Hugs and best wishes to all


xxxx

Salmagundi

Hi all. A belated happy new year. Been reading but time passes so quickly - my constant gripe!! JJ goodness me - can't believe how rough you've had it - really quite terrifying. I always hope when I read your posts that things will turn around quite dramatically for you and I shall continue to hope that this is the year. The very best of wishes to you. ChrissyG I'm sure I'd be worried sick as well but if she makes it through this time on her own it will be a fantastic boost for her self-esteem. Fingers crossed that she has a great time and manages the 'mis-haps' beautifully. Princesskitty29 great news about the mortgage - how exciting and lovely to look forward to a new family home. Free One step forward, 14 back!!! I've been reading this site for a few years now and I know you get back up and push on - you just have to remind yourself how many times you've already done it. You've a lovely family, all supportive of each other, and I'm sure you treasure that. I'm sorry I don't post enough. Had great intentions towards the end of last year and did try but some spanners in the works are bigger than others! I have kept up with reading though and am always delighted to hear everyone's news: no doubt the same as everyone else - laugh when it's funny and cry when it's sad! The very best of wishes to you all for a fantabulous 2016 (oh and Feisty please keep an eye on that oedema)!

System

[QUOTE=princesskitty29;



CHRISSYG I can imagine you must be worried and unsettled, hopefully your DD will have the time of her life and she'll talk non stop about it when she's back! I know you must have said but I can't remember who she's going with?[/QUOTE]


She is going with a company called "Lets go supported holidays" .

nic2075

Huge hugs JJ What a time of it you have had. I can't even begin to imagine :-(. I hope things improve for you and the family rift mends too. X

Glad to see you freespirit sorry to hear you felt so ill and low for a bit. Glad to hear you are feeling more positive. I know hard it is to get back out of when the fug decends. I find myself staying very emotionally detached from situations so I don't get sucked down. Makes me seem very heartless, but I guess it's my way of coping.
Thank you for asking about my job. I started on Thursday. It's really hard work. I have been put on the pot wash for now. Hopefully I will get to cook and bake at some point. I was a pot wash when I was 14 and don't want to go back to my first ever job. I took it to cook. On Friday we did over 250 school lunches in an hour. So I have all the pots, trays,,utensils to wash plus all the blue trays the kids use in an hour. Stressful. But my day goes in quick :-).
I am thankful to have a job though, so I'll suck it up. I get all the school holidays with the kids and am home for 3pm in time for school pick up.


Chuffed to get lots of stocking fillers reduced in Tesco today. All the wee duck lip balms, mugs etc. all under 60 p each from £4-£5.

junior_j

Pinksteps wrote: »

Oh Jess, what a palava. Are you at QA now or another? I was in QA with DS yesterday and the clinic was running 2 hours late. I was sitting there thinking shall I ask at reception if you are there only for DS to point out your name isn't Jess Junior so who would I ask for. Serious blonde (grey) moment
:rotfl:

Thanks sweetness. I started in Qa now in Southampton. How did his app go?

Thanks for everyones kind words as well they mean a lot. I hope you are all doing well and that 2016 brings much happiness. I have started writing a blog , when I have done more I will post the link if allowed. It starts off with when I was first got diagnosed and explains what it is I have , not the most interesting but its just something I am doing. xxxx

freespirit66

Evening everyone, i actually got out today first time since before new year! Only to sains but nevermind did treat ourselves to a starbucks in there with what was left on my giftcard, had a bit of a mooch salewise, i knew there wouldnt be much as they started their sale before christmas eve!!! BUT did get some pj bottoms for DD1 for next christmas for £2.40, a passport holder and tag in gold, reduced to £3 but went through at £1 for a stocking filler for her and two black handtowels to finish off my new towel stash reduced to £1.80 each, so i was well chuffed, its a start but then had to go around adding up in my head the food shop as the last of my budget was not healthy at all, omg very stressful as i kept forgetting where i had got to :rotfl:

JJ wow :eek: you are such a fighter, as if you havent been through enough, i hope that they can do something to make you more comfortable, good luck will keep fingers crossed it is next friday (the sooner the better) you are still in all our thoughts even when you arent posting my lovely x

MRSINVISIBLE aww thankyou, well done on having all those pressies sorted already!

CHRISSY aww hope DD has a fab time, keep us updated with her adventures please, and lots of hugs and feet up for you!

PINKNFLUFFY aww thankyou, i got bighero6 before christmas and havent watched it yet, i must admit the trailer made me giggle. Was it you who wanted the HP colouring book? DS got it for christmas and wow the piccies are gorgeous!

PEPPAPIG yes i said the same to DD2 about sitting on the floor with him for lots of cuddles, no, no timeframe she has to go back end of next week to see if there is any improvement. Oh i hope DGS doesnt have scarlet fever, bless him!

FEISTY thanks for the recipe they look fab for easter breakfast

PRINCESSKITTY fab news about the mortgage offer, you must be so excited. Yes i saw easter stuff today as well


NITNURSE thankyou, wow that is impressive all those HM ready meals ready to go!!! Has DS been left home long?

SALMAGUNDI they are lovely things that you have said in your post, sorry you have had a number of spanners in the works, but we still love you posting as and when you can!

BABYBOO how are you my lovely? I hope you are recovering well and the op hasnt taken too much out of you!!

NIC its not heartless at all, like you say we all have our own coping mechanisms. Oh i hope the job picks up for you my lovely and you are cooking in no time, i suppose the worst jobs always get foisted on the newbies! Just focus on the hours they are perfect for you for the time being! How did your rollerball derby go the other night?