It’s Complicated Part Three

Three months post-op and I’d made it to that magic date, the time when my surgeon said I’d begin to feel less pain and start to be myself again. Only… the nerves at my right incision site were doing their darndest to heal and in the process they sent off crazy misguided and wholly unnecessary…

It’s Complicated Part Two

Home at last, I shuffled in the front door to find my mother in law beaming and my two kids trying their best not to look terrified. I had lost so much weight in just a week that I no longer looked like myself. Straight to bed (my own bed!) with a cup of tea…

It’s Complicated Part One

I always feel conflicted when people ask me about my surgery story. It’s like a first time expectant mother asking you about childbirth. Do you tell them about the poo? The stitches? In those moments I try to do what I’ve been drilling into my kids for years: Is it true, is it kind, is…

Post- op

I woke up from surgery in a rolling sea of confusion and pain. I heard my voice but it was if it was coming from another me somewhere far away, and I was just a bystander. She was calling out. Hurts. Hurts. Hurts. Then nothing. The next time I woke up I had one clean,…

The Nuss Procedure

Nuss is a word I had never heard of prior to 2017 and now I say it or type it at least once a day. Have I had the Nuss? people ask in support groups. Yes, I say. I have been Nussed. So what IS it? And how do you say it? (I say it…

What is Pectus Excavatum Anyway?

It’s weird thinking that twelve months ago today, my health journey had yet to begin. I was unwell at the time, but never in a million years could I have imagined what was just around the corner. The last year has been consumed by keeping this body of mine going, it’s strange thinking that a…

Unrest Film Review

When you’ve spent almost a year either in bed or in your house, you watch a lot of Netflix. The other night we were trying to find something  I hadn’t already seen four times, and my husband turned to me and said, “Hey, there’s a new documentary about chronic fatigue syndrome?” And, surprising both of…

Suddenly Sick

A much overdue diagnosis story. A year ago I was a young(ish) mum of two, I loved hiking in the National Park surrounding our house, and I was busy making plans for the year ahead. It was December, and we’d just had a stressful month with our daughter finishing up at primary school, Christmas, very…

When You’re Misdiagnosed

I’ve spoken a bit about my journey to diagnosis with POTS or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome on this blog here But this post is a bit different. This is what happened in mid 2017 when I got fed up with being tired all the time and my heart going bonkers whenever I tried to walk anywhere.…

Through The Curtain: The Things You Learn About Your Fellow Patients

I’ve just arrived home from a few days in hospital hooked up to the cardiac monitors. Last time, I flew through ED and Acute Care and it wasn’t long before I had a bed on the cardiology ward. Well, by flew through, I mean it took around seven hours, and I was settled in my…