HAPPY TO BE BACK.!!!

Hello dear readers.

Do pour a cup of tea, I have the cakes. We can have a nice chat together.

Due to illness over the past eighteen months, I have not been able to post my usual articles and images. Happily, I am now recovering and the energy is flowing back again.

The illnesses which thankfully are not the lethal kind, but nevertheless impeded any interesting activity on the blog.

I will, however, have some interesting news on these three ailments which I think will be able to help others suffering from the same debilitating experiences.

Actually, two ailments are really interesting which led me to explore a whole new diet and a loss of two stone in weight which I managed to accumulate over the years. I was not obese but at 5ft. 2inches or let’s say 63 kilos,  I had to take the next size up from what was once my normal size, to be able to zip up a dress or pull on a pair of leggings and another size up to hide those nasty little tyres!!  Like any other lady, I like a sleek fit but that was proving impossible. I dislike cardigans or jackets to cover dresses or jeans. But, however much one can find some delightful cover-ups, they are still that, coverups. So what’s the point of buying a gorgeous outfit only to hide it with a cardigan!!

I wouldn’t recommend the illnesses but definitely, the diet is really healthy and a delightful way of losing the odd pounds.  Mind you, you can say goodbye to fudge covered in chocolate and mouthwatering double cream raspberry ripple ice cream, lemon meringue pies, etc.,   My mouth is watering writing this so although the new diet is exciting I would like to indulge now and then, but it just isn’t possible, not unless I want another endoscopy, you know – the operation where they push tubes down your throat that wind down into y our stomach and stretch your esophagus  – and no anesthetic!!! Well they do offer a sedative so no pain is involved just my own cowardly terror. I cannot imagine why some people refuse to have sedation.  I wanted – begged for a general anesthetic but they refused and I must say, the sedative did work. But I would suggest you have the throat spray as well which freezes the throat so you don’t feel anything going down your throat prior to your gut.  I have to say this just in case someone just has the sedation and feels something, then you might come back and tell me off. So yes you’ve guessed it, GERD is involved but for some of us with that condition, other ailments jump on the wagon.

Let me explain. I was thoroughly enjoying life, the children had grown and flown the nest so I was free to indulge in my passions, writing, painting, blogging and even selling books, quite a lot actually. But then one sunny day I opened a tin of salmon. One of my favorite foods to have alongside a fresh green salad with beetroot. I couldn’t resist having a forkful.  Within seconds, I felt this lump in my throat. Well, it was lodged in the chest area. I didn’t think anything of it, after all, I was having trouble swallowing tablets as well. But to my annoyance, this bolus like lump wouldn’t shift. I ran around the garden literally but still couldn’t budge it. So I had to forcibly get it up and I won’t go into that. Anyhow this happened on another three occasions when I was eating,

Hubby said I should go to the doctors but I wouldn’t hear of it. It was just a glitch, nothing to worry about. A week later I had to attend my local surgery for results of a blood test. As the nurse was finishing typing up my notes I said, ‘Umm, I hope you can help me, it’s nothing really, but I have this lump in my chest whenever I eat.

The nurse swiveled round to me, a vacuous smile on her face and said. ‘I’ll just ring doctor.’

I sat back. ‘Oh – but it’s nothing really.l’

She smiled kindly and phoned through. To cut a long story short within days I was in the hospital. I would have been in before that but it was a weekend.  So Monday morning I was on the operating table having an endoscopy.

Oh my God. I had a dreadful two days waiting for this blessed procedure, by which time my blood pressure rocketed even though I tried meditation,  breathing exercises the lot, but it went even higher.

Before the operation, the surgeon kindly asked me why was I so afraid? To which I replied, ‘well I can’t stand the thought of having things down my throat, in fact, it’s one of my worst nightmares.’

He replied ‘But you won’t feel it.’

I replied,  ‘I asked for an anesthetic and was told  I could only have sedation.’

He smiled and said. ‘You won’t feel a thing. Really.’ he took my hand gently. ‘Really, I promise.’

I looked down. ‘It’s not that so much it’s something else as well.’

He smiled ‘Tell me.’

I said, ‘I might punch you.’

He sat back, ‘Why?’

‘Well because I’ll see those tubes coming towards me and I’ll just start punching. I really don’t want to but it’s a kind of natural instinct you know? My grandfather was the boxing champion – knocked out the reigning champion during the war.’

Seriously, I said that I’m not kidding.

The surgeon laughed, ‘I promise I shall be putting you out. It’s one of those drugs where you forget the instant I do something.’

I frowned. ‘I have an excellent memory. What if I remember and I start swinging.?”

He creased up laughing,  ‘I promise you, you won’t.’

I still didn’t believe him, but I see I’ve written enough for today. I don’t know how much I can write in one on these blogs. So I shall tell you the rest next time.

Have a lovely day folks.

I will be putting on my new book images and details,  as well tomorrow or the next day.

Best as ever.

Katy.