Self Isolation

So this evening my phone pinged & there it was, the ominous message telling me I have to self isolate for 9 days!

I’ve been so careful. I’ve cleaned everything that’s come into the house and have basically done nothing for over a year. But on Saturday it was my neighbour’s birthday and she invited me to her birthday gathering in the garden. I was only there for an hour, hardly spoke to anyone & tried to keep my distance. It seems it didn’t work.

Sigh

I’m double jabbed. We were outside. I hardly mixed at all. But the Bluetooth app says otherwise.

So now I have to wait 9 days to confirm I’m ok. I’ll spend all that time worrying (I already am) particularly as my highly vulnerable father is still staying with me.

But should I worry? Isn’t the point of the vaccine that you won’t catch it or be ill? I really hope that’s true.

Roll on the 15th!

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PS. My neighbour has contacted everyone else who was there & no-one is ill or has reported a positive test. I’ve even done a lateral flow test myself which was negative. So I’m guessing it was a false alarm. I’ll keep isolating but I’m wondering just how accurate is the app?

Vaccine Dose 2

So today’s the day, again. I got my text invitation last week & I’m going for my 2nd Covid vaccine today, 3 weeks early!

I’m feeling much more apprehensive this time around, partly because of the negative media reports about blood clots and partly because I had such severe side effects last time.

It’s good news though. I’ll certainly feel safer once I’m fully vaccinated & I’m hoping that will give me the confidence to brace the outside world again.

Hopefully I’ll be side effect free this time too. Time will tell.

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Well it’s all done. I had to wait for about 1 minute so it wasn’t even worth taking a seat in the empty room. I was followed in by a man who said he’d waited 71 years for this! Clearly a big and important thing for him. (if he’s 71,I’m not sure why I’m having my jab the same day but I’m grateful all the same.

Still not been given a sticker, but immunity is far far better! 😁

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PS – no side effects this time around, yay!

The internet can be a dangerous thing

Do you ever have that feeling in the pit of your stomach?  You know the one, when someone tells you something & your brain goes into overdrive and thinks the worst?  Well that’s where I am right now.  I’ve been told something that scares me.  To be honest it didn’t scare me straight away, it was only when I decided to do a Google search that I became scared.  The internet can be a such a dangerous thing!

So now that I’ve read the bad stuff online, I can’t quite wipe that out of my mind & so now I’m sitting here really rather scared & a tad tearful even worrying about something that I can’t change and about something which in all probability isn’t even fact.  I’ve got that horrible feeling in my stomach & my inside is turning over doing somersaults 😦

I guess it’s part of my make-up, that sense of worry & concern about people I love and care for.  I’ve inherited it from my Mum & I can’t do anything about it.  I can tell myself not to worry.  I can tell myself that there’s nothing to worry about.  I can even convince myself that that’s true – well almost.  But then my brain reminds me & there goes my stomach acrobatics again! 😦

What is it they say about knowledge?  Too much can be a bad thing?  Hmm, I reckon I can appreciate that right now :S

Year in Photos (15-March-11)

Today I had to leave work early & carry on my work at home.  Why?  Because I’ve hurt my back & I just wasnt able to sit at my desk any longer.  So my photo this evening is some of the things that I’ve been turning to, to try to relieve the pain.

Keeping fit (Year in photos 2011)

Well I nearly didn’t go to the gym this evening.  A bad head was putting me off but a friend told me it would be fine.  Hmm.  I hate to admit he was right – and so I wont!  A never-ending dose of bugs has meant I haven’t managed to get to the gym for a while now but I was keen to change that.  I’m glad I took that advise.

Ah, it was good to be back again.  I only hope my body feels the same in the morning 😉

(do you get the sense of speed & movement from today’s photo?  If you’re thinking it’s a bit rubbish, you should try taking a photo whilst you’re moving on a treadmill! 😉 )

Can you live without music?

Well today I’ve read yet more news about how music can positively impact on your well-being has been revealed.

I’m a strong believer in the importance of music in our lives, both spiritually & mentally.  I’ve read a number of reports in recent months which discuss the benefits music can have on our health:  helping dementia patients; giving sight back to stroke sufferers; improving the social fabric of society.

Today I read about the holistic benefits of music, how listening to some types of music can slow down your heart and lower your blood pressure .  Yet more evidence I believe that you just cant live without music.

men are the weaker sex

Ok, so we’ve all known it for sometime now, that women are better able to cope with illness and carry on with their daily lives, without making everyone else around them suffer.  Fact!  No arguments!

Hang on a minute, you might say, that’s just not true.

But I’m afraid it is true.  According to the latest research, women are better able to fight off disease better than men.  Yes, the female of the species is better.  Fact! 🙂

Apparently it’s all to do with hormones.  Yes, those self same hormones which make us feel awful for so many days every month (have you ever worked out just how long that is in a lifetime?!!).  Anyway, in medical terms, oestrogen acts as an enzyme to block the inflammation process hence enabling women to fight back as it were & to actually overcome the illness.

So next time you hear a man complaining that he’s ill, have a little pity.  After all he’s just not built to cope with it, what with males being the weaker, inferior of our sexes! 😉

Musical therapy

I’ve been talking for a while about how important I believe music is and about the benefits that it can bring to each of our lives. Well I didn’t need any further proof, but I’ve found it none the less! I’ve just been reading a fascinating article on the BBC website which is truly inspiring and it just simply made me say “wow!”

So what was this article that caught my attention today? Well it’s about the benefits that a specific music project has had on dementia patients. The musicians work with the patients over an 8 week period enabling them to participate in the music making and really feel a part of what’s going on. The results have been encouraging: people who previously wouldn’t talk to others are now asking them questions.

Granted, music cannot cure them of dementia, but it’s certainly having a positive influence on their well being. Music really is a universal language that can cross over all barriers. 🙂

Mending a broken heart

Have you had a time in your life when you’ve felt as though the whole world has come crashing down around you?  When everything seems to be going wrong?  When you’ve felt really alone?

And what was the cause of it all?  Perhaps it was because someone had broken your heart.  After all, how many of us haven’t had our hearts broken at one time or another?

Well fear not, because the medical profession now believe that a broken heart is a real medical condition.  They call it “broken heart syndrome” (catchy huh?) and they actually believe that they can treat this condition.  Apparently it’s existed since the 90’s although I myself would’ve thought it had been around since time began.

But fear not, despite the pain, a broken heart really can be treated and even the “critically ill” can make a full recovery. Good news I hear you cry – or perhaps not, don’t we sometimes just want to dwell in our broken heartedness, it makes it feel all the more real that there was something special in the first place!

So, going back to the point, what treatment do they suggest for this summer months condition?  Answer: asprin or heart remedies!  They’re even looking for patients to study with ultrasound.  Hmm …

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Music each day keeps the doctor away

If you’ve read my blog for a while you’ll know that from time to time I write a post related to music.  Yes, music is one of the loves of my life & I am passionate about it & its importance in our world today.

Every so often in my daily readings I come across something which re-emphasises this fact.  News that really stresses not only the effect that music can have on your life & soul, but even on your own physical wellbeing.

Today I’ve read another of those articles.  This one tells us that music is helping stroke victims to get back their sight.  Wow!  That’s a pretty amazing thing, don’t you think?  Music, something that some people say they can “take it or leave it” can actually help people to physically see again.  Wow!

Check out the article for yourself here