5 Places to get your COVID-19 information

For those who know me in real life, you know that I am far from an alarmist. A realist sure, but I absolutely despise idle gossip and absolutely, seriously despise fear mongering, fake news and conspiracy bullshit.

What we are being asked to currently do in Ireland to combat the spread of COVID-19, and in many other countries, is by far that drastic. Like just stay inside as much as possible, for YOUR circumstances. Wash your hands, keep a metre distance from people at the very least (when possible), don't shake hands... these are not alarmist things to do. They are the very most basic things things we could change now to prevent a bigger issue in the future. We need to #FLATTENTHECURVE, and this can only be done if we all take tiny measures.

Those who rely on work (those who still have a job to go to) cannot stay at home all the time, not everyone can work at home and not all businesses can close down completely. BUT you can keep your kids away from other kids (cancel all playdates), no trips to the grandparents, drinks at home for just two weekends rather than the pub, get your food delivered where possible if you are high risk or have cold like symptoms, and really other very basic measures that many of us are lucky enough (privileged enough) to be in a position to do.

It's not about shaming people in to complying; we are all in very different circumstances. It's all about doing what YOU can do to flatten the curve.

- Lads, it's really not much of an effort when you think about it. Unless you are a dick. Don't be a dick. Have some consideration for all the nurses, doctors, general front line staff, food suppliers and supermarket staff, general civil servants/ army etc who are currently working their asses off behind the scenes at this very moment, to ensure everything is in place for you for the coming days/ weeks. Having your fucking 10th pint of Harp tonight in a crowded pub is a real piss in their faces.

With all that in mind I have compiled a basic list of bloggers and official websites that you should definitely consider getting your pandemic news from. Being informed can help greatly if you are feeling anxious right now, but make sure you are getting the correct information from reputable sources. You may want to stay away from Jim Corr, YouTube and racist Mary from down the road right now (actually that's just good advice in general).

8 things you should know if your friend suffers from a chronic illness

There's loads of these types of lists to be found on the internet today, but thought I'd write my own -What I believe are 8 important notes to remember if you have a friend or family member suffering with a chronic illness -These vastly range from MS to Crohn's and everything in between (literally too many to mention. Both visible and 'invisible' illnesses)...


1. Not being a doctor is ok. Not being able to pronounce the condition your friend has is also ok. Not knowing anything about it, is not ok. 
Your friend or family member won't expect you to write a thesis on the subject, and you probably stumble over the letters trying to pronounce their illness and any medications they take for it. But if you are constantly asking what the issue is, and can't use Google, then just don't speak at all. Even those who are open and honest about their illness will get fed up hearing themselves say the same things -Ask once, ask new questions, and for the love of your friend's sanity, use Google.

Some won't want to discuss it -they may find it upsetting, they may partly be in denial. In this instance -Google, Google, Google! They might change their mind in the future so take an interest. Please use reputable sites though such as the Mayo Clinic.

It might be a big part of your friends life and who they are as a person. If you

100 days of happiness... Day 24: Strawberries

So I was sitting around, and it got pretty late, and I realised I hadn't anything for my 100 days of happiness... Then two of me mates, Sean and Grainne, called around with some of the most yummiest strawberries that I've ever tasted! Thanks guys :) ...Yet again, I get pressies! ...I suppose having cancer has to have a couple of perks, eh!?

....Although I also just get pretty things 'cause I'm awesome like! xXx

The 'R' word

So yesterday I (finally) had my first appointment since finishing treatments (chemotherapy and radiotherapy) with the haematologist...

He's very pleased with how treatment went, he searched and poked for any bumps around my body and could feel none, asked about side effects from treatment and how I am, had bloods taken, and all that general doctor stuff.

I had assumed (probably from ya know, television, as even still, that's where most my cancer experiences and ideas have came from!) that as it's the end of treatment he'd wana book me in for another PET scan as I had had a mid-way PET scan (after chemotherapy finished/ before I started radiotherapy). But this isn't the case. He explained that while every doctor is different, he doesn't see the need for having a PET scan so soon. His reasons include:

100 days of happiness... Day 4 & day 5: Doggies & juicing

And so here's the happiness posts for Monday and today... This experiment is harder than I thought! Either that, or I'm a narky bitch! ...If so, doing this may be the cure for that...

Monday 26th May:

Doggies

When in doubt what to be happy over, animals are a good choice. On this day, my sleepy little fur-babies (aka dogs) were the things to make me happy. 

Emily

Louis (Lou-Lou bear) and Simon (Bicky)

Tuesday 27th May:

Juicing

I've had a really bad day with hip pain -sore to lie down, sore to sit up, sore to stand and near impossible to walk. So it's been hard as feck to find something to be happy about. I would usually say 'bed' in this circumstance (har) -Although as I said, cannot get comfy lying down... so bed, you can kiss my ass ya shithead...

As yas all probably know by now, I adore my juicer. Bicky too. It's a deadly way to get in the extra vitamins when ya just can't eat any more. After researching it a bit, we've decided to do a total juice "detox" (for lack of a better word, I'll use the dumb, unscientific terminology) -that is, eat nothing, just get all our nutrients from vegetable and fruit juice.

It's a great way for obese people to lose weight, while resetting their taste buds -from what I've seen and read, after about a month of doing it, when the participants go back to eating, they actually crave vegetables and fruit -rather than their usual chips and cheese burger (chips=fries, for my US readers). This can only be a good thing. This is kind of what happened to me when I was 13 and half-ish and decided to stop eating meat -I eventually went from being afraid of certain foods, to loving them. The more you consume something, the more you actually do like it. That was my main reason for turning to a mostly vegetarian lifestyle -I had extreme food issues (like many people -nothing on the plate could

100 days of happiness... Day 2 & day 3: Vegan 'ice-cream' & friends

Continuing on from last Friday's beginnings of '100 days of happiness', here's Saturday and Sunday's happy times...

Saturday May 24th: 
Vegan banana and biscuit 'ice-cream'

I came across this vegan 'ice-cream' recipe totally by chance, and as it seems very popular amongst veganists... veganites? Vegan people? ..Thought I should probably give it a go. It's really simple, surprisingly similar to ice-cream and quite healthy (but of course).


Ingredients 

• Bananas -chopped and frozen for about 24 hours, or longer (I used about 6 to make a big bowl)
• Soya milk (I used about 300ml, but you can leave this ingredient out altogether and just use the bananas)
• Chocolate bourbon biscuits (I used about 5... Surprisingly most

I look like a potato -A kawaii potato

I found this picture on the internet a while ago, and honestly, laughed for ages… this is very much me at the moment, BAHAHAHAHAHAAA! :)

If you know me/ friends with me on Facebook, then you've probably already seen this video of me shaving my hair. I posted it mainly for friends –to see that I'm not deeply traumatised by losing me hair! It’s a weird thing, cancer and hair lose… effects people in such strange ways. I don’t mean the person actually going through it, I mean for the friends and families. 

I was only ever hesitant about shaving my hair off because

The end of treatment –The beginning of recovery

Thought I better split all the craic from the last while into two, as not to bore yas all too much with extra-long posts… again, apologies at sucking at regular blogging.

So as you may know, or have guessed, I have finished chemotherapy :) (For now/ hopefully forever). Here’s some tweets from my last day…

Exciting stuff.

Speaking of which, I’m waaay better at updating Twitter, so if you fancy following me you can do so here: @kittypotpie85

But of course, then came radiotherapy –BOOOOO! Three weeks, Monday-Friday, in Dublin. Worrying about us affording petrol for all these visits, Bicky (Simon) applied for help from The Carrickmacross Cancer Society who paid for a taxi service for us, for the whole three weeks! Seriously, absolute saints. Please give these angels a ‘like’ on Facebook and support them: Carrick Cancer 

….Speaking of money issues, I still DO NOT have my medical card. Yeah, seriously. Long story, so I’ll write up another post on this at a later stage…

For those that don’t know much about radiotherapy and wish to know what it entails, go here: External Radiotherapy 

Like with chemotherapy, there are some side effects, although most people find

How being sick helped me cope with being sick

I've mentioned this briefly in an earlier post: Being already somewhat ill has helped me cope with the chemotherapy side effects -The ones I've had so far anyway!

Such funzies include:

1. Bone pain
As most of yous will know, either form knowing me or from reading the blog, I get quite a bit of this already from the hip dysplasia  and associated health probz! Pain is a big ball of shite, but having it from birth has built me up a little tolerance.... K, maybe not a tolerance, rather than I'm used to it. The chemo pain is a bit different and tends to cause most the pain in upper back and ribs (rather than upper hip, thigh, knee, arm, upper back and shoulder). Still, as I said, used to it.

2. Fatigue
Pain usually accompanies fatigue and my body is no different. When going through a typical 'bad phase' I tire easily or can't actually get up in the morning. Since starting chemo I've had only a couple of days where I needed to nap and have actually had very hyper, energetic days where I could do loads and still have energy! I'm going to put this down to the steroids which I have to take the first four days after each treatment. So, to summarise, I like steroids.

3. Nausea/ Vomiting
With a hiatal hernia like mine it's no wonder I don't vomit more (yep, that's right, another health thing -don't think I mentioned that before. Falling apart at the seams, I am! ...it's kinda related to the other health issues so lets

Positive vibes, man!

I'm really fed up of the word 'positive' at this stage -not what it means, just the actual word. I wish there was another word for it. I've used it so much since being diagnosed with cancer, and have heard it so much too. Truth is, I didn't realise how much of a 'positive' person I was before now. Not only in coping with having Hodgkin lymphoma but also at the rather annoying 'looking on the bright side' crap I've been doing with every situation involved in such a diagnosis.

Example A. -Loosing my hair. I've read in blogs and Facebook groups other people's stories, particularly women, and how it's been one of the hardest side effects to come to terms with. Even though I haven't lost mine yet, I can't help but look at new hats I'm going to buy and hope that my hair grows back curly -having curly hair would be nice (for those who don't know, after chemo your hair can grow back different colours and textures!). Example B. -Fatigue, and how from my point of view, being able to fall asleep easily will be a welcomed change. I've had some fatigue but not the last few days -I'm soo hyper and full of energy for some reason. Although I read this can be normal in the beginning.... and there's a host of other