- I actually got a job interview with the department. This, alone, is an achievement. Particularly since the position is not in my specialisation (Visual Arts), but in Learning and Support. I fucked the interview up. Disappointing, but not at all surprising. Just waiting for more positions to apply for, and since then, there have been nadda.
- My amazing husband graduated! That was tops. It was cold, but great. Proud moment.
- 4 weeks in Europe was totes amazeballs. I was able to manage my fatigue and the heat REALLY well. I actually lost weight (not a lot) from doing a shitload of walking EVERY SINGLE DAY while still devouring delish meals (oh Italy and your buffalo mozzarella and tasty gelato!) and sipping sumptuous beverages DAILY. And because M and I were so on-the-go all the time, he was also able to crash with me which relieved that fear I had of being the potential party pooper. Some nights we were in bed by 8:30pm (how embarrassment). We did make it out until sunrise in Hamburg. Yes, really. I was just so lucky and grateful that Mad Sascha was in hibernation or just laying low for that 4 weeks. On ya Mad Sascha (*insert thumbs up here*). The whole trip deserves a whole post to itself, or better yet, its own blog (but I won't get that self indulgent).
- I must say, I like jet lag because you just, sort of, out of the blue, fall asleep and you're totally asleep and it feels great in a really messed up way. A bit dangerous maybe. Don't drive on jet lag.
- I got a great tax refund due to overpaying my tax because my previous job crossed over with my return to teaching. Idiot. However, I paid off my HECS. 5.5 years at uni in total, paid off. 1.5 of those years I was like finding myself or something. Things were adjusted and I am now being taxed correctly.
- Meet up with the sis in Adelaide. Treated myself to a business class (with points) trip and sat behind Bob Hawke. He had a red wine rather than VB with his lunch. Caught up with my mother in law who told me she has been practicing drinking wine which I thought was so cute. Looking forward to having some with her come Christmas time. Ate some great grub and had some wanky 'deconstructed' cocktails. Had a ticket to a gig. HAD. Unfortunately Mad Sascha decided to make herself known…we were out, and boom! Hello fatigue. Like proper. Like not, oh I'll just rest a bit and get back to it. It was like Melbourne all over again. I HAD to bail early and head back to the hotel and sleep. It sucked. But, it's okay. This happens. This is a normal I am getting used to, and a normal I am learning to manage. Spoon theory (google it).
- Next day we drove to Broken Hill! I drove the full 6 hours. The sis was a bit…well she needed a burrito at like 10am. Nuff said. Interesting place, BH. We had dinner at The Palace, ended up paying $5 bucks to head into the only 'club'. It was atrocious. Props to the sis for lasting so long out there, out there in the outback…with the goats and the heat…and the expensive, but a bit shit, 'fresh' produce. Did some touristy things, and then headed on home on a train (13 hours) a few days later.
Now I move into the last month or so. No dots needed.
The holidays were over and it was back to work and into term 4. It's here where things get a bit poo. I won't discuss all. Just the bits about me.
I had a lump in my throat that I noticed came on and off over the previous week. I intended to see the doc at some point but I had a really hectic first week back at work where I needed to be on the ball. I mixed up an event at school that I was organising, which was no big deal in the end. However, if I had I got it right in the first place, it would have made things more manageable.
The doc sent me to get an ultrasound of my neck. To describe to you what I felt is really difficult. It was like a lump inside that you could not see or feel on the outside. I had no other symptoms like sore throat, voice changes or reflux. It was 'weird' to swallow and generally uncomfortable. My GP suspected a possible virus, but did say it was a really difficult area of the body to try and diagnose. And without other symptoms, it just made it more puzzling. Mad Sascha at work? Who knows. It's gone now and the ultrasound came back with nothing.
Then, the following week (let's call this week 2, term 4)…it's Thursday. I am at my desk, in my staffroom and I start to feel, well weird. Weird - it's the poorest adjective isn't it? Sorry. I felt like when I was reading words, it was very disjointed, like a stop motion…maybe a little less dramatic. The words weren't flowing as normal. I was feeling a bit dizzy as if i needed to hold my skull still. I stood up and opened the door for some fresh air, and drank some water. I sat down again and tried to just shake it off. No connection to Taylor Swift there. I couldn't shake it. I walked myself down to the front office and said, "Something is not right". In retrospect, I believe I started to panic. I felt like I was going to maybe pass out. My resting heart rate was 115 the nurse tells me. I was sweating a little and generally freaking out. I lay down in the sick bay and the lovely office staff called M, and he took me home.
I made an appointment that day to see my GP. She's a legend. Had an ECG (normal), 4 vials of blood done and had a mole checked. I did have high blood pressure, and not low as suspected by the darling office ladies.
The next day I returned for the results and yup, nothing. Usual expected stuff like the low white blood cell count (or whatever) which means my MS meds are doing what they should. Iron was fine but lower than last time, no diabetes, thyroid all good…one thing that was a bit odd was high protein but that could have been due to me not drinking enough water (I've made a conscious effort to drink more since this 'incident').
Mad Sascha again?
I think…(and I am no doctor but I know my own body) that I have reacted to a few things with stress and stress is not good for us MSers, or anyone for that matter. It can, in fact, trigger a relapse. I must admit and I shared this with M, that I did feel like I was on the brink of having a relapse. During this time (about a 3 week period) I noticed more muscle twitches, especially at night, fatigue and the dizzy stuff remained on and off for almost 2 weeks since the above mentioned incident. Things have settled thankfully.
I am feeling a whole lot better now. I am back at the gym after not going for 3 weeks. So things are looking up.
I also had to eliminate 2 huntsman spiders in the last week.
