Hi there and welcome back to my blog. How are you? I hope that you are well. Today I’m going to talk about, when I admitted that I’m improving. Now I know that it’s hard to admit that. I still get tired on a long walk with my mum and my balance is still weak, but if you look at myself, this time last year, as I’ve done with my weight loss photos, you are better.
Before my diagnosis, I was a front end web developer. Before the hyperbaric oxygen chamber, I would get dizzy spells, in front of the computer. Now I don’t get dizzy spells. And in fact, only last month, I spent over an hour in front of the computer, without taking a break, when I had to redesign the volunteers time table at Carers Trust.
I started volunteering at Carers Trust back in August 2017. If you had told me that a year ago, I would have laughed in your face. Now I’m there twice a week, for about 2 hours. Okay, I take a break, but its a short break and its only for lunch and to take my hydrocortisone tablet.
I starting lifting weights back in January 2018, when the physio at Myton Hospice said that i needed to join a gym. I had originally bought weights back in 2009 when I at a summer break from uni, I was doing P90X workout. I was exercising everyday, for an hour, for 90 days. I was a lot thinner and fitter, but there’s no way that I’m doing that now.
The one thing that I hate about my new life is taking each day as it comes. I like to plan ahead. I like knowing what’s for lunch, right after breakfast. And I like knowing what’s for dinner right after lunch. I partially annoy my mum with this because she’s the exact opposite. She, with her back, can go into the kitchen, spend a couple of hours with some random ingredients and come up with a meal, fit enough to feed myself, herself, my sister and dad for two days.
Apparently, I take after my grandfather. He did the same with my grandmother and mum, I guess its hereditary.
Another thing about my new life, that I hate, is how tired I get. I know that it’s normal for someone to be tired after radiotherapy. And I’m a lot more active now, than my diagnosis, but not that much. When I used to work in Birmingham, I used to run to catch the bus, run to get my train and walk to Digbeth. And I would do the same on the way back home. When I used to work in Leamington Spa, me and a work colleague called Lyle, would go for long walks during our lunch breaks. With both of theses walks, I wouldn’t take a break. If I would do that now, I would take several breaks.
However looking back over theses couple of years and how far I got, I’m constantly surprising myself. I was able to write my blog on paper and on computer, which is promising for me to go back to work, i was able to play the ukulele in front of friends and family ( which I never did before my diagnosis) and I’m walking over 10,000 steps a day (once again, I didn’t do that before my diagnosis).
I’ve also joined a ukulele group called the Earls of Uke. We meet up every other Tuesday and sometimes we like to showcase in public and private concerts. Once again, something that I didn’t do before my diagnosis.
I’m always joking with my mum and sister, about me getting better. I would make rude jokes in front of them and then I would say, “You know that I’m getting better when I can give myself eye drops and make rude jokes.”. I’ve been able to give myself eye drops at least once for over 200 days in a row and slowly making being able to give it to myself 3 times a day.
Well that’s it. Once again, I just want to thank a few people. Firstly, I would like to thank my mum, dad, sister and my Naughty Mamaji, for being by my side, throughout everything. I would like to thank Louise from BTS for sharing this with the community. I would like to thank Kanika, Shirley and everyone at Carers Trust for giving me the confidence to sharing my story and I would like to thank Joe for motivating me to getting back on the horse. And I would like to thank everyone at the hospital, my family and friends and everyone who I’ve met on this journey.
Next time, I’m going to talk about what happens when you are diagnosed. Please feel free to leave a comment and if you buy something from Amazon through my blog, or click on an advert, 100% of the money that I get goes to Brain Tumour Support.
Thanks and I will see you soon.
