Welcome

Welcome to my page, which I hope will entertain you in some way, shape or form. I am your average 21 year old, I laugh too much, have moments of obvious immaturity and spend far too much time procrastinating. A lot of my time is spent dealing with my health, I'm in and out of hospital with severe allergic (brittle) asthma most of the time. I hope, however foolishly, that this page will provide you with an insight into what its like to live in my world, from admissions, clinic appointments and many, many days in bed.

Saturday, 26 October 2013

So it's day three of a very frustrating admission - and I am beginning to realise how much I miss being cared for by the inpatient team that know me really well! Yesterday the doctor who came around at ward round didn't listen to me when I warned them just how quickly I deteriorate at night. She also stopped my 02, without checking my sats. Funnily enough they dropped right out and I had to go back on oxygen! So when my heart rate was rather high and they decided to stop the aminophyline to let it settle they didn't listen to me then either!

Then surprise surprise I did! So at 9pm when my sats had dropped to the 80's despite me being on oxygen they restarted it again. A rather unneccecary set back really! 

So ward round this morning the doctor actually listened to what I had to say, agreed that as I was wheezy now, and it's day time we should increase the aminophyline rate so that I don't splat in the evening. Finally someone with some sense! She also decided that we should treat the pseudomona infection with oral Cipro and nebulised Tobramycin... So off she went to check that they had some in stock. But then she came back and informed me that the doctor who didn't listen to me yesterday (and hasn't been to see me today) has decided against it and wants to treat it with oral meds. 

Basically, to put it bluntly, this doctor is a complete and utter ?@!*+$ who doesn't seem to remember that it's my body, my condition and that I am the one who has the right to call the shots here! 

Okay. Rant over. 

Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Health related update!!

So, last Monday I woke up with a really bad tooth ache, and after a day of trying to get an appointment, I finally got one in Newmarket. It turns out that one of my teeth has gone all crumbly and I have an abscess. If I didn't now know other wise I wouldn't believe that a tooth could hurt so much! So the dentist, confused by my prophylactic antibiotics (Clarithromycin) and scared of contraindications between all of my other medications, prescribed me a few days of Amoxicillin, admitting that he wasn't sure they would clear it... helpful! So the day before my birthday (boo) I had to ring my GP, still in pain, and ask for something better. Que the third antibiotic in the drug roulette, Metronidazole. Meaning that I couldn't drink on my birthday :( Gutted!

Anyway my tooth is feeling better, but I now have to deal with getting it taken out next week, and I am so not looking forwards to that experience. I have explained to the dentist about all of my health issues and he is going to do his best to get it over quickly, so that i am not laying down for too long. Hes worried that it may splinter as the tooth is obviously very weak, which I don't want, as that would mean it would take longer to pull all of the bits out!

On top of all of that I've had a cold and sore throat, which has made my chest feel rather manky and generally not very happy. Typical really isn't it - if it doesn't rain, it pours! Thankfully I have managed to keep my chest at bay by upping the prednisolone and nebs and also starting antibiotics as soon as possible (Que number four, Doxycycline) which helped. Get me, being all proactive!

so today was clinic day, and I had to get up and be in Cambridge by 10am, which killed me! I've still been feeling pretty rough, so it was the most activity I've done in a good week or so, shock to the system! I was a bit worried about what they would say, because i knew my lung function would be down and i was pretty wheezy by the time i got there. as i suspected my lung function was down to 53%/55% which is pretty rubbish, my inflammation levels were up and my chest was wheezy and a bit crackly. somehow i managed to escape with antibiotic number 5, Ciprofloxacin, and instructions to admit defeat if i get worse. Yay!

I also had my Xoliar, so I am full of anti allergy goodness!

My consultant also said that he has spoken to Birmingham Heartlands, and the lead consultant has agreed to see me. Addenbrookes received a letter from him on the 2nd October saying that he would send me an appointment and asked for some more information (test results etc) so at least I know things are moving along and it shouldn't be too long until I hear from them. Fingers crossed they can do something to help!

So that's it at the moment! I cant think of much else to say.

Ohh actually! My new BM kit comes with PRETTY COLORED LANCETS! I am currently using the purple ones. Last week was blue :)

That really is everything... time to go chill because my arms are sore and I need a neb and a nap. Ohh and maybe some chocolate?!

Take care -
Kirsty.

Monday, 14 October 2013

So last Saturday was my Birthday! I was 22... Isn't it weird how time flies? one month merges into the next. the months then merge into years. Before you know it decades, have been and gone before you even got their name and number. But before I start on some long ramble about time I will let you know what happened on my birthday! 

As I was awake at midnight I opened my first present! It was from Emma and contained much evidence that she knows me too well! Suffice to say that after opening them, I right away had to use my new promarkers so I couldn't go to bed ;) here's a picture! 


Then me and my friend Stacey went to Scribbles Pottery painting studio in Newmarket. I painted a plant pot, and she painted a bunny!

Me posing with my unpainted pot!

My finished pot... Which looks like a child had painted it. Oops.


This is Stacey and her Bunny bunny bunny! 


After that we went off to spoons for some lunch (we were starvinggggg!). By then it was easily 4pm and my Ellie came to see me and brought me some lovely presents and had some cake with me and mum. 

By that point I was half asleep and really needed a nap. I was so tired that I could barely sit up and ended up asleep on the sofa. I wasn't impressed when I had to get up at 6 and get dressed for dinner. But I managed with a smile. See!


Dinner didn't initally go too well. The Chinese seamed to think that we hadn't booked and didn't have a table so we ended up at the Red Lion in a turned which was bloody gorgeous! It's really improved recently and the food I'd just so much better. I had a lonely night though, so alls well that ends well! 

I have clinic tomorrow and need to get some sleep if I'm going to get through without an admission. I shall just get up early and neb lots tomorrow before I go, so that my lungs are at least acceptable when I go for lung function. 

Anyway, I blog again soon about my appointment and the rest of my birthday! 

Buy for now,
Kirsty x


Friday, 11 October 2013

Its been ages since I last posted, but that's mainly because not a lot has happened, but at the same time - so has a lot. So in the past month, the days seem to have all merged into one long blur - a lot of which has been spent in bed!

I have managed to watch seasons 1-8 of 'Grey's Anatomy' again - in less than a month.Which kind of shows you how little I have been doing! I have also been doing a lot of crafting and have taken up journalling, it keeps me occupied and gives me something to focus on which I really appreciate :) Here are a few pictures!

This is my sock cat! I made her out of a pair of knee high welly socks, buttons, emboridery thread and lots and lots of stuffing! She wasnt too hard to make to be perfwctly honest, Its more knowing which bits to cut and sew to make the right shape. Though it is tricky trying to get the head and the tail on neatly, and in the right place - it takes some repositioning and hidden sitiching to get it looking good.


She has a long tail and and kinda sits up on her back legs, though they can be a little tempermental so she spends a lot of time just laying there. As you can see - her and Tilly are getting along well ;) I thought it was so cute when I saw her snuggled up to a giant cat shaped sock!

I have also made a cushion which was inspired to some degree by one I saw in a shop. It was twenty-odd pounds and so I decided to make my own, for no more than a few quid. I stuffed it and gave it to my nan for her birthday earlier this month, I think she liked it - I took a picture first so that I don't forget what it looks like. I am planning on making another one soon for a friend, just waiting for some felt to arrive, hers is going to be done in brights, so purples, red, yellows etc...


All of the fine detailing is done in embroidery thread, the main blocks of colour are done in felt and I have used buttons for some of the flowers. It could have been a little neater, but for the first attempt it was good enough!

I've been art journaling too! Thanks to the joys of pro-markers and stamping they have been coming out rather well and I have been getting some nice results. If i'm honest I have been just experimenting and seeing what I can do with different bits and pieces. Here are some examples...





Aside from the obvious sheer number of craft projects running simultaniously, I have also started my OU courses this month and I am really enjoying them. I have been getting a plan going each week saying what I will try to get done, most of the time I have stuck to it, but I have had a fair few days where I haven't felt up to it - but i've managed to catch up. I was sitting there reading one day, and having a neb when I realised how ironic this was...!



Nebbing and reading about COPD was rather amusing! I must be a bit of a weirdo, but it did make me giggle...! 

So far my course has been really good and I am enjoying having a purpose again. This is my time now. It's my chance to to get what I want out of my life, and I will do it, I won't let anything stand in my way...

I know that some of you like to know how my ole bagpipes are doing! Things have been rather up and down over the past month and I am in a bit of a rubbish lung phase at the moment... I have been feeling very unwell for the past five days or so, I've had a bit of a cold and naturally my lungs don't like that. I've had a fair few moments when it looked like I would have to admit defeat and head to hospital. But it's my birthday (...which is today!) weekend and I wasn't going to spend that in hospital! So I've been pushing myself to keep going.

I have managed to keep myself going with plenty of prednisolone and increased antibiotics... I normally take clarithromycin  in a modified release tablet so that I don't get too many chest infections, but I added doxycycline too the minute I felt it going to my chest! I'm also on split dose prednisolone 30mg twice a day and nebs every 2/3 hours. I still feel grotty but in the end I'm here and able to enjoy my birthday, and that's all I can ask for! 

I also managed to get an abscess and crumbly tooth.... So I am in pain. I don't do things by halves do I ?! So on top of all of the increased asthma stuff I am on amoxicillin, metronidazole and other pain meds. Here's to hoping it helps! 

Anyway, it's my bed time now - I need to sleep and ready for my birthday fun! Ill post tomorrow before bed and update! 

Thursday, 12 September 2013

My blogs are like busses! Nothing for a while then two at once! Emma has just got on the train home and I am on the bus, so I thought I would update you on what has happened during her visit!

For those of you who don't know, Emma is my fellow wheezy friend who I met on an Asthma UK weekend in Birmingham. We meet up occasionally and she comes to stay at mine - which normally ends up in some rather funny moments being had and lots of tea and biscuits being consumed! 

I met her from the bus on Monday evening and we went to sainsburys to get some drinks and nibbles. Que lots of junk food and fizzy drink (we are so mature)... Then we went back to mine and had dinner before watching some Greys Anatomy (she is a fellow addict) and preparing some pretty awesome ice cream... 


My gosh it was goooooddddd! 

By the time we had finally stopped nattering and Emma had eaten a WHOLE PACKET of choccy hobnobs it was gone midnight and definitely time for some sleep. 

We didn't have anything major planned for Tuesday so we had a lay in and went into town around midday. We went and did the usual weekly drugs run and had lunch in town, twas very yummy! Then Emma acted like a child in the supermarket and decided to climb on the back of the trolly... She got a few weird looks. But then she is unique in many ways! (Love ya really Emma!)

Once we had arrived home and packed away it was craft time! Emma decided to use some of my extensive supplies to create a scrapbook of her life and her bucket list. She did a couple of pages which looked really good - but I didn't tell her that, after all her head is big enough as it is... Then it was time to cook, eat and watch some crap on tv before bed. 

That brings us to today... For a while I have been worried about how things don't seam to be getting any better with my asthma. Im still on pred, and needing regular extra doses about once a month to keep me out of hospital or to fix me up a bit more whilst I am in! I've always been rather intimidated by my consultant - he is rather stern so I get a tad nervous at clinic. This month I took Emma with me for morale support and she was super! 

I told him about how I feel we have come to a standstill, and that things are not getting any better, despite being on everything which he uses. He was under the opinion that there was nothing at all which may help out there, and said that things such as s/c terbutaline and steroid sparing agents don't work. Which means I had reached the point where it was time to accept that I need to stay on pred, because its the only thing out there that will keep my asthma under some sort of control. But that we should keep pushing it to see if we can lower the dose of pred because it is doing so much damage to my body. 

However, every time we have tried to lower the dose (at least three times) I end up in hospital and on an even higher dose than before. Making it a pretty pointless exercise! I could learn to accept that I will always require some sort of  maintenance steroid, if I knew that we had tried everything else. But we haven't, and in my opinion the other treatments must have some value if they are actually used by other centres. To me, even a 10% chance of success is better than a 0% chance, and a future of pred and all it's side effects. So after me voicing my opinion he suggested a referral to a tertiary care centre, like heartlands hospital, which has a severe and brittle asthma unit. Which, if I am honest is what I wanted - but I wanted him to suggest it, not me, so that I might have some chance of shared care! 

So basically I am now awaiting a referral to heartlands and keeping my fingers crossed that they will be able to help. If they can't, I'm going to have to start making some decisions about what I want to do from there.

So, after that we buggered off to nandos and had some piri piri goodness! We were both starving and thirsty so it was like we had reached some sort of Mecca! Emma was a wimp and had piri-tamer on her chicken - no spice involved! I went for hot with some extra hot sauce on the side. Cause I am tough and that is how I roll. Haha! Once we had munched our way through that we headed off to costa and chilled there for a bit before Emma's train was due. Whilst we were there Emma was put behind bars, right where she should be! 


Her crime? She forgot my cake order and  made me share a piece of tiffin and some window cake with her. Never forget a roid raged chipmunks cake order!! 

After that it was time to say good bye. I always hate that bit of a visit, but we have plans to meet again in November and December so it's not so bad! She is starting to become a bit of an addition to the household, I made her make her own drinks and breakfast! 

Anyway. That's pretty much it, there hasn't been anything worth reporting since then. I've just had a lazy day and done as little as possible... I am going to sign off now, but will update soon, as its invisible illness week this week so I feel like I need to mark it somehow!

Nighty night -
Kirsty x




Sunday, 8 September 2013

So, now I've got my head bit more together I shall update you all on what has been going on in my not-so-exciting life! Though this is currently proving rather difficult as I have a memory like Swiss cheese and can't quite recall what's been going on! Is it sad that I am actually running through the days in my head and trying to remember what I did?! Anyway, however sad it is, it has yielded some results as I have something to write now. Amazing I know.

Thursday 29th August...
Woke up feeling pretty damn awful, in pain and wheezy, so I had to cancel the appointment I had at addenbrookes. Thankfully they were great about rearranging and I have got another appointment booked already for next week. I spent the day at home chilling and not doing anything much, by early afternoon I was feeling a bit better so I saw my friend Stacey for a bit.

Saturday 31st August 
I spent a lot of time working on my camp blanket on Sunday, and managed to get most of the badges sewn on, and then I glued the rest down. I glue them and sew around afterwards, as it holds them down... Here's a picture of my blanket!


There was also an incident with my lovely cat, Tilly. She attacked my foot and ran off. So I sprayed her with a water gun. Then we made up and became friends again! But, as I climbed into bed I accidentally kicked her in the face. I felt so mean!!! Que me standing at the top of the stairs, calling down to her and throwing dreamies in an attempt to tempt  her back!

Tuesday 3rd September 
Sienna's 7th Birthday was on this day... It was crazy to think she is such a grown up little girl, when I can actually remember her being born and visiting them both in the hospital. I went over to drop off her prezzie and she also had Isla there, who was attempting to walk! She looked so cute... 


I also received my mailing from the OU of all the course materials for one of the two modules I am starting this October. Having now had a look though I am very much looking forwards to getting going... This is mailing one of two!


 Shouldn't be long until I get the last one now, then I will be all sorted and ready to get going.

Thursday 5th - Saturday 7th September -
My friend was going away for a night, some sort of family do, so I went to Ellie's in evening and stayed there whilst she was away to look after her animals and keep them company. She lives in a village, which is rather small and doesn't have much in the way of public transport so entertainment isn't readily to hand! Thankfully she has one heck of a stash of craft supplies so I went nuts in there and got busy playing with stamps, a big shot and promarkers... Amongst a few other things!

As you can see I managed to cover myself in stamping ink...
  I also made some Ellie owls for her craft room door :) 


Sunday 8th September 
Ellie had arrived home on the evening of the Saturday and so we decided to go to a craft fayre which she had read about. It was really good, lots of things I would have loved to buy, but not enough money! I did get a few good bargains though and lots of ideas for things to try out. My plan to only take cash definitely saved my card from getting a good bash in! 


Anyway! That leads us to now, and after Emma, who has been here a couple of nights, has gone home I will fill you in further... Ill be able to tell you all about her visit and my clinic appointment today. 

Nighty night,
Kirsty xx 

Wednesday, 4 September 2013

Sad news, a quick update.

Hey all,

A fair few things have happened, one of which is something that I can't believe I am having to tell you. 

A girl I know, a friend, who also suffered from very severe asthma, has passed away having had an attack. She really was a lovely person and I wish I had taken the time to know her better. She was really helpful when I needed advice regarding treatment options and she really took the time to chat and share her experiences. I'm not going to sit here and pretend that I was her best friend and knew everything about her, because I didn't, but the death of anyone from an illness which is close to home is always hard. 

What I do know is that she was as kind and caring towards others after her death as she was during her life, donating her organs and saving the lives of so many people. The world is truly poorer for the loss of her and I am deeply saddened by her death. My love, prayers and thoughts go out to her friends and family as they come to terms with their loss and their futures without her. But I hope they find some comfort in the fact that her death, however tragic, brought life to so many others.

Sleep well Dawn, fly high and breathe easily, knowing that you are a beautiful person inside and out. Thank you for allowing me to have the pleasure of knowing you.

I can't think of anything else to say now. Everything just seems to pale in comparison, and anything I have to say feels tiny. So I am going to sign off here, and update again when my news, and what's been going on in my life, feels like it's regained some significance.

All my love,
Kirsty xx

Wednesday, 28 August 2013

Guide camp, Moot V

Hey All,

I survived camp!! Last Thursday I went off to guide camp with a group of 6 girls and two other leaders. It was the first time I had planned a camping trip and actually been made responsible for a group of girls - so I was a bit worried that I would end up killing one of them! Thankfully it went really well, I didn't kill anyone and and they all enjoyed themselves.

The camp was a joint scout and guide camp called MOOT - which is ran every four years, there have been five of them in total, and I have been to four of them. It's one of the big camps in my diary and I can see myself looking forwards to taking another group of girls away to the next one. 

My guides were so, so well behaved and I was so proud of them all. Everyone of them came out of themselves, tried something new or learnt something at some point. The best bit had to be seeing the quietest girl becoming more confident and chatting away to me. I was also so proud of how one of the young girls, who is diabetic, began to look after herself. At the start of the weekend I was having to remind her to test her sugars at appropriate times, by the end of the weekend she was doing it all herself. It got to the point where all I had to do was ask for 'a number' and she gave me a reading! 

So yes, all in all - I am one happy, happy leader! 

I was also rather worried about how my health would fair during the weekend, as historically me and camping don't always go too well. However, I made a point of increasing my medications for the weekend, in the hope of stopping a problem before it started and it did work. Thankfully it stopped me going epically splat! I did have a couple of days of shocking lung function and low oxygen levels, but it wasn't so much so that I couldn't cope and it was most certainly due to the increase in meds that I did. Though I did get bitten to death.

I have been rather busy sorting out paper work, catching up on sleep and getting ready for the crash which comes from having to drop my meds back down - but it will all have been worth it! 

Before I went away I eventually got around to taking my iLiveiGive t-shirt photo, and my organ donor card one. They are rather silly, but here they are :) 




I also have an appointment tomorrow with the breathlessness people, it's either going to be a complete waste of bus fair or worth every minute. Who knows eh? 

Anyway, I'm gonna go now. I am knackered, need to sleep and must put some bite cream on before I scratch my legs to shreds. So, so, so itchy! 

Much love,
Kirsty x

Saturday, 17 August 2013

A not-so-quick update!

Hey all,

Sorry it's been a while since my last post, It's been a funny sort of month and I completely forgot to update.

So, it was my mums birthday on Monday and as far as I'm aware she had a lovely day! I did a little birthday lunch for her, so we had sandwiches and birthday cake whilst she opened her prezzies. She had lots of cards from people and tonnes of flowers! I got her chocolate, flowers, wine and a watch for work. I also payed for her to go to London with a friend for three nights, in a very nice hotel, she is there at the moment (Saturday) but she is due home tomorrow. From what it sounds like she has had a lovely time, and really enjoyed herself, so I am very pleased! 

I've had a busy week so far and full of what felt like very long and busy days, so I am knackered. I'm trying my hardest to stay awake and type this - but I can feel my eyes dropping!

Monday was Diabetes clinic, (I have iatrogenic diabetes) but there isn't anything much to report. My HbA1c was only 5.9% which is excellent - it means that I am very good at controlling my blood sugars and adjusting my insulin doses. Get in there! I have been wondering about switching from multiple daily injections of insulin to pump therapy, which would save me having to inject 5 times a day - or more. Unfortunately because I'm not a type 1 the NICE guidelines don't cover me, and because my control is so good they cant make an exception and approve me for one. Its a bugger, but I just cant afford the cost of doing it all privatly so I will have to just get on with what I have been doing. I am going to be put on a course called DAFNE which stands for 'Dose adjustment for normal eating' and is designed to give me a more structured way of managing my diabetes - its either going to be really interesting or really boring! I am a tad worried because it is going to be a week long course and I don't know if I will have the energy to cope with that five days in a row. But fingers crossed it will be okay.

Wednesday was Asthma Clinic, which was eventful as always! I arrived on time and ready to get going - but having walked past smokers corner, and then being subjected to lung function I was a bit worse for wear. I ended up rather wheezy and managed to need more than couple of neb's before I didn't sound like a set of out of tune bagpipes! After all of that my lung function was up slightly at around 50/60% so I was very happy with those numbers, and my inflammation levels are down slightly! Unfortunately they are still not 100% sure if the Xolair is working properly, so I have been booked in for a review and they are going to decide if it is worth continuing, or if it would be good to have a trial period off of it. I don't know how I feel about that. I don't want to be on a drug that isn't working - there is no point in pumping myself full of more drugs if they are not helping. But at the same time I am worried that if I come off of it and it has been working on some level then I will take a massive step back. I dont want to end up in hospital every month or so like before. But who knows? I will just have to take it as it comes and see what happens. It just feels weird that if we stop this, there's not anything else that Addenbrookes can do for me, it was their last attempt to help me.

After my appointment I went to visit one of my friends who is on N3 at the moment - she is really struggling with her bagpipes. It was great to see her, we had a good natter, and a giggle which I hope cheered her up. In true Kirsty style I took her a balloon, card, chocolate and a little personalized plaque which had been made and sold in the concourse - it was great to see her smile at her little gifts. I am hoping that she will be home soon and back with her family and pooch, but if shes still there next Monday/Tuesday and wants a visit then I will definitely pop in and see her again - maybe cupcakes will be the gift of choice next time?!

Thursday was a nice long day in bed! Lazy I know but I was very worn out after the start of the week so I needed to chill... In the afternoon I went and picked up my niece Aj from her house and she stayed the night at mine, we watched a film and just generally chilled out. It was lovely. The next day we went to Cambridge on the bus, bimbled around the shops, had lunch, and went to the build a bear workshop. We both made a bear together and had a great time doing it. We went all out - choosing the smells to go in them, fluffing them up and dressing them, naming them and paying. Aj was wearing her converse which she had decorated herself, all the staff loved them and were very jealous of her! On the way home we took some silly pictures on the bus with our bears... Alieshas bear was all pink and fluffy with hearts on its ears, a Rapunzel dress and pink sun glasses. Mine was an asthma friendly, short fur teddy in traditional blue PJ's and old fashioned glasses!

Then we went home, had some dinner and made a start on her 'Holiday Scrapbook' which she has to do for school as homework. She made a really good job of it and we both spent hours cutting bits out and putting it all together. When we woke up this morning we carried on doing it and managed to get lots of pages finished. Her mum loved it, and apparently there is a prize for the best book. If she doesn't win I will be outraged!

So now its Saturday night and after taking Aj home I spent most of the afternoon doing bugger all. I needed it though after my busy week! I even put a few loads of washing on and dried it all, so that when my mum comes home tomorrow she is not greeted by loads of dirty laundry. I am really looking forwards to seeing her - I cant wait to have a big hug and hear all about what she has been up too :)

Anyway - its time to say goodnight, I need to wind down now and get some sleep, otherwise it will hit 4am and I will still be wide awake and massively overtired!

Till next time,
Kirsty.

PS. I haven't forgotten about the 30 day challenge. I just need to make something to post about... maybe the whole cupcake gift thing will kill two birds with one stone?!

Tuesday, 23 July 2013

The 30 Day Challenge, Day 2 - Favorite Animal.

Hi World,

So before I go into the next days challenge I just thought I would give you all a short summary of the meeting I went to yesterday about age appropriate care for young adults. Basically I told them a few of the issues that both myself and a lot of other young people across the country face when regularly admitted into adult wards. I discussed the environment which we are in, and how we are often with people up to four times our age, which isn't really too nice! I also discussed the lack of emotional support, how young people can see a patient die in the bed opposite them, and then be expected to carry on like it has not happened. There was also the issue that many young people are often in education or work and worry about the effect that being ill has on their progress, so we discussed some sort of system where young adults could be supported to ensure that they were not falling behind. We discussed overall some sort of role where a person would be responsible for visiting every young adult admitted and ensuring that they were advocated for, offered support to continue their education and given opportunities to borrow age appropriate books or DVDs/DVD players so that they do not get quite so bored! Obviously we were just chatting but it sounded like something they thought was worth looking into and I am really excited about getting involved in this role.

So, day 2 is favourite animal and its safe to say that I am a batty cat lady. I love my cat Tilly and cant imagine what my days would be like without her there to keep me company. I know everyone probably says this about their animals, but Tilly's not a normal cat, she is amazing in so many ways. If I am having a bad day, she knows - she sits on the end of my bed all day keeping me company. If I am in hospital, she wanders around the house looking for me. At night time, when I go and get a drink, she follows me downstairs, then she follows me back upstairs like my little shadow. If I'm crying she always seams to know she should come and poke at me with her paw until shes distracted me from my crying.

Tilly is also the biggest wimp in the world. She is petrified of just about every other cat around and runs a mile if she sees one. We attempted to get another cat once, but Tilly spent two weeks hiding under mums bed hissing at anyone and anything which came near her, so we decided it was fairest to re-home the cat to one of our friends and let Tilly be by herself! She is in no way any sort of home security system! She runs away if anyone new enters the house and is scared of just abut every noise going. I call her bull-dog sometimes, mainly because she is the complete opposite of one!

In the past, I've been given a lot of stick for having a cat, because I am mildly allergic to them. However, when I moved out of home, my asthma didn't improve and when I moved back it didn't get any worse so its obviously not that much of an issue. There is also the emotional support that having a animal can give, look at the whole idea of pets as therapy - its been proven that animals help keep people in good spirits and cheer them up if they are not. I think that if Tilly went, I would be worse off in so many ways, because shes my therapy!

So here is a picture of my Tilly!



So that's my favourite animal, day three is favourite food, which I really need to have a think about. I might have to make something and take a picture of it for you!

Night all!
Kirsty x