Happy Christmas!

The Cavehill

Happy Christmas to everyone! A picture of the Cavehill in Belfast which I took this morning, whilst out for a walk, which is a constant reminder to me and my muscles and to the fact that I have McArdle’s disease, as I live on the lower residential slopes, one way or another I can’t avoid walking up or down the slopes of the Cavehill.

I’m working tomorrow, Christmas day! as life goes on for all those that have the misfortune of being ill over the holidays and are unable to go home from hospital.

A Happy Christmas to everyone and a Blessed New Year to all.

One Solitary Life

He was born in an obscure village
The child of a peasant woman
He grew up in another obscure village
Where he worked in a carpenter shop
Until he was thirty

He never wrote a book
He never held an office
He never went to college
He never visited a big city
He never travelled more than two hundred miles
From the place where he was born
He did none of the things
Usually associated with greatness
He had no credentials but himself

He was only thirty three
His friends ran away
One of them denied him
He was turned over to his enemies
And went through the mockery of a trial
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves
While dying, his executioners gambled for his clothing
The only property he had on earth

When he was dead
He was laid in a borrowed grave
Through the pity of a friend

Nineteen centuries have come and gone
And today Jesus is the central figure of the human race
And the leader of mankind’s progress
All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life

No cause for concern

Who's recoverying, not me.

The routine at work has been very busy of late not so much with the humdrum work but with doing furniture removals, which normally would be a problem, but I have been outshining those that I have been working with.
Yesterday we had to shift a lot of desk, metal framed with block board joinery which weigh a ton weight, we had to shift them from one office manoeuvring out through two doorways down a corridor and into another office which can be a stress on the muscles after the initial tightness in my muscle wore of I was OK, but the fellow who was working with me was a beaten docket he was washed out, and he actually slept in this morning blaming it on the all the anaerobic activity yesterday. H e looked more like somebody who had something wrong with them rather than me.
Then today we had to move seven beds with bedside lockers and bedside table from one ward in the main hospital to one of the out laying wards about half a mile away, we all started at the same time but had shift my two beds about twenty minutes ahead of the rest of my colleagues I wondered what was keeping them I was nearly sending out a search party for them because I thought that they had got lost.
The only reason that I can put this down to is my diet, and my supplement regime, breakfast has been two rounds of toast and a banana and apple and a cup of tea milk no sugar, lunch has been toast and cottage cheese and pineapple sandwich a cup of tea and an apple for afters, last night I had spuds peas and sweet corn and a rib eye steak and the night before I had spuds, broad beans and a chicken olive, and daily at present I’m taking a iron+c tablet, a B6 tablet, and a folic acid tablet along with a B12 tablet and I can say that things have been generally very good no muscle spasms or myoglobinuria which I’ve suffered in the past when I’ve had to shift furniture, and I haven’t needed recovery time unlike the colleagues I’ve been working with who have needed to rest after all the moving.
Things have been good which I’m quite pleased with and am surprised because I was dreading shift the furniture which is always causes me anxiety.

Photography

At the Ulster Museum

It’s been an uneventful week as far as my McArdle’s disease this week; to put it differently it’s been a good week.Last week I started taking photographs again after a lull of about fifteen years; at one time I was a serious amateur photographer with my own darkroom.
It all started a few weeks ago when I gave all my photographic equipment away to my niece who is studying photography at university in England, it was all manual equipment which she needs to learn the theory and mechanics of taking photographers, I no longer had any use for it and gave it to her before my wife gave it away at a car boot sale.
Though I had a digital camera it only came out at Christmas time which seemed a waste, so I decided to go and take a few photo’s around Belfast, and have been smitten with the digital photography bug, it’s so much more interesting than the 35mm photography which I was involved in, as you have the world at your fingertips and can display your photo’s instantly to the world through the web.
I started to display my photos on Flickr and have found it so satisfying, no more having to wait for your film to be developed and printed.
I’m getting out and about now as before I had got comfortable in my everyday routine, getting out and about means getting more exercise which can’t be a bad thing.
I’m looking forward to my days off from work now with some purpose, as I had got set in my ways not doing much outside of work and the family, though in saying that, my mother has been ill for a few years before she passed away, and I was involved in visiting her every day except for when I was on the late shift, I now have more time on my hands.
I went to a, Children in Need advent at Broadcasting House in Belfast, and took a few photos, and then I was up at Belfast Castle on the Cave Hill, and then I went to the continental market in the grounds of Belfast’s City Hall.
I’m looking forward to when I can get out again to take some more photographs.

Coming and goings!

Belfast Castle

My bad back went as quick as it came, it gradually wore off that I didn’t realise that it had gone probably because I had got used to the pain and the stiffness, unlike when it started. But the relief of not having the pain and the stiffness is wonderful.

Thinks at work are good at the minute regarding my McArdle’s disease, the suffering has eased considering that I have been involved in a lot of anaerobic activity, shifting furniture from one place to another as there is a lot of moving going on within the hospital site due to the removal of acute surgical services from the hospital site.

I was offered the flu jab and the swine flu jab but I declined both, in the meantime I’ll just stick to the chicken soup that has stood me in good stead over the years, the last time i took the flu jab my muscles give me nothing but trouble with pain and stiffness that was about five years ago, personally I think that I am better off without the flu jab considering that those that I know who have taken it seem to end up worse off than me.

This morning I decided to go up the Cave Hill to Belfast Castle to take some photos, and walking up the hill didn’t cause me to much bother, and I took a few pictures around the Castle grounds.

Christmas is fast approaching and when I was in town yesterday I went into the continental market in the grounds of Belfast City Hall, I got out as quick as I went in because the crowds were too much for me to handle, ducking and diving and weaving it was doing my head in, so I just got out the pace in the crowds was to hectic for me, I’d rather have a more relaxing time than the hassle of fighting your way through the throng of Christmas shoppers. I like life at a quieter pace.

I’m off work for a few days taking it easy as I had too many holidays lying and had to use some of them up, I’ll be working on the late shift on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, and then I’ll be off again for a fortnight into the New Year.

Nothing else happening at the moment.

Bad back

Back pain

After being off work on compassionate leave last week, it was a physically undemanding week, but emotionally and mentally it was an exhausting week i was totally drained.
On Monday morning I awoke with a bad back, during the night I must have twisted my back because I awoke with what seemed to be a pulled muscle: I was in complete agony and had to roll out of bed rather than get up in my normal fashion, and on Tuesday I was starting back to work which I now dreaded, at that point I was seriously thinking about phoning in sick.
I keep a box of Co-Dydramol for emergencies such as this, and also had some diazepam, I took Co-Dydramol throughout the day as recommended and at bedtime I took a diazepam tablet hoping that things would get easier. When I arose on Tuesday morning I was still in agony but it wasn’t as bad as it had been on Monday morning, I struggled to get washed and dressed and somehow I got to work.
In work things were difficult: I was walking about in pain and it felt like I was bent over because I couldn’t straighten up properly I don’t know what I looked to the rest of the staff but no comments were made. I think I made the right decision in going to work as I definitely felt better moving about and worse after moving about from resting.
It is now Friday and things are not yet a hundred percent but getting there, it has been more exhausting physically putting the effort in going to work but I am feeling better for doing so, I’m still taking the Co-Dydramol which is helping me get through the day by numbing the pain but the stiffness is gradually wearing off, though at times I have to stop what I’m doing and take a breather to recover. I must have looked a strange sight at times.
During the past few days I actually felt better pushing patients in wheelchairs as I had something to hold unto, but am glad I didn’t get any beds to push or any heavy lifting to do because I probably would have ended up in A&E.
It’s my day off and I have been into Belfast City Centre this morning without much distress just a feeling in my back reminding me that I have a problem, the pain and stiffness has nearly subsided. It must be over ten years since I suffered a back problem like the one that I’ve suffered this past week, thankfully these problems are far and few between.

An exhausting week

Sinclair Seamen's Presbyterian Church

Hello everyone, it has been one exhausting week, I won’t say a long week, because it has been no longer than any other week.
Last Sunday I was summoned from work by my wife as she was with my seriously ill mother and other members of my family: because my mother was dying and the family had been informed by the hospital staff that death was imminent.
As things happened my mother hung onto life until 18:15 on the 3rd of November, I had left the hospital at around 17:30 to make my way home and was sitting at a bus stop at Belfast City Hall when my sister phoned me, informing me that my mother had passed away in the company of my wife and daughter, sister and nieces, who’s company my mother cherished.
My mother had been suffering from undiagnosed diabetes from which she went blind in one eye and had suffered from chronic and acute kidney failure over the past seven years, and had also suffered from a few strokes as well which had made her immobile.
Very fortunately my McArdle’s Disease didn’t give me much bother, probably because my body was charged with adrenaline, normally in stressful situations I would suffer from intolerable muscle tension which would make me stiff as a board meaning that I have to rest or even take some muscle relaxants to get me over the crisis but this time I survived the stress and will be going back to work on Tuesday after my compassionate leave is up.
While I have been off from work I received a hospital appointment for the ophthalmology department at the Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, to have my eyes checked out as I suffer from retinitis pigmentosa, the eye specialist has informed me that there could be a link between McArdle’s disease and my eye trouble but the jury is still out because there is not enough case history to give a verdict on the matter.
Hopefully when I go back to work on Tuesday that I won’t suffer any muscle problems, but envisage that I will have to work off some muscular tightness in my leg muscles which is par for the course after being off work for a while I will have been on leave for just over a week, time will tell.

My mother

My wife and mother

My Mother passed away on Tuesday from chronic and acute kidney failure the funeral is tomorrow morning.

CORR, MARGARET (GRETA) - Died November 3, 2009, peacefully, at hospital, dearly-loved wife of William (Billy), loving mother of William, Elizabeth and Mary. Funeral Service will be held tomorrow (Friday) November 6th 2009 at 10.30 a.m. in Sinclair Seamens Presbyterian Church, Belfast followed by interment to Carnmoney East Cemetery. Family flowers only please. Donations in lieu to Macmillan Nurses, c/o Melville & Co. Funeral Directors, 195 York Road, Belfast, BT15 3HB. Very deeply regretted by the entire family circle. In Heavenly love abiding.

Tart cherry juice and muscle pain

Tart Cherry

Things haven’t been too bad of late. My work load has been somewhat reduced due to the rundown of the hospital where I work. Because of this things are going at a much gentler pace at the moment meaning that my muscles are not suffering the way they have  done when things have been hectic in the past.

Tomorrow I’m off for an eye test at Specsavers due to a metabolic change in my eyes, for which I attend the eye clinic in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, so that they can keep an eye on them in case there may be deterioration in them. The doctor checked to see if there was any relationship between my eye problem and McArdle’s disease, but he could only find one other recorded case so he has an open verdict at present about the two being related – Retinitis pigmentosa – though it is in a stagnant stage with no change at present. I go to the hospital once a year to have my eyes photographed.

Today whilst I was reading the Daily Express I came across a very interesting article about muscle pain in exercise and tart cherry juice which seems to reduce the pain, the article can be read HERE

McArdles disease articles !

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