Easter

This Easter weekend has been lovely! Friday was spent shopping with my mum in Bedford and then decorating the Easter tree she grabbed from the side of the road! Saturday I made some cakes from a Betty Crocker set that came in my birthday hamper and this is how they turned out. We then went off to my Grandparents with dad and had a massive roast which was lovely and we have planned to see them again on Friday for Granddads Birthday

Sunday has been spent sorting out bedrooms, eating yet another roast (I can never have enough when I'm home from Uni!) and a whole lemon meringue pie. I booked my 2nd theory test after my other one ran out, I am determined to drive this year and mum paid for it as an Easter gift instead of eggs. I also started planning Lisa and I's Interrailing trip for this summer. I received a cheque in the post from a bank account I closed that I forgot I had which has given me enough funds to pay for the whole 22 day ticket. Exciting stuff!

Spring Cleaning

I'm back home from Uni for Easter now and seeing as I will be back for awhile (and bringing lots of stuff!) we decided to have a bit of a clear out.I will be moving into new accommodation in September and I have learnt my lesson from last year that 2 full cars of stuff is far too much to fit into one room! When I have lots of things going on I often find it helps to clear out the clutter around me to help my head space which is why now is a perfect time to start. A lot of people choose this time of year to sort out their house and although its still snowing outside we should all get involved in some spring cleaning!

To begin with I made a list of the rooms in the house that I wanted to clean and then divided them into different areas, for example by cupboard or draw. I then went through each area and sorted it into different sections: Bin, Charity shop, Keep and eBay. This is the most important stage and you need to be really honest with what you actually need and use. After you have cleared it out make sure you clean the area it after! Dust the cupboards, wipe down the draws and you can even add draw liners and scented bags to keep your things smelling fresh instead of musty. One of the problems for me is that I get distracted or tired but this time round I'm trying to make sure I finish one area completely before moving onto the next one!

For me the first part is usually clothes which I started to sort out back in Coventry, I like to change my wardrobe and swap clothes around which means they tend to get worn a few times and then go on ebay so I can afford to buy something else. This time I decided to be really honest with what I actually wear and cleared out the stuff that I knew I wouldn't use much again. We happened to get a charity bag in the post for Macmillan that day and filled it up right away to leave outside which is the easiest way to donate clothes to charity and you don't even need to drop it at the shop.

The most important thing when doing a spring clean is to remember why you are doing it and to reward yourself for your hard work. Happy cleaning! 

My 20th birthday!

It's been a little while since I've posted and that's because it's been my birthday! I turned 20 on Friday and this week has been all about celebrating! On Monday we went to the Varsity ice hockey match between Coventry and Warwick which was brilliant and we won! I had a few ciders and a dance with the big foam finger. It was a great night!

Wednesday we went out to the SU after a little party at ours before. I wore my Jones and Jones dress with a sash that my friend tally got me (sorry about the awful picture!). Although the dress is quite short we had a spray tan on Wednesday so I felt good in it! I managed to get a voucher so it was only £15 instead of £25. It was a really good night but I felt like death the next day and not even pulp fiction and super noodles could cure my hangover!

Friday was my actual birthday and I woke up and had my favourite breakfast of muffins with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and cream cheese which was delicious! Sadly I had to go into Uni to pitch our event idea to the first year students but we were done quickly and headed round town where I spent far too much money on a jacket, bag, pj's and some bargains from boots. So much so that when I went to Iceland they had to ring the bank to authorise my card! We then went to Leamington to get my hair cut as I had bought a Groupon voucher the week before but I will do another post on that! In the evening the girls came over for a sleepover and we ended up just chatting! At midnight we did the cake (a Colin the caterpillar!) and then it was an early night as we were all knackered from Wednesday! In the morning I made everyone breakfast and then got on the train home.

On Saturday I met mum in Milton Keynes and we drove to Bedford to do some charity shopping. I got some great bargains, all the birthday presents for my friend izzy which only came to £5.75. I got her a top, make up bag and a cocktail glass for her new house. I also got a brand new top from next which was £4.75 and a dress from warehouse which has a small hole in that I'm sure I can fix which was only £2 after I asked for a discount! We then went for lunch and I had a prawn jacket potato which is the first one I've had since being told to change my diet (despite them giving me potato a lot in hospital!) and I felt fine. We then did some more shopping and had some treatments, I got gel nails done and mum had some threading. In the evening some of the girls went over to izzys and we had a few drinks. I had some of my German 'wodka' from cologne!

On Sunday I saw my dad and we went for dinner at the Hermitage in Hitchin. It was delicious and I will write another post about that too! Overall it's been an amazing week and I feel very lucky and also exhausted!

Crohns from a Mum's Perspective

I recently asked both my parents what they thought when they were told I had Crohns, this is what my mum had to say...

Hannah and Crohn’s from a mum’s perspective

My daughter Hannah has recently been diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease.  She is 19 years of age and in her second year at Coventry University studying Event Management. 

 She is my eldest child, I also have an 18 year old son who is hoping to go to Uni next year.  Both of my children have sailed through their childhood years with only the usual minor ailments – coughs, colds etc. 

Hannah completed her first year at uni with flying colours, she was happy, healthy and very pleased to have secured a house to live in for herself and 4 friends for their second year at uni.  It was at about this time that she was getting quite bad stomach pains and was duly put on Codeine to control the pain, blood tests were taken which confirmed an inflamed bowel and a hospital appointment came through for December.  After suffering severe sickness one weekend a couple of weeks later she rang me and I advised her to go back to her GP straightaway who took more blood tests, she was now anaemic and had lost a stone in weight.  I felt helpless that she was in Coventry and I was in Bedfordshire, it’s awful to have your daughter crying on the phone to you when normally she is bright and cheerful.  Her GP advised her to attend A&E in Coventry without delay.  Hannah rang me and we took the decision for her to come home and the next day we went to A&E at our local hospital in Stevenage, the Lister, where I work as a medical secretary. 

We saw 3 doctors that day and eventually Hannah was admitted to the ward with a provisional diagnosis of Crohn’s Disease.  It was almost a relief for Hannah to have confirmed what she already suspected, having read up on Crohn’s on the internet, she was displaying the 4 main symptoms.  I had also read up on the disease but somehow I couldn’t get my head around the fact that my normally healthy daughter might actually have quite a debilitating condition. 

Hannah was admitted at 1 am in the morning having been in A&E since just after 9 am the day before, I was almost beside myself with tiredness, exhaustion and worry but Hannah remained calm and cheerful throughout it all knowing that finally she was in the right place and her treatment had started with a saline drip and steroids. 

Myself, Darren and Elliot spent most of that weekend at Hannah’s bedside (in shifts) staying with her for as long as we could.  She was having regular blood tests, intravenous drips, injections for pain relief etc.  She was also taken off her beloved Codeine and the pain was almost unbearable, Paracetamol giving some relief.  It’s not nice to see your daughter suffering in such a way.  The staff on the ward were all marvelous and the weekend passed in a blur of hospital visits, I didn’t really have time to sit down and take in all the implications. 

 Although I did not get to speak to the doctors on the ward, Hannah was kept informed of progress.  She was taken for a colonoscopy the first morning on the ward which confirmed Crohn’s.  As she is 19 she is classed as an adult and so the staff spoke directly to Hannah rather than through us.  At times it was difficult for me to hold back my emotion when you see your daughter in obvious pain.  I was just glad I was there for her to hold her hand, stroke her hair, read to her and keep her spirits up. 

I settled into a routine of popping in to see Hannah before work, at lunchtimes and then after work.  I have been working at the Lister for almost a year, I think Hannah felt comforted by the thought that I was just across the car park and it certainly made visiting so much easier.  My nephew Matt is also a porter at the Lister and he was brilliant popping in to see Hannah whenever he could and making her laugh.

Each day she was improving.  Finally after 5 days Hannah was allowed to come home and Matt wheeled her out in a wheelchair.  Armed with an array of literature and tablets Hannah was just pleased to be home and started her daily concoction of medication.  An MRI Scan and second colonoscopy were booked followed by a follow up appointment in Clinic F. 

We have all had to get used to Hannah being at home on a full time basis and it has been quite a challenge to cook food that is nutritious but which doesn’t give her a flare up.  Hannah has done a lot of research on the internet but I think it was most helpful when we met with the Speciality Nurse in the Clinic who basically went through everything with Hannah.  Dr Khan, Hannah’s consultant, also popped in to say hello and very kindly but firmly told her that she had to own the disease, they could give her the medication but the more she did to help herself and keep a positive attitude, then there was no reason why she should not resume a normal life and go back to uni in the New Year.  Deborah the nurse also gave her a card with contact details and she knows she can contact her at any time if she has a problem.  Her medication has been changed and she is having weekly blood tests. 

Hannah has started a blog, it’s something she can channel her thoughts into and hopefully give advice and help to fellow sufferers.  It seems to be creating a lot of interest and it is lovely to see Hannah with her old spark back.

It’s been a huge learning curve for us all but I am so proud of the way Hannah has dealt with it all.  Our lives will never be the same again but if anyone was going to get Crohn’s then it may as well be Hannah as she has the strength and courage to deal with it in the best way possible. 

It has been amazing the number of people I have spoken to who know of someone who has Crohn’s.  It is far more common than we had realised.  It is also genetic but we have no knowledge of anyone in the immediate family who has suffered with it.  There seems to be a an awful lot of support for the person with the Crohn’s but I, as a parent, have not been offered any support or advice.  I am learning through Hannah how to manage it but sometimes I feel quite inadequate as a mother.  It’s difficult to gauge how much I can do to help or should I simply let Hannah get on with it, after all it’s something she has got to learn to live with.  I can only use my common sense and a mother’s instinct and hope that I get it right.

Disability Living Allowance/ Disabled Students Allowances

Although I never considered Crohns to be a disability when I read through the information on the gov website it changed my opinion on what a disability could be. Before I was diagnosed with Crohns I had done some research on it and realised that was most likely what I had but I still had no idea how much it would change my life afterwards. As a student who's over the age of 19 I have to pay for my prescriptions now and when i'm taking 3 or 4 different tablets a month I know this will eventually add up and be expensive. I've heard a lot of bad things about people with Crohns trying to claim for DLA and being made to feel that they don't have anything wrong with them or that they aren't 'ill' enough. It sounds stressful and time consuming but I know it will make my life much easier knowing my prescriptions can be paid for each month. 
Disabled Students Allowance was something I came across while looking at Disability Living Allowance. Its basically the same but for students and can help people with things like dyslexia but also those with a long term health condition. Next year I have decided to move back into student halls to make life a bit simpler. Students halls will be much better as everything is included in the price which means no worrying about bills (something that I currently sort out at the house!) or other things like internet. Its also right next to my where my lectures are held which means no long walk from the house so I can easily get in and go home if I need to leave. I'll have an en suite so no sharing a bathroom with someone I don't know! These are things I didn't consider as much last year but now its important that my last year at Uni is as comfortable as possible. This accommodation is quite a lot more expensive but DSA would help me to afford it. 

There is a great guide on the NACC website about how to claim for DLA which will make it much simpler as there is so much to fill in! You can find a link here

Has anyone had any experiences of claiming for either of these? I will write an update when I hear back!