Month: October 2017

Kinda Mindfulness Monday Quotes – Halloween

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Quotes7 Comments

DSC_0117

“He gathered the boy somewhat close
and thought,
Evil has only the power we give it.
I give you nothing.
I take back.
Starve.
Starve.
Starve.”

~ Ray Bradbury – Something Wicked This Way Comes

 

“If a man harbors any sort of fear,
it makes him landlord to a ghost.”

~ Lloyd Douglas

 

“Nature is a haunted house –
but Art –
is a house that tries to be haunted.”

~ Emily Dickinson

 

*photo of pumpkin and grasshopper by W. Holcombe.  please do not use without permission.

Mindfulness Monday – Pooh

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness2 Comments

 

Pooh and Piglet with dragon fly 2

Today’s quotes are brought to you by Winnie the Pooh and A.A. Milne

 

“What day is it?” asked Pooh.
“It’s today.” squeaked Piglet.
“My favorite day.” said Pooh.

 

Piglet – “How do you spell love?”
Pooh – “You don’t spell it, you feel it.”

 

“Rivers know this: there is no hurry.
We shall get there someday”

 

*Drawing of Pooh and Piglet with dragonfly is by W. Holcombe.

 

 

I’m number 44!

On By WendyIn Blog Statistics, Chronic Illness10 Comments

award

I received a message from Feedbot, that they named Picnic with Ants one of the top 100 chronic illness blogs.

You can see all of the blogs and websites who are honored to be listed in the top 100 here. 

This is the introduction from Feedbot explaining their ranking criteria:

“Chronic Illness Blogs List

A chronic illness is a human health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term chronicis often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three months.

These are the Best Chronic Illness blogs from thousands of top Chronic Illness blogs in our index using search and social metrics. Data will be refreshed once a week.

These blogs are ranked based on following criteria

  • Google reputation and Google search ranking
  • Influence and popularity on Facebook, twitter and other social media sites
  • Quality and consistency of posts.
  • Feedspot’s editorial team and expert review”

 

There are some great blogs listed, so be sure to check the 100 Best Chronic Illness Blogs according to Feedbot.

Mindfulness Monday – Joy

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness5 Comments

pumpkin blossom big

“Learning to live in the present moment
is part of the path of joy.”

~ Sarah Ben Breathnach

 

“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile,
but sometimes you smile can be
the source of your joy.”

~ Thich Nhat Hahn

 

“Ultimately our greatest joy
is when we seek to do good for
others.”

~ Desmond Tutu

 

 

*photo of pumpkin blossom taken by W. Holcombe.  all rights reserved

Mindfulness Monday – Buddha on Love

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Mindfulness3 Comments

ivy with flower2

”Radiate boundless love towards the entire world.”

~ Buddha

 

“Just as a mother would protect her only child with her life,
even so let one cultivate a boundless love towards all beings.”

~ Buddha

 

 

  • Remember to Love everyone always.  Know, you are Loved.  (photo taken by W. Holcombe)

Thank you ever so much!

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness, Gratitude11 Comments

thankyou

I am so touched by the support and compassion I have received after posting about how ill I’ve been feeling recently.  Your comments truly helped my mental health.  I feel so loved.

I’m happy to say I am feeling better.  I just took my last steroid.  (If I can help it, it will be my last steroid EVER!)  I’m still having some side effects, but the worst seems to have passed.  The steroids not only affected me physically, they affected me mentally.  A few days ago, I was convinced I was going to die.  Phew, thank goodness that’s gone now!

My back is a bit better too.  It’s still tight, but I’m having much fewer spasms.  I even started some of my physical therapy exercises today.  Crossing fingers all of this will get my back better.

I’m very excited that I’ve been able to knit!  (I do loom knitting)  It’s just that I have projects I really want to finish before Christmas.  🙂  Heck, I’m making a scarf for me, I’d really like to have before it gets cold.  hahaha

Again, thank you all for you love and support.  I am forever grateful.

Distraught…well, not that bad.

On By WendyIn Chronic Illness24 Comments

I’m sorry.  I haven’t been paying attention to my blog and I haven’t been supporting others.  I’m sure you all think I’ve dropped off the earth….maybe not, maybe it’s just me.

I mentioned in a previous post that I hurt my back.  Um, kinda.  I started having back spasms as side effects to a medication back in May, then the med was changed and I was put on another that caused akathisia (the need to move – like restless leg all over), this caused my muscles to tighten even more.  I saw my GP about it and she gave me muscle relaxants.  It didn’t get better.  I was sent to PT.  It didn’t get better.  I was put in steroids, they seemed to help some.  I was sent to a specialist, he gave me lidocaine injections in my back.  I was much worse the next day.  After a couple of days of that, I was once again put on steroids.  This time I think I’m having every negative side effect you can have from a short dose of steroids.

These side effects are hell.  (they are getting better)  My moods, oh my goodness.  I’m so sad, I am crying all the time.  I’m scared, I keep having feelings of intense fear wash over me.  Two nights ago, I was convinced I was dying.  I’ve been having slow moving vertigo, I barely see it moving, but I feel like I’m moving, and I can’t walk without help.  My head has been killing me.  Extreme nausea has plagued me.  I can’t sleep.  and I’ve had 2 seizures.  Oh, let’s just say, I’m going through a rough time.  But don’t worry, it’s getting better.  I know my mood swings are from the steroids, but it’s hard to deal with.  Poor hubby.

Speaking of hubby, he has worked from home the past 3 days.  He hasn’t wanted to leave my side.  I’m so very grateful to have such a supportive and caring spouse.  He makes me want to be a better person.

After all of this, my back still hurts.  I still have 2 days of steroids left, and I have exercises to do, hopefully that will get me on the road to recovery.  To be clear, according to x-rays I have no damage to my bones, it’s all muscular.  The muscles simply will not relax and they spasm often.  I have not had an MRI.  I cannot have an MRI because of my cochlear implants.  If they need more imaging it will have to be a CT scan.  We’ll cross that bridge if it comes.

Forgive me this post of self pity.  I will try to post more often, and get out there and support others too.  I miss you.