There are many definitions of wrong. These include:
a) not in accordance with what is morally right or good
b) deviating from truth or fact; erroneous
c) not correct in judgement, opinion, method, etc
d) not proper or usual; not in accordance with requirements or recommended practice
e) out of order; awry; amiss
Many people make false judgements based on appearance, colour of skin, race, gender and so on. Below is a picture of me on a night out:
Looking at the picture you might assume that I am healthy, that there is nothing wrong at all in my life. However, this would be wrong…
This was taken on a rare night out; usually I am too unwell to go out in the evening; instead putting on a pair or pyjamas and watching television cocooned in my snuggie. Often my legs are far too weak to be able to enjoy a good night out, too dizzy and sick to sit in a restaurant with lots of stimulation surrounding me.
This is also a problem with the disability benefits assessments; too many false judgements are made; on one occasion where I had failed a medical, the report commented on how I looked well, dressed smartly. So, does that mean that just because I suffer from a chronic illness and am disabled that I cannot dress in nice clothes and look smart? Seeing me for approximately 20 minutes which mainly involves sitting down, that made a judgement that I was able to walk a certain distance, where in reality it was completely inaccurate, instead my legs give way and left unable to walk very far.
I think it is an important lesson for us all; not to judge people on a first meeting or just by looking at them – as the saying goes ‘When you assume , you make an “ass” out of “u” and “me”!
Love to know your thoughts and comments – what does the word ‘wrong’ look like to you?
Growth can be defined as an increase in some quantity over time. The quantity can be physical (e.g. growth in height, growth in the amount of money possessed). However it can also be abstract or metaphorical (e.g. a growth in one’s personality or psychological development. And it is the former that has based the inspiration for this week’s photograph:
This was a picture taken at the recent ‘Life 4 Living’ Party and the subject of a recent post entitled ‘How Do You Solve a Problem Like…A High Ceiling’ . As you may remember the party took place in a large hall with a high ceiling, which as you may recall is one of my main trigger for severe attacks of vertigo.
Before, my diagnosis my first instinct would have been much more leaned towards the flight part of the flight or fight response and would have left the room. However on thus occasion and whether it is now due to the knowledge of why I was feeling the way I did and why, I managed to stay at the party for the entire 3 hours despite the vertigo and nausea! That’s what I call growth!!
For me, purple is my favourite colour – a lot of my clothes are purple – a lovely bright colour which makes me feel good and instantly cheers me up. I also love my Kipling bags and have a couple in deep purple. And so for the Weekly Photo Challenge I have used a photograph of my case for iPhone which is purple.
Due to my medical condition I have a lot of falls, and one item that I have always have on me in case of an accident is my phone, which will enable me to contact someone immediately for help. As I have an iPhone, as others users will know the case is made of glass, and so can easily be broken – and am sure will be costly to have it fixed!! So, I was very interested when watching ‘This Morning’ they featured the LifeProof iPhone Case.
The LifeProof case boasts that it can protect your iPhone against every-day hazards, even the ability to take it swimming or underwater with you if you so choose! And it is the fact that it can withstand drops, knocks and tumbles that appealed to me. It now gives me the freedom to take my iPhone with me everywhere without the fear of it breaking during a fall!!
I hope you are doing well and are AWAP (as well as possible!) and I hope that everyone has been able to enjoy the great weather we’ve had (granted, for those of us in the UK, it’s only been a week or so!). Anyway, although it has been delightful to see bright blue skies and the feeling of warm sunshine on my skin, the hot weather and particularly the humidity at night has been playing havoc with the symptoms which I experience.
For example, Monday I had the opportunity to sit in the beautiful gardens at the Centre for which I volunteer, and after only a short time the dizziness and vertigo which I experience daily were incredibly intense, leading to visual disturbances and incredible nausea as well as deep aches and pains in my legs.
And last night was one of the worst nights I have experienced for a while.
It was so warm and humid in my bedroom, and unfortunately for me, I also had a guest in my room – my dog Honey! And believe me, this didn’t help the situation!
Due to the humidity, it was incredibly difficult for me to get to sleep anyway, especially with the cramping and deep pains in my legs, but somehow I did manage to drop off sometime during the night.
Honey looking angelic keeping cool – complete opposite of her antics last night!
But alas, was awoken around 2.30 by the dog, crying and heavily panting – seems I wasn’t the only one that is having trouble with the heat, and hampered by my bedroom which always seems to get very warm. And after that was unable to fall back asleep due to the severe stiffness and pain in the legs as well as the violent dizziness and so spent the early hours of keeping myself occupied by listening to music and watching episodes of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Once Upon a Time.’
But a question that might you be thinking is why does the heat affect those with neurological conditions so much?
Well, the reason for this is in many neurological conditions the nerves are damaged or the neural pathways which slows the ability of the nerves to function and send messages to the appropriate part of the body. Heat can further slow down nerve impulse in affected areas such as legs in my case. And this is the reason for increased symptoms during the hot weather.
So to ward off increased symptoms and those of heat intolerance it is vital that those with neurological conditions such as in my case, or those with MS, keep cool during these warm Summer nights.
And what steps can we take to ensure that we do not relapse or our symptoms become worse or find ourselves unable to sleep because of them?
Suggestions for keeping cool and being able to sleep comfortably on a hot night:
If safe to do so leave a window open in your bedroom to increase the air circulation in the room. Multiple windows facing different directions to admit breezes is even better.
Set up a fan – if you are worried about the noise emitted by fans, consider buying a large fan or even a ceiling fan which tends to move air with less speed and noise
If you are unable to open a window, consider using a fan and ice to mimic air conditioning if it is unavailable. Buy a commercial bag of ice and empty it into a shallow container (to contain the water as the ice melts). Place the bowl of ice directly in front of the fan (between the fan and you), level with the top of the bed
Keep your neck cool! It works the same way as keeping your feet cool. Try using a cooling pack that works for you, or place a damp towel on your neck
Consider using the ‘Egyptian Method’: wet a sheet or bath towel that is large enough to cover you with cool or cold water, and wring it or run it through the spin cycle on a washing machine until the sheet is quite damp but not dripping wet. Or you can use a spray bottle of water to spray the top sheet until it is damp but not soaking. Place the dry towel or sheet underneath your body and use the wet sheet as your blanket. The wet blanket will help keep you cool.
During an extreme heat wave take a light t-shirt and wet it, wring it and then wear it. Evaporation from the shirt will help to keep you cool enough to sleep for a few hours
Take a pair of cotton socks and rinse them in cold water, wring them until they are damp and put them on. The cooling of the feet lowers the overall temperature of your skin and body
Chill your pillowcases: put your sheets, blankets, and pillowcases into freezer bags and place it in the freezer all day. Doing so can help you fall asleep faster, further reducing your exposure to the uncomfortable heat
Sleep in a ‘spread eagle’ position, so heat doesn’t gather around you
The ‘Spread Eagle’ Position
If it is a terrible night for you, sleep downstairs – warm air rises, so it tends to be cooler downstairs
Take a cold shower or bath before bed, or if this is not an option splash some cool water on your head and feet – this will help you keep cool for longer allowing you to fall asleep faster
These are some of the examples of keeping cool during those unbearable hot summer nights. Have you got any other tips? Please leave a comment with any other suggestions!
The WordPress ‘Weekly Photo Challenge’ asked, what does inside mean to us? Well to start, the word ‘inside’ is defend as something which is ‘the interior, inner or enclosed part or surface.’ Now, as my blog is concerned with my life living with a neurological condition, I thus decided to take a photo of a diagram of the brain, and specifically the brainstem.
This organ weighing approximately 3 pounds lies inside our skull, in charge of all the most important functions such as breathing. It also holds the key to our being – memories are stored here, personality develops within certain areas of the brain, it can control whether we feel pain or other emotions. And when things go wrong within the brain or some part is damaged can result in deficits according to where the damage lies – it can also result in experiencing weird symptoms such as my dislike for high ceiling!!
