It's been a while since I've published a blog post, as I needed time away from social media and blogging, but here's a short update.
We have recently returned from a week away in Ibiza. It was our first holiday since pre-covid. My PH has been a bit rough, but it's been improving since changing meds, so it was good to get away and have a change of scenery. Fortunately I was strong enough to travel and I got the all clear from the Brompton. We went to Es Canar, in the North of Ibiza, which was very flat and we stayed in a 4* hotel situated right on the beach, literally a couple of steps and we were onto the beach. We had a jam-packed first few days of trips, and excursions and by the last couple of days I was exhausted. My body couldn't take anymore, so we just sunbathed by the pool and chilled out.. can't complain, hey! Taking it easy meant I could recover and be strong enough for the flight home. It was a shame we couldn't do anymore, but we did do quite a lot at the start and we really did have a wonderful time. Plus I know I'm very fortunate that I can still go abroad, despite having PH.
I just wanted to mention the cost and organisation of travel for someone who has pre-existing medical conditions. I know we are not all the same, but for me, before I've even paid for the holiday, I had to pay out £300 for travel insurance (that was after comparing many prices) and £400 for oxygen hire. POC's (portable oxygen concentrator) aren't cheap, around £2500, but we are saving up, as by the time we've paid for oxygen hire each time, it ends up being cheaper to have your own. As well as organising special travel insurance and oxygen hire, I also needed a fit to fly letter, organise a meds delivery in time for going away, taking extra meds incase we were delayed, make sure the hotel was accessible and situated near a beach, get a ground floor room, incase of lift breakdowns, check reviews to make sure it was mainly a flat area and not hilly, and seek out where the nearest medical doctor was, if need be. I also had my 4th covid vaccination too. It takes time and a lot of planning, but once it's done, it meant I got to relax on holiday and not worry about anything.
Terry and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary in April. Wow, 5 years has gone super fast, but we had a fabulous time celebrating by visiting Longleat Safari Park and having a VIP tour. We were very lucky with the sunny weather and the tour was fantastic. It was wonderful getting up close to all the animals, and as we were safely in one their jeeps, we did find it quite funny when monkeys were jumping on all the cars... we saw one monkey rip off a car's aerial.. eek! We went to Bath the following day and went for lunch with some of our close friends, so that was a lovely way to end our long weekend.
At the beginning of June, Terry and I went to see the 2Cellos at Wembley. Unfortunately I was in bed all day as it was a bad day for my PH, but I was determined not to miss their final tour, and I managed to rally around in time. It was an amazing concert and I loved every minute. Being a cellist myself, I was in awe of their beautiful music making and it really was one of the best concerts I have been too. Another item bucket list ticked! In a few weeks, we're also off to see Ed Sheeran and The Script too.. I am so excited!
Work has been going well and I still love my job. I can't believe I've been with the company for over a year now! I am still able to choose my hours, allowing to pace myself, but I am enjoying it so much. I'm super excited to have recently passed my Makaton examination, which means I now have a licence to tutor Makaton sign language to mothers and their babies. Makaton is a very big part of my Music Therapy work, and I have loved learning this unique language programme which uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate.
Since I changed from Sildenafil to Tadalafil, my PH is slowly getting stronger. I am still using my oxygen daily and I am exercising when I can, mainly going for short walks with Izzy in the morning. I arrived home to my PH clinic letter, so I am looking forward to returning to the Royal Brompton and having my "PH MOT" in August to see how I'm doing with my tests, scans, etc. In the meantime, I'm doing well, and I will keep jogging along and doing what I'm doing, and enjoying some more (hopefully) sunny weather. Keep safe and well!
Thanks for reading!