The morning of major, life changing surgery

I was going through my journal the other day. I came across these scrambled thoughts scribbled down on the morning of 24^th September 2013 – the day I was going in for my permanent ostomy surgery. This was where my head was at literally hours before leaving for the hospital that morning.

So in a few hours I’m heading back to the hospital. My home away from home. This time tomorrow, I’ll be large intestine, rectum, anus and inflammation free, and well on my way to being a much healthier and happier Laura again. So will begin a new chapter.

Bad habits

I have just spent the last half an hour on the phone arguing with someone at a big insurance company over our car registration and green slip renewal. Infuriated much?! I won’t bore you with details, suffice to say I was getting nowhere by arguing. I could slowly feel my frustration and stress levels rising to boiling point. My whole body was tense, ready to scream ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH down the phone. This kind of stress can’t be good for me, right?!

It made me think … how easily we fall back into bad habits. How quickly we forget.

Having a chronic illness has taught me many things. I have reassessed and taken a really good look at myself and the way I live my life. I’ve become very conscious of some of my often unhealthy ways and behaviours, and was adamant I would not let myself revert back to these patterns. Evidently, I have …

Love is in the Air

What a big weekend this has been! I had the pleasure and honour of watching one of my dearest friends get married to a wonderful guy, in a gorgeous ceremony, followed by a spectacularly fun wedding reception. It was made even more special for me being able to stand by as her bridesmaid 🙂 Despite the rain almost forcing Plan B into action, it was a perfect day and evening, and we even got driven to the ceremony in a firetruck!  

I am absolutely buggered now, yet can’t help but still be on a high with a heart filled with joy after such a special weekend. This post is likely to be a bit soppy (from me, a girl who most certainly never dreamt about my own wedding, nor actually thought I would ever even get married)!

On being the parent of a child with a chronic illness – Part 1

Another guest post from my incredible mum.

Any parent will tell you, it’s their worst nightmare: to have a child with a serious or chronic illness. So, it might surprise you to know that I have a child with a chronic illness and (now!) I hardly give it any thought at all! How can that be?

Laura’s Crohn’s disease was diagnosed about six years ago now and for four years or so after that, it was pretty much all I thought about and, like any other parent, I would have done anything to take the illness away.