2024 so far - graduation, Eastern Cape trip, Isle of Man things

Embarrassingly I only seem to blog every 6 months. I should probably just give up blogging altogether but worried people will think I have died. Very far from it!

This year and the end of last year has been a whirlwind of excitement and admin. We had a fantastic week in the Eastern Cape at the end of March. One night in Graaff Reinett, few nights in Port Elizabeth with Arno's parents, and 2 heavenly nights in Storms River Mouth (if you're an OG blog reader you'll know it's my favourite place ever). In April we went to Bloemfontein for a night for my graduation. (I passed my Postgraduate Dipl in Financial Planning). Will post pics of all the above below.

The BIGGEST news though is that Arno got a job on Isle of Man. He went there for a day when we were in the UK in Dec as well. It has been a massive task so far this year to get unabridged birth certificates, police clearance certificates, TB certificates, proof of relationship (I could apply for a spousal visa because we've been living together for more than 2 years), sell the house, get rabies certificates for the cats, write an English exam, resign our jobs, wait for Arno's Certificate of Employment from the IOM government, and finally - apply for the visas.... which we did 3 weeks ago.

We are very excited for this adventure! It's a BRILLIANT opportunity for both of us career-wise! I've obviously had to do a LOT of research about the medical side of things, and I've already made contact with Harefield Hospital in London, for transplant things. At the end of the day my medical care will work out SO MUCH CHEAPER than it is now. It's absolutely ridiculous how much of my salary goes towards medical expenses here. I won't cancel my medical aid in South Africa altogether, but I will move to a much lower plan, so that I can upgrade again one day if we had to come back. And save a LOT of money. 

The island has a massive backlog in their immigration department, so the turnaround time for the visas is 75 working days once it reaches IOM after 3 weeks in the UK. So at the moment it looks like we'll be going over in Sept, but it could be faster. Fingers crossed. Unfortunately we don't get progress reports, so we will be hearing nothing until we're notified to fetch our passports. Eeeeekkkk. 

Time for bed, see highlights of year so far below, and tomorrow is 6 years 7 months with these amazing lungs!!!

17 December

The 17th of December has been a memorable day for the past 3 years! In 2017 I ran on the treadmill for the first time after my second bi-lateral lung transplant. In 2018 I tore my Achilles tendon for the second time, and last year I arrived in London on this day. Nothing much to report for 2020 though. 

Yesterday Brendan, Marius, Andrew and I had a little Christmas lunch before they go home to PE etc. It really was very nice. These have basically been the only people I've socialised with the entire year. So grateful for these three!

The main excitement in the family is the fact that my sister's baby girl is arriving in Jan! We can't wait! The whole family will just be here for Christmas. Looking forward to just seeing the end of this year.

I see that I never posted anything about the picnic I had for my 3 year lungaversary... It was an AWESOME celebration. I've been trying to have a picnic every year since the redo transplant, and every year it has rained. However it was third time lucky this year. (Strange, saying 2020 and lucky in the same sentence!). The weather was great, and got to see my favourite people!

My check up 10 days after the hysterectomy went fine. The surgeon said she would have let me go home the same day still, but the other Drs were a bit weary of that. Cuts have healed well, and last night/this morning a lot of the dissolvable stitches fell out. Seeing her again on 13 Jan.

Also had a lung checkup on 1 Dec. Lung function was down a bit, probably due to the anesthesia. Kidneys are also taking some strain with the combination of meds I'm on to allow for healing after the hysterectomy. However I'm switching back to my usual meds next week Monday. Yay! May this be the last surgery in a while! So much admin! Will have another checkup on 22 Jan, which will be the 13 year anniversary of my first lung transplant! 

I probably won't blog again before Christmas, so MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! 

Last day of being 35!

Tomorrow I turn 36! My second 18th! Whoop whoop! I'm still super excited about birthdays and getting  old(er), because no one thought I'd live this long! And I mean I've had some major parts replaced to get to this point! I can honestly say I'm in much better shape physically than when I was 18! Tomorrow is also 2 years 10 months with the new new lungs!

August has been a good month. It was pretty busy as far as TELL was concerned. The weather is improving, which is great. The country went to level 2 of lockdown, which meant that last weekend I was able to get away with family for the first time in ages. We went to the Waterberg, to a place called Moonriver Lodge. We've been there before, in 2015. It was a really nice break. Had some great family time.

Healthwise I'm all good as far as I know. Managed to make an appointment with my lung Dr for October. It might not work out, but it will have been 8 months since I've had a proper transplant check-up, and it makes me anxious. Luckily I was able to go for lung function in May and June. However I haven't seen my Dr or had bloods and x-rays since the first week of Feb. So here's hoping the Oct appointment will happen.

This weekend has been really great, celebrating my birthday. Yesterday my mom made leg of lamb (my favourite) for supper, and today I went for brunch with my best Joburg friends, Andrew, Marius and Brendan. They really spoiled me, and it was so nice to be able to do that. The restaurant is really open and airy, and only every second table gets used. So I didn't feel unsafe. I've also been hanging out with the 3 of them for a while and as far as we know we're all healthy and very careful. 

In other super exciting news... I'm getting a niece in Jan!!!! Beyond excited. Cannot wait!

Also exciting September news: I'm going away for the long weekend to the bush again with Andrew, Marius, Brendan, and Andrew's sister Patricia and Jacques at the end of September. That will also be lots of fun. 

Birthday Month

It's August!!! July flew past, but not complaining! Really not much news here, hence the lack of blog posts. This month is a busy one though. It's Organ Donation Awareness month so have a lot of TELL interviews lined up. I turn 36 at the end of the month, yay! It would have also been my/our 10 year wedding anniversary this Friday, which is a difficult day for me. Just want it over and done with.

Adriaan is back in school, so I don't see him that often anymore. VERY happy for his sake that he can be with his friends again. He enjoys it so much. 

I've had some outside outings with Andrew, Brendan and Marius! It's been the highlight of those weeks! We're going to try and make it an "every Sunday" thing! And the weather is starting to warm up! Yay! 

I've also been spending time in the garden, and hanging newly framed pictures in my cottage. It's looking pretty perfect now! When I'm not working I have also rediscovered colouring in and building puzzles. It reminds me of both times when I was waiting for lungs, but it's quite soothing to do while watching Netflix. I've also finished a massive blanket I've been crocheting! It looks great on my bed and has been super handy during some cold fronts we've had!

Can't wait for spring to start showing. Joburg is looking really yellow and dead. A lot of my succulents have died with some bad frost we had. Some signs of hope and life in nature would be great right about now!

8 Sleeps to go!

Only 8 sleeps til my UK trip!!!! SOOOOOOO EXCITED. It's going to be a very busy week, but I'm motivated to get everything done. Need to have medication delivered, finish up work, TELL strat session, gym/bio, go to pharmacy, Christmas celebrations, Dr's visit, blood tests, Parkrun, pack, etc...

It's been raining for like 5 days straight here. We really needed it and I'm not quite sick of it yet, but it feels like it's been preparing me for my trip! Two weeks ago myself and 3 fellow lung transplant recipient friends completed the Muddy Princess 5km Obstacle Race. It was super fun and surprisingly easy. I want to start doing some Parkruns now, and also have a bee in my bonnet about getting fit for next year's National Transplant Games!

Another highlight was Grandparents' Day at my nephew's school. My dad couldn't make it so I went with my mom. It was SUPER cute, and I feel so lucky to see this guy growing up!!!

All in all everything is good. I'm just so freaking grateful for so much right now. May my health continue to allow me to live my best life!