13th April 2024
I can’t believe it’s the middle of April already! This year is going so fast. So, what’s been happening? The online Leeds Mind Peer Support group has now finished. That 12 weeks went by so fast. It was a really nice group, supporting each other through good times & bad. From the last Mind, Body & Soul group, Becky, Sarah & I have started meeting up at the Old Gipton Fire Station cafe on a Wednesday morning. It’s really nice to keep in touch. We take with us whatever we are working on i.e. finger knitting, art, & enjoy a nice cuppa whilst catching up with what we have been up to & how we are feeling. It’s so nice & relaxing. I did attend my first Thrive group, where ladies meet up to do a bit of gardening & follow it with a cuppa & catch up. Although I did enjoy it, I have decided not to continue with it. The other ladies were quite keen gardeners (which I am not!!) & I feel I’ve got quite a lot on at the moment. I can always join it later if I feel up to it. I’ve started a new art group on a Monday afternoon. I’ve only been once & I’m not 100% sure if it’s for me but I’m going to go again next Monday before I decide. Our granddaughters came to ours last Tuesday. It was fantastic to see them again. We did loads of arts & crafts & I loved every minute. I can’t wait until we can see them again. My private counselling sessions are still going really well. I have never trusted a professional as much as I trust her. I can tell her absolutely anything & always look forward to our sessions. I don’t think she knows how much she is helping me. I did write her a poem which she said she really appreciated. My husband & I had a meeting with the NHS on 4th April to discuss our complaint surrounding my admission in the Becklin Centre last year. It went well & we both came away feeling like we were listened to. They are coming back with some feedback / answers to some of our outstanding questions next week. Hopefully, we can then put this part to bed. Unfortunately, my mum hasn’t been very well. She was taken to hospital in the early hours of last Saturday. After tests & scans, they have diagnosed another gallbladder infection & stones. I feel so sorry for her. She just seems to be getting one thing after another. She’s so tired, frustrated & confused. I feel I should be doing more to help her, but I’m not sure what. She was discharged yesterday so hopefully she will be feeling a bit better being back at the home. I’m going to visit her tomorrow so will try & cheer her up. I’ve joined a dog club online called Scentventure. It gives great advice on dog training via online forums, videos, one-to-one consultations & community feedback. I’m really enjoying it & have started doing a few sessions with Poppy. I had a really good telephone consultation with my GP yesterday. She listened to everything I had to say & is going to look in to a couple of things & come back to me next week. I felt so much better after speaking with her. On a lot of occasions recently I’ve felt as though nobody was listening to me, so it was refreshing for a change. One of my friends has asked if I want to go to the coast next Friday with our dogs, so I’m really looking forward to that. Fingers crossed the weather will be nice for us.