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TOP 5 Things that saved me when I was Covid positive…

I thought I was one of the lucky ones that had managed to dodge the covid bullet …

How wrong was I!

Nothing and no one can explain to you how bad this virus can make you feel. Just know that there’s light 💡 at the end of the tunnel and you will make it through to the otherside.

This brings me to the TOP 5 THINGS that helped me make it out the otherside.

#1. VIRTUAL DOCTOR

Once you test positive for covid you are required to register your positive results on the Queensland Health website https://www.qld.gov.au/rat-positive

It walks you through the process step by step. From there you will be advised to do an online Selfcare Check, if you’re unsure whether you should see a doctor or you can call the National Coronavirus Helpline 1800 020 080 https://www.qld.gov.au/health/conditions/health-alerts/coronavirus-covid-19/stay-informed/covid-care-self-checker

In my case, I needed to be admitted to a Virtual Ward. I had a doctor call me within 24 hours of registration to assess my situation and monitor my symptoms. Each day without fail, I received that call. Just knowing I had that someone, a doctor no less, looking after me was a huge relief.

I was sick, very sick during my isolation and required antibiotics for a chest infection. The doctor had the antibiotics, along with a pulse oximeter, couriered from the hospital, straight to my back-door. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to have had these fabulous people looking out for me. I felt safer knowing that someone would call me everyday, no matter what!

#2. DIFFLAM Throat Spray.

Your throat will feel like you’ve swallowed razor blades. No matter how much you try to not to swallow, it will still f#*@ing hurt. Lozenges are a NO! They say suck on a Lozenge and it will ease your pain! NO IT WILL NOT…. if you suck, you have to swallow!

Difflam spray (check with the doctor before using) has an ANAESTHETIC in it, which will 100% numb your throat so that you can swallow. It lasts for a few hours, giving you some relief to what otherwise is torture.

#3. WARM WATER

Warm water, trust me, is far better on a sore throat than cold water. I’m no tea drinker, however I was downing peppermint tea like it was my new best friend.

Here’s a little piece of wisdom I picked up many moons ago when I worked in pharmacy ⚕️. Take your medication with warm water, not hot water, just warm water, it helps the body absorb it quicker and it helps hydrate you faster.

#4. TISSUES

You are going to NEED tissues. Well I did anyways. A couple of large boxes of tissues got me through the toughest of times.

Because I had a chest infection on top of covid, I coughed, sneezed, snotted and dripped mucus for 5 days straight. My eyes didn’t stop running for days and during the night, WOW did I dribble. I tried piling the tissues on top of the pillow every night before I dropped off to sleep or I’d wake up to a cheek slimmed with mucus….eeeyuck!

#5. The good old SPEW BAG!, CHUCK BAG!

NO…. I had no vomiting! So why a chuck bag then you may ask?

These handy dandy bags are GREAT for disposing of your snotty tissues. With the mother load of tissues I’d use at one time and with no means of depositing them into a rubbish bin each time, these little gems worked well.

No loose snotty tissues in the bed covers to be washed with the next load of bedding. All those germs contained in that one deposible magic bag.

I hope my 5 TOP THINGS can prepare you in some small way should you find yourself 🎯 targeted by covid

p.s. I forgot to put on my bed on the list of things I couldn’t have done without during my covid experience. I was in need of sitting up to breath during the first 5 days, so without my beautiful bed, this would have been a challenge to say the least.

Posted in Acceptance, disabilities, facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, fshd, Wheelchair friendly

Silence is Golden

The Beautiful Redcliffe Peninsula (Clontarf) Queensland

Its not often I get to be alone these days……..

For those of you reading this that don’t know, I have FSH Muscular Dystrophy. An incurable muscle wasting disease. With no treatment or cure, I try to live every day like its my last.

I have support workers come in everyday to help me out with things I can no longer do for myself. Dressing in the mornings, meal prep for the day, washing and cleaning, then at the end of the day I have a support worker who puts me in the shower, prepares my dinner for me, attends to my catheter and tucks me up in bed for the night.

My independence is pretty much non-existence. The only time I have to myself is in the evenings once I’m tucked up in bed and sometimes weekends during the day. This is my rest time. This is my “ME” time.

Silence is golden and I enjoy every minute of it, when I get it.

It becomes tiring having to make conversation with someone when your not up to it. I’m lucky to have understanding support workers who now know me well enough to know just by looking at me, that I am tired or in pain. Thankfully during those times, I get to have time to myself.

We all need that down time!

One of my most favorite things to do with my “ME” time, is take a ride to the beach. By ride, I mean, by myself in my powered wheelchair. I live in one of the most prettiest spots, close to beaches and a walking path that take you from one end of the peninsula to the other, Clontarf Beach to Scarborough Beach.  www.visitmoretonbayregion.com.au/natural-attractions/the-moreton-bay-cycleway-redcliffe  

I love to cruise along the foreshore of this beautiful peninsula, in my wheelchair, taking in the breathtaking scenery along the way. I never leave home without my camera, my hat, a water bottle and some spare change for lunch or just a cold fizzy drink. Sometimes I take a bunch of photo’s and sometimes I take none. It all depends on the day. I love the sea breeze on my face, the sun sprinkling diamonds across the water and the soothing sound of waves lapping in over the rocks and sand along the foreshore.

I have a favorite place to sit at Woody Point, where I munch down on some whiting fillets and chips, followed by a coke (glass bottle only, as a treat). All the while listening to the calm lapping of the waves and taking in the view across the bay to Sandgate foreshore.

Everyone needs “ME TIME” …