A Message from Gatchacaz

Hi there guys!

I must apologise for the fact that I have been so inactive this year and I can only thank you for your continued patience and support.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I have had numerous issues with my health which, until now, I haven't really wanted to air, but I should do really because it has made keeping the blog running and charting new patterns difficult.

Firstly, I had to have a gastroscopy back in May as I had been suffering with really bad acid-heartburn.  It turned out that I had gastritis and I have to take tablets to suppress the excess acid.  I'm still not off the tablets, but things have improved, and my dosage has been reduced :)

More seriously though, in June, I started having really bad pains in my right hand.  At first, I thought it might be the strain of learning to knit (which is so alien to me), but the pain started to worsen until it was walking me in the night with numbness and pins and needles and excruciating pain!

I went to see my GP, who suspected I was suffering from carpel tunnel syndrome (CTS) and referred me for tests.  The tests confirmed that I do indeed have CTS.  My symptoms have been classed as "moderate" and surgery was recommended.

I'm having the surgery on Friday (24th October) @________@

I've had a lot of conflicting information about CTS, some of it really negative, but most of the people I've spoken to have had very positive outcomes so I hope that will be the same for me.

My employer has been very good about it, offering to do what they can to ease my symptoms at work.  Some days are good, some days are bad.  Some days I haven't been able to work :(

CTS has been restricting my crafting too.  Cross-stitching hasn't been too bad (in short doses), but crochet and knitting have been off the cards as the motion of the hook/needles just hurts my hand too much.  I started loom banding recently, and that also makes my hand hurt, so that is on hold as well.

Using a computer is awkward as the movement of the mouse hurts my fingers, so charting new patterns is very painful and writing/drawing gives me pins and needles.

CTS really sucks!

I'm booked off work initially for two weeks.  Most people I have spoken to say that recovery should take no more than three weeks.  I'm hoping this will be the case, but as everyone one is different, it's difficult to know how long it will take.  Work have said that being off longer won't be a problem, but I hope it'll heal quicker rather than later!

So there you have it. 

I suspect that I probably won't be posting much (if at all) between now and the New Year, but again, that all depends on how long my recovery takes -- I'll try and keep you all posted!

***

In other news, some of you may have noticed that certain folders (specifically the Pokemon Blackwork folder) have been removed from BOX.net.  I can't say too much about that at the moment, but I am planning to have an overhaul of my blog in the New Year, with, I hope, some exciting new changes!!

Finally, on the 5th October, I made the painful decision to have my cat Hardy put to sleep :(  

She was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in January, and up until last month, had been quite well with it. However, she had recently started to loose her sight, and on the morning of the 5th, she had a really bad fit and so we took her to the vet.  I think in the back of my mind I knew it was time for her to go.  The vet thought the fit was something to do with her brain (ie; a stroke), and that may have explained why she was loosing her sight.  Due to her age (19), the vet didn't think it was right to try giving her treatment for this, which probably wouldn't extend her life by much.

I decided she'd been through enough, so made the decision to have her put to sleep.  I was with her at the end, but saying goodbye was hard :(

Even though she lived with my mum, I miss her so much.

So that's everything I have for now.  My fingers are aching and it's hard to concentrate with Slipknot's latest offering screaming in my ears :D

Thanks again for your continued support, and I'll see you on the other side (soon, I hope), but until then (as always) ... keep Kalm and cross-stitch! x