We had a full day East Island tour last Tuesday where one of the highlights for me was seeing the cute A Framed houses in Santana. Wednesday was Netflix, naps and massages and then Thursday, we headed out to Nun's Valley and finished with beautiful views of Funchal, before flying home that evening.
I was straight back into the frustrations of jumping through mental health hoops on Friday when I had a home visit with my care co-ordinator. I was hoping to start fertility treatment and have my first try at IUI by now. Thank god for the travels which help ground me, otherwise I think I would be really in a bad state.
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It's been a whirlwind of fun in Lisbon and Madeira so far...
We've eaten and drunk our way around Lisbon and what a marvellous way to see a city and understand it's culture through its food! We've toured some of Sintra village - Pena Palace and Reglais Palace - and took a drive to Cascais to see Cabo de Roc. We also did a cooking class where we made a 3 course dinner and it was wonderful to be able to cook with my mum, something we both enjoy doing together. And that was just Lisbon! Next up, Madeira, where we're staying at the beautiful Quinta Da Casa Branca in Funchal. On Saturday we took a scenic island tour by motorbike and Monday, we headed up to the famous Monte area and then took a wild toboggan sledge ride 2km downhill! I made sure to build in rest days for both of us and the combination of touring every other day has worked really well. We're having the best time so far. We are finally in Lisbon on our 10 day tour of Lisbon and Madeira! There was a lot of paperwork to do and making it digital was also harder than it should have been. We had to take PCR tests, show proof of vaccination status, fill out passenger locator forms, download apps and fill out BA's VeriFly system all before we could check in online. It was a list of what to do, when, and working through. I don't know how my mum would've coped doing it on her own. I don't think she would've been able to! Still, Terminal 5 at Heathrow and BA check in were much better organised than last September when we flew to Venice, so that's a thumbs up. It's been hard work getting to this point. The paperwork has been a welcome distraction. My nerve endings have felt fried and I've been agitated as hell. I don't know why. I've been really looking forward to our trip and I've even started prepping the front bedroom for decorating. I guess it might be something to do with not knowing what's going on with my fertility treatment, now that my consultant has done a U turn on when I can start the process, due to my mental health reports. I'm going to try not to worry about it and just enjoy this long awaited, "we didn't know if it would actually happen", holiday! I'm a day late with this week's blog - I've been in and out of dissociation possibly due to medication or taking on too much and stressing myself out or possibly fibro fatigue and fog. I couldn't really say for certainty which. Bloody frightening though. My immediate reaction is to withdraw, but I've been forcing myself to talk to my GP, care co-ordinator and counsellor to try and piece together what's been happening. I don't have any concrete answers for them.
Sandwiched between this feeling "off", I've been to my mum's to do a few more little jobs whilst she was away with a friend upt north and I even started prepping the big back bedroom, getting it ready for painting. Today I do finally feel as if I'm making progress mentally. I worked my way through what was quickly escalating into crisis mode yesterday with my counsellor - and when I sit and think about what we achieved without medical intervention, it's massive in a good, positive way! We sat together and she helped me ride out the difficult feelings with gentle grounding, something as simple as some marmite toast and a cup of tea and just talking. I went home and slept for a few hours under my weighted blanket, then called the Safe Haven to talk with someone virtually when I woke and even attempted a guided meditation with CALM afterwards - something I've been struggling with, with so much noise in my head. It was a difficult day, but I made it. |
AuthorBlogging is an amazing concept so here I am giving it a whirl. You'll get words. You'll get pics. Sometimes a vid or two. You'll get tongue in cheek, the odd humble opinion and an honest insight into my travels and writing life. Maybe even a few gems along the way. I'll be musing on home turf as I see more and more of the UK and sharing my experiences further afield on holidays and adventurous trips across the globe. Archives
December 2022
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