I am still here, and doing things and
progressing.
I had some hard times physically for a few months at the end of 2008 up until around April of this year. There were interesting things going on (visitors, newspaper interviews...) but the trouble with my lungs meant that I was continually tired. After a shopping trip to the village all I wanted to do was sleep for a few hours, and a day out in the big city wiped me out completely - even if i spent most of it sitting at a desk.
By the beginning of May I had stabilised enough to fly to the UK for a couple of weeks for my mothers 70'th birthday party and to meet a whole crowd of relatives and friends that I hadn't seen in too many years.
I was a little apprehensive before I left. I knew I'd spend time travelling around between HK, Aberdeen, London, Wells etc., but the plan was to sleep for most of the journeys. It was more the idea of dragging a case and chasing buses and the tubes that worried me.
If I forget to move slowly and overdo things - it can be pretty unpleasant. I can't just slow down and pant a bit while I walk and my body sorts itself out. If I charge up a couple of flights of stairs at the speed I used to I get to a point where it hits me and I have to stop completely and do nothing but breathe for anything up to a couple of minutes.
Then of course the swine flu panic started. HK is very keyed up about that sort of thing after being at the centre of the SARS episode a few years back - so I had that to think about instead....
In the end it turned out fine. I did get tired, and did sleep a lot, and did force myself to eat more than I really wanted. But I didn't lose any more weight, didn't collapse from exhaustion, and didn't catch any unpleasant bugs.
Everything went swimmingly. I spent time with my family, met up with several friends from decades past and collected lots of hugs and happiness, which is just what the alternative medicinal practitioner ordered.
So now I'm back in Hong Kong, feeling better than I have been for months, and approaching where I was towards the end of last summer: I'm doing some part time work, feeling a little more in control of my life again, and looking to move on.
It's good to be back.
I had some hard times physically for a few months at the end of 2008 up until around April of this year. There were interesting things going on (visitors, newspaper interviews...) but the trouble with my lungs meant that I was continually tired. After a shopping trip to the village all I wanted to do was sleep for a few hours, and a day out in the big city wiped me out completely - even if i spent most of it sitting at a desk.
By the beginning of May I had stabilised enough to fly to the UK for a couple of weeks for my mothers 70'th birthday party and to meet a whole crowd of relatives and friends that I hadn't seen in too many years.
I was a little apprehensive before I left. I knew I'd spend time travelling around between HK, Aberdeen, London, Wells etc., but the plan was to sleep for most of the journeys. It was more the idea of dragging a case and chasing buses and the tubes that worried me.
If I forget to move slowly and overdo things - it can be pretty unpleasant. I can't just slow down and pant a bit while I walk and my body sorts itself out. If I charge up a couple of flights of stairs at the speed I used to I get to a point where it hits me and I have to stop completely and do nothing but breathe for anything up to a couple of minutes.
Then of course the swine flu panic started. HK is very keyed up about that sort of thing after being at the centre of the SARS episode a few years back - so I had that to think about instead....
In the end it turned out fine. I did get tired, and did sleep a lot, and did force myself to eat more than I really wanted. But I didn't lose any more weight, didn't collapse from exhaustion, and didn't catch any unpleasant bugs.
Everything went swimmingly. I spent time with my family, met up with several friends from decades past and collected lots of hugs and happiness, which is just what the alternative medicinal practitioner ordered.
So now I'm back in Hong Kong, feeling better than I have been for months, and approaching where I was towards the end of last summer: I'm doing some part time work, feeling a little more in control of my life again, and looking to move on.
It's good to be back.
