A Quiet Gentle ABI Activity

[Coffeegal]

If you are on Facebook sign up to Chris Packham’s (Springwatch) The Self-Isolating Bird Club. You just request to join and will be accepted. It is a wonderful easy group with people posting from around the world and there are photos of birds (or animals) in their gardens or the wild and you can interact and comment or just simply sit back and enjoy. Very relaxing and also a little bit of company if you engage. Perhaps it will spur you on to put out some bird food and take a few photos yourself...

[Marnie22]

Sounds lovely. I can't manage Facebook, but I think many others will find this a great idea. 🙂🌸

[Coffeegal in reply to Marnie22]

Hi Marnie, I only have three friends and family on there as anybody else and I would be messaging people “does anybody know who X is?” after a few days 🤦🏼‍♀️ So it’s all very much locked down and I only engage in very safe places, like my town has a private group of 9000 so I can just read about what is happening locally but I don’t comment or engage. The SIBC however has been lovely and it’s really anonymous because you don’t give any information about yourself or your whereabouts. I posted a question for the first time today because the birds have stopped coming to my garden. I have had several replies with suggestions and articles to read and gentle humour. Some of the posts the pictures are incredible and some are just out the window photos of a robin or a blue tit on a birdfeeder in the garden. How are you doing?

[Marnie22 in reply to Coffeegal]

It sounds really good. I was on Facebook a bit before my brain injury, but even keeping it small I find it too overwhelming. I don't watch TV for the same reason - sensory overload. I do get a lot out of Healthunlocked. I have a lot happening at the moment as I am having EMDR therapy for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I have a lot of both cognitive and physical fatigue, so it's quite hard at times and I am very isolated. My local Headway group is just about to restart, so that's really good.

How are you?

🙂🌸

[Coffeegal in reply to Marnie22]

I did attend my local headway when I first moved here but I found it overwhelming as I have poor visual recognition. I’m so sorry about your PTSD. I have a disease of the nervous system called adhesive arachnoiditis. It was caused by a neurosurgeon injecting an oil based dye into my spinal fluid for investigation (pre-MRI scans.) and not removing it! I was 20. The stuff is so toxic it could only be given in glass syringes as it dissolves plastic. What did they expect it to do when they injected it into the space containing so many spider like layers of membranes. They stole the whole of my adult life. I have no idea whether the brain haemorrhage was connected.. wherever the spinal fluid went, the dye went.

At the moment I am just looking forward to the 8th of March when we can meet up with one other person outside. I moved here four years ago but it’s very difficult to make friends. I enjoy photography because it’s a solitary pursuit. If lockdown has taught me anything it is that I can do without everything except my family and my iPad mini. There is a new baby expected next week and for the first time I won’t be able to go and see it for awhile but the end is in sight... I am just really really hoping that everybody on here gets their vaccine soon.

[Marnie22 in reply to Coffeegal]

Your experience was horrendous! How appalling. What a thing to have to deal with.The fifth anniversary of my brain injury is in a couple of weeks. Mine was caused by a surgeon, (a gynacologist,) who went against mandatory procedures on monitoring fluid absorption during a hysteroscopy and allowed 3.8 litres of glycerine to go into my bloodstream when anything over 1 litre can cause brain injury.

It's really beyond belief how these things steal people's lives and health from them. I know someone through Headway who is in a wheelchair because a locum dentist didn't follow procedures properly and he ended up with sepsis.

[Coffeegal]

Which continues to shock me is the lack of accountability. I hope one day thank you will be paid compensation for happened to you. No amount of money would ever help but just for them to put their hand up and say yes we got it wrong, I’m sorry, what can we do to help?

I hope that you continue to make progress Marnie and the EMDR therapy will help you come to terms with the massive breach of trust. x