Journal
Odile’s journal
Bilingual paperwork nightmares.
Laces
week 33quietly delighted energy 13 replies
A brief account of the week. Swam. First time since school. Two lengths, badly, grinning. Carried both bags up in one go. Small thing. Wrote it down. Walked into town and…
Both bags, one go
week 32grateful energy 32 replies
A brief account of the week. Got down on the floor and back up again unaided. I have not been able to do that since 2021 and I did it twice more just to check. Cycled the…
Off the floor
week 31quietly delighted energy 51 reply
A brief account of the week. Sat on the floor and played for an hour, and then got up. That was the entire reason I started, and I have now done it. Swam. First time since…
Awake at four
week 29tired energy 34 replies
A brief account of the week. The sleep has changed shape rather than improved. Different, not better, and I cannot yet tell whether I mind. Slept through. Whole night, no…
She stopped the room
week 28warm energy 5
A brief account of the week. The facilitator stopped the room when four of us were talking at once and asked one person how she was actually doing. It changed the whole hour.…
A new bin and a plan
week 27organised energy 42 replies
A brief account of the week. Two lines a day in a paper diary. Date, and one thing. That is the entire system and it has twice changed a clinical decision. Tested three cool…
Paired
week 25held energy 24 replies
Paired up. We text on Sunday nights, four or five lines each, and it has quietly become the most reliable thing in my week. She had a bad week and I had a fine one, and next…
She noticed first
week 24held energy 34 replies
A brief account of the week. My buddy noticed something in my journal before I did and asked me a very gentle question about it. Paired up. We text on Sunday nights, four or…
No mask
week 22rested energy 4
The sleep has changed shape rather than improved. Different, not better, and I cannot yet tell whether I mind. Slept through. Whole night, no waking. It has been so long that…
Six labelled boxes
week 21organised energy 22 replies
Tested three cool bags against a thermometer this weekend because I am that person. Results written up for the travel circle. Batch cooked on a good day for the bad days. Six…
An hour on the floor
week 20pleased energy 11 reply
Slept flat. Whole night. Flat. Got down on the floor and back up again unaided. I have not been able to do that since 2021 and I did it twice more just to check. Up the…
What is your secret
week 18awkward energy 21 reply
Somebody asked what my secret was and I froze completely. Still working out what I want to say to that. My mother cooks. That is how she says it. So I eat what I can, slowly,…
A locum
week 17heard energy 4
A locum who had clearly read nothing. I was polite, I got what I needed, and I have booked with my own GP for next month. Took the diary in. She read it properly, which I had…
Grip
week 16tired but good energy 2
A brief account of the week. Came back after a bad fortnight without trying to make up the lost ground, which is the thing that used to end it for me every time. Grip…
Into town and back
week 14quietly delighted energy 41 reply
A brief account of the week. Tied my own laces standing up. I am aware of how that sounds and I do not care. Sat on the floor and played for an hour, and then got up. That…
Sore and slow
week 13flat energy 5
A brief account of the week. Sore at the injection site for about ten days, a small firm lump under the skin. The pharmacist looked at it, was unbothered, and told me to move…
Not writing about this would be dishonest
week 12rough energy 41 reply
A brief account of the week. Sore at the injection site for about ten days, a small firm lump under the skin. The pharmacist looked at it, was unbothered, and told me to move…
Across the day
week 11steady energy 43 replies
A brief account of the week. Was undereating without realising. The nurse asked a plain question about what I had actually eaten in the last two days and I heard my own…
An unremarkable week
week 10fine energy 43 replies
A brief account of the week. Steady. That is the whole entry. Quiet. Injection Tuesday, mild Wednesday, fine by Thursday, and then a normal weekend. Bonne soirée.
Somebody new
week 9warm energy 5
Somebody new tonight, terrified, exactly where I was in the spring. I said the thing that had been said to me and watched it land. The facilitator stopped the room when four…