Wednesday, 23 March 2016

Wednesday

Apologies for the radio silence over the past few days
Life intervened
And I just didn't get a chance to write
Also I didn't really want to write
I wrote a post on Monday
And promptly deleted it
If you did read it 
You will know that my Mum was diagnosed with osteoporosis this week
In her spine and hips 
I deleted the post as I felt I needed to process the information before writing about it
This news has come as a bit of a shock
My Mum had a bone scan done a few weeks ago 
And on Monday she got the results
I went to speak to her
And she looked really shook
I asked what was wrong 
She said nothing 
But I knew there was something 
Eventually 
She told me that she had received some bad news
That she had just got off the phone from her doctor 
And she informed Mum that she has osteoporosis 
It was a real shock
And I could see from Mum that she had not expected it either 
We sat in silence for a while 
Neither of us sure what to say or do 
I asked about treatment 
And Mum had been told she could get an injection twice a year that would help manage it
Also diet and exercise 
The doctor recommended that Mum join a gym 
And practise weight bearing exercises 
So at least there are things she can do to help herself 
All is not lost

So yea 
I haven't much felt like writing the last few days
Don't worry though 
I'm not going anywhere 
Sometimes it's good to take a break
Take a step back and look at things from a distance 
I know I don't need to tell you how much much my Mum means to me
She is my life 
The one who never gave up on me
Only for her 
I have no doubt I wouldn't be here
But this is life 
We live 
We grow up 
Grow old 
Get ill
Time waits for no man
Or woman

Again 
I'm sorry that I left you hanging 
It's just a difficult it time at the moment 
I'm sure you understand 

Saturday, 19 March 2016

Gaining....

I was in the supermarket the other day
When I met a woman that I hadn't seen in a while 
She reached out to my face 
And said I looked like I was filling out
I waited for the horror of these words to wash over me
I bit my lip in case I began to lose my shit
I smiled 
And said thank you 
I don't know why I thanked her
But I couldn't think of anything else to say
I moved on 
The smile still plastered on my face 
And held my breath in anticipation of a complete meltdown 
But you know what?
It never happened 
The shit storm never happened
I registered the words for what they were 
Someone wanting to give me a compliment 
Someone being kind
And acknowledging that I am getting well
If someone had said that to me a year ago
I would have just lost my shit altogether 
It wouldn't have just ruined my day
It would've ruined my whole life 
But 
This time 
This time I was able to take the words in the spirit in which they were intended
And that my friends 
Is progress

I haven't been weighing myself in recent times 
I've just been going how I feel 
My clothes still fit 
I don't feel like they are too small or too big 
And I've been feeling pretty ok
But 
This morning I had a massive urge to know what I weighed 
So I pulled my old dusty scales out from under the drawers 
Stripped 
And tentatively stepped on
The numbers flashed 
Then settled
BMI : 18
I can handle that 
I can live with that 
I would be more than happy if my weight stAyed   here 
Give or take a few pounds 
How I wish that I didn't give a shit
How I wish that weight and numbers meant nothing to me
That the scales was not the be all and end all 
How I wish I liked and accepted my body
My self 
Even just part of myself 
I don't know you guys 
I hope it gets  better 
Tell me it does
Promise me....

Thursday, 17 March 2016

St. Patrick's Day!

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all you lovely readers!
Gosh this day brings back memories
Mostly bad ones 
Growing up
Paddys day was an excuse to get absolutely blotto
And inevitably there would be a massive family row
More often than not 
My Mum and I would move out for the weekend 
And go to my sisters or a friend 
Just to get away
Then came the drug years 
When St. Patrick's Day was just another day in the daily grind of addiction
I can remember one quite well
Dublin was heaving with people 
And I was wandering around 
Sick
Trying to get money together
And generally feeling very sorry for myself 
I can remember looking at all the people 
Laughing 
Smiling 
Enjoying the parade
I remember seeing a guy that I had been in treatment with 
He had a little girl on his shoulders 
She looked like she was having such great fun
I didn't go over to them 
I was in quite a state
And didn't want to involve them in my sorry situation 
I can't remember what else happened that day
I must have got drugs at some stage
As the rest of the day is a blur 

These days 
I tend to avoid town on this day
As it is still an excuse to drink until you can't stand up anymore 
So today 
My Mam, Honey and Lea and I 
Will be curling up in the couch 
With hot cups of tea
And a box of sweets 
Bliss!

So
Whatever you are up to today 
If you are celebrating 
Or isolating 
I wish you a very happy St. Patrick's day 
To you and yours 
I am sporting green trousers in an effort to get in to the spirit of the occasion     
And yes 
I have gained weight....





Wednesday, 16 March 2016

Horse Riding

After a long hard winter
We finally saw a little bit of spring this week
Which makes life a little easier
It's not so hard to get up in the morning
It's not so cold
People seem to be in better form
Weather is something that is discussed to death in this country
We love to get a sunny day
So we can talk at length about the great stretch on the evenings
But we also love to give out about the weather almost as much as we like talking about the good

Anyway
As you know
I now go horse riding every Wednesday 
Which I look forward to all week
The equine centre is about an hours drive
And yes
I always bring someone with me
Today that someone was my mum
I dont mind the journey 
Heck I used to travel the length and breadth of the country to get drugs
So an hours drive for something I love, is no trouble at all
The session was great
As always
I am now in a group with two men
Who have been attending the centre for the past three years
One of them canters and everything!
I asked if I could canter too
But 
Not yet 
As ever 
I am eager to go galloping around the arena 
But I am learning that patience is a virtue
And I have to remind myself that these people have been horse riding for years
I have been riding for all of five weeks
Pace yourself Ruby

My Mum
The budding photographer 
Took some photos from the judges box
Here they are...









Tuesday, 15 March 2016

Eating and Living: Recipes for recovery

A few months ago
I was contacted by a lady called Francesca Baker
Francesca was putting a book together
A recipe book for eating disorder recovery by those who have been there
I was asked to contribute a recipe
Which I did 
And a little blurb to go along side it
I decided to pick chicken chasseur
As it was something I began to eat during the first year of recover
And my little story was about how my sister had come home from Australia and was teaching me how to cook
The book is now for sale on Amazon
And I got my copy last week
It is beautifully put together
And I am so delighted to have been part of it




Monday, 14 March 2016

Bad News

I've been worried the last couple of days
That my piercing was becoming infected 
It looks quite raw
Although it is not sore
And I have to admit 
I have purged a few times in the last couple of days 
So I don't know if that has contributed 
I saw my doctor this morning
Nice Woman Doctor
She brought it to my attention that it could in fact be infected
She asked if I am allergic to penicillin 
As that would be the best medication for it
But I am in fact allergic 
So I had to get a less effective one
She also told me to soak it in a salt water solution 
And to take progress photos over the next week
To see if it's getting better or worse
You guys 
I am so disappointed 
So disappointed that I purged 
That I let this happen 
I thought I was doing everything right
And I was at first 
But 
As ever 
My ED got the better of me
And now I have an infected lip piercing 
The doctor said that if it hadn't improved in a few days 
The bar will need to come out
I am just going to be so diligent over the next week
And hope that I have caught it in time 
No purging 
No
Purging 
Got that Ruby?
No. Purging.

So I wanted to ask any of you lovely ladies who have piercings 
Have you ever had an infection from one?
How did you deal with it?
Did you have to take the piercing out?
Did it heal? 

I really don't want to have to take the bar out 
It was an expensive and painful procedure 
And it would be a shame to have to let it close up and heal 
God dammit
I know this is my own stupid fault 
Maybe the purging had nothing to do with it
But I suspect it has
I am just so annoyed at myself 
That is all 

Saturday, 12 March 2016

Convention

ELast night
I went in to the city 
To attend the annual AA convention
It was my first ever convention
So I was both terrified and thrilled to be a part of it
I went with two of the ladies from the lunch time meetings
We all met up at 6pm
And arrived at the hotel it was being held at about 6 30pm
All day yesterday 
I was a ball of anxiety 
And came very close to cancelling on several occasions 
But I really wanted to go
And I felt comfortable with the two ladies
I knew they would look out for me
We were some of the first to arrive
We registered 
And headed in to our first meeting of the evening

I guess before I go any further 
I should explain what an AA convention
Basically 
It's like any other convention
Only its for alcoholics
The theme this year was 'Happy, joyous and free'
There are meetings on the hour
Every hour 
It's also a social event 
A chance to meet knew people
And have a good night
In this country 
Al lot of socialisation is done in the pub
So it can be difficult to meet people in other situations
I really enjoyed the convention
The people were friendly 
The craic was mighty
And the meetings were so powerful
All in all 
It was a great night
And in so glad that I went 
That I battled my anxiety and won
I arrived home at about 1am
My sister and my mum waited up for me 
And I told them all about it 

It has taken me almost two hours to write this short post 
As I keep falling asleep 
Or writing something that makes no sense
I just wanted to share with you about the convention
As it was a big deal for me
Anyway
I'm off for a little power nap
See you on the next post....