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Monday 16th March 2026 - Not Quite Dead Yet

Sha, a woman with long pink hair and a big grin, giving a slightly chaotic salute to the camera. She's wearing a gorgeous green and orange patterned top and sitting on the sofa like the absolute trooper she is. Yes, she did manage to get dressed today. Yes, she is very proud of herself.

Right. So.

I have now recorded approximately ten versions of this vlog. TEN. Each one starts with some variation of "hello," "hi," or "I'm alive," and each one is somehow worse than the last. You're getting this one. You're welcome.

It's been a rough couple of weeks, bab. A proper relapse. The kind where the bed becomes your entire world, and you're sleeping more than you're awake, and the days sort of blur into one long, grey, duvet-scented fog. I won't dress it up. It was pants.

BUT.

Today is different. Today I got out of bed. I had a bath. I got dressed. And — crucially — I did all three of those things in the same morning.

I know. Try to contain your excitement.

For anyone who doesn't live with chronic illness, that might sound like a fairly low bar. For anyone who DOES — you know exactly how enormous that bar actually is, and you're probably already mentally awarding me a medal. I'll accept it graciously. 🏅

I also wanted to say sorry for going quiet. I know I just sort of... disappeared for a bit. That's the nature of this thing, unfortunately. Sometimes the body just says "nope, we're done," and there's not a lot you can do except listen to it and wait.

The good news is — I'm back. Ish. In a "taking it very carefully and treating myself like a small nervous animal" kind of way.

And! Tomorrow I'm heading to the cinema with the Burntwood crew. Before you worry — I am fully aware that my contribution will essentially be sitting in a dark room watching a screen, which is, let's be honest, not massively different from what I've been doing in bed for the past fortnight. Except I won't fall asleep. Because I'll be in public. And that's just not the done thing, is it. 😂

If you fancy joining us, details are in the group — come along. No pressure, no performance required. Just films, probably snacks, and excellent company.

I hope to see some of you soon. 💜

Three Good Things Today:

  1. Got out of bed, had a bath, AND got dressed. In one morning. Honestly, someone give me a trophy. 🏆
  2. Aimmee came round for tea and a catch-up. ☕
  3. We reached 200 members on the Burntwood Spoonies Facebook Group. 🎉

Today's mantra:

"You don't have to do everything. You just have to do the next small thing."

With love,

Sha 💜

aka The Wheely Happy Aardvark

#WheelyHappyDays #KOKO #ChronicIllness #FND #MECFS #Fibromyalgia #SpoonieLife #InvisibleIllness #WheelchairLife #GoodDayAlert #SmallWins #PacingNotRacing #Spoonie #BurntwoodSpoonies #Burntwood