By Published on

Wednesday 7th May 2025

The photo shows a Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera) with vibrant coral-orange blooms cascading over the edges of its pot. It sits on a white windowsill with bright green foliage visible through the window in the background. The plant features glossy dark green segmented leaves contrasting beautifully with the numerous trumpet-shaped flowers. Natural light from the window illuminates the plant, creating a peaceful indoor garden scene.
Christmas Cactus @Sha Taylor

Morning loves! Well, not exactly morning anymore...

Slept through my "take your pills" alarm at 8:30 and woke up around 10am on the sofa. Turns out I crashed at 8:30pm yesterday and, according to Connor, "refused dinner" - translation: was too shattered to even contemplate food. Don't even remember getting to the sofa, if I'm honest. That's FND for you - sometimes your body just says "NOPE" and takes over.

Yesterday was bloody hard. There's this constant battle in my head between grieving my old life and trying to embrace this new wheeled existence. The vicious cycle of fatigue and pain is relentless some days, and yesterday it won the round. It's not always doom and gloom on these wheels, but I promised myself this blog would be honest, so here we are.

Health Update:

Saw my awesome GP who's referring me back to Neurology. The arthritis diagnosis was confirmed (yay, another label for the collection 🙄) and I've got some new painkillers which seem to be taking the edge off. Small victories, eh?

The only thing keeping me pushing forward is my determination to get back to work someday, though right now that feels like trying to climb Everest in flip-flops. My councillor work gives me purpose in the meantime, but even that had its challenges yesterday with all the reshuffles. Still, I'll make the most of what I can do to stay present in our community. Especially now when we're all entering the unknown.

Today's Intentions:

  • A little planting in my garden haven (though my body's laughing at that suggestion)
  • Rest without the guilt soundtrack playing in my head
  • Spend time with Connor on his day off work (my boy's in his 20s but still my baby)

Three Good Things:

  • Got a new parasol for my garden wheelchair spot - shade makes everything more manageable
  • New painkillers actually seem to be doing their job (fingers crossed it lasts)
  • Quality time ahead with Connor and Paul's promised to make his legendary ramen for dinner

Evening Reflection:

  • Properly excited about Trekinetic coming tomorrow to test my dream chair! Might be my ticket to more independence
  • Hoping for an early night that actually involves a bed rather than passing out on the sofa

Gratitude Corner:

  • Grateful for Connor taking a day off to hang out with his wheelchair-bound mum.
  • Grateful for Paul who cooks when I can't stand.
  • Grateful for GPs who actually listen.

Affirmations:

  • I am a good person, and I don't need to prove it
  • My worth isn't measured by my mobility
  • It's okay to have rubbish days - they don't define the journey

Thoughts

The #WheelyHappyDays might be outnumbered by the wheely hard ones at the moment, but they're still there, peeking through. Sometimes happiness is just finding the right parasol for your garden haven or the wheelchair to set you free.

Anyone else having those "my body's betrayed me" days? Drop a comment below.

Sha x
#WheelyHappyDays #ChronicIllnessReality #FNDLife #WheelchairAdventures