Blog news and my amazing day today!

Hello!

Wow, it's the 23rd of July already. What I need to take in mind is that not all my readers live in, say, China, or Australia. Or whatever. To be honest with you, we are getting real close to the back-to-school season, with many Americans going back to school next month. This means I'm going to post about all sorts of fun Summer-related topics now, helping you make the most out of your Summer! I can't wait to get back to school for some reason, perhaps because I haven't been for so long O-O However, if you dread going back, relax- my Summer posts are still yet to come and we're still in July.

I hope this is somewhat exciting!

As I start to drift away from the addictive, plain internet life (thank goodness!) and more into real life, I am becoming more of an interesting person and that equals MORE ATTENTION FOR THIS BLOG! 

This means more posts, and those posts will be lively, fun and interesting!  So, blog news is that more posts are coming, and this blog will certainly receive more attention now. I am thinking of changing the layout a bit, and maybe the name...

There's also a new poll (at last!) 

Now, away from the blog news we go, and into...

My amazingly thrilling day- 23 July 2014

Hmm, day started out normally. Woke up at the usual time, which is good. I had a dream about going back to school, and you have no idea how relieved I was to know that the timetable which appeared in the dream was not real. Ate breakfast, took all medication... except my calcium and vitamin D supplement, because I ran out. Anyway, soon after, the children of my mum's friend came over for a while- and since I'm not in their age range I can't say much :P I just got on with my own business, and did a few things to stop me getting bored... a bit of sticking, some trimming, experimenting with sequin bracelets, experimenting with loom band charms... all sorts of RANDOM stuff. Then, they went to the playground, and my mum's friend came back so my mum and sister returned home. Then, my mum and I set off for another hospital appointment today, but we had to go to the bank first. No, no no. First, I went to a shop and bought myself a doughnut. Oh yum yum yum! THEN I went to a McDonald's toilet, to the bank, queue was annoying AND we caught the bus (when we arrived it said 1 minute- talk about good perfect timing!) So, bus ride was okay, except for some nasty insect wandering around. We got off to change buses, and since the bus was coming in 7 minutes, I went to the Sainsbury's which was right next to the bus stop to look around. However, the buggy space in the bus was full and my mum had a buggy, so we couldn't come on... I knew I was going to be late for the appointment O-o

The next bus that we could take was due in 5 minutes, and it was getting dangerously close to my appointment. So, we took the bus, and quickly went for the lift. My appointment was for 2pm, and by the time we checked in, it was around 2.23pm...

We waited in the waiting room for a long time, until a nurse came in to do my blood pressure. Okay. No problem. We waited a bit more, and then I was seen by a doctor to discuss general stuff about my treatment, you know. I was told I wasn't responding to the steroids properly, but this was common and nothing to worry about. They gave me a prescription of another medicine to help me respond to the steroids, so problem solved. My blood clotting is normal  (though this morning I had a rather scary nosebleed) so I'm going to have a biopsy... before I go on vacation (it's what I was told). It's going to be a liver biopsy,I was told I was going to have to stay in hospital overnight after the biopsy... and then I was told I was going to have another blood test. RIGHT NOW. I was caught off-guard, with no numbing cream. ;-;

So, I waited, frightened, until the phlebotomist came up and called my name. Hoping it was going to be something NOT blood-related, we walked into the room titled 'Phlebotomy'. Inside, I was screaming and making earthquakes in my little ideal mental world.

I was so scared, I started crying and that was noticeable by the time I started confirming my date of birth- I could barely say it normally 0_0

The nurse was really friendly though, and offered the spray. I explained that I usually had cream and didn't know how well the spray worked, and I was frightened of blood tests. I held my arm out, and everything was going so quickly O_O

The spray came on...

And then, I felt a sharp STING/PINCH/WHATEVER.

Dun dun dun!

THE NEEDLE WENT IN AND I FELT IT. TIME TO PANIC.

I was technically crying my head off, though I was quiet enough.  I didn't feel anything apart from that though, and thanked the nurse at least a million times after I went out of the room. :o

My mum was downstairs, dealing with my prescription. I got lost after trying to find the lift, but found my mum eventually and then we found the lift XD I needed the toilet, and when I went outside, my mum revealed the BEST THING EVER. TWO, TWO TWO! Not one, TWO! beautiful slices of my favourite Millionaire's shortbread. I was really glad, and then we spent AGES waiting for the prescription to come. AGES. I looked in the shop a bit, but didn't actually buy anything. Though I kind of wanted the samosa, the grape packet and I liked the muffin and cookie. Oh well, I  had enough already XD

Anyway, I guess that's the end of my day, since the rest was spent at home just relaxing and eating a dinner of spaghetti. I also had some jelly and some of my mum's cake. I'm saving the shortbread and doughnuts for a little later ^-^

So, that's it! Thanks so much for reading my blog, have a wonderful day and see you tomorrow ^-^

Endoscopy?!

Hey people of the world!
How is everyone today? I would imagine my fellow human beings are having a rather day-like day today, and today's post is going to be about my rather interesting day today! :D
I woke up just a little earlier than usual, perhaps around the time I usually used to wake up for school. I went over to my mum's friend's house because my mum did some work there, and then after around 2-3 hours we got out and got the bus to do some more back-to-school shopping.
It was generally rather small, just to kind of... finish off shopping for school. Kind of. We did most of it on Sunday, and we got a voucher so we decided to spend it. I got some HB pencils I needed, some highlighters to use when my current ones run out (my current ones are the ones I have been using a bit last academic year too,so they are due to run out any time soon) and also a pack of really good coloured pencils I wanted for a while. They were normally quite expensive, but there was a sale for back-to-school stuff and they were 30% off, so I just couldn't resist *o*
We did more shopping, walking around all sorts of random shops. Some were random shops my mum wanted to check out, since she still needs a dress to wear to the wedding, and others were shops I wanted to visit too. You know, a few random stores and stuff ^-^ I still need to find a shop to buy keyrings and charms from, because I think that they would be rather cool to have for next academic year. I also want to buy a few more loom bands, because they are quite a fun and interesting thing to do when I'm bored in the summer. I'm hoping to buy one of those things called 'Looms' at some point, because almost all tutorials require one and IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!

Then, we took another bus as I had a hospital appointment today, too. We had quite a lot of time so I checked the Costa store, expecting my favourite Millionaire's Shortbread to be there. Guess what, though? IT WASN'T THERE! :(
I was HEARTBROKEN. Alright, not quite heartbroken, but I was definitely disappointed to some extent. I looked at the other store but didn't really find anything I wanted, so I went into the lift with my mum, got off and tried to find where we were meant to go. I'm going to be totally honest with you, we weren't the best when it came to navigation -^o^-
We waited in the waiting room, waited waited waited.
Waited some more.
...
...
...
Some nurse measured my height and weight, which I won't tell you >:D
Why? Well, it can *kinda* give away my age :T I don't want people judging me, either, but all I can tell you is that I'm at a healthy weight, no need to worry ^-^
We waited even more, and another nurse saw me to explain why on earth I had this appointment.
Okay, so sometimes, liver disease also comes with some sort of gut disease. Because of this correlation, they need to check if I have something wrong with my gut too, just to be sure. So, I'm going to have an endoscopy T^T I'm not sure when exactly just yet, but I was told they were also going to take samples from organs in my GI tract or something... I think so, yup. I'm a bit clueless about some points, really.
Oh yes, not everyone knows what an endoscopy is!
It's where a camera is inserted into your body (in my case, around my intestines) to see what's going on. I was told I will be put to sleep, and the procedure takes up to an hour. I will need to stay in hospital for a few hours until I feel comfortable,and I should be able to go home on the same day.

Then, I went to the hospital shops again (and returned with nothing!), and we then took the bus again a few stops to do some more shopping. I have never done shopping in that area, and I have to say there was quite a wide range. Didn't find anything at first, but then went to a Sainsbury's and I settled for a Danish Cinnamon Whirl (I was getting REALLY hungry!!), I also bought some bagels. Then, we took another bus,  but got off again after several stops because my mum wanted to buy herself a skirt she saw before we went to the appointment. So, we did, then checked when our bus was going to come.
You know what the timetable said?
11 MINUTES
My mum decided we were better off walking, so we walked the distance. I was really tired by then, but once we got home, I stuffed my face with grapes and had some of my mum's homemade cake, waited (rather impatiently!) for some homemade spaghetti (I LOVE MY MUM'S SPAGHETTI), shoved it in my mouth... yum yum yum.... it was about 8pm by the time that was done and I noticed I still haven't posted on here.
So, I took a chocolate croissant (honestly, it was only because if I didn't eat it today, it would be spoiled by tomorrow and nobody wants to waste croissants), sat down in front of the computer, munched on my croissant and started to deal with my extremely interesting blogs.
I have to admit, I suppose I can relax Operation-banish-summer-boredom for now because it almost seems like there are TOO MANY things now, and I'm forgetting some of them actually.
So the plan is, just carry on with life and if you happen to run out of activities, just get yourself out of the house and buy some big fat books from a charity shop (but books you will actually read!) or something. Or, just go shopping- the shopping KILLS time and so does the fancy new stuff you get. The more fancy new stuff you get, the better! :D
I'm always on the lookout for loom bands, a  (good!) loom,charms,keyrings,books and other fancy schnazz that will keep me occupied, and perhaps liven up the upcoming academic year. I'm thinking of getting a plastic wallet, too.

Have a nice Summer everyone, and see you in tomorrow's post!
It might be a fun craft post, or a post about my extremely thrilling day tomorrow.
I love all my pickles! :D

I have been discharged

Greetings, my friend
Some of my keyboard keys aren't working and it takes effort to get them on my screen
Therefore, I apologise for the awful quality of this post, and possibly a few future ones
Anyway, I have been discharged from hospital on Wednesday
However, I am still not completely well, as I was in hospital so they can make a diagnosis and figure out the treatment
I can take the treatment at home, as long as they monitor me and ensure everything is fine
On to the juicy bit, probably what you have all been waiting for

My diagnosis

It's autoimmune hepatitis- when my immune system over-reacts and attacks my own body 

Auto-immune hepatitis HAS got treatment, but I will most likely be stuck with it for the rest of my life

If I look on the bright side though- at least it's not cancer or an undiscovered disease with no treatment

Yes, autoimmune hepatitis is rare, but it has treatment

Treatment

Steroids and another bunch of medications

Okay, so I HAVE posted before that I have autoimmune hepatitis

I can take the treatment at home as long as I am monitored, I also have a blood test on Monday

I am taking 5 different medicines- here they are with a tiny little review

I wish my keyboard just worked!

1. Vitamin K- I was also given this in hospital through a cannula already as my blood isn't clotting properly, meaning I couldn't have a liver biopsy either- I will have one, but not just yet; amongst all those pills I'm taking,I'm unsure which one is the Vitamin K
2. Calcium and Vitamin D- Since steroids can make my bones more fragile and prone to damage, I have been also given Calcium and Vitamin D to help overcome this- it's a lemon flavoured medicine I need to dissolve in water and if I don't drink it fast enough, well- it goes all chalky and gets stuck in my throat- EEW
3. Stomach-protecting pill- It simply protects my stomach from the steroids, and I find this one so boring I'm not bothered to post any more about it
4. Multi-vitamin- This is probably to just keep me healthy overall, with pretty much every single Vitamin in there; I checked Even all the B-Vitamins are in there! You can't compete with THAT
5. Steroids- nasty side-effects as I am currently on a high dose and it can take a while to get to a tiny dose This means I can experience things such as;-

• Slow growth- I'm tall, so I don't mind too much- for now, anyway
• Bone weakness- YAY is that my PE exit ticket?
• Bad mood- Excellent! Just what I need -o-
• Appetite- I shall gain weight like see if I care
• A bunch of other stuff that I don't even like

Today's post will be short, but I will try to return to regular posting schedule as soon as I can

ANYWAY

What does this mean for me?

This probably signifies the start of my Summer

WOO-HOO WHEE!

My baby sister is getting baptised tomorrow- I hope to devote tomorrow's entire post to food, celebration and showing you pictures of yummy cake so you all get hungry

Au revoir, merci beaucoup pour regarde mon Blog 

Désolé pour ma Français

Geez, it' shiny

The mystery has been solved!

Hello!
Here is what happened over the last couple of days- you might want to grab some soda and popcorn.
Now, on Saturday, wasn't really that eventful, and nor was Sunday. Well, except for the fact I finally had an opportunity to give death stares to smokers and experience the fresh air again as my parents were able to take me out for a while. First, we went to the nearby park to sit down and I had a bagel. All the time, I was suspiciously glaring around for dogs. Especially those crazy ones that run around without leads...
Anyway, we then went to look for a café. Eventually, we settled at a Nandos, despite my arguments regarding HOW DARN SPICY THEIR FOOD IS AND HOW THEY DON'T SELL PANCAKES. So, I didn't order a Main Meal because I would be too full for dinner, but I did order some Toffee ice cream. Ha. I examined the tub and then only thought of one thing:- RIP-OFF O-o
Not only did it have a raised base, but it was TINY. IN A TUB. Guess what? It was so darn expensive. Anyway, I saw a pretty funky bus and apart from the lady with attitude who was smoking, it was rather nice. I missed ordering supper, but the nurse looking after me happened to save me by letting me order. Can't say yesterday was too exciting. Did you know they gave me IV medication for OVER AN HOUR? At least I was asleep, but I swear it was long time I was connected to that thing. Now, for today! I had decent sleep, yup. Mhm. I ate breakfast- cornflakes, my dad came to visit,ordered lunch, got something I didn't really want, my mum visited and ate the lunch and made some lunch for me- a bagel, random cereal and a croissant. Then, I have finally RECEIVED MY DIAGNOSIS!

I have Autoimmune Liver Disease, which means my immune system decided to attack my own body. This caused inflammation and a bunch of other stuff, resulting in a bunch of health problems. This could run in the family, and although Autoimmune Liver Disease is rare, it can be treated. Woo! HOW? I hear you ask. Well, this is usually treated with steroids. No, not the ones illegally used by athletes to look like, well, this;-

Steroids that help suppress my immune system. This also comes in with regular blood tests and monitoring. The steroids also come with many side effects, like;-

• Increased risk of infection, meaning I will have to stay off school for a while. A consultant told me I may not go back this term, but it depends.
• Behaviour changes and more aggression.
• Increased appetite
• Higher blood pressure

So, I do not want to go to school as a hungry, aggressive monster. They are starting with a high dose, and then they will go down which will take a few weeks. It's not favourable, but it's for my health!
Anyway, it's REALLY hard to decide on Supper here
Today, I had fish and chips with chocolate ice cream.
What should I have tomorrow?
I will post tomorrow to help you decide, but for now, GOODBYE!
-Queen Pickle

The mystery of the liver

Hello!
Sorry for a late post, I wanted a lot to write about.

Here's a cat to distract you.

So I'm still in hospital. I'm going to let you know, I will not share the name, location, names of staff and name of my ward because that is just seriously unsafe. Besides, why would I want to? The interesting part is probably the experience...

Anyway, I got woken up very early to have numbing cream put on in two locations in my arm, to prepare for a blood test. Around 7am, I had the blood test, and the only thing I felt was a little pressure when the needle went in. NUMBING CREAM=Total magic. I stayed calm during the blood test, had antibiotics through my cannula and slept (not for much longer, though). I decided to just wake up after I couldn't endure crying and Peppa Pig on someone's TV. 

I then had an MRI scan (Magnetic Reference Imaging) which I was scared of at first, but it turned out quite well. It was at about 9am, and they played me random music since the machine was noisy. I was given breathing instructions through an intercom, and my arm was eventually fairly uncomfortable. Then, the machine stopped and I was out!
The morning's blood test results said I couldn't have the biopsy today, so I had a late breakfast (cornflakes). My mum visited quite shortly after and then my dad, and I ate a bunch of random snacks as a lunch substitute as I didn't get the opportunity to order it. For supper, I had a jacket potato with cheddar cheese, salad and apple crumble. Yum! Then,I had a lemon muffin.
I wonder when I'll be discharged, though it's quite nice here. I miss home, but this is for my health, right? I also wonder WHAT ON EARTH IS WRONG WITH ME.
I hope to find out soon!
I apologise for such a short post, but it's something. I'll see you tomorrow-
HAVE A NICE DAY!

Moved Hospitals

Hello! ^-^
I wasn't able to come home yesterday, because of my blood test results >.>
I had to move hospitals, and will be staying- I'm not sure how long for.
The hospital is actually quite cool;the wards are much bigger. There used to be 4 beds in my other ward, here there are at least 17. This is both good and bad- good because there's more space but bad because it's harder to find me, more difficult to adjust and more people that means more noise.
The bed doesn't squeak,thankfully. There's a bed so a parent can stay overnight, but the chairs for visitors are a little less comfortable... but at least there's a chair,right? The curtains are easier to move and are blue- I wonder if this is because of the calming nature of the colour?
Security is a little  better- I can lock valuables in my bedside table. Apart from that, it's quite similar. Also, I have my own sink- great because there used to be only one sink per ward. As far as I'm concerned, TV is free and THERE ARE DARN PLAY STATIONS .Even though I never used one, I wonder how much money this hospital has. In terms of conditions, I don't think there is a better one. At both hospitals, the nurses and doctors are extremely friendly and help me to remain calm during tests. It's really similar, so there isn't too much to adjust to ^.^
Anyway, I am supposed to have a biopsy tomorrow. I'm a little frightened, but I hope it goes well. Normally, I'm fine as long as I don't have to feel any of it. I had my left hand cannula removed because it leaked- same thing that happened to my right hand one. So, I had a new one inserted, and this time, I DID FEEL IT. Woah, I'm so abnormally brave. I felt the needle and everything, but hey. Worth it. Medicine didn't sting for now, but I will take extra caution with this cannula (on my right hand, but in a different spot) so it doesn't sting. I had a blood test very early this morning too, and I had cream applied last night. However, by the time I had the test (about 5.30am) the cream wasn't working very well and so I had to feel it. Ouch. I survived though.
I couldn't sleep last night because of the televisions. They were not extremely loud, but I think it would have been much more polite if they turned off the televisions at 9pm as instructed or at least turned them down so I would not have to hear those kids' cartoons. When I was trying to sleep after my blood test, another kid was screaming her head off. I could bear it, but only  just.I wonder if anyone else got woken up, but it was rather unpleasant. If she was getting a painful test, I understand,yes, but I would have benefitted from earplugs.
Anyway, I know I may have been able to post a little better if I was not in hospital, but I'm trying my best. I am stuck for page ideas,but once I have a good idea I'll add it.
Enjoy the Summer sunshine, and if you are in the southern hemisphere, enjoy your winter!

Eating healthy. DONE RIGHT.

Experience in hospital

Hai!
Here's a fish. Take it.

I'm currently staying in hospital. Nope, don't worry,I'm totally okay. I was feeling sick about 2-4 weeks ago on and off and then my toe started to hurt, preventing me from walking. After days off school, I finally got to see a doctor and had a blood test. Nope, no magical numbing cream or anaesthesia. I was positively FRIGHTENED. I managed to survive, and the results arrived the next day. It turned out my liver was just trolling and decided to not function correctly. So, as a result, I stayed in hospital for about 7 hours before being transferred to a ward. I had a cannula inserted, this time with numbing cream, but I didn't know how they worked at the time. If you don't know, a cannula is a bit of plastic inserted into a vein with a needle and attached to some tubes and a valve thing so you can get given medication directly into your vein. I was scared, but after it was over I was much happier. I was transferred to my ward after LOTS of waiting and had to wait to get my things brought from home. So, I stayed overnight. I stayed from Friday and if everything goes well, I may be discharged today.
Here's a list of the highlights!

FOOD! The food is actually quite nice, though not quite the same compared to my mum's homemade meals (I want pancakes!). I didn't have anything to eat for AGES so the first thing I ate was a cheese sandwich and some chocolate mousse. As an avid cereal fan, I ate regular cornflakes every day for breakfast. The drinks really varied, but I mainly had orange juice and milk. Breakfast normally came at around 8am, give or take some time. Lunch came around noon, and hot food was available but I preferred sandwiches (I had a preference for ham or cheese) for lunch. There were also small desserts like fruit bags and yogurt, and sometimes cake. Sometimes, there are other things too. (Like giant cookies) Dinner is around 5-6, and although you can pick sandwiches or hot food, I usually choose hot food at this point. There's also usually small dessert, like cake.

CANNULA I honestly dreaded my medication, one is every 8 hours and another is once a day. I found a pattern lately of the 8 hour medication- 2am,10am,6pm. I hated how the first flush stings- possibly because of the salt in it (but I still sprinkled salt over my dinner because I'm awesome that way) but the stinging got more bearable. It may have hurt because a nurse flushed it- the rest was up to the machine. I was given antibiotics and vitamin K as far as I'm concerned, and it wasn't so bad. Here are techniques I used that work well for calming;

• Know when the next medicine is coming so you can be prepared.
• Find something interesting to read or watch on your phone,tablet,book or laptop to take your mind off things. I found it works better for me when the machine is doing it, not so much on the flush.
• This works for me during the flush- talk to the nurse or look out of the window. Find something to talk about, even sometimes  I just simply say that it stings and it helps.
• Crucial- DON'T THINK ABOUT WHAT IS HAPPENING. IF YOU THINK IT'S GONNA HURT, WELL, I GOT NEWS FOR YA, IT'S GONNA HURT.Don't think about veins,blood or stinging. Try not to look, either. When I saw my cannula inside my vein... well, I was positively frightened. DON'T.THINK.ABOUT.IT

BED  Most of my day was in bed, and it came with a little control that allowed me to change it a little. For the day, I put the back up so it was a little like a sofa, and the beds are actually quite comfortable.Well, they have to be, if I'm going to stay in them all day.

BLOOD TESTS I totally dreaded those little devils. I had at least 5-10 of them, but even though I am one of the biggest hemophobic people out there, even I have generated tips. The value of experience!
Here you are ^-^

• Drink water. It helps get your *shudder* blood flowing and opens up your *gulp* veins a little, stay hydrated! Apparently it's good to minimise stress,too.
• Ask for anaesthesia. Numbing cream stays on for about 30 minutes-1.5 hours, and can actually ELIMINATE the pain! Trust me, it worked. There is also a spray that temporarily freezes the skin. From my experience, it's not as effective as numbing cream and not as effective on its own, but it's instant. It works well in conjunction with the numbing cream and I always have them together as a reinforcing measure.
• Play a game or read beforehand to calm your mind.Do some Sudoku puzzles, read a good book, play flappy bird or try a puzzle... just stay occupied!
• Do not look at any of the equipment. See if there is anything in the room to distract you just in case; such as a window, poem or even a spot on the wall.
• Breathe deeply and count. For example, in for 4,hold for 2, out for 4... it distracts you well!
• Count! I am often quite worried and tend to count quickly, but as long as you're counting it's okay.
• Talk to whoever is doing it, I find that an excellent distraction. If you don't want to hear what's going on, SAY SO! I only like to know when it's actually in and when it's out.
• Relax as much as possible so the blood actually flows. Being tense makes it even worse!

LIFE Well, mainly in bed, really.There's a curtain I usually keep open during the day, and the view is beautiful. I have a bedside table that is normally in front of my bed,and a sofa for visitors which I sometimes use. There is also a TV/Phone thing, then again, only sometimes used.
That's all I can think of for now, what do you think? Have YOU ever stayed in hospital?