Summer break kinda crept up on me...*Surprise*

So after all that I have made it through my exams unscathed...typing saved my bacon so to speak though-without that compromise things would be a different matter entirely. I still don't know if it was enough to gain passes though-again, time will tell. Its weird (well not for me really) not sitting exams with my classmates...in fact when I think about it, over all my years of study, only one final exam have I sat in 'normal' circumstances...every other one has had either extra time, separate quiet room and then this lot a computer to type as well. I'm not ashamed that I needed extra help, just noting a fact because without this extra assistance for my written exams I have a feeling I wouldn't have made it through the way I have (although we are yet to find out if it was enough this round).

I am proud of where I'm sitting (well actually laying if you want the complete truth), I finished 3rd year of my physio degree...I made it through 3 years of tough study and though I faltered at times-I never gave up! Thats an achievement because we went from a class of 112 to 93 between 2nd and 3rd year and its not been easy on anybody.
I've had a bit of time to think recently and although I never got the grades I wanted or had set as goals, I still proved I can do this-even with pain and set backs which I am still soldiering on with. I CAN do this, I CAN push through, I DID show that despite everything I CAN do what the rest of the class can do, and I can do it well. I need to think about that and be proud of what I did achieve even if it doesn't quite match up with what I had set in my head.

I have had a few disappointing things recently, its pretty clear that I now have CRPS in my dominant hand and arm BUT knowledge is power this time round...I dont have such fear associated with symptoms like when I wasn't diagnosed in my leg. This time I knew and wasn't scared (ok I was/am pretty bummed out) of what was/ is happening. But I hate the dark extra hair already, it looks yucky to me lol and I'm not sure about the dropsy symptoms, a few broken glasses already and I cant write-which I have to fix before summer is over.
Also my knee MRI came back fine, which means, yes you guessed it...crps reaction in that too...my whole body seems to be up in revolt and crps is rearing its ugly head everywhere I have hurt by accident which is causing me to reevaluate my actions somewhat. Without noticing so much I have become way more cautious about doing stuff and I dont think thats the answer but for now I'll let it be. A little care wont go amiss.
And finally I got my DEXA scan results back which show generalised mild osteopenia which isn't technically an issue (haha) but requires that I maintain proper calcium intake (umm so yea we are working on that with the dietitian lol) and incorporate weight bearing exercise into my day.

I can just see the (physio torture) um fun I will have this summer...but summer is here and I am back home with all my accumulated belongings (what a heap you can collect up over 4 years) sad about losing some parts of my old life, but excited (and scared) to be starting a new chapter of my life and wondering just what its going to bring.

Check in for more regular updates lol, now I'm on summer break blogging will commence with more frequency :)

Its just too hot

We are having a proper summer just now with temps up in the 30s Celsius. I am the first to say I don't like the cold but my previous tolerance for the heat seems to have disappeared too.

My bedroom is upstairs, and faces a direction that means thus far I have failed to keep it cooler in any way, in fact it seems to be the hottest room in the house :(
Not very helpful when it comes to resting up or trying to sleep, even at night as it doesn't cool down much either.

It is just too hot for me, my foot feels like it is so swollen that my skin could explode (it doesn't look swollen though so that is ok) and doesn't help the burning pain. I'm cranky from pain and lack of sleep and just wish I could stop hurting for just a little bit, I'm tired of all this...I'm hoping that this weather doesn't last too much longer as a few cool days would be appreciated-not just by me but I think a few people!

No-one said this would be easy....

...but I didn't think I was going to discover just how bad I am! I have just been striped of my smokescreen and goodness, I never realised how thick it was!

I have so many ways of getting around NOT doing movements but when you have a physiotherapist watching you like a hawk, trick movements are spotted right away.

We had hardly done anything when the dreaded words "we are going to go right back to basics" were uttered. As a physio student I know too much, I know what I should be doing, I know in reality the simplicity of them and cannot deal with the fact that I just cant make my body do what I want it to. As a result I feel embarrassment (but I would never feel like this towards a patient, that is the strange thing...if I had a patient like me I would be encouraging and do exactly what my physio did, explain how CRPS makes even just the simplest things too hard to start off with).

The truth is, I find it so hard being the one on the other end. I want to be the physio helping patients-I am not supposed to be the patient myself and this is creating an added obstacle. One I need to get passed so I focus all my energy on getting through the torture that is what this hydrotherapy is to me just now.

One little, essential movement results in tears, not because I am weak or a baby, but because it is interpreted by my brain as harmful...this is what I have to work through and today I face the reality of what summer is going to be-a painful journey but hopefully worth it. i just hope I have the strength, motivation and determination to push through and reach the goal which signal improvement.

I'm glad I'm not working over summer, I am supposed to try and get to the pool most days and I certainly wouldn't cope with this and having to work as well. She is going to talk to the Doctor about a 'rescue med' that I will be able to take to help ward off flares

What happened over summer...

So, first my apologies for not posting for so long...internet availability was ummm well a little difficult do to so many wanting to use it all the time.
What happened over summer break:

My best friend graduated from college
Got into physio school (well that’s the most important thing)
Lots of physio to rehab my shoulder to the point it is now functional
Was allowed to get back into swimming (shoulder injury meant no swimming)
Had a great holiday and Christmas/New Years
Caught up with lots of friends
Rode my bicycle heaps!
Saw my hip surgeon for a follow up, trying to decide if I'll go for the cortisone injection he offered...

I can’t remember if anything else happened or not! (Well apart from all that work in the chocolate factory and did I mention getting in to physio? whoo hoo!!!!!!