My Covid19 record 2020

I haven't bothered writing any blogs so far this year as i feel all our minds are on something a little more pressing and important. It really does put things into perspective when in the midst of a virus pandemic. I thought it was important to make a record of some of the main things that has been going on lately with this pandemic. 
So this is my record of Covid 19 - 2020 

 I never thought i would ever in a millions years witness something like a pandemic in my lifetime. Its normally something your read in history books or hear about in lessons at school. things that try and teach us not to make the same mistakes. It's crazy to think whats going on around the world and so many people dying and suffering. It really puts your life into perspective and you start to realise that material things in life are not as important as you thought. 

There are many who believe they have already had the virus and managed to get away with mild symptoms but even then they still struggled with issues from this virus. There are 100;'s of thousands of people who have had a bad reaction to the virus and end up paying with their lives. Everyday we wake up dreading the news on TV telling us of the latest figures and recovery plans to try and get control and recover from the pandemic. People avoid hospital as they don't want to risk catching the virus as no one knows how you will react if it will be mild or deadly, its like a game of Russian roulette 

. Hospitals don't want to deal with minor issues for them but big issues for the patients but they are told to wait for treatment after the virus has subsided as the hospitals are in fear of being over run. Armies rush to build field hospitals in stadiums and various buildings to take care of the increase in infections. People are told to stay home and not visit yet you always get some who refuse to play the game and end up breaking rules by going to parks. Many start taking up cycling to keep fit and get out and about so they are not trapped indoors as it is one of the allowed exercises by the government. 

Its all one big shock to the system and something i never thought i would be involved in. My mother caught the virus and ended up in hospital and is now in recovery and still struggling as i write this. My brother had symptoms at the start and had to self isolate. I suffered a strange flu like illness back in November despite having the flu jab which resulted in loss of smell and taste , a very high fever and struggling to breath. At the time i thought it was because i had a chest infection and my smoking had made it worst. Thankfully i have oxygen at home to deal with my clusters. I then get a second bout of the same illness at the start of the outbreak but thankfully am all clear despite still having to be rushed into hospital twice and finding out that the damage i have in the nerves on the left, i now have on the right side of my neck as well so have lots of trouble to look forwards to in the future with the right side of my body just like i did with my left side.  My step father had to self isolate for a long period due to my mother catching the virus, Its all been one crazy experience and very worrying.

We are now at the end of April (25th) and the amount of infections per day is starting to reduce and the amount of infections becoming problematic and resulting in death has decreased.  As they say the curve has flattened but its still quite a high amount of people everyday getting infected and a lot of people dying so i think its going to be a long while before we get some sort of control over this and i pray that we find the cure and vaccine as quickly as possible.

I can honestly say this is a LIFE CHANGING AND WORLD CHANGING EVENT and one year i really want to forget.....

The main points.......

Prime Minister Boris Johnson started lock-down on the evening of 23rd of March 2020 🚫

On the 5th April he was admitted to hospital after 10 days self isolating with the Corona Virus 🧪

On the 6th April he is in intensive care with deteriorating symptoms 🩺

The Queen addressed the nation at 8 pm on 5th April 👑

Excel now known as NHS Nightingale and will be a hospital for up to 4,000 patients, most of whom are on ventilators. 

Similar venues being used in cities across the country. Opened by Prince Charles at 11am on 3rd April 🏥

Community support groups established, to support the vulnerable, elderly, immune-compromised and people in enforced isolation due to exposure, in their community 🧓🏻👴🏻

Petrol ⛽️ price close to home 🏡 was £1.02.

Schools closed on Friday 20 March. 🏫Remote learning in place 🎓

Self-distancing measures required ☹️

Tape on the floors at grocery stores ❌ and others to help distance shoppers 🛒 (2 meters) from each other.

Limited number of people inside stores, therefore, lineups outside the store doors 🏬

Non-essential stores and businesses mandated closed 🚫 People who can work 👩🏻‍💻👨🏻‍💻 from home 🏡

Parks 🏕 trails, entire cities 🏢 closed or restricted to locals only in their bubble.

Entire sports ⚽️ 🏉 🎾 seasons cancelled. Recreational Sports Banned, No Fishing!!

Olympics postponed to 2021. 🔵🟡⚫🟢🔴

Concerts 🎫 tours 🚌 festivals 🤹🏻 entertainment events 🎭 cancelled 🚫

Weddings 👰🏼🤵🏻 family celebrations 🥳 holiday gatherings 👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 even funerals ⚰️ cancelled 🚫

No masses, churches ⛪️ are closed 🚫

No gatherings of 50 or more, then 20 or more, then 10 or more. Now, Don't socialise with anyone outside of your home bubble ⚗️

Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and all other TV networks are on in every home daily now 🎬

Children's outdoor play parks are closed 🎡

We are to distance from each other. Shortage of masks 😷 gowns 🥼 gloves 🧤 for our front-line workers.

Shortage of ventilators for the critically ill 🤒 in many parts of the world.

Refrigerated trucks for the dead outside hospitals in the USA 🇺🇸 Italy 🇮🇹 Spain 🇪🇸 China 🇨🇳 and more.

Panic buying 🛒 sets in before lock-down and we had limits on toilet paper 🧻 disinfecting supplies, paper towels, staple foods 🥗 hand sanitiser 🧴 Flour is hard to get because the packaging comes from China 🇨🇳 and borders are closed 🚧

Manufacturers 🏭 distilleries and other businesses 🏢 switch their lines to help make visors, masks 😷 hand sanitiser 🧴 and PPE 🧤

Fines are established for breaking lock-down rules 🤑

Stadiums 🏟 and recreation facilities overseas open up for the overflow of Covid-19 🦠 patients.

Press conferences daily from the PM 👱‍♂️ and other government 🏛 officials. Daily updates on new cases, recoveries, and deaths ⚰️

Government 🏛 incentives to stay home. Barely anyone on the roads 🛣

People wearing masks 😷 and gloves outside 🧤

Essential service workers are terrified to go to work 👮🏻 👩🏻‍⚕️ 👲🏻

Medical field workers 👩🏻‍⚕️ are afraid to go home to their families 👨‍👧‍👦

A 99 year old WWII veteran Captain Tom Moore raised £28 million for NHS charities walking 100 lengths of his garden before he turned 100. His target was £1000. People from all over the world donated to his cause. 💂🏻‍♂️🎖🏅💷

The amount of deaths so far is in the 100's of thousands and climbing each day.

This is the Novel Corona-virus 🦠 (Covid-19) Pandemic, WHO declared March 11th, 2020.

Things can only get better,,,,

After years of suffering and constant cluster attacks it has been a difficult journey learning to deal with this illness and the problems it brings. One big problem is the fact that you end up cut off from the world unable to go anywhere due to fear of having attacks all the time. Oxygen is the biggest help out of all the medication and being able to take it with me when i go out would mean i can get out and about more and not feel cut off but its been a difficult battle in order to get a portable version as the big tanks are just too big to carry with you. Its fine for times when i go fishing as i can just chuck the bottle in the van and take with me that way but not always do i have transport available to take me.

Thankfully the hospital listened to me when i last went to see them and understood why i was feeling so cut off from life and struggling on a daily basis. They finally changed my script to not only allow me more oxygen bottles but also a portable system that i can carry with me at all times in case of the attacks when i am out and about. This is such a relief especially after struggling for so many years, When i was first diagnosed i thought my life was over and it would be one down hill struggle but i am finally getting some sort of control again and having portable oxygen available to me means i can once again be a social person. 

One of the reasons i had to stop my fishing through the winter is because my attacks increase to such a level its impossible to cope with on a daily basis unless i have oxygen available to me. Even though i have the injections to abort an attack i am only allowed 2 in a 24 hour period with meant when i have days with 4 or 6 attacks happening i would have to fight the attacks and ride the pain making for one miserable life. Now i have the oxygen and the portable unit i am going to be able to get out much more in winter again meaning i wont have to stop my fishing now and can get back on the bank sooner than i planned. Lets just hope everything else goes according to plans now. 

Things have started to get better and are looking good for the future

Well its time to update the blog again with whats been going on. Thankfully this month its not all doom and gloom and we have some good news for once. Unfortunately its not about the clusters as they have been as bad as ever. This time of year has always been the same for the clusters and they are always worst with the cold wet weather. Mine have been murder for the last 6 weeks. Non stop attacks 2 or 3 every day with out fail. I am using my injections , oxygen and heat treatment to try and control them but its wiping me out. by the end of each day i find myself with no strength or energy and really struggle doing simple things.  All i can do for now is continue to fight and hope they calm down soon. My appointment with the Neurologist is at the start of next month so hopefully they will either increase my medication to try and help ease the attacks or they will try a new medication and ill have to start all over again and hope it works.

I've had good news with my benefits as they have seen how bad i am and thankfully have awarded me my PIP after a long wait and now I can get on with things and try and plan ahead. Its difficult to plan anything when your having cluster attacks all the time but i am hoping as they start to decrease I will be able to get out and about again and go fishing as i have been missing it like crazy. its the only thing that's been keeping me sane during all these health issues. Now March is approaching and Spring will soon be here I am looking forwards to getting back on the bank catching some lovely carp. I am just praying to god that the damaged nerve in the left side of body plays ball and doesn't cause me too many issues.

Thankfully the type of fishing i now do doesn't mean i have to sit with a rod in my hand for hours on end at the side of a water. We place the rods on alarms and can sit and relax whilst waiting for a bite. This type of angling is perfect for anyone with disability problems as you can take everything you need with you. Tend , comfortable bed, chairs pillows you name it. I even take my oxygen with me if going on a long fishing trip so i can medicate myself and take care of any cluster attacks whilst fishing. Having the Bivvy (tent) makes it a lot easier as you can just nip inside lay down and deal with it and no one is the wiser as they don't see you,. This is the main reason i ended up doing this type of fishing, being able to hide away in private whilst having an attack or having to deal with medication is perfect. You can then get on with your fishing once sorted and carry on catching loads of lovely fish. I have to admit it is so much nicer having an attack by the side of the lake doing something you love than it is having one stuck at home and stuck indoors unable to go anywhere. I just wish Spring would hurry up and get here as being stuck indoors is driving me nuts. I miss my fishing so much lately.

It is very tempting just to grab the rods and go down the lake even in this weather but i know in my heart if i do it too soon before the nerve has settled in the left side of the body i will just end up in a lot of pain and will end up not enjoying my fishing and will then not want to go in spring so i am being strict with myself this year so i don't cause any issues and I will try an get in a full season of fishing. I hope!. So far the nerve down the left side of the body has caused problems with my walking, movement when i try and turn the body or twist, issues with lifting things even light objects with the left hand and also serious pain up my left leg and left side of my lower back. Why its causing all this i don't know but i am coping with it and being careful not to aggravate things. . I have also started to get burning pain right at the bottom of my spine. This causes problems when just sitting so I have to get this checked again by the spinal clinic. Thankfully the spine issue is minimal at moment but it does worry me and i wonder if it could cause problems when i opt for the cervical nerve root block in the future. i hope its not going to be an issue and i just have to watch what i do. Its doesn't bother me when out and about or when fishing yet but i can see it causing problems in future.

So things have started to get better and are looking good for the future as long as I continue to improve and watch what i do. I am hoping things will calm down soon but if they don't I am seeing the doctor soon so should be able to get the help i need before the start of the new season. I have decided I am going to concentrate on my fishing this year and by doing so will be able to put all these health issues to the back of my mind which in turn will help me get control of it all and manage my condition so i can get on with it and try and live some sort of normal life. I know its not going to be easy and I will get a few more knock backs before i start to manage things but i am getting used to it by now. Fingers crossed things starts getting a little easier from now on........

January ended up turning into a month of hell

I have been trying to wait to do my new update to my blog as i was getting fed up with all the negative things happening to me and writing the same stuff over and over again was becoming boring and doesn't make for good reading. I was getting hopeful towards the end of last year and into the new year as the nerve in my back had calmed down a little and I was managing the condition with out too many issues. I still have problems moving around and very bad pain when i walk but i was managing to get out, Suddenly the beast decided it was time to return and the cluster attacks started. First i thought it was just a bad weekend and would soon pass but it didn't. The attacks slowly increased back up to 5 or 6 per day and i am really suffering this year.

January ended up turning into a month of hell with the attacks and i haven't yet had a day with out having to deal with the beast. A full month on non stop attacks has really wiped me out. I have no strength left in my body and i struggle daily. Even popping to the shop around the corner has become a major problem. As soon as i go out into the cold air it starts to attack my neck and end up setting off a cluster attack 100% of the time. The oxygen is a god send but i now go through a large bottle so fast its crazy., The stress with the attacks and the depression it brings on has really messed up my moods and my head is all over the place, unable to concentrate in anything. I really don't know what to do except keep fighting and pry that it will improve sometime soon.

Well to top things off today (Friday) my money hasn't gone into the bank so the social haven;t paid my benefits again so Once again i have had to ring up and find out what is going on. At first they told me its been [paid so they don't know why it hasn't gone on my account , after half hour investigations they found it has been paid late and will clear on Monday. Well eventually we got it all sorted and it will now be paid later today but what i notice is that the amount of stress has triggered my clusters Just stressing over the need to go shopping and pay bills was enough to trigger a sudden burst of attacks that are just starting to ease off now.

I woke up this morning feeling so low and fed up and then the head started at 4 am. Managed to deal with the clusters only to find that i had no money when i checked my bank and that has now really put me into a very low mood it scares me. Stress sets off a row of attacks one after each other , what a start to the day. I really don't know what to do anymore i feel lost and alone. Its bad enough that I cannot work due to my condition and that alone depresses me , then when you rely on sickness benefits to survive and even that gets messed up now and again, its no way to live a life but i make do with what i have. I do my best to keep busy and keep my mind off my illness and try and concentrate on the positive things but sometimes it just becomes too much to bare. I cannot wait until i can go fishing next, get some fresh air and take my mind off all this mess doing something i love once again.  Lets hope the nerve calms down and i am on the bank soon!.