Lots of hands giving thumbs up with gold confetti falling down. Title Reads WEGO Health Awards, ChronicallyHopeful

My 2020 WEGO Health Award Nomination – Advocating For Another

  • 2

I’m so grateful and humbled to be nominated for another WEGO Health Award. This is the third year in a row which is just incredible to me. This year I’ve been nominated in the Advocating For Another category. In previous years I was nominated for my blog and for my Facebook advocacy, As patient advocates, just knowing that our efforts are recognised and appreciated is a big deal.  If you’d like to support my nomination, please endorse (vote for) me…

Read MoreMy 2020 WEGO Health Award Nomination – Advocating For Another
3 pots with seedling vegetables growing in them. Title reads Growing crops in pots, follow my gardening adventure growing vegetables indoors

Crops In Pots, Indoor Gardening While Housebound

  • 8

​This month my sister and I are taking on a new project: crops in pots! I have always been interested in gardening and have always had a dream of being self-sufficient, living off the land, ​so now we are going to have a go at growing some edibles in pots at home!  In this series, I will be documenting our progress and sharing any information or tips I discover. I hope you will find this helpful or interesting. Gardening indoors…

Read MoreCrops In Pots, Indoor Gardening While Housebound
A photo of a bookshelf with books and greeting cards. Title reads: Getting organised for the year ahead.

Getting Organised For The Year Ahead – Personal Update, Jan 2020

  • 6

​I am so excited for the year that lies ahead; something about new beginnings just really ​makes me happy. For me, 2019 was quite a difficult year health wise. It started off really well and then I think I overdid things in May with my very ambitious ME awareness campaigns and it totally wiped me out for the rest of the year. So I will try hard not to make the same mistake again this year. ​Looking Back At December…

Read MoreGetting Organised For The Year Ahead – Personal Update, Jan 2020
Char outside in the garden wearing a sunhat and sunglasses, title reads: exploring the garden and our first BBQ in years. Personal update.

Exploring The Garden And Our First Family BBQ In Years

  • 11

​Last year, at the end of Summer, we moved into this house that has a lovely little garden. It was the first time in years that I have had a private garden to explore and relax in – quite a treat when you’re housebound and severely ill! Last year we didn’t do much in the garden, the family focused ​their time and energy on the inside of the house and I focused on recovering from the move and the disability…

Read MoreExploring The Garden And Our First Family BBQ In Years
September 2019 nomination for the Chronically Hopeful Award

Chronically Hopeful Award, September 2019

  • 8

​​I am honoured to have been nominated for the Chronically Hopeful Award! ​​And no, I did not create this award, ​the name is just a happy coincedence, although I had actually been planning to create one for ​spoonie bloggers myself​. But as you can see, fellow chronic illness warrior, Pamela ​from There Is Always Hope, beat me to it! I am so glad there is now a peer-nominated award to recognise and acknowledge all the amazing chronically ill and disabled…

Read MoreChronically Hopeful Award, September 2019
Lots of hands giving thumbs up with gold confetti falling down. Title Reads WEGO Health Awards, ChronicallyHopeful

My 2019 WEGO Health Award Nomination – Best In Show: Facebook

  • 5

​I’m so honoured and grateful to be nominated once again for the ​WEGO Health Award​s. Last year I was nominated for ​the Best In Show: Blog category, this year it’s for the Best In Show: ​Facebook category for all my ME/CFS advocacy​. ​Being an advocate is hard work, especially when you have a severe chronic illness like Myalgic Encephalomyelitis. Patients are putting their own health on the line during advocacy campaigns, pushing their limits, trying to be consistent, to be heard,…

Read MoreMy 2019 WEGO Health Award Nomination – Best In Show: Facebook
A beautiful red Lily. Title reads: Creating a retreat away from my own bedroom, personal update.

Creating A Retreat Away From My Own Bedroom

Everyday there seems to be something new in the garden. It’s constantly changing. I try to take a walk through the house daily, so I can look out the windows and see the different parts of our garden, it doesn’t always happen, but it’s a goal. ​And I’ve been careful to stay out of direct sunlight, shading my eyes better this week, after my sun-induced crash ​recently. Looking Back On The Past Week I’ve spent much of this week in…

Read MoreCreating A Retreat Away From My Own Bedroom
Title reads Health and fitness the week I fell ill with severe ME. Photo of Char and friends walking in a park wearing pink fluffy bunny ears and carrying green balloons. By Chronically Hopeful

Health And Fitness: A Week Before I Fell Ill With Severe Chronic Illness

​Ironically my life was super busy and active during the weeks and months ​before the onset of what lead to my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome diagnosis. There seems to be the general belief that we are tired or lazy or that we have some sort of unhealthy aversion or fear of exercise, but nothing could be further from the truth! As we move towards ME Awareness Month (May), ​I wanted to share some of my health and fitness memories from the…

Read MoreHealth And Fitness: A Week Before I Fell Ill With Severe Chronic Illness
A pile of boxes stacked up next to a radiator. Title reads Moving to a new house, plus 12 tips to make moving easier

Moving To A New House – Plus 12 Ways To Make Moving Easier If You’re Chronically Ill

  • 8

This summer was a season of great change for our family. After little more than a year in our flat, my dad had found us a lovely big house with a garden and we were packing again. Moving house can be quite stressful for the healthiest of people, so it can really be a nightmare for somebody with a severe chronic illness like ME. We actually loved our flat, it was enough for my sister and I, it ticked most…

Read MoreMoving To A New House – Plus 12 Ways To Make Moving Easier If You’re Chronically Ill
Book cover on the left features a diamond shaped mountain with title He's making Diamonds by Sarah Willoughby above. The Title and author name appear in text on the right.

Book Review: He’s Making Diamonds

Geared towards teens suffering with chronic illness, this book aims to answer some of those tough questions believers often find themselves asking when things seem to be falling apart. This is Sarah Willoughby’s debut work, and I think she has done a great job of highlighting God’s heart and love for us even in the midst of suffering. Are you a teenager trying to navigate faith through chronic illness? I’m here to tell you, you are not alone. When sickness…

Read MoreBook Review: He’s Making Diamonds