Tuesday 28 March 2017

Hot air, much wind and cool sense


Oh dear, oh dear! I’ve been looking back at the start of this blog. What a boring old fart I’ve become since then. My posts have increased in length and in grumpiness. I’m surprised anyone reads them any more. I know some people do. Probably my family….

Anyway, here I am today, sitting in my favourite Cornerstone café admiring the new kitchen in the children's corner, that Sarah the manager raised money for, by going without sugar throughout February. The sun is shining and all’s well with the world.

On Saturday we had the local branch MNDA AGM. As usual it was a friendly time. We did the business bit, and after lunch had a talk about the NIHCE Guidelines on MND. Wow, it’s a weighty tome! And I suppose GPs and Health Commissioning groups are meant to have a grip on scores of similar documents…. We also heard about the Happy Valley Festival, a seriously cool one-day music festival in aid of MND on 17th June (http://www.happyvalleyfestival.co.uk/) - tickets on sale tomorrow.

I asked one of our local MND experts what I could expect dying to be like. The answer was compassionate and honest: “The hardest part of MND is the living with it, not the dying. As the muscles weaken, the oxygen level drops, carbon dioxide rises. Usually people die in their sleep.” Or words to that effect. Reassuring. Confirmed my view that dying with MND is no more distressing for all involved than any other death.

3 comments:

  1. My friend and I have both been reading "Light From The Dark Valley" by Sheila Cassidy. It is inspirational in every possible way. Especially her compassionate, down to earth and positive words about death and the dying. There are two wonderful chapters about Good Friday which I have found caused a new light to shine for me. If you would like to read it it's available through an Amazon seller, second hand but you'd never know it was second hand. It only cost me 1 pence plus the postage when I bought it for my friend.
    She lost her husband to cancer last July after they had just celebrated their Golden Wedding. I feel privileged that she meets up with me regularly and we talk about anything and everything.
    I would highly recommend Sheila Cassidy's book. She is honest, spiritual, down to earth, ;practical and has a sense of humour!

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  2. Lovely to hear from you again. And thank you for your recommendation. I admire Sheila Cassidy a lot. At the moment my Lent reading is Walter Brueggemann's A Way Other than our Own, which is full of food for thought. I hope you have a deep Holy Week and a Joyful New Year.

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    1. Thank-you Michael, Good to be visiting again. We've had quite a few 'ups and downs' in the last couple of years as my husband has had some unexpected health issues. I have found Guardian Angels in the most unexpected places and ways leaving me in no doubt that of is always near.

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