Monday 25 May 2015

My first Blog - Everything happens for a reason.

Well this is it. My very first blog. OMG.....
Anyway, my motto in life is 'everything happens for a reason'. This point has been driven home to me over the past couple of years.

In 2010, I started to write my very first book. My husband and son wondered why I was writing it and what I aimed to achieve? A that point I didn't really know but I enjoyed myself and got those long dormant creative juices flowing. It tinkered on and off with the book and even, at one point sent it to a publisher. Unfortunately they turned out to be a self publisher but at the time I didn't understand what that was.

Self publishing is alright if you can afford to go down that route but it was an expense that I wasn't prepared to pay. So I sat on my book and revisited it every now and then.

In 2013, I was getting the evening meal ready and preparing food for work the next day. I had been off all day. Very tired and out of sorts. I put it down to stress at work. We all know how that feels. I found that I was struggling to eat and my husband kept asking me if I was alright. I felt fine, just tired. I was sitting working on my computer and my husband asked if I was sure I was alright. I answered, with what I thought was a sensible reply. He asked why I was talking funny. I told him I wasn't. I was just tired and would be alright after a good nights sleep. He was due to go to work on a night shift but knew that there was something the matter with me, even though I didn't. We'd been married for 28 years.

He insisted on taking me to the hospital and to cut a long story short. I had three strokes which were caused by a blood clot on my brain. I didn't realise I was having the first two but when the third one hit, I couldn't move or speak. I was fighting to get my body to work and loosing the battle. When I tried to think it was like I was trying to push or should I say pull the thoughts to the front of my brain through a thick fog, vary scary. Apparently they are called crescendo TIA's (transient ischemic attacks) or mini strokes. Then two days later I found out that my carotid artery had a 90% stenosis on the right hand side. I also found out that I would have to have an operation to solve the problem. If I didn't have the operation, it was very probable that I would have more strokes. The hospital told me that I was lucky as it was and I might not survive another one. I was also told that they couldn't guarantee that I would survive the operation. I could possibly have another stroke and possibly end up blind or worse.

I had the operation within two weeks of having my strokes which left me with a six inch scar from below my ear and down my neck.

I was off work for six months but was finding that I was extremely tired all of the time and my body hurt all over. I was slurring words and bumping into furniture. Twenty months later and a lot of hospital appointment I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. Yes I know, I hadn't got a clue what it was either. From what I can gather it is a whole host of problems which don't really fit together. The last doctor I saw told me he didn't like to label my symptoms into this illness and call it chronic full body pain which can not be explained??

Anyway once I found out that these symptoms weren't in my head and that they were real I started to deal with them. There is no cure, just pain management. It was brought on by my illness and I just have to deal with it. I am now back to working full time, I have changed my eating habits, I exercise most days, pain permitting and I have lost two and a half stones in weight.

After going through this illness I decided to send my manuscript to Soulmate publishing in New York and low and behold, Debbie the senior Editor liked it. I had to tinker with it and then resubmit it but in January she sent me a contract. Wooohooo.

I have been working hard, setting up my website, editing my book and generally preparing for my release date. If I hadn't have been ill, I would probably still be sitting with my book on my computer. Reading it and re reading it. So in my opinion everything does happen for a reason. I hope this give you, the reader, the push to follow your dreams. No matter what they are. Life really is too short.

Please visit me:

http://traceywood.wix.com/tracey-a-wood/blogs-authors-news/cun9

https://twitter.com/traceya_wood

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