Hello guys!
How is everyone doing? It's been a while since I last posted and I have been up to rather a lot during my summer holiday therefore in this post I will tell you all about it!
Before I continue, I would just like to congratulate my fellow blogger and close friend, Chloe Tear, for taking part in Scope's campaign to change attitudes towards disability and her amazing interview this morning on BBC Breakfast discussing this issue! Well done Chloe, you were incredible! If you would like to read Chloe's blog, go to the 'Links' page!
As I said in my previous post, I went to Mallorca on 10th July. This was the first time I had been abroad since having seizures therefore I was very relived that it went smoothly seizure wise. Unfortunately however, there were several issues with the travel company we booked with therefore the first few days were extremely stressful and upsetting. The hotel did all they could to help us enjoy the rest of our holiday and I'm so thankful to them. Before I went, I did have some concerns about flying with Epilepsy as it was a new experience for my family and I but I'm happy to report that I didn't have any major seizures on the plane. Yay! If you would like to see some holiday snaps, please check out the 'Photos' page!
After we came back from Mallorca, I had a few days just lazing about the house to recover and then I went to stay at my Grandparents for a couple of nights which was lovely! They live near the sea so I was able to swim everyday which was lovely, there is nothing I like better than swimming in the sea at the beach I was pretty much brought up on. When we younger, my sister and I were convinced we were mermaids! Sadly, since I've started having seizures I haven't been able to swim as freely as I would like as I now wear a flotation jacket just in case I was to start seizing in the water.
Starting on 27th July, my Dad and I went to Camp Bestival which is a relatively small music festival held in Lulworth Castle, Dorset. This was our 7th consecutive year going and as you can probably tell, it has kind of become a tradition in our house! It was extremely enjoyable despite the wet weather and mud! There weren't that many famous artists playing therefore we sent most of our time in the Comedy Tent which was great fun! Again, I had to adjust my festival experience due to having seizures: making sure I didn't get too tired, remembering to take my AEDs and avoiding flashing lights as much as possible which you can probably gather is quite a difficult thing to do at a music festival! We couldn't watch any acts in the evenings as this is when they would start using strobe and other lighting effects which trigger my seizures. However, even with these adjustments, I still managed to get into the festival vibe and thoroughly enjoy myself! I'm already looking forward to Camp B 2018! ;)
A couple of days into August, I went to be fitted for my new school uniform! I am SO excited to go back and absolutely can't wait! We start on Monday 4th September and it can't come soon enough. If any of you are wondering, I think I've decided to take triple Science, Geography and Spanish for my GCSE options as well as Maths, English Language, English Literature and Religious Studies (which are all compulsory) leaving me with a total of nine GCSEs.
On 31st July, my Auntie and eight year-old cousin arrived to visit from Belgium. It was lovely seeing them again and as they stayed this my Grandparents, we will able to go to the beach with them most days! We only get to see them approximately once a year so it was lovely to catch up and see how much my cousin had grown!
On 12th August, my Grandparents did what they have done for several years now and hired a beach hut for a week for us which was extremely generous so THANK YOU! It was a lovely week and full of many swims in the sea which made it even better! Again, I stayed with my Grandparents for several nights during that week which was really nice and I enjoyed it so very much.
Over the past week or so, I have been doing several hours of volunteer work at my local library which I really enjoy and find very rewarding. I spend my time working for the Summer Reading Challenge which is a programme set up to encourage children from the age of four to read! I basically sit at a desk and children come up to me and say they have read more books and I give them stickers, once they have finished the challenge, they receive a certificate and medal. It's lovely when the children enjoy describing the storyline of the book they have just read and their favourite parts etc!
I have just over a week left of my summer holiday and I have to say it has really flown by! The good news is that my seizures have continued to be pretty stable therefore I'm feeling quite positive about that aspect! I have an appointment with my specialist neurologist in Southampton on 18th September (my sixteenth birthday!) so that will hopefully all go well and I'll update you afterwards! My Dad has the whole of next week off work so we can do things as a family which will be nice. My sister received her A-Level results last week and has got into Reading University!!!! Well done Grace, all your hard work has finally paid off, I'm so proud of you! It will be strange to be the only child in the house and will definitely take some getting used to!
I apologise for this very long post but I had so much to update you guys on! :) I'm debating whether to set up a Facebook page to run along side this blog so I can do live Q&A sessions and other things! Do you think that would be a good idea and would you enjoy it? Please let me know your thoughts by either commenting on this post on contacting me another way. Thank you for reading and I hope you are all having lovely summers!
Evie :) x
