Thanksgiving.....

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends!! You should just about be starting the washing up now, I think. And trying to fit all the leftovers into the fridges. I can see it all. I hope you have all had a wonderful time!

Here in grey old England, it has been an ordinary day with no turkey in sight. And I am draped in the infamous poncho, trying to keep warm, as it has got very chilly all of a sudden. I went to physio this morning, and then on to see the Consultant with my friend, Jackie - she is the one who thinks of very important things to ask, and has paper and pen to write down the answers. The sort of thing I do when I go to hospitals with my friends, but which I can never do for myself.

So what did I learn today? That Jackie is very intelligent indeed. She popped outside while I was waiting to register that I was there, and made a call to the pain clinic without me knowing, to find out what the waiting list was to see the pain specialist. So when we were talking to the Consultant, and he mentioned that he had sent a letter of referral on the 5 November to the pain specialist, she asked why, seeing that the waiting time was 20 weeks, he hadn't immediately referred me when he diagnosed the CRPS on 9 October. Sigh. The woman is brilliant. He mumbled a bit and sort of changed the subject. Then she happened to mention that the NHS guidelines were 7 weeks max waiting time. Hmmmm. He said he will see if he can speed it up a bit.

But never fear, people, I am not finished. She then told me that she has discovered that there is a hospital in Bath which is the centre of research for CRPS here in the UK. So I phoned them up this afternoon to find out what their waiting times were. They have a special CRPS unit, and it is a maximum of 5 weeks wait to see the assessment team, and after that you may be admitted for 2 weeks of intensive multi-disciplinary treatment. Now that sounds much better. So I have all the info to give to my GP and she will see what she can do. Hopefully, just get me an appointment asap. Sigh. Friends are amazing. Especially this one. And Bath is a beautiful place.

So my day has been somewhat lacking in excitement. I spent most of the afternoon researching more hair raising stuff about CRPS, and I do not want to think about it any more. Tomorrow it is back to creating. Now that I am happy about.

I have been thinking about Thanksgiving, and I wish we all had a day dedicated to being thankful too. For so many things.

But that doesn't stop me from waking each day, and thinking of 5 things I am thankful for. I celebrate Thanksgiving my way every morning, just without the turkey. (Although a turkey a day would be a bit over the top, maybe. I am babbling - you may ignore me.)

And there is something new every morning. No matter how oppressive the world can seem at times, there is still that little, very beautiful, spark of light. Hope. Blessings. Reasons to smile. Always. Every day.

Today, I am thankful for:

Friends who walk beside me
Warm socks for my feet
The physio who is helping me strengthen my leg
The sewing machine which transforms my ideas into reality
Hot coffee

Right. I am off to make Number 5. Enjoy your day!