Yes, I did it!!!!!

I did it, I did it, I did it.

and I am overwhelmed with proud!

As I mentioned in another post this week, the last painful step of a treatment I was going through was yesterday. Although I have managed a lot of injections and overcame a lot of fears, there was still this one last step to be made.

It involved general anaesthetic and I was concerned. Who wouldn't?

I did it, and all went well. I am home already!

On my way home yesterday I couldn't even think about how much I did in the last 4 weeks. Every time I stopped to think about that I would become overwhelmed with emotion....

So be sure, whatever you fear, you can overcome too. Your body and you are much stronger than you think!!!!!

If you are reading this post, you may be interested in how I managed it.

Well, I didn't have a conscious plan, I just had the determination that I had to do this.

However, looking back now, I think few things helped me. So I thought by writing here I could also help other people who may face a situation that looks bigger than what they think they can handle. 

1. I realised I had to do this because it was necessary.

2. I was aware of the whole process, but somehow I divided into stages and focus on getting to the next stage, rather than the end of the process.

3. When one day the situation was very difficult, I asked for help. And I also did a session of relaxation and visualised the outcome I expected - a way to experience the good results.

4. I focused on the help and good things I received, communicating to the people who helped me how much I appreciated their kindness.

5. Every time I had to inject myself, I focused on the preparation of the injection and made sure I was as precise as possible. I created also a routine of steps. So my mind focused on that rather than on the fact that I was going to have an injection.

6. Only twice I hesitated, and on both occasions I stepped back and calmed down by agreeing inside my head that I was doing something for my own good.

7. I played my piano a lot. I did this because to play the piano I need to focus on the music only. I can't think of anything else, otherwise I make mistakes. In this way, when anxious thoughts were upsetting me, I played piano. This gave me an opportunity to rest my mind.

8. The hospital is more than 1 hour from my home. And I was concerned about yesterday's trip back. During the return trip my worries were causing me to stress. At one point I realised I need a focus for my mind, to occupy it with something and replace my thoughts. So we played a game: to take turns and say one positive word with each letter of the alphabet. I said something with A, my husband with B and so on. Then we went on for a list of animals with each letter of the alphabet, etc. It helped. So, if you think you need to replace some thoughts, try to think of a game or a task you can do with what you have available. The other good thing is that a game can also cause laughter, and that will help too :)

9. In the beginning, every time I did an injection, I stayed quiet in my bed for about 20-30 minutes, giving myself time to relax before going on with the day.

10. I was optimistic about the results. Because to be strong and do the task in hand, I had to think it would work.

Well, I shared here what I learnt, I hope it will be useful for other people too.

There is always someone around to help ...

In my last post I mentioned how I managed to overcome the obstacles.

Recently I was talking about my family and how I felt they could have been more supportive.

And the person I was speaking with replied "How lonely you must feel...".

To that I had to reply "I don't feel lonely, it would not be right to say that. Although I didn't have the support I expected from them, I had a lot of support from people I didn't expect to help me. Three of my friends have been extremly supportive, my husband and his family have been there all the time. All beyond my expectations."

What I mean by support is a phone call, a message, a demonstration that someone is thinking of you. More than that, interested on what is happening.

What I have been trying to remember when I feel upset is that good comes from unexpected places. So instead of focusing on what didn't happen, I should focus on what happened, and appreciate that.

It will be only fair with the people that helped me and the good things that happened.

You are stronger than you think!

"You are stronnger than you think!" you may have heard that too!

And it is true, I can assure you.

When put in stressful situations, we cope, we find a way to overcome obstacles we never thought we would, I can assure you.

Also, because love will give you the strength to do so. When you see someone you love in need of your support, you will do it, your love will make you strong, you will only think about the best way to do the task ahead, and not about the possibility of doing it.  

All my life I have been known for making a drama out of any injections, blood, etc.

I have also been known for being soft, crying, very sensitive.

Well, well, well.... things change when we need.

As I wrote once in a post, we have been through difficult times in recent months.

There were problems related to the business, and I reacted with a lot of strength to support my husband .... and I don't feel the financial loss now. Months later, I resent the people that robbed him. But that does not mean weakness, it just means that it shocks me a long term business partner could do such a thing.

I also wrote about surgery. I had to clean the blood and the wound of a close person. And I did it with strength. I felt sad and sorry for what happened, but I did the task without thinking twice, I did it as a job that had to be done, it was beoyond the blood or the wound. Because it was required and I love this person.

Then I had to go through a treatment that meant I had to inject myself on a daily basis. Yesterday I did my last injection. It has been 39 of them, plus 2 blood tests!!!! If someone would tell me one day I would do that, I wouldn't believe. Again it was a task that had to be done. I focused on the task, and did it, very well indeed. I pretended I was working in a lab and told my tummy it was for my own good; therefore, required. And my body and mind accepted it. I also sometimes apologized to my own tummy for hurting her :-)

I am proud of myself and I feel very strong now.

When we know a situation depends on us, we handle it and we overcome our fears, we are strong and allow ourselves to show our inner strength.

Sometimes I take cards from my Oracle cards to read. Yesterday I was thinking about the last stage of my treatment - which will happen tomorrow. So I took the cards to ask for something else. When I was shuffling the cards, the thought of tomorrow's events came to my mind when one card fell out and it said:

" Be Strong.
You are stronger than you think you are, and your strength assures a happy outcome.

See yourself as strong and victorious. Don't complain about anything. Don't blame anyone or any condition. You are the embodiment of strength, not victmhood. As you rise above the old tendencies and see yourself in the new light of beautiful feminine strength, your life will automatically shift in miraculous ways. You will attract new opportunities, forms of abundance, and relationships to help you manifest your highest potential. Being strong means seeing yourself in the most favourable light you can imagine. Be real, allow yourself to feel genuine emotions, but most of all, be strong."

I had been talking about the aspects of Thursday and the last injection I was concerned about. It took hours for me to understand the card. Just before the lat injection I realized I was treating it like something bad. It did not make sense, I did 38 of them, what was the matter with the 39th? So, I told myself, it would be good for me and asked my body to accept it. And everything was ok. I have also decided that I am strong to go through Thursday and it will be good for me.

And I am very proud I have managed this treatment! Well done!

It takes people to make a company work - a lesson to be learned by people working in the NHS

I try to write only happy, positive posts... but I am sorry, sometimes it is not possible to keep it happy.

Although in this post I am complaining about something that happened, I think it is also one to reflect about how we perform in our own jobs, if we do anything similar to what happened here. 


My husband had surgical procedure and was discharged from hospital on the same day. Despite the general anaesthetic, he looked reasonably well.

As we were leaving, I noticed blood on this clothes. He returned to the ward to be checked and the nurse said it was normal. However, I should have contested at this point as she also gave him extra pads - she initially had given him only one. So, probably normal was to use one pad, not five.

We went home and 2 hours later the situation was the same, so we called to check. Once again the nurse dismissed our worries without even asking one single question about it, anything that would let her gage how much blood there was.

Another 2 hours later, I telephone the nurse again. This time I insisted in describing what I observed in detail and she decided it was a problem, but said I could not return to her hospital, and advised me to call the ambulance and go to a hospital further away.

I am trying to keep details out, but what I can say about the other hospital is:
1. They left him dirty for more than 5 hours and he was only cleaned and changed because I insisted and agreed to do it myself. This was a nurses' job, as I would not know to do it properly, and techniques to stop bleeding.
2. There wasn't a specilist and they had to call the doctor in the first hospital to ask for advice. 
3. They forgot to put his name in the system and we waited there for hours without need. Without water, medication, etc. They also didn't check on his situation for more than 4 hours.
4. Whenever I would go to check progress they would give a standard answer and in one occasion laugh at me. 

About the first hospital:
5. He should not have been discharged when there was any question about his wellness.
6. They should have allowed him to return in the evening because the specialist was still there.

It felt like his return would be an inconvenience for them and of course once he is out it is not their problem any more. Almost like I called the nurse 5 minutes before her shift was over. 

My point with all this is to share my sadness this time, I was really sad to see that all these people's behaviour, disrespect with someone's life. To leave him all dirty and refuse to clean the blood was terrible and dangerous, who knows what would have happened if I were not there? How many people turn up in A&E on their own and have no one to fight on their behalf like I did? 

The tools were all there, the knowledge was there, but the people were not there. The good attitude was not there, the good management was certainly not there. There were some cold, lazy people, although I must agree there were also few kind people too... In a hospital, there should be only kind people dealing with patients. And certainly there should never be any lazy ones. There is no space for laziness in an emergency department. Any delay could cost a person's life.

So here it is the thinking bit about my post.

A patient in a hospital is like a customer in a company.

In our jobs, do we always act with kindness? Do we always give to our customer our best service?
Even when we have our problems with the company or in our personal life, it is not the customer's fault and they should not pay for that. 

Today I read something interesting and decided to copy below:

Engagement is important to a company, as Walt Disney said:

"You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world.

But it takes people to make the dream a reality.“

I think Walt Disney was correct, like in so many other things he believed. That is why he was so successful.

The New Year is coming, allow yourself happiness

Family.... why are there so many problems within families? Why can Xmas be such a stressful period?

Since childhood we are taught about rules and expectations we should have of relatives. And the teaching comes not only from our parents, but also from the society, cartoons, movies, school, even the children drawings we do.

But family is not always in the way we expect. In fact, most families fail to meet expectations at some point.

The difference with friends is that when they are not in the way we would like, we can change friends, or we can stop meeting them for a while. And we meet again we have forgotten about things.... with family it is not like that.

Xmas is very much a family occasion.... well, at least according to the expectations.... and there are so many rules, the food one is suppose to cook, the way one should dress, the time the meal should be served, how many gifts should be given.

So, family problems are highlighted during this period.

People without the money to meet all this must be strong to avoid feeling bad. On the other hand, it is probably a much more meaningful season without all the money. But this is a discussion for a separate post

This Xmas I met my family reality again and tried very hard to accept them as they are. And I must admit it is a hard task. It can hurt when we hope for a lot (and I don't mean gifts, I mean feelings, acts of care and love) and things don’t happen in the way we dream. And there is also the behaviour I think I should have too. And I feel under pressure to do things right. If I could overcome all that, I am sure I would be happier.

Today I read something interesting:

“It is very difficult to start a New Year and be happy if you have so many bad (hurt) feelings in your heart. It is best to forgive the people who have hurt you. But forgiving is difficult, most people don’t understand it... To forgive is nothing more than to remove the frame of expectations you created for people and start to see them as they really are ... Perhaps Xmas is here to remind us we are all human, and we all make mistakes.”

We all have hurt or disappointed someone at some point.
And perhaps we also need to forgive ourselves for our own shortfalls.


In few words: forgiving is all about allowing yourself to be happy!

People Fascinate Me

I created this blog because I thought it would be a nice way to share my passion for food, travelling and the moment we are going through in our lives.

I love cooking, it is my way to express my creativity and my love to other people, it is also the way I calm down, relax from a stressful day or take my mind away from the present and focus on the task.

Through my job there is a lot of travelling in England, and during our holidays we often travel to Brasil (written with s, I am Brazilian) and Italy......

When travelling, we tend to look for new foods, this is part of the joy of our trips. We also love to talk to people. And it is amazing how many interesting people I have met in this way. They fascinate me.

Recently we have been facing difficult times with the business my husband owns. It was in a difficult moment like this that I met a lady in a cake shop. We started to chat and she told me about how she has owned almost 20 businesses in her life, from farm and interior design to cheese and leather shops! How amazing is that? She started with the farm in partnership with friends, learned the lesson and went solo ever since. It was her daughter's cake shop now. The shop is amazing, it brought me inside through the wonderful smell of cheese scones it left in the streets of this little village. However, once inside, the freshly baked chocolate cake left me speechless. I had to buy of course!

Meeting this successful lady left me inspired. Suddenly I could see so many possibilities for his future business.

In a train I met an ex-priest... and learnt from someone who has been in charity trips in poor countries, helping in civil wars, but has also lived in peaceful small villages in the middle of England.

So.... I thought writing a blog would be an opportunity to share some of this with other people.

Hopefully you will enjoy it too....