Where I've been

I’m back! After a very long silence – since last October in fact. And for once, I have a decent excuse. If you cast your eye down to that last post, you'll see that I referred to having ‘some kind of nasty stomach bug’. Hah. A week after I wrote that, I was having emergency surgery. That horrible stomach bug turned out to be endometriosis, which landed me in hospital for a total of five weeks. Five weeks!

I know lots of people have been in hospital for far longer. But for me, it was a very long, and very miserable time. I lost a stone and a half which when you’re only 5’4’’ is quite dramatic. I joked that it was the ideal pre-Christmas diet but I was a very sad, sick little bird indeed, as this pic, taken a week after I came out from hospital, shows:

On the bright side … I came out just in time for Christmas, and was basically under doctor’s orders to lie on the sofa, watch Game of Thrones, and consume as many boxes of Celebrations and Kettle Chips as possible.

Please excuse messy hair: couldn't cut it while in hospital and for a lot of the time, couldn't even wash it!!

And now I’m feeling tons better, writing and even back jogging again. I’m lucky in that the condition doesn’t cause me any pain on a daily basis – some women are not so lucky. I feel very lucky too in not having a ‘real’ job and being able to work from home and choose my own hours.

Endometriosis is a very common condition but it’s hard to diagnose; according to this charity it takes an average of 7.5 years for women to be diagnosed. So if you have any unusual symptoms or ongoing pain that you think might be caused by endometriosis, go to your doctor, book a double appointment so you have time to discuss things properly, and keep going back until you get some answers.

As well as looking forward to the paperback publication of If I Could Turn Back Time in April, I’m working away on an exciting new series. I’m not allowed say anything about it yet but it involves travel, romance, hot men and some old and new fictional friends … stay tuned!

Update: just after posting this, I saw that it was Endometriosis Awareness Week!! This is a good place to start if you want to find out more: http://www.endometriosis-uk.org