Dear Ros. It is now a week since we first saw you and I can hardly remember the person I was then. I was so excited and busy for the first few days that it was not quite real. Since the girls have been at school and I have had two days of normal activity and peace I find that I am well and happy and need to do the LP infrequently. Paul told me how amazed he was at the rate with which Ellie and I have normalised wellness. Last weeks work feels really clear to me and when people ask me about it I say it was really very simple. I could not see everything you were doing as it happened because I was concentrating so hard on my part but on reflection I would like to thank you for the clarity of your delivery and the compassion you showed whilst not letting us get away with anything that would harm our progress.

Ann

Update

Dear Ros, Hi, I thought you might like a brief 6 months update. Ellie and I are well and normal now!! It has all happened in stages which have come and gone so that you hardly realise that another hurdle has been crossed. In Dec I was asked to work 4 hours a week in the Clinic, doing the job I had been doing voluntarily, it seemed like a huge thing and I felt a little apprehensive about saying yes. Already that seems ludicrous now! In Jan they asked me if I would like to be a community development worker for the women of the cohort, so I said yes! This job will use my Education skills which is good. It has taken a while to get the funding but I am going to start the work next week, meanwhile I have been doing the paid hours in the clinic, lots of voluntary hours and I have just researched and written a 5,500 word article on public health initiatives in Bradford in 1907/08 and the beginnings of the midwifery service here at that time! I am going to be employed as a consultant in the new job, i.e. on a self employed basis, so I can make the hours suit my family life. I will be looking at doing approx 19 hours a week but spread out over 4 days. I am going to keep Fridays for home stuff. Can you believe how things have worked out? I am also walking, gardening, doing church activities and laughing a lot, all the things I said I wanted to be able to do before I came on the course. At Spring Bank Paul and I are going to walk 2 days of the Dales way with our friends, about 24 miles!! We are training for that at the moment. I still use the LP to get me through situations where I am doing nervous/stuck, etc , but not for CFS, that is really the past now. Ellie has survived her school year with a few ups and downs but only what is normal for most teenagers! I am very proud of her. She is all set for her A level History and her A1’s in Eng and Sociology. She plans to do a further AS next year to fill up her timetable and she has been nominated for head of 6th form student council for next year. She is planning her University applications and really can’t wait to leave home and get on with it but at the same time she is pragmatic about having to do next year and is therefore trying to make the most of it. She is going out with friends and having a good time as well as all the school stuff. The other two are well and although Sophia slightly resents me working (!) generally everybody is happier and we do a lot of family things together. Really I don’t think that life could be better. I never forget to be thankful for my health though and I think my next hurdle is to start work and still look after myself and still make time for the other things I want to do. Well the time will be there, it is a question of being disciplined about keeping a balance. I think I can do that! I hope all is well with you. Best Wishes Ann.