A few weeks ago I was referred to a surgeon who specialises in the stomachache and oesophageal tract. He ordered a barium study which looks at the stomachache . It showed lots of reflux

Last week I had an endoscopy which was interesting as we are coming to the end of the COVID lockdown but still being careful. The hospital told us that it could be a very long wait and I may be admitted from the pre-op ward to another ward.

I was second on the list. The theatre area was so quiet, it was a bit scary. They found I have a long narrow stomach and it is very small. The tube is below the duodenum not above it. So my food has to go up to go the right way. This takes a long time and could be what is causing pain and reflux.

When I was little they removed two thirds of the stomach and made a track for the tube to feed through into the jejunal track. My doctor is thinking of trying this again. He is also referring me to the pain team. I last saw this doctor about 20 years ago. Not only is he the pain doctor but is one of the best anaesthesiologists there is.

I hope between them they can come with a good plan to help me.

I think we all have an idea of a perfect world. Here is mine. It may never happen but we can dream.

In a perfect world I would like to see peace, No hate, No harm to anyone. Just love and kindness to everyone around, especially those that are different from others.

I want to see acceptance. No one will be excluded, All will be included. There will be time for family and friends, No rushing or grabbing everybody will share.

More places to relax and enjoy flowers and trees and the water. More accessible places to interact with others.

I would also like to see planes allow you to travel in your chair if needed, self driving for deaf blind people, all busses and trains fully accessible. I want all streets to have ramps at the crossings.

I want everyone to be able to access and use every thing no matter what.

I know some of these will happen but basically I want people to think of others and try to be the best they can. we will all have our bad days. I know I do, but if we try to be the best we can we will be better for it.

Most people have been self isolating since late March because of COVID 19. We are very lucky here in Australia we have managed to stop the spread, but many countries around the world haven’t.

During this time I have been doing a lot of reading and chatting with friends on Facebook. I have also been doing lifeskills online via Skype. In the morning I would do excersises and in the afternoon I did other things like drama and glee. There were 4 or 5 other clients that joined in plus the people who were still going. There were two staff and one would run the programme while the other one would make sure the video was running well.

I enjoyed this because I was able to see my friends and do the same things they were doing. I would be in my computer room, sometimes the dining room and my bedroom. Me and mum would close our doors as she was working from home and her clients wouldn’t hear us or us them.

During this time I also went on walks with mum around the block or to our local park. It is good to keep up my strength and keep my tummy moving.

I also ended up in hospital with my tummy pain again and had a test. The hospital was very good and organised. They have people separate and there is screening as you come in the door. I also saw a new doctor who is screening me for a hernia and will follow up tomorrow.

I am hopeful that with the measures in place we will not need to isolate again, but I am happy knowing there are supports in place if we do. I believe opening back up needs to be slow so we don’t end up with more cases coming into winter. I am very grateful though to all the essential workers out there who work hard to keep us safe. By doing our bit we are helping them and us as well.

We all want to get back to normal but we need to be patient and follow rules. Always try to stay socially distanced and do our bit because if we don’t it will take longer.