Joanne's Cottage Garden: May 2012

Saturday, 26 May 2012

MAY AT ORANGE COTTAGES

The lean to is looking so much nicer since I added the hanging plants.

It's Hosta time again

The President recovering well after a hard pruning last year.

I do like my pots as you may have noticed but in the current hot spell it does make such a lot of work especially since we have a hose pipe ban already.

What's that in the Hosta bed?

Ah a better look.

Nelly Moser already putting on a show

Hosta bed but we will ignore the ground elder in the bed behind, sigh!

I decided to put two Acers in the shady corner as they were suffering from too much sun last year.

Mrs N. Thompson

The Empress Josephine

Mari Boisselot

Belle of Woking

Pink Fantasy

Lots happening in the vegetable area.

At last seedlings are becoming plants after a rather prolonged cold spell in April

Hanging baskets waiting to be hung out

Cosmos and Lupins and some cloches of clematis cuttings which have now been moved to a shady spot

It is really strange having so much more space since the Leylandii hedge was removed - however it is rather sunny for my nursery although the Laurel are full of shoots so it won't be long before we have a decent and more easily managed hedge again.

Wadas Primrose

Sadly the Wisteria is struggling to grow so we decided to put another plant in, another casualty of the decorating work last year due to new windows. We really missed our beautiful flowering Wisteria this year.

The Wallflower are still looking lovely and colourful

We decided to move the barrel and connect to the downpipe with a coat of paint I think it looks ok.

There has been someone sorely missed in Orange Cottage Garden this Month.

Sadly we lost our Springer Spaniel Beth.

There is nothing quite like a dog as a companion in the garden or on walks in the woods and she is constantly in our thoughts as we go about our daily tasks.

'The death of a pet leaves a much bigger hole in the household than the space that they occupied in life.'
Monty Don wrote in his book The Irvington Diaries.

LYME LIFE written 2009

I started suffering with arthritis in mainly my large joints especially my knees 6 years ago. The symptoms varied and I remember saying that every joint was affected except my elbows to one doctor. I was told it would be hormonal and to take the usual supplements cod liver oil or glucosamine ( I would certainly recommend buying shares in the companies producing these supplements) They had no noticeable affect.

All my symptoms deteriorated significantly over a few weeks, 4 years ago. Hips shoulders and knees being the worst and I started with muscle weakness in upper arms and upper legs. I had difficulty standing and walking across a room. I was unable to walk upstairs and my husband was making plans to convert to a downstairs bedroom. I had seen 5 doctors and 3 Rheumatologists and put on steroids for Poly Myalgia Rheumatica diagnosis. I had been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and ME/CFS.

I have X rays and scans showing signs of osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis. I have been retired early from the Civil Service having lost my job not to mention my earning potential.

My illness seemed to progress through my body not affecting the same joints left to right at the same time. I had bursitis in left hip, right hip, left elbow. I had synovial thickening in both wrists. At that time I could not lift and hold a magazine so lifting a kettle I could only do if a third full and with two hands. Each joint in my hands fingers feet and toes were affected. I had swallowing difficulties and many other symptoms. None of this describes the endless and awful pain whenever I moved or the tiredness but inability to get quality sleep.

Two years ago my GP gave me Amoxicilin for a sinus/throat/chest infection. All my arthritis symptoms improved. The course ended the symptoms deteriorated I started a second course the symptoms improved. The improvement was more significant than when I had started taking steroids. This led my GP to suspect Lyme Disease. I laughed because we do not travel abroad but she said they had had other cases in the surgery in the early stages of tick bite and Erythma Migrans rash. She said, but you have not had a bite. I said oh yes I have I had two on my ankles with rashes, March 05 this was confirmed on her computer at the time I had seen a locum doctor. My worst symptoms were waking up feeling rigid and having to painfully flex every joint in my body before struggling to get up. The only other time I had experienced this was in May 2003 during a flu like illness like no other I had ever experienced. At that time I had a bite and similar rash on my right foot which lasted like the other rashes about four weeks. I had also consulted the surgery and it was dismissed as a virus. I walked our dog daily in the woods adjacent to our house where the deer roam, prime tick area.

Thus started my very lengthy search about Lyme Disease leading me through http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/ to a doctor who specialises in this illness. He confirmed my GP's suspicions. I never had a positive blood test but then they are antigen tests and there is much research that shows they are unreliable. In my case the year of steroids and many weeks antibiotics could have affected the results. So with a clinical diagnosis and following ILADS International Lyme and Associated Disease Society guidelines I continued on antibiotics for two years. Both my doctors continued to treat me despite the Health Protection Agency advising against long term antibiotics. I am now nearly 100% recovered I have no pain or muscle weakness. I can walk upstairs something I could not do for three and a half years. I can garden do house work and live a normal life. I still need to pace myself and with only a few months to 60 will not be looking to return to work.

Life is such a joy.

Sadly there is much controversy about Lyme Disease and doctors in UK are taught that it is so rare. Well where I live in Guildford I have been in contact with a dozen other people with it so perhaps not so rare as HPA would like us to believe. I am in touch with nearly 2000 other patients through a chat line Eurolyme most had been misdiagnosed with several other illnesses.

Look at UK charity http://www.lymediseaseaction.org.uk/ if you want to read more about this illness. There are many MP's taking an interest in the problems surrounding diagnosis and treatment see above charity links into a recent meeting at the House of Commons.

Thank goodness there are some thinking doctors around who have courageously treated me against opposition and I have made such a miraculous recovery albeit rather a lengthy one.

One day there will be many more people who are helped with their chronic illnesses when IDSA starts taking note of what our courageous LLMD’s are doing following ILADS Guidelines.

ME/CFS, Fibromyalgia, Poly Myalgia Rheumatica, Arthritis, Bell’s Palsy, MS,MN, ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Heart Block, Stroke, Psychiatric, gastric problems the list is endless. Not all suffering from Lyme Borrelia but how many are even properly assessed for it.

UPDATE

Joanne's Cottage Garden

Saturday, 26 May 2012

MAY AT ORANGE COTTAGES

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