All posts by Sandra

My Hyperbaric oxygen therapy journey………..

Blog, Life, ,

I have decided to try hyperbaric oxygen therapy for my chronic pain and fatigue. The story so far:-

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Day 1 in the hyperbaric chamber!

Well then! That was one of the strangest experiences for a long time. An hour of hyperbaric oxygen therapy at the MS therapy centre in Leeds for my chronic pain. I have to go every day for 3 weeks, gulp! I thought it would be 2 or 3 sessions, when am I going to get my Christmas shopping done?!?

Day 2 in the hyperbaric chamber…..

Much better today, I was much calmer and didn’t over breathe. My lungs felt very peculiar after yesterday’s sesh. This morning I actually leapt out of bed! I asked if I was imagining the improvement and was told it can be very quick. Also slept deeply, until Izzy started choking and trying to be sick……………

Day 3 in the hyperbaric chamber (said in the Big Brother voice)

Today was difficult – my mask didn’t fit properly and I alternated between being Hannibal Lector and Darth Vader! It hurt my nose for the whole hour and a quarter, and made clicking noises on the right, and farting noises on the left. I switched between calm meditation and complete panic……

Positives – less pain in legs, sleeping deeper,and more spring in my step. So all good really. 3 down, 12 to go, glad we are off to Neil’s in 3 weeks time cos I am going to wonder what to do with myself when I’m not tootling up and down the M62 every day..

Just walked round the block with Iz and my legs definitely moved more quickly!

The Invitation

Songs

A few years ago Richard and I spent a lovely weekend in Lincoln (where Richard grew up), and we spent most of our time adapting the lovely poem ‘The Invitation’ by Oriah Mountain Dreamer into a song, I recorded this soon after.  The full (unadulterated) version of the poem is below. Please excuse the dog walking attire!

The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know
what you ache for
and if you dare to dream
of meeting your heart’s longing.

It doesn’t interest me
how old you are.
I want to know
if you will risk
looking like a fool
for love
for your dream
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn’t interest me
what planets are
squaring your moon…
I want to know
if you have touched
the centre of your own sorrow
if you have been opened
by life’s betrayals
or have become shrivelled and closed
from fear of further pain.

I want to know
if you can sit with pain
mine or your own
without moving to hide it
or fade it
or fix it.
I want to know
if you can be with joy
mine or your own
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you
to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us
to be careful
to be realistic
to remember the limitations
of being human.

It doesn’t interest me
if the story you are telling me
is true.
I want to know if you can
disappoint another
to be true to yourself.
If you can bear
the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul.
If you can be faithless
and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty
even when it is not pretty
every day.
And if you can source your own life
from its presence.

I want to know
if you can live with failure
yours and mine
and still stand at the edge of the lake
and shout to the silver of the full moon,
“Yes.”

It doesn’t interest me
to know where you live
or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up
after the night of grief and despair
weary and bruised to the bone
and do what needs to be done
to feed the children.

It doesn’t interest me
who you know
or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand
in the centre of the fire
with me
and not shrink back.

It doesn’t interest me
where or what or with whom
you have studied.
I want to know
what sustains you
from the inside
when all else falls away.

I want to know
if you can be alone
with yourself
and if you truly like
the company you keep
in the empty moments.

By Oriah © Mountain Dreaming,
from the book The Invitation
published by HarperONE, San Francisco,
1999 All rights reserved