Imaginary Boogiemen

The funny (and by funny I probably mean annoying) thing about PVNS is that the symptoms often flare up out of the blue. Super inconvenient for someone like me who is constantly on the go!

One of these annoying, out-of-the-blue attacks happened this Saturday night just past. I'd had the dull ache that often goes hand in hand with a PVNS tumour on and off for a few days, but mostly I'd had a good couple of weeks with my elbow. However, on Saturday night all of a sudden I started getting severe spasming pain in my joint, right through my nerves through to my wrist and fingers.

I took Endone when I went to bed but even that barely touched the pain, which continued throughout my broken sleep of the night. It was so severe at one point I was completely overcome by nausea, and also was convinced that someone was trying to get into my room! It was such a relief to finally be able to settle myself down at about 6am and sleep through until 10am. 

By the time I got up I was feeling much better, until lunchtime when I reached across the table to grab some food off a plate and white-hot pain shot through my elbow. I jerked it back like I had been burnt, and burst into tears - the shock of the intense pain literally took my breath away for several minutes.

However, there's a choice that must be made when choosing how to deal with these symptomatic periods. We can either live constantly on edge, waiting for the next pain to come, or we can focus on the time we have feeling good. 

That's the motto I try as hard as I can to live by - 

Don't live in fear of the bad days. Make the most of the good days!

Kylie xoxo

The Limbo Stick

There are a few things I have discovered about PVNS in the 3 months since my diagnosis and one of those things is that there is a lot of 'limbo' time involved in the process. Time spent just hanging around waiting to see if it is going to get better or worse, and to see what treatment is going to be needed next.

However, a lesson I have learnt that goes hand in hand with this is that you cannot under any circumstances spend this limbo time wallowing in your own self pity and allowing anxiety and worry to consume you - you just can't!

After a week or so of many emotional teary moments, frustrations and feeling very down, a big chat with my incredibly patient and wise best friend snapped me back to my happy, bubbly positive self and made me determined to spend my limbo time making the most of life.

In the spirit of living life to the full, here are some photo's of my best friend and I after Friday night's performance of Legally Blonde the Musical at the Lyric Theatre in Sydney, meeting my all time favourite performer and idol Lucy Durack, as well as David Harris and Rob Mills:

Yes, I have PVNS.

But PVNS does not have me!!!

Kylie xoxo