New Experiences & Meeting a Fellow Zebra

Is it too late to say Happy New Year? It’s still just about January so I think it’s okay 😛 I’m allowed to say it because this is my first blog post of 2017! Hope everyone is having a good year so far. I’ve been busy this year. The first 10 days disappeared with movies, work, molly walking, and seeing family and friends. On the 11th I had my first Blood Patch Operation which had a much bigger affect on me than I thought it would meaning I was flat in bed for 3 days, unable to walk properly for a week and I’m still relying on my stick to get me around outside. And I’ve had to cancel going to see Busted with my brother and best friend because I’m just not going to manage standing which is a real shame as the tickets were a birthday present and  I was looking forward to. For the last two weeks I’ve spent a lot of time on the sofa watching films, Once Upon a Time and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. I’ve had a lot of extra pain in my back and have found it difficult not being able/allowed to bend, stretch or lift at all. Not being able to bake or cook because of it has really sucked! But mum has helped me make my Granola so I’ve at least had yummy food for breakfast. Being so sedentary has really badly affected my Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome causing major flare ups in my shoulders, knees and hips. And the cold weather outside has not helped either. Unfortunately the surgery has also not worked as well as I hoped. I think it has helped my headaches a little but as I sit here typing with an awful one I know it’s not quite done the trick to fix my CSF leak so they are repeating the surgery in February (which we expected) in the hopes of further improving my symptoms. You can keep up to date with my day to day activities on Instagram & Twitter ( @1nvisibl3Girl) as this year I’ve decided to attempt the #pictureadaychallenge . The night before my surgery I also wrote a new article for The Mighty about the difficulties in receiving any kind of treatment when you have a Chronic Illness and you can find that article Here.

But I wanted to tell you about slightly more exciting things. You many remember that in my post before Christmas I mentioned that my friend Dan Parker and I were going to be contestants on a new  TV game show hosted by Noel Edmonds and earlier this week we did exactly that. Probably not the best idea 10 days after my op but I knew I could be sat down the whole time, it was something to look forward to and we had absolutely nothing to loose so off to Bristol we went. Dan was very sweet and was my bag carrier the whole 4 days we ended up being there. The hotel was lovely, wish we’d have got time to have used the spa and wish I was able to swim. The first night was freezing which was not good for my hands or feet but every night my room was on a higher floor and slowly got warmer each time 😛 The restaurant were great too I wasn’t expecting much but I managed to have a lovely sweet potato and black bean chilli with rice. On the 3rd night the host took pity on me having to have the same dinner again and had the chef make another dish suitable for my Gluten free, Dairy free, vegetarian diet and brought out a lovely Nasi Goreng with Peanuts which took me right back to my time in Bali. I was very impressed. I have never seen a TV set before let alone been on a TV show so it was a really interesting experience. We went through briefing, wardrobe, make up and spent a lot of time in the green room. I knew there would be a lot of waiting around in TV but I didn’t realise quite how much. The sitting all day was awful for my hips and shoulders and on the second full day of waiting I ended up lying across sofas and floors just to get comfortable. Waiting around can be really tiring as well especially when early starts are involved; being up, medicated, dressed and fully made up and on a mini bus by ten past seven was a huge challenge for me and not one I could repeat in a hurry. But the one thing I didn’t even think of in TV is the amount of wonderful people you get to meet who come from all different walks of life. We met some lovely couples from policemen to events organisers and serial game show contestants. We were in a group of about 12 (6 couples) for certain call times. A group of completely random people but you’ll never guess who I met? (I mean its not like a haven’t mentioned it in the title or anything) Another lady with EDS! I think we were both as surprised as each other as we discovered we were fellow Zebras just as I had been telling another couple about my ‘rare’ connective tissue disorder. She was on crutches, and had been for a year due to a bad knee dislocation and I was still reliant on my stick from my op. It was great to go through this new experience for both of us with someone else who totally understood the pain and fatigue involved in waiting around, sitting in one place and not getting enough exercise. We also ended up being on the same programme and talking to Noel about our condition on the show which will hopefully be shown and received well and raise a little bit of awareness for EDS which would be great. I did , however have a not so great moment but the mixture of an early morning, extreme fatigue, difficult medication management due to a 5:30am start and the adrenaline rush of playing the game sent my POTs crazy and meant my legs started getting pretty uncontrollable shakes after topping up on meds, having some grapes and lots and lots of water in the green room I recovered well enough to carry on recording after the break. The show will be aired at some point over the spring or summer and will keep you updated as to when its on. It looks like its going to make an awesome show and I was really glad to be involved in it.

It’s not long until I’ll be having my next operation and it’s difficult as I will only just start to be feeling back to my level of normal by the time I have to start the whole process again and it’d difficult knowing having another painful procedure which is in very recent memory but at least this time it will be easier as I know exactly what to expect and hopefully it will give me some more relief from my head pain. 🙂

1,534 Comments on “New Experiences & Meeting a Fellow Zebra

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  4. A swanky London steakhouse is facing backlash over its introduction of charges for tablecloths
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    The London Steakhouse appears to be reacting proactively to its impending expenditure increases, through both the tablecloth and napkin fee along with a host of other charges.

    Marco Pierre White’s (pictured) London Steakhouse has come under fire over the
    introduction of charges for tablecloths and napkins

    The London Steakhouse restaurant (pictured) has been open near Liverpool Street station since
    2008

    Diners are now expected to fork out an additional £1.50 per head for tablecloths and napkins

    Be the first to commentBe one of the first to commentComments

    Would you pay for the napkin fee?

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    The charges for the linen are displayed on the restaurant’s à la
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    such as a £1 head cover fee.

    A 12.5 per cent service charge is also added to set menu bills, as the self-proclaimed
    ‘linen-topped table dining’ establishment seemingly seeks
    more ways to charge patrons.

    The cover charge concept is one which is standard practice in many places around Europe, particularly in Italy where the ‘coperto’ charge covers table linen and bread.

    Cover charges are becoming ever more prevalent in the UK, with
    Harrdos also recently jumping on the trend and implementing a £1 levy at its London eateries.

    Other charges laid out on the London Steakhouse’s website include a £10 fee for booking certain set menus over two days in advance.

    This fee is not considered as a deposit by the restaurant and is not credited
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    Consumer specialist Jane Hawkes told the Telegraph that the introduction of such fees is
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    One potential unintended consequence of these fee introductions is that patrons will feel less
    obliged to pay service charges or leave behind tips.

    Despite new legislation coming into effect in October which ensures staff receive equal distribution of tips,
    industry expert Ms Hawkes says that this may prove to be redundant if fee gouging
    persists. 

    The London Steakhouse restaurant has been approached by the MailOnline
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    ItalyMarco Pierre WhiteKemi Badenoch

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  6. A swanky London steakhouse is facing backlash over its introduction of charges for tablecloths and napkins.

    Diners at the London Steakhouse restaurant, which was
    opened by celebrity chef Marco Pierre White in 2008, are now expected to fork out an additional cover of £1.50 per person.

    The restaurant, located near Liverpool Street train station, has stated that this will be
    a fixed fee ‘to cover the cost of table linen and napkins’, with
    a discretionary service charge of 9.5 per cent
    also appearing on bills.

    Industry experts have cautioned though that this could be just the
    start of restaurants seeking more ‘innovative’ ways to raise additional revenue from customers.

    Off the back of the government’s autumn budget which saw
    both the minimum wage and national insurance
    rates increase, restauranteurs have been warning that prices must rise for them to be able to foot the bill.

    From April, the national minimum wage will increase by 6.7 per cent to £12.21 per hour, with employer’s NI charges to jump by 1.2 per cent. 

    Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch has previously claimed
    the national minimum wage is detrimental to British businesses, and told this year’s Tory conference that it was ‘over-burdening’ many small enterprises.

    The London Steakhouse appears to be reacting proactively to its impending expenditure increases, through both the tablecloth and napkin fee along with a host
    of other charges.

    Marco Pierre White’s (pictured) London Steakhouse has come under fire over the introduction of charges for tablecloths and napkins

    The London Steakhouse restaurant (pictured) has been open near Liverpool Street station since 2008

    Diners are now expected to fork out an additional £1.50 per head for tablecloths
    and napkins

    Be the first to commentBe one of the first to commentComments

    Would you pay for the napkin fee?

    Comment now
    The charges for the linen are displayed on the restaurant’s à la carte menu, with the set menus seeing additional charges
    such as a £1 head cover fee.

    A 12.5 per cent service charge is also added to set menu bills,
    as the self-proclaimed ‘linen-topped table dining’ establishment seemingly seeks more ways to charge patrons.

    The cover charge concept is one which is standard practice in many places around Europe, particularly in Italy where
    the ‘coperto’ charge covers table linen and bread.

    Cover charges are becoming ever more prevalent in the UK,
    with Harrdos also recently jumping on the trend and implementing a £1
    levy at its London eateries.

    Other charges laid out on the London Steakhouse’s website include a £10 fee for booking certain set menus over
    two days in advance.

    This fee is not considered as a deposit by the restaurant and is
    not credited from your final bill, but rather a
    charge simply allowing you to make your reservation. 

    Consumer specialist Jane Hawkes told the Telegraph that the introduction of such fees
    is unfair on diners and that customers should be made to feel
    valued by businesses, rather than ‘bamboozled’.

    One potential unintended consequence of these fee introductions is that patrons will feel less obliged to
    pay service charges or leave behind tips.

    Despite new legislation coming into effect in October which ensures staff receive equal distribution of tips, industry expert Ms Hawkes says that
    this may prove to be redundant if fee gouging persists. 

    The London Steakhouse restaurant has been approached by the MailOnline for
    comment. 

    ItalyMarco Pierre WhiteKemi Badenoch

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