Well I figure that if Im going to win a booker prize for the collection of these blogs I thought Id better write one. Its been sometime since I last took to the laptop and spilled my usual nonsense onto these pages. There's been some reasons for that that I will go into later but for now an update on all the goings on in Council land.
This week saw our AGM and I was thrilled that Chair of the Council Julia Gooch was re elected.for the last year of the Council. In your time in any sort of local government you come across people that automatically grab your respect and Julia is one of those Councillors. I put her in my first cabinet and have supported her as Chair, A role she was made for, she is brilliant at it. We have regular five am twitter discussions and as my group leader she doesn’t have my nonsense. She is like some others a decent good councillor who puts others first . If my time as a Council Leader is remembered as anything Id like it to be that I tried to get everyone involved, no matter what their party. In many ways that was made easier in the last two years or so by the efforts of the Conservative leader in Council Alan Preest. Preesty changed my views on the Tory group from being the devil incarnate to being a group that it was possible to do business with. Yes they were always officially opposition but if AP and I had chatted about an issue, he knew I was being straight with him and I knew the same about him. It got them engaged, in cross party groups and they had a say and more importantly an input. I have great respect for AP and I consider him a mate. I don’t agree with his politics but we can disagree without nastiness and I know he isn’t just doing something for political ends . As Chairman of Glos County County he has a busy calendar so his stepping down as Tory Group leader was perhaps unsurprising. I only hope that the new tory leader continues in APs manner and doesn’t look to block and damage the council as a way of showing what a splendid group leader and politician he is. I’m prepared to work with every one for the good of the council, I hope he is.
And now to the reason for my lack of blog writing of late.
While its been a welcome relief to many of you I have missed writing the blog when enthused to do so. Unfortunately, you need to be healthy to write this kind of piffle and frankly I’ve not been that well.
Ive written in this blog about mental health issues and in many ways that was easier than admitting your body may just be failing you. For several years my health has been in decline. I’ve put on literally stones in weight , suffered heart and spine issues and my mobility has gradually been reduced to being incapable of throwing a cricket ball down to my 13 year old lad.
Everything hurts, I cant sleep, Im tired all the time but not sleepy tired just muscle tired. My bones and joints ache and hurt, and I frequently feel down in the dumps and ashamed of how I look.
In ten years, I’ve gone from a relatively fit and healthy chap walking around at 14 or 15 stone with a rugby player physique, to an immobile blob, unable to get out and about, taunted by trolls on social media and looking like I eat three pizzas and drink 10 pints of lager a night. It’s easy to say but the honest fact is that I don’t.
The last few weeks have seen at least some explanation into why I’ve become like this, and I have been diagnosed with Cushing’s syndrome( nothing to do with the actor ). Basically, Im creating too much cortisol which then imbalances all the other hormones that make you fit and healthy and able to turn calories into muscle and not fat. You can read about it f you wish, but trust me its not nice and neither is the way they check for the reasoning behind this increase and whether you have the disease or the syndrome.
Im undergoing some treatment and due to start more soon. Id like to say Ive no fear of dying, be all brave and stiff upper lipped but of course it crosses my mind, its probably why I cant sleep. I want to be here for my wife and my family, I think that’s the biggest thing, I don’t want to leave them , leave all I have , I do however now have an increased sense of appreciation of life , of my family and friends and what I do , life in general.
I intend getting well and being the person I was, the man I should be. I have good people looking after me and with their help I will get better, I will be useful, I will work properly, and I will deliver on what I have said I will deliver. Ill also do more stuff on men’s health, about the male menopause, which my hormone issues are linked to and try to get other men to talk about things like prostate tests. I've been there and if I can help one other fella by writing about it I will. Life is better than this, we don’t need to suffer in silence. We can talk about these things.
There's too much to do anyway, these blogs don’t write themselves you know.
When I'm better, it'll be that , fuel poverty , cost of living and bullshit politics.
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