Up The Farway Tree

Back to work... and loving it!

Well you will gather I have been really busy this week which is why I am only getting around to updating now. I started back at work on Tuesday - just 2 mornings a week at the moment - and it already feels like I have never been away! I was really quite busy actually, which is good as I don't want to be wrapped in cotton wool and am ready to just get right back in there! I sat in on the Wednesday morning clinic as I am working with a different consultant so wanted to see how she likes to run things. Next week however she is at a conference so I will be doing clinic myself, so I guess it's a baptism by fire ;-) I am sure I will be fine though.

I also went to see another consultant about a part time Staff Grade job which may be coming up. Staff Grade is basically a non training post but you require quite a lot of experience to apply for one. This is the sticking point - apparently you need 3 years full time experience in the speciality but I have 4 years part time in psychiatry, which is not enough. The consultant is going to look into this to see if there is any flexibility on this rule, but I suspect not. It is rather frustrating because part time work is never half time work in the sense that you tend to have a more intense experience, with lots of work squashed into a shorter space of time. If this is a set rule then I am going to have some problems finding work after this 6 months unless I go back into training - which would mean being put back virtually to the beginning as I don't have my exams, working full time usually, doing on call work and the risk of being sent anywhere in Scotland. That's not really practical at the moment and not really what I want to do! Hopefully there is another solution and I am always a great believer in things somehow always working themselves out. Anyway, at the moment I am back and I am loving it :-)

I have also been busy sorting Team Jac stuff and have really reached maximum numbers now, with around 160 walkers!! I have arranged extra transport so we should be ok! I will be popping up to Leven myself soon to have a look around and work out best place to meet and note down car parking facilities etc for everyone. It is set to be a fantastic day :-) If you want to sponsor the team, then click on the Just Giving link at the top of the page.....we are flying along with sponsorship and I couldn't be more pleased!

I have also finished the CF and Relationships booklet (I did say I have been busy!) so have sent it to the CF Trust for them to pass onto the Medical Advisory Committee for review. Hopefully they will then be able to host it online and I can also then go ahead with printing some copies to send to each CF unit in the UK. I am getting some pricing done for this at the moment and we have some charity funding to hopefully cover those costs. I am so excited to finally get this going!

On the medical front, I had the MRI of my foot and there is NO fracture....yay!!! So I don't need a cast. Of course that doesn't help with explaining why it is still sore, however as long as I know I am not walking about on a fractured foot then I am happy. I have some special insoles to try which will take the pressure of the painful area and these do seem to be be helping so far. If it continues to be painful then I can get some custom made insoles which may help, so still other options available. Hopefully I can now start to get some training done for the big walk. I am also eating better over the past two days so hoping I have turned a corner with this. If I have to eat mince or fish for much longer I am going to go crazy!!! No tablets got stuck yesterday though, so things are definitely looking up. I will soon be back to eating my usual (unhealthy) diet...