About me

PROFILE:
I have been writing poetry and stories since I was a child, and a love of reading was instilled in me from an early age. I am passionate about writing, and hope you enjoy the books I have written. Whilst most of you sleep soundly in your beds, like many Parkinson’s patients, insomnia dictates, so during those hours that sleep eludes me, the house is tranquil and quiet, an atmosphere perfect to immerse myself in writing. My life has been a series of strange events, which have without doubt contributed to my creativity. To publish anything is to bear one’s soul to the world. It is to stand naked and let everyone see who you really are. I have poured my heart and soul out on paper and I hope to share this journey, immersing you in a story, capturing your attention and firing the imagination. Through my writing and public speaking I hope to bring greater awareness to the general public about living with chronic disease.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A culinary challenge

I lost my sense of smell quite some time ago; often one of the first symptoms of Parkinson's, which frequently goes unnoticed, as it diminishes slowly over time and is of little annoyance or bother, until one day you suddenly realise it has entirely gone. Usually when someone remarks on a delicious smell emanating from the kitchen, or has noticed the dog is particularly smelly and badly in need of a bath, you are abruptly made aware that you can no longer smell a thing, and have lost one of your primary senses. My sense of taste has recently also become less sensitive, and I find I am more inclined to eat strong flavoured foods, spicy dishes in particular. Trying to maintain a balanced healthy diet when one is no longer enticed by appetizing smells, or delicately seasoned foods is a problem. I have found that often my appetite wanes when nothing is appealing to me, and it is worryingly easy to skip meals. I therefore have to consciously make the effort to eat something, however little. Now you would have thought there would be an up side of this, that those extra pounds that insist on hanging around, would get the hint and start to disappear. Unfortunately due to lack of mobility I am unable to do much physical activity, so shedding an unwanted kilo or two is far harder said than done. Cooking for the family, taking other's likes and dislikes into consideration, and striking a good balanced diet for myself, when I'm not inspired to eat, is quite a culinary challenge. 

1 comment:

  1. Hi Elaine, have been reading your blogs.I'm the lady whose post you read on LinkedIn. I was very sorry to hear abut the loss of your mother. I still miss mine even though she died 25 years ago. She was my inspiration and my first book, The water Doctor's Daughters is dedicated to her.

    Like you I suffer from a chronic illness. In February this year I was diagnosed with the very rare Churg Strauss Syndrome and now take a toxic mix of steroids and oral chemotherapy. Oddly enough, a related early symptom was losing my sense of smell for many years! It has returned now, but was very difficult when I was writing about gardens and couldn't smell the roses etc.
    Best of luck with your work. If you visit my site again, just remember that you need to answer the little maths question under the comment box before you press to publish the comment.

    ReplyDelete