A Teenager plus Zombie vs Anaconda

James, our eldest child has turned 13 today. He was the most beautiful baby (and I know we all say that, but he really was) but he also had ghastly colic and used to scream relentlessly between 2 and 4am every morning. Nothing would calm him down and so to prevent infanticide Tyler used to stick him in the car and drive round and round the block until he eventually fell asleep. 

Things have improved a bit since then and he's turned out to be a fine young man. He's an innate gentleman with a gentle sense of humour, but he's also fiercely competitive with a steely determination which will take him far. We're very proud of him.  

It's Easter weekend. We'll have a braai/barbecue tonight for James, some paschal lamb at some stage tomorrow and hopefully some warm sea and fun on Monday. We all need some lightness and air at the moment. It's been a tough few weeks.

I still remember the Christmas cards my mother used to order from the Foot & Mouth Artists every year. The inscriptions which accompanied the slightly garish paintings of poinsettia’s and nativity scenes always fascinated me as I marveled at how people had the fortitude to paint with their mouths and feet. My mother also never failed to remind me  'There By the Grace of God' and I always had a slight chill as I imagined it to be my worst nightmare.

So here I am with Guillain Barre Syndrome.  The acid test this week, to prevent the $24,000 (yes I havn't got a zero wrong) iv IG treatment, was whether I could walk across a room unassisted. I managed although I did look like a drunken Charlie Chaplin, thus saving the children's future school fees and putting me at the lower end of the GBS spectrum. 

I'm now into the first phase of recovery (hopefully) which is characterized by less pain but greater fatigue, as the body starts to repair the destroyed myelin sheaves around the nerve ends. I've basically spent most of the week either sleeping or navigating staircases, but have also enjoyed a good Jack Reacher novel and lots more Masterchef and Great British Menu. 

The medication I've been on is so strong that I've honestly felt like a Zombie wading through fog. I quietly stopped taking the Pregabilin to see what happened and after about 6 hours I felt like a big, fat Anaconda was slowly wrapping itself around my body and squeezing the hell out of me. Must have slithered up somewhere through the mists (POSTSCRIPT: The numbness had extended to my diaphragm after I started taking the painkillers, so I hadn't experienced it yet). However, apart from the Anaconda, the pain has receded dramatically - which is such a relief. The choice therefore of Zombie vs Anaconda is a no contest. Give me Anaconda anyday. The drugs have been chucked.

Since this is all going to take a rather long and tedious time to recover, I might as well embrace it all and order myself a chic walking stick for my upcoming birthday and start writing that book I've been thinking so long about. I'm also dabbling in expanding our website into more of an island foodie blog too, as well as starting the planning for our Christmas bakery and our upcoming Trans-Atlantic lives, leaving very little time to feel sorry for myself.

Plus we now have a teenager to contend with too.