Anniversary - One year on from hospital....

I have just written a 'status update' on my personal Facebook page to my friends and it occurred to me that I also want to say thank you to all of YOU. So I'm going to paste in what I wrote word-for-word on here.
This isn't something I thought I would ever feel comfortable doing. I try to keep Life In Recovery and my personal life reasonably separate. Not because I am ashamed of the blog but because I think it works better if I don't use this as a platform to air my private life and that I use my past and present experiences in a constructive way to help others who may be struggling. That won't be changing.

Keeping this blog, creating videos and posting little (or a lotta) bits on Twitter has been an absolutely wonderful experience. I hope to continue the work I have only just started and love interacting and discovering all of you 'out there.' This is why I felt it was relevant to post the message I sent to my friends and family to you all as well.

So here goes...

I don't normally do this on FB but it's a handy way to reach a lot of you all at once!

Some of you will already be aware of the significance of today's date to me but for those who aren't...Today (August 5th) marks exactly one year since I was discharged from hospital!

Words can't express how wonderful and incredible the last year has been. To be able to be writing this at all is mind-blowing!

I can't say thank you enough to those of you who helped me through the tough (!) times for so many years. I know without a shadow of a doubt that I wouldn't be here today without you. Your ongoing friendship means the world to me.

To the friends I've met more recently I also wish to thank you hugely. Your support, understanding and most of all your inclusion of me in your lives has been so amazing and life-enhancing.

I thought about how I wanted to mark today and decided very quickly that I wanted to go back to the hospital I was last in. So today I am off to pay a visit to the unit I spent my last few inpatient months in. Taking along a HUGE home-baked carrot cake, lots of tissues and a sack full of gratitude and news! I'm going to spend a couple of hours seeing some of the doctors and nurses who have made such an impact in my life and I’ll also be able to tell them that properly face-to-face.

Going back today will also be a chance to reflect on and try to digest the enormity of the past year and just be able to reflect on how much has changed for the better. The past year has been full of firsts (and seconds and thirds…) and it's been a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions to say the least.

I wish I could convey to you all how much I appreciate and value your presence. Sharing this new chapter in my life and revelling in the real chance of a happy, healthy and full life is the best I can do to show this. I know how lucky I am to have such excellent family and friends.

Here's to another blockbuster of a year!

With love, thanks and amazement.

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