Hi @Fullofbeans and @Nichola75 I am not a teacher and my son is well past his school days and I certainly applaud teachers too, especially how they have had to adapt teaching methods over Covid times and work on the ‘front line as an essential service’.
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Sounds like your career was really interesting!
It’s been a hard 18 months for education. I’m hoping that the next academic year doesn’t bring as many challenges. Although, it’s a profession that I find more challenging as each year goes on. Perhaps it’s my age!
I’ll let you know how it goes 
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I can imagine it does get more difficult, the further into your career - it’s incredibly hard work, requires the patience of a saint and the goalposts keep moving these days.
The very best of luck with the new term, Nichola75. I’ll be thinking of you, and my other teaching friends. I hope it is a much better year for you all.
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In my case, when I was first diagnosed lots of people rallied round and people came to visit me in hospital that I hadn’t seen for years. Once I left hospital though everyone seemed to just disappear and I had to do the rest on my own. It wasn’t until I made contact with other people who gone through something similar that I found true understanding from others.
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After treatment is the hardest isn’t it. Everybody thinks it’s good and better when you need people more than ever x
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Hi @Franko and @Nichola75 I found when I was in hospital and feeling so ill I was a sitting duck for visitors I hardly knew who would say ‘oh, I was just visiting my friend and I heard you were in here so I thought I would visit you as well (and eat your grapes and favourite chocolates, grrrrhhhh)’
When I got home I realised who my true friends were!!!
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Joining this thread late, but going back to @erica 's original question - how would you have liked people to be when you were diagnosed? It’s a really interesting question. For me, I found the whole experience of telling people to be a bit of a reverse of what you might expect - I was often the one who ended up comforting them, not the other way around. What I mean by that is by the time I got around to telling people, I’d already had a few days to come to terms with my diagnosis - the people I dropped that bombshell news on hadn’t. So, while I was relatively composed (not completely - I’m not a robot!), they had just been hit completely out of the blue and were understandably shocked/confused/emotional. In fact, I saw my diagnosis coming a few weeks in advance (when you get a referral to a consultant who only deals with blood cancer, it doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s coming), so I’d had even more time to get to grips with things - I had a 3-week head-start on processing this information over the people I was sharing the news with.
In general, I preferred it when people were honest with me, and didn’t give me all the normal clichés and platitudes. It was much useful when people just said “this is a cr4ppy situation, there’s no denying it, but just know that I’ll help and support you in any way I can”. That sentence is now my goto response when I find myself on the other side of that conversation, which unfortunately has happened a few times recently. It usually goes down pretty well.
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Thanks @muppet what a brilliantly written post, you are so, so right.
How are you doing?
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Head in the sand syndrome…I’ve got one of those at home! I’m always getting told ‘you’ll outlive me’ whuch we both know is statistically very unlikely now!
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So @Kimmie17 we have both got a ‘head in the sand’ syndrome at home, after many years I just laugh inwardly now. I know I cannot teach an old dog new tricks.
That is one of the reasons I love this forum, because I can say what it is really like to be me and I know others will understand. Look after yourself
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I’d already been through so much by the time that I got my diagnosis that my initial reaction was just relief that I was finally able to prove to everyone that there was something wrong with me and I wasn’t just making it up as the hospital staff implied. I never really thought about how anyone else felt on the basis that if I was ok with it, they needed to be as well. Since I was geographically distant from everyone except for one person, I pretty much just had to get on with things on my own.
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I totally empathise with you… was in and out with so many things unexplained and told to get on with it, was a relief just to prove I wasn’t nuts…
Only scary thing was googling, looking at the that prognosis, looking at how many years I’ve been suffering undiagnosed and getting a negative number lol
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I get the impression that the official sites and your doctors always give you the worst case scenario so as not to raise your hopes. If they were right, I’d be gone already. I’ve met lots of people who “defied the odds” and are still around 
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I agree @Franko I think you are right and I have defied all the predicted odds as well, aren’t we lucky.
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Yes definitely… I learnt this going through cancer when she had it… I don’t blame them for doing so (lawsuits, false hopes etc) but it’s sometimes they are only words that stick though…
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Hi Muppet
Am glad you are so resolute. I found an almost sense of “you must be kidding” or “I’m sure you’ll be fine!” attitude from some people, but like you just got on with it.
I have little faith in my Haemotologist but luckily my GP is ace …
I have no hesitation in telling folks I have ET and feel the more people are aware the better for all.
Take care
Lelly.
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Hi Erica
Thank you I hope all is well with you
Will certainly share my new “old boy” when he comes Have called him Ghillie he’s an abandoned English Setter, and trust my other dog Rafa and he will become friends. I find so much pleasure in having my dogs and they certainly improve my quality of life.
Hope to meet Ghillie on 15th. Oct. so not long.
Hope everyone is keeping safe
Kind Regards,
Lelly.
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I see an English Setter on my daily walk round a local rec, she (and her owner) walk round the opposite direction. I often think we are very alike (although opposite in shape). I am called the Perimeter Lady on our rec as I walk with a determination at one speed round the edges of the rec and so does the setter, so we meet twice and we have a mutual respect for each other.
We await hearing all about Ghillie and I hope Rafa doesn’t get jealous and that they become firm buddies.
Enjoy.
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That sounds exciting. October the 15th will be here so soon!
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Hi
Thank you it’s almost 3 months in with Ghillie who is very much here and keeps me extra busy. He is a dog”of little brain” but is learning and very funny.
As for health matters I posted re a recent experience with a loccum GP who queried that ET was actually a blood cancer Ah well they can’t know everything but it’s not very reassuring to be questioned about your diagnosis.
I like your description of being a perimeter person in your local rec. I think we the MPN community are often the perimeter people depending on the knowledge your GP Haematologist or other medics actually have.
I make it my personal campaign to inform and share whenever possible.
Stay safe and stay strong.
Lelly
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