Special Delivery - Making others smile

Hey everyone, I hope you are all doing well. How is your week going? In my first blog post i told you that i was trying to stay positive and deal with each day, well one way i have been doing that is by trying to make others smile. Through everything i have gone through health wise i wanted to give back, here is what i mainly do to give back to others like myself who are unwell and to people who just need a boost. 

Rewind to when i first became ill in 2011 i had been in hospital for quite a few weeks, in my own room, being poked, prodded, scanned, tests, pain, and hardly seeing anyone. As you can imagine it was starting to effect me mentally i was sad, lonely, struggling to cope with everything my body was putting me through, not to forget the stay in hospital that was until one very special lady changed all of that! she still doesn't even realise the impact what she did had on me and what it led me to do. Sometimes it's the little things which have the biggest impact on someone and people don't even know how that one little thing has helped the receiver. Thank you so much Dawn!! It was a Sunday i can still remember it and my dad had gone to pick up some cupcakes Dawn and a friend of her's had made for me; when my dad brought the cupcakes in i was blown away they were in the shape of a bouquet of roses with a lovely note from the bottom of them, from that moment forward things changed i was happier, i had the strength to deal with everything that was going on, i was smiling more, felt special, was so much more positive, i had more energy to fight and as you can imagine it had the same positive impact on my family seeing me so much happier helped them to stay up beat. Following the positive impact their gift had on me i decided to help others, so here is what i started to do.... 

Cupcakes in shape of a bouquet of roses from Dawn and her friend

I started making gift parcels for people in hospitals, hospices, and the community each gift parcel contains five items containing anything from activity stuff, crafts, pamper products, home ware, chocolates and so much more, with each item depending on the age and gender of the recipient. I fund all the gift parcels myself and feel honoured to be able to do so. My reasons for doing these gift parcels is mainly because i have seen the positive impact that they have had on the receiver, also to make them feel special, give them a boost, distract them from their treatments and pain, furthermore and most special to me is giving their family memories of them happy and smiling to look back on in the hard times, those moments are priceless and i am privileged to have been able to aid such precious memories for them all. What i love the most is seeing the smile on their faces, it really is so empowering as i am able to give them happy memories amidst all that they are going through. All the feelings i want the receiver to get from their gift parcel are those i experienced from Dawn's gift ( Thank you once again Dawn). I always add a little personalised note in with each gift parcel so the receiver has to keep and know they are not alone and being thought of. 

A small amount of gift parcels for Eleanor's Hospice at Christmas 

These gift parcels do take up a lot of my of my time but they keep me distracted from my health issues and pain, and help me to cope with a really bad day of pain or a set back, they also make me feel so privileged and uplifted. I would like to just say thank you once again to Dawn if it wasn't for you lovely act of kindness i wouldn't have positively got through that stay, but most importantly i wouldn't be doing these gift parcels and helping others so Thank you!! 

If you know of anyone who could do with receiving a gift parcel for any reason weather they are unwell or just need cheering up then please do let me know in the comments and i'll be sure to send them out. If you would like to give anything for the gift parcels then please do let me know, or if you would like to donate towards the gift parcels go to https://www.gofundme.com/kayleighparkinson it would be gratefully appreciated. Thank you so very much!!!!

Here is a gift parcel that got send out to a very special lady.

Well guys thats it from me today, sorry its been a long post but i LOVE doing these gift parcels and wanted to share this with you. I hope you all have an amazing blessed weekend and week and don't forget to make someone smile its usually the little things that make someones day. I will talk to you all soon. Lots of love, prayers, and massive hugs to you all. 

Kay xxxxxx 

Life can change instantly! - How did we get here?

Never in a million years did i think i would be doing this right now in the situation i am in; nor did i know life could change so quickly with such a big impact, but like i always tell myself none of us know what the future holds we just hope and pray and pray some more that it will turn out the way we planned. 

Hello everyone! I hope you are all well. My name is Kayleigh Jessica Parkinson although everyone just calls me Kay unless i am in trouble, being stubborn, or its something serious. I am 21 years old and should be out living my life enjoying myself, working, in education, socialising with friends all the things young adults do although i am not doing any of those! Well i am living life just a lot differently than myself, family, and even friends could have ever imagined. I had a lovely childhood mostly with my grandparents and i loved it. 

Me and my Grandparents ( My best friends) on my 17th birthday. 

I went to school and enjoyed being with friends, shopping, karate, and horse riding. I was happy, active and healthy apart from being incredibly clumsy; i would fracture my wrists at least once a year from 7 to 15 years old but nothing was ever thought of it, other than my parents getting questioned as to if they were hurting me. In 2010 i had the odd occasion where i would be taken into hospital as i couldn't pee they would put in a catheter OUCH! is all i can say to that; then a few hours later out it came and off we went home all back to normal or so we thought, it never crossed anyones mind why this was happening that was until a year later when thing came crashing down. 

In August we had been on a holiday in the Isle of Wight it was lovely but i spent most of the holiday either in bed or crying in pain; again we thought nothing of it and went back home to finish the sixth weeks holidays, and get ready to start sixth form. 

This is me with my cousin Gemma on holiday in the Isle of Wight
this was about two weeks before our lives changed.

30th September 2011 a day i will never forget for as long as i live partly because it is my aunties birthday but mostly because of what was about to happen. It had started as just a normal day I had just started sixth form and was enjoying all aspects of it that afternoon when heading to see my dad at lunch i collapsed on the floor and was unable to move; luckily i was already at the hospital as that is where my dad works so i was rushed round to majors and i remember i was shocked as i was the only patient in majors ( its NEVER been this empty). The doctor came in and asked me one question " Kayleigh when did you last pee?" i had to think ( never a good sign) ' 4 days ago' i replied within minutes a nurse came in yes you guessed it to put in another bloody catheter in ( oh the joys); the doctor came back to say i was being taken up to Guys hospital ad that they had a bed ready for me, i remember thinking it wasn't like al the other occasions with a catheter going in then coming out and going home this time something was wrong, little did i know then that this day was the last day of life how id known it and know it and that my new life was about to start. 

Fast-forward to 2016 ( for once i have that power) things have decided since 2011 more than i could have ever imagined. Having functional neurological disorder, hyper mobility, wearing hips, osteoporosis, gastroparesis, incontinence, and retention, these are just some of the things that have caused me in to be a lot of pain and needing my wheelchair to get around, although i am having weekly physiotherapy and i am determined to keep my body moving. I still have a catheter and now also have a feeding tube due to the gastroparesis my weight dropped very low so i have the tube for feed and medications that i find hard to swallow, i am also having seizures and of course like any other person with an illness i have a lot of hospital stays, procedures, and surgeries but we always get through the, with a laugh, smile, and prayer. 

My first feeding tube which went through my nose (  I am now on the third feeding tube which goes into my small bowel)
 This is a picture taken of me having my first feed. 

Well that's it from me for now, WOW! My first blog post done. Thank you for reading and an even bigger thank you if you were able to keep reading right down to this end massage. I can't promise these blog posts won't be a little longer than most but i can promise i will always be honest about how this has effected me, and i will make these posts as up beat and positive as much as possible. I hope you all have an amazing day/ night. Thank you once again ( you'll soon realise that's one word i say a lot another is sorry; just ask my friends and family they'll tell you it annoys them so much but i can't help it, it just seems to flow out without me even thinking about it) so i am sorry ( see there i go again) about that. Lots of love, prayers, and massive hugs to you all. 

Talk to you all soon! 

Kay xxxx