I lost my summer
& not just because of the clouds!
Hello Sweet teas… it’s been a hot minute!
After 6+ weeks of particularly excruciating pain which I brushed under the carpet due to severe medical gaslighting in my youth (more on that later), I finally saw someone at the end of June who addressed my pain as seriously as it should have been in the first place! A true rarity in the healthcare system.
The trouble is when you’re in constant pain, is that you can’t tell when it’s life threatening. Well this was, but since I didn’t realise, I continued writing for Tea with HB, recording podcasts, interviewing guests, and even decided to dip my toe into politics, becoming a member of the Green Party. I put myself forward to become Town Councillor, researched and wrote a speech, attended the hustings after a day in A&E… and was elected! This makes me one of only two female councillors, (out of 43 in my town!) the youngest ever, and of course, I am using my role as a disabled politician to advocate for accessibility. Two days after this, I had an emergency surgery with 0 painkillers, was given a shiny new chronic illness diagnosis, and prescribed new medication that, needless to say, is not agreeing with me.
To read more about my emergency operation, you can click here ! 😣
Dipping my toe into politics has, over the span of a month which I have mainly spent recovering from the operation, led to me somehow diving into the deep end headfirst, as I am currently campaigning for District Council. I would not recommend this particular cocktail of events to anybody, but life is certainly not boring…
I lost my summer, and for a while there, lost myself. I am so horrifically disappointed in myself for not being able to appreciate the amount of pain I was in, for pushing myself, and assimilating that level of torture, when I should have known better! I am scared for the future, scared that I don’t know my limits. Fear is not a good place to share from, especially when much of this community is also chronically ill, which is why (for some sense of well-being) I took a break from social media and the podcast, and even writing to you, sweet friend.
I feel ready to come back with a sunnier attitude, even if the sun forgot me this year, so next week you can expect a new podcast episode, or if you’re signed up to my
you can listen to Connectivi-tea (with a special guest!) right now.
I have loved making satirical videos, it’s been an excellent coping mechanism recently, and since this particular letter might be a bit heavy, please feel free to watch these and laugh with me 💛
Love,
HB x
P.S One thing that has kept me going is Taylor Swift announcing the tracklist for RED (Taylor’s Version) - anybody else super duper excited?
