Yippeee!! Yahoooo!!! Fantastic!! Bloody marvellous.. can you guess? My adrenal supplements arrived today from the UK. I have taken my first doses for today and am hoping that I can notice a change in the not too distant future. I also started antibiotics yesterday for this sinus infection I have, and it has made a big difference already. Good job really considering it cost $23mil (£25) for a one week supply and I need 2 weeks! I actually slept last night as I could finally breathe through my nose, and today I felt human rather than something of a lazy bed hogger!

We have just finished our packing for Easter Island and are very excited to be leaving early on Friday morning. I will of course give you all the details..

I more than survived yoga on Friday, I positively enjoyed it.. The teacher commended me on my balance and strength which was a boost to my ego. I often feel like I have lost all my fitness, so it was encouraging to see that it is still there to an extent. There was also much less toxin discomfort after the session, another very encouraging sign. So, I was disappointed that today I was feeling like I couldn't possibly make it, having gone to bed early last night with bad faceache and headache. As we leave for Easter Island on Friday I will also miss the next 2 sessions. But, rather get myself well again than push myself and stay ill. I was very hesitant to call for a doctor today, but decided that I shouldn't let this go on for any longer, having had so many symptoms over the last 6 weeks, and a lingering cough which still hasn't shifted. And, good job I did. He told me I now have a sinus infection and without decongestants and antibiotics I would be unlikely to be able to fly on Friday without significant sinus pain. I have experienced that before and I thought my head was going to blow off the top of my body, so I have no desire to go through it again. Hopefully the medicines he has prescribed will work their magic in time. This will be the first time I have taken antibiotics in 3 years. I do everything I can to avoid them as they make the candida worse, but when needs must, I have to be pragmatic.

It would seem that the nutritionist is right, that my immune system is really struggling as a result of my compromised adrenal glands. My supplements still haven't arrived yet, unfortunately. I am eagerly awaiting a parcel each day, but also hope that I am not holding onto these as the magic cure, and am then disappointed if they don't give me the result I want. I feel though that surely they have to make me feel better than I have done recently. Having been following this diet for 6 months now and feeling as I do, I find myself thinking, stuff it, I am just going to eat whatever! But, then the sensible part of me realises that I have come this far and if I give up now, I will never know what outcome I would have had in another 6 months time. So I need to stick with it for now, then see where it takes me later.

Just before this head cold really kicked off, we did manage to get a ski in for the girls on Sunday. It was doubtful on Saturday as to whether I would go, as I was knocked for six in the afternoon. My body seems to over react to the onset of an illness and on Saturday I found myself asleep in the afternoon for 2 hours. On waking I had lost the use of my right arm to quite a degree and I was just exhausted. But luckily after a good nights sleep I seemed better on Sunday despite a completely blocked nose. Jude's friend was coming with us to the slopes and we decided to go all together in their car to Farellones, which is closer than Lagunillas, and has a better road. We were also concerned about the amount of snow up at Lagunillas as it is getting towards the end of the season. It turned out to be a very frustrating time trying to organise lessons for the girls. Firstly they were refusing to teach the 3 year olds, then we finally negotiated a 2.5 hour lesson for a handsome fee of $74.000CLP (approx £85). Mary could go into the ski school, but only if there were 2 children or more. Feeling that 2.5 hrs was a bit much for their first time, we decided to try another resort to see if we came up with a better solution for the younger 2. So we drove on and ended up at Los Zorros, which we thought was El Colorado. Here they had no problem giving a 1 hr lesson, but there was no ski school for Mary, so she would have to go back to Farellones. The ski hire also had to be done at Farellones. So we would be driving back and forth between the 2 places. When we went back, Mary was still the only child for ski school. Incredible to believe on a Sunday when it was a school for children from 5-11 years old. They tried phoning the one number that they had of another interested child, but no-one answered. So they took our number and said they would call us if anyone else signed up. So we took leave for a while to sort out ski hire and have a snack. No phone call. Just in case, we decided to check again just before the school was due to start and lo and behold there was a group of children, so it was suddenly mad panic to get Mary ready to start. She was excited at the prospect of having all day there, including lunch and didn't mind that we would leave her by herself with people she didn't know. Ross stayed in the vicinity whilst Tania and I took Jude and Luisa for their lesson up at the other slope. They seemed to enjoy it and they managed to ski down the nursery slope by themselves a couple of times. When I went back to collect Mary at the end of the day, she was happy but tired. I could see that the class had been too basic for her, but Ross having watched, was very pleased that it had forced her to learn some valuable manoeuvring skills rather than just skiing. The teacher recommended that next time we took an individual class for her as the school had been too easy. I questioned why they didn't put them in groups based on their level rather than just age, but I didn't get much of a helpful response. At least if we go again before the end of the season we will have a better idea of what to expect!

Tomorrow is yoga again.. I wonder how I will feel as the teacher said the class will not be as gentle as the one on Tuesday. Help!! I hope my supplements arrive soon and give me a good boost in energy levels, just because I always feel like I am running on reserve. I have slowed down a bit these last 2 days, but not to a great extent. My legs still work and I am not desperate to crawl into bed every few hours so that is all good. Although yesterday I did sneak off and have an hours kip whilst the girls watched some TV. If the urge comes over me and I am near a bed, I have to sleep otherwise I am not that pleasant to be around!

On a lighter note I have just booked tickets to fly to Antofagasta for a wedding in a few weeks time. I had been hoping that we might get to a Chilean wedding before we leave and finally my wish has been granted. A colleague of Ross is marrying a Chilean. It should be an interesting affair as most Chilean weddings don't happen until the evening. The service is usually around 8pm followed by a reception into the wee hours of the next morning. Who knows what we will do with the girls! I was surprised to have booked flights and a hotel so easily and reasonably priced, as the wedding takes place on the Chilean celebration Dieciocho, Sept 18th. This is when they celebrate the beginning of the process of independence from Spain. This year is the Bicentenario (200 years) celebration and is a 4 day event. I am sad in some respects to be missing such momentous celebrations here in Santiago, but I think it will be well celebrated everywhere and it may be nice to get away from what could easily be total madness! I am excited to go so far north where it is desert. Ross hasn't been far north yet, and I know he is keen to go because the diving there is really good.. the hotel we are staying at is on the beachfront and has ocean views so I don't think we will be too disappointed.

The other trip I am really excited about is in a weeks time we are going to Easter Island (Isla de Pascua). The island is supposed to be really beautiful and again has great diving. The clarity of the water is between 40-60m. I sincerely hope that we can pull off some babysitting for the girls so that Ross and I can swim out together and enjoy the warm, clear waters. There is good hiking too on the island with volcanoes for climbing. As it is only 23km long, it is great for cycling around; although I am not so sure that Mary & Jude would cycle that far!!

If we leave in November to go back to the UK, we actually will only have a few months left here. We must make the best of our time left and there are still so many places to visit.. I desperately want to do more skiing and as the sun has been shining recently the snow is melting so who knows how much ski season will be left. Hope I will be fit enough to make a trip to Lagunillas this weekend, even if it is just for the day. Mary I know is also dying to get to the snow and wants another lesson. I am very grateful for tis wedding because we never would have got to Antofagasta I'm sure. Other places I have on my radar are a trip to Peru, the amazon (probably Bolivia) and south of Santiago to Pucon. But practically, trying to fit trips into the small number of weekends we have left will be challenging, especially as Ross is working like crazy at the moment. The perks of having your own business!

the last few days have been generally positive. Although still tiring quickly, I am managing to do more, and do it with more enthusiasm and patience. On Saturday I was dancing around the house with the girls, doing painting and drawing with them and generally entertaining them whilst hubby was working. It was so liberating and encouraging to be enjoying having a morning with them, and not feeling like I am just doing my duty as a Mum. It was a beautiful day, like summer, despite still being officially winter, so when Ross got home we took the girls to the plaza on our way to spend the afternoon with some good friends. Having put all my energy into the girls for the morning, I was pretty pooped by the time we set out of the house. But we still had a lovely time. The girls, as always, made friends as soon as we arrived at the plaza, and I sat on a bench in the slight shade and enjoyed listening to the orchestra that had set up as we arrived. We were then treated to a lovely afternoon with our friends, an ex pat family from Australia, who have a boy and a girl similar ages to our girls. They have so much fun playing together and now that they are that much older, we can mostly sit and enjoy adult conversation whilst the kids entertain themselves. The food was great. Lamb chops on the bbq, sausage, provoleta cheese - a special kind of cheese from South America which goes particularly soft and gooey when heated. It was particularly good on the fresh bread I had made and taken along.

On Sunday, we had a hire car arranged and were going off to Laguna Aculeo to ride bikes around the lake with a Chilean friend. As we were getting ready to set off he called to say his son was sick and couldn't make it. As it turned out, it was probably a good thing! We set out with bikes strapped to the boot, still with the intention of cycling ourselves. But the warm sunshine which was predicted, was notably absent, and its replacement was cold drizzle and mist. As we drove we questioned how much fun it would be to cycle on a gravel road in such conditions and with no change of clothing! Then we spotted the signs to Buin Zoo, somewhere we have never been, but have heard many good reports. So we decided that the zoo would be far more appealing on such a day. There was no disappointment in our decision. The zoo was large and clean, with a great range of animals all well cared for, and there was a farmyard which the girls loved where you could pet the sheep and goat, as well as an aquarium, a reptile house and a nocturnal barn where Jude got to see her beloved owls. From the zoo we continued on to Pomaire, a small artisan village where all the famous Chilean pottery is made. In 3 years we have not visited here and I am sad that we never went when my parents or inlaws visited. I was totally charmed by the place. It is quite a visitor trap, but I only heard english being spoken a couple of times and there were literally hundreds of people grazing the shops down the narrow street. What amazed me was that every shop was different. One thing I love about Chile is that you don't get hassled about buying, not like in Africa were they constantly tout for your custom. Here we were free to leisurely browse, feeling no pressure whatsoever. I felt very relaxed, the girls were behaving really well and I felt well. Needless to say I bought a range of dinner ware to take back with us. It was hard to limit myself as it is all so practical and so cheap, but I had to be mindful that we have to get it all back to the UK sometime. Hidden down a small alleyway I spied a man sat at a potting wheel. I took the girls over to see what he was doing and before we knew it Jude had been coerced to the wheel and was making a pot! Next, it was Mary's turn and they each came away with a small vase as a momento. There were also a huge number of restaurants to eat at, so we found a small, popular establishment to rest our feet and fill our tummies. We chose well. The food was excellent. Between us we shared a chicken cazuela (broth with chicken leg and large chunks of veggies with rice in the bottom), pastel de choclo (corn pie with mince and chicken) and costillar de cerdo (pork ribs). The ribs had to be the best we have ever had in Chile. They were slightly crispy around the edges, fell off the bone as you bit into them and had a wonderfully unique flavour. The girls were particularly happy with their ice cream tower they had for pudding. There must have been 5 scoops of ice cream all piled up on top of each other! I was feeling so good that I had a smile on my face the whole day.

Monday I felt a bit tired and less enthusiastic about life. I went to the women's bible study and found myself mostly listening rather than actively participating. It may not have been helped that Mary was sick in the night, so we were up changing her bed and helping her get clean. It probably also wasn't helped by my eating habits of the previous few days. I have been exceedingly naughty about my diet and I am seemingly paying a consequence. I have let too much sugar pass my lips and now I am coming down with a sore throat and a stuffy nose. A sure sign that I haven't been eating well. Hopefully if I can drag myself away to the healthy food again I will escape the full works of a cold. Otherwise my legs are holding up and I am still functioning well.

Yesterday I started a course of yoga. I am hoping that it will help me learn to relax and meditate more, as well as helping my general fitness and flexibility. I really enjoyed it, but wow, I am no longer supple! The nutritionist had warned me about the release of toxins through exercise and I definitely experienced that yesterday after the class. I hope that each time I go it will get easier. A while ago I went to see a lady who practices Yoga and Ayurveda. I was intrigued by an Ayurvedic approach having seen a case study of a lady with transverse myelitis who felt Ayurveda was very helpful to her. It's origins are in ancient Indian medicine and it is based on body types. Some of what she told me about my type seemed to be spot on and fitted well with many of my problems. I would like to take on board some of the concepts of Ayurvedic eating once I am done with the candida diet, but the 2 were not compatible. I think the Ayurveda would have been a much easier option, but I didn't feel it was right for me at the time. Having had such success previously with a candida approach I felt that I had to go with it again this time. I am very encouraged that in just a few months I have reintroduced successfully into my diet so many of the forbidden items. Now it seems that just peppers and potatoes are left on my "can't eat it" list. Once I have finished the candida programme and strengthened my adrenal glands I will be free to eat almost anything again! I can't tell you what level of anticipation I have of that, having been restricted in so many foods for the last 10 years. Of course, I will always have to be careful with how much sugar I eat, but that is a small exchange...

Today, I am thrilled to say that I woke at 6.30 this morning and was merrily chatting away with my husband. I did sneak off back to sleep for a while once he got up with the girls, but I felt more awake than I have done in some time. Without wanting to be too optimistic, I think there may be some breakthrough.. I have been taking in very small doses, a tincture which I happened to bring with me to Chile from previously. It contains siberian ginseng and liquorice, 2 of the supplements I have been prescribed to regulate my adrenal glands. I have been taking it with some caution as it is not what was recommended. Initially for the first few days I had some mild palpitations within half an hour of taking it, but now nothing. Today I am dancing around the house, not hobbling as I was yesterday. The only explanation I can give is that the tincture is working. I have even been indulging in the cake we made for Daddy's celebration, and still I am making progress.

I have to admit that I am excited! Who knows how much better I might feel with the correct dosage of supplements when they arrive here. I am very aware that there is much scepticism from the medical profession about nutritional approaches in helping such conditions as transverse myelitis. However, as I spent so many years searching for answers, which only seemed to come through nutrition, I can be nothing but convinced. I am one of the medical profession myself, but can't help but see the benefits of a nutritional approach. And, well, if it works for me then I am planning to stick to it and spread the word..

It's funny how provision is made for us when we step out to do things for others. As I mentioned, I had offered to host 2 of my girls friends for an afternoon and although I wasn't well, I didn't want to disappoint them by cancelling. So they came anyway. Remember, these are my children's classmates, so they are Chilean and don't speak English. The three year old came for lunch with us and at this point our nana was still working, so all was well. The three girls went off to play together and there was some disharmony, I think due to tiredness. Mary's friend arrived just as our nana was going home. I was then going to be left with the 4 children for the next 2 hours. As it turned out, Lena had come with her nana who needed to stay at our house, so that she could carry on to a birthday party afterwards! So, she was my runner and translator for the rest of the afternoon. I was so grateful..

I have rested a lot these last few days since the weakness started and over time have begun to get used to my own company. I used to hate being on my own. I have become more complacent about missing things like lunch with the girls, attending meetings and going shopping. It's not easy. I should just get on with it regardless, perhaps. But on some of the occasions that I have done, I have found myself worse as a result. Yet, yesterday it seemed that the more effort I made to do things, the better I felt.

There was a school trip to the planetarium yesterday as Mary is learning about the solar system. She was really happy when I said that parents could go along if they wanted to and she begged me to go along. Then, of course, 2 days before the trip, I got laid up, and the poor girl was so disappointed. She prayed each night that I would be well enough to go with her. The school was very understanding and in an attempt to ease her disappointment they invited her sister along too. That helped, and they had a wonderful time. I had hoped that it would be an opportunity for me to get to know Mary's friends better. The disadvantage to having a nana who takes the girls to school each day is that I miss out on the interaction in the school. It is difficult enough making relationships across a language barrier, but even harder when you are not physically present to meet your children's friends and parents. But we try, and the girls have got some lovely friends. They were very excited to get back from their trip and tell me all about it. We spent our afternoon preparing a celebration for Daddy who had had a successful week at work. They wanted to do a party for him, so we went to the shop to buy ingredients to make a cake and sweets to decorate it with, then blew up balloons, downloaded Congratulations by Cliff Richard to play on his return, chilled some beer and made some cards. By the end of doing all that I actually felt better. Explain that!

Today I am hobbling about still and slept very late again. My body seems to be craving morning sleep at the moment, and contrary to my usual, I am finding myself telling my husband it's bedtime around 9.30pm. I struggle usually to go to bed before 11pm. Hopefully my supplements will arrive soon and I will find myself with more energy. I keep praying, and even though the journey is long, my prayers do get answered, sometimes in the most unusual ways.

I often wonder what goes wrong first. I seem to have several explanations to my problems, but I can’t quite discern what affects what.. I mentioned that I was having tests done for my adrenal glands and digestion. Well, I am pleased to report that my digestion is in a good way. However, in the words of my nutritionist, my adrenal glands most certainly are not. Let me give you a bit of background to help explain. The adrenal glands are situated just above the kidneys and are responsible for helping you cope with stress. This can be fear, anger, anxiety or excitement. Our adrenal glands will produce adrenaline to help us cope with this. If we are under a particularly heavy load of stress for any period of time then our body is constantly pumping out adrenaline and the adrenal glands become exhausted.

I can’t say that I have ever thought of my life as any more stressful than the next person I know. But my nutritionist seems to think that there has to be an ongoing stressor that has depleted my adrenal glands to such an extent. The normal range of daily hormone output is 21-41. Mine is 7. She says it’s amazing that I even get out of bed each day. Granted, I have 2 small children, but they are mostly like angels, so I can’t blame them. Yes, we came to Chile for 6 weeks and have been here now nearly three years and have never had a plan for more than 3 months ahead in all that time. But we have loved our time here in Chile and have used the opportunity of living in a foreign country to the max. Then there was the earthquake, but that was only earlier this year, so it can’t be that either. A funny thing though, since the earthquake, wherever I am, I can feel the earth moving. It is a strange sensation. Someone sits on the sofa next to me and it fells just like a tremor. A particularly big lorry goes by and things rattle. I feel myself tense and look around for everyone else’s reaction, but of course, they are sitting totally relaxed just as if nothing is happening, precisely because nothing is happening. I even feel like the beach moves sometimes. And when we were just in England where earthquakes are just about unheard of, things still seemed to be moving!

Talking of England, I have just had a great trip back to visit family. Unfortunately I was unwell with a type of flu in the first week, which kept me in bed for a few days with sweats and a raging headache, but other than leaving me with a horrible cough which is now into it’s third week, I managed to shake it off for the second half of our trip. I had enough energy in that second week to, with the help of my parents, entertain 4 small children for 4 days and rush around buying things I can’t get in Chile, celebrating Mary’s 5th birthday with friends and a trip to Thomas Land, as well as catching up with friends. By the time I had flown back here to Chile with the girls by myself, I was totally exhausted. My cough worsened from the change to winter and the smog that blights Santiago and I stayed in bed for much of the first few days I was home.

The diet continues and I am now into the 6th month of 12 of this gruelling programme. I don’t pretend to be the goodie two shoes that I should be. There have been unfortunate moments of lapse, when the lure of a piece of birthday cake or a nice glass of cold Chardonnay has got the better of me. But after this length of time I should have the nasty little bugs under control and am allowed to, within reason, stray on occasion. It could be now, that the adrenal gland problem is looking like a continuing candida problem. Many of the symptoms are the same or very similar. So, when my supplements arrive here, I will rip open the package and start taking them with much hope and anticipation of an improvement. In 4 months time I have to have a retest so that there is no over correction occurring, so it will be interesting to see what changes might happen during that time.

I have had a reasonable run of time with no leg symptoms to speak of, until today. Even when I was so exhausted last week, I was encouraged that my legs held up. 2 days ago I started feeling pretty miserable, just very low. I don’t seem to have much control over my emotions these days and can overreact sometimes over nothing. The next day I was fine, feeling much brighter and happier. Then bang! Today, I had a quiet pootle to the shops, came home to rest a bit, and when I went to get up to have lunch with my girls who had just got home, I could barely stand. Why? I have spent my afternoon limping around, with the aid of crutches, generously on long term loan from our church, trying to keep my feet warm. I find that when I am under an attack, my feet are as cold as if I have been hiking in snow for a day and got damp feet. Nothing can make them warm. And today, for the first time in months, my left leg has been trying to leave me too.

Let’s see what tomorrow brings.. I should be entertaining 2 school friends in the afternoon, one each for the girls. Hopefully they will just entertain themselves!