Shielding
Hi
I was wondering how others felt about shielding stopping from 1st April?
I find it very strange going from letters advising me to not leave the house.unless.its essential which made me feel incredibly vulnerable and still does to the government saying you can leave your house when I think approximately half of the population is vaccinated.
Maybe it's just me. I'll always awe on the side of caution first. I find I still feel a lot of anxiety about going out and even people knocking at the front door. I think.priority food shops are stopping from the end of April which has been a life saver to me and many others. I can't imagine even going.in a shop for a long time yet.
I've found headspace to be useful as a form of meditation on Netflix. I did my first.online yoga class for 8 months. For those who don't know Maggie's London offers this free service.on Tuesday and Thursday.
I started around march last year to.prepare for my transplant and 8 months later after transplant I'm trying to do it again but at my own pace.
Take care
Laulau
Comments
Hi Laulau1
It is most definately a time of anxiety for many people especially those in the blood cancer/blood disorder communities. Rest assured you are not alone.
I welcomed the lockdowns just as a form of distance for my own mental health and wellbeing after life had got really intense back in February of 2020. For someone that is an introvert and struggles to say no! It has been a blessing and a curse. I was convinced I would be fine coming out of lockdown and shielding but I was very wrong. I am anxious about the social aspect, the expectations it brings and even just the social skills which I have not practiced face to face, like many, for a year. This is not including health anxiety
But that isn't to say those feeling will hang around for ever.
It sounds like you have been doing some wonderful things with your time to work on your mental health and wellbeing. The yoga classes sound amaxing. The headspace on Netlifx is on my list of things to watch!
The fact that you have been through one of the toughest medical journeys during the pandemic is bound to play apart in how your experiencing the prospect of re-entering the outside world.
Your very sensible and approach things in a way that are comfortable for you such as, being in your garden, these are all fantastic small steps to be taking.
Maybe there is a goal you want to work towards in the summer? And spend some time breaking it down to explore what you need to do to get there. I, for one would love to go to the seaside. As you will know that comes with large crowds over the summer. So I need to consider which seaside, what month or day of the week, in or out of the school holidays and who if anyone, do I wish to be with me for support. Sometimes having someone we trust and who understands our situation along side us can be helpful as we makes those steps.
All the best,
Michelle
Hi Laulau
Even though I am a couple years out of transplant I still treated the shielding periods like having low neutrophils.
I always stay on the side of caution as well, I haven’t been to a busy place like a shop since COVID started and always hand gelled every 10 minutes it felt like!!
Since, I am not in education at the moment, I was finding it difficult to fill in my time so I’m glad I can meet up with more friends now the guidelines allow for it.
Overall, I’m glad to be out of the house even if covid is still a very prominent part in how I act when being outside.
Hope this helps
Cameron
Hi Laulau, I'm quite a bit further on in my post transplant age than many on here, but like most people I'm treating the lifting of shielding to be a cautious release of a bit more freedom, but even then will continue to be diligent and very careful. I have several friends and colleagues who've had Covid and it's knocked them for six. My boss ended up in intensive care and whilst he is now thankfully out of hospital he is still suffering the long term effects and will take a long time to recover.
At 8 years post transplant I didn't expect to get shielding letters, but to be honest I'm glad I did as it offered me some protection and security as far as work was concerned. When I was due to return to work in the new year I felt really uncomfortable about going back and expressed my concerns to my managers even before the new lockdown and shielding was announced so it came as a relief when I received a text, followed by a letter advising me to shield.
I am continuing to work from home and will observe more than the reccomended social distance as I have done throughout. As transplant patients we are used to observing good hand hygeine but even then I feel at the moment that I am continuously washing my hands if it touch anything that someone outside our household might have handled.
I think it's a case of being sensible and taking the precautions that we know as patients we need to take to protect ourselves. There are many out there that seem to think lockdown is over or Covid isn't real and it frustrates me to see the images on the news and the risk of infection rates increasing as a result. All we can hope is that we don't see shielding being renewed as a consequence of the actions of a selfish, ignorant minority.
For now though I'll take the lifting of shielding as an opportunity for more freedom if I need it, but in reality will probably keep doing what I've been doing until I feel more secure and protected. My second vaccine dose is due in about 3 weeks and will help and hopefuly combined with better knowledge of its effectiveness in blood cancer patients like us it will help ease our minds.
Take care and stay healthy.
Steve