One of the hardest things to do is admit you’re sick. Not just feeling a bit ‘off’, but properly sick, in a life-threatening way. We hear so much about ‘man flu’ and we live in a culture of presenteeism and hustle, where the only way out is through. Keep pushing, and your determination will see you through.

It’s over three years since I started to get properly sick, and I’m still dealing with it, and actually it seems that I might have had an underlying condition for a while longer that wasn’t spotted. Looking back, I just didn’t know how to say how I was feeling, not really, and it’s hard when you have a reputation for resilience and reliability.

If I go right back, somewhere in about 2007-2008 something started to go wrong. I suddenly got arthritis in both hips, reducing my mobility almost overnight. X-rays confirmed that it was significant, but I got advised that I was too young for a hip replacement and got physio that managed to overcome some of the worst aspects of it. Other things started to go wrong too; whilst on a vacation in The country I rolled out of bed, and ‘something’ … Continue reading I told you I was ill – a cautionary tale