It’s been a while since I’ve written personal posts on this blog and it’s been for good reason.
I’ve changed the content somewhat away from my life and more around trends and technical aspects of plumbing and renovation. There have been a few lifestyle posts in-between too.
But occasionally, when I share a selfie or personal post on my Facebook page, there is genuine interest in my life and so this post has been written to give a personal life update.
Eye Update
If you have been following my blog longer than 2 years, you will know I have a meningioma (benign tumour) behind my right eye.
I’ve been having it monitored and checked with 6 monthly MRIs, followed by eye tests with an ophthalmologist and then a final appointment with my neurosurgeon.
The last referrals were pushed out to 8 months and this led to my most recent visit to the neurosurgeon on Friday.
My recent MRI scans compared to 2019 show the meningioma has grown marginally, but it hasn’t affected my health or eyesight. In fact I got excellent results with perfect vision in both eyes from the tests.
So while the only symptom is a watering eye due to the protrusion of the eyeball (and this protrusion hasn’t changed since its discovery in 2019), we’ve made the decision to continue to monitor it.
For me this was a relief to hear. My next MRI will be in 12 months’ time, unless I start to get double vision or I notice something different with my eyesight.
I don’t really think about my eye until I look in the mirror and notice how puffy it is or how my concealer has smeared down my cheek.
It’s still an unknown on when and if I will get surgery, but for the moment, I’m happy with the current recommendation to watch it.
Operating could exacerbate the symptoms that could occur if it grows bigger. So while my eyesight is 100%, we’re not prepared to make it worse by operating.
Work Update
Tomorrow I start a new role at work as I will be working full time and backfilling as a team leader for two weeks.
I’m excited and nervous as I’m going to learn a lot but also it is a step up in responsibility.
I have been working towards getting into the leadership development pool at work so I can have backfilling opportunities to eventually secure a team leading role.
This may seem like a strange move when I’ve always wanted to get into home assessing.
But leading a team of assessors is a career I’d like to explore too so stepping into leadership in my current area at work will help with that future move.
It hasn’t been an easy move to take though.
My interview last September to get into the development pool didn’t go as well as I hoped.
I wasn’t accepted.
It shook my confidence a bit. I took time to reflect on the feedback and part of me didn’t want to try again.
But sometimes there is a reason why things don’t work out and I needed to really clarify what I wanted and where I wanted to go.
I organised mentoring sessions and set up my development plan to show exactly where I wanted to go at work. I had my second interview a week and a half go, which I had thought I had blown again because of nerves.
But clearly I was being too hard on myself as I was accepted and my first backfill starts tomorrow.
This past week has been busy juggling content deadlines and social media scheduling for existing work clients so there is no disruption.
But I will say I’m ready for a change with some of the current work I do.
I know I need to let go of some things to embrace the new. It’s too early to let go yet until I secure a secondment.
The random hours I’ve worked around the kids over the last 10 years is something I’ve wanted to coagulate into one full time position. I still want to continue the blog, but more as a side hustle.
As someone who has often disliked change, I’ve started to embrace it more. It’s not always the change that makes me fearful. It’s the unknown effects of the change.
In this moment of time though, while the world is still impacted by the pandemic and we’ve had immediate family members affected by health issues, it’s a reminder that now is all we have.
While my eye isn’t giving me grief, my kids are happy and healthy and I have the capacity to explore opportunities, I’m going to give it a red hot shot.
