It is now a little over two months since my brief stay in hospital. I must say that I now feel like a different person, and people seem to be commenting on the change in me. I am now able to walk at speed which, having spent some time creeping around at a snail's pace, is wonderful. I had felt condemned to a sorry life feeling, at the very young age of 42, about twice that. I had thought I was unfit, and blamed myself. acquiring an exercise bike did nothing to help, as I was exhausted in a matter of moments.

Anaemia had left me with an uncommon lack of oxygen in my blood- nothing to do with laziness, merely self-neglect. New blood and a daily tablet have given me the energy to take better care of myself. The new me was even called "glamorous" last week!

As a mother it had become easy to devote myself to my children. As a lone parent one finds oneself over-compensating, at times, and trying to be both Mother and Father. That is all well and good, as long as the children realise the benefit of independence and activity. I encourage mine to take care of themselves, doing things like laundry and preparing their own light meals. My eldest are often shocked to find that their friends have no awareness of home economics.

So, I learned the lesson: LOOK AFTER YOURSELF WELL!

I urge all my friends to do the same.