What's been happening

by Pamela
(Hip Replacement and Recovery)

Most of this week I've been focusing on the look and feel of the site. I asked a designer to give it a total overhaul and she's come up with a brilliant idea. Sadly though it's not quite ready so I can't share it with you yet. Once she's finished the layout I will have to re-upload all 100+ pages which feels a bit daunting at the moment but I intend to chip away at it slowly. The problem will be that the site will have two different looks whilst I'm switching over and that will cause confusion to anyone who hasn't read this.

Our Alexa rank continues to climb which is really heartening and this month should be the first time we have 1,000 unique visitors during the month.

The bad news, for me, is that it looks like I'm going to lose my day job. I work as a Mental Health Law Manager for a psychiatric Trust in north London and with the drastic cuts hitting the NHS my job has been deemed as surplus to requirements. I know they will offer me something else but I love my job so I shall miss it for sure. However when these things happen it often opens up new opportunities so amongst the sad feelings there is also a feeling that something good might come of this.

My joints continue as before - so no news worth reporting from them.

What did you think about these stories of the latest super bug originating in India? I haven't written anything about yet as am waiting for the news to settle down. India has a huge medical tourism industry which could be deeply affected by this story so it's important to both get it right and get it in perspective.

I've lived in India for a few years and visit regularly mainly on behalf of a charity I'm involved with called Links-India. I can certainly say that the practice of pharmacists selling part-courses of antibiotics to people on low incomes is an important factor in the rise of resistant bacteria. Antibiotics should only be supplied in a complete course for this very reason.

Talking about the charity I'm going to do an abseil for them on Sept 18th. I'll be lowering myself down the outside of Guy?s Hospital Tower - a mere 35 stories. We've got a few places left if you're interested in helping us raise funds do please contact me (using the contact me form). I can assure you its great fun.

On the other hand if the thought of abseiling isn't your thing then perhaps you could dust off your wallet and make a small donation towards my goal of £1,000. Last time I looked I had reached £305. Giving is very easy via my Just Giving page and they accept donations from £2 (about $3) so theres no need to break the bank. The money will go towards helping Tibetan ex-political prisoners resettle in India - all of them have endured torture whilst imprisoned for such "crimes" as supporting the Dalai Lama. Our other projects include sponsoring a health worker for rough sleeping children at Delhi station and funding a literacy project for low-vision children.

That's all for this week. Wishing you all the best for your health and happiness.

Love and hugs
Pamela