The inspiration that kick-started a lifelong love of growing plants
The statistics say that most people take up gardening in middle age or later – not me – that would be the MandyCanUDigIt website! I’ve been gardening for as long as I can remember, even when I didn’t have a garden, only a backyard at my parents’ house.
The issues facing me and my alter-ego, MandyCanUDigIt
Even since this post was originally written in 2019, my health conditions have worsened considerably. I’m hypermobile, which encompasses a host of joint problems which partially dislocate with alarming frequency. Hypermobile people have a genetic condition where the collagen in their bodies is too stretchy. This means soft tissue, like tendons and ligaments, doesn’t hold joints in the correct position. It also affects so many other aspects of life – digestion (IBS, GORD, stomach ulcers, how you react to anaesthetics, even teeth overcrowding).
The prolonged damage to my joints is manifesting itself as arthritis as I get older, especially in my knees and ankles. After years of being misdiagnosed after a fall when I was 20, my back issues are now facet joint syndrome (another type of arthritis), four worn discs and the whole lumbar/sciatic area is out of balance. I’m waiting to hear whether surgery is an option or facet joint syndrome steroid injections. My neck is also an issue, with several disc issues there.
And then there’s the fits…
I’ve had epilepsy since the age of 11, now classified as genetic generalised epilepsy. I still have several mild seizures a day. There’s also a partially collapsed lung and retrosternal goitre causing breathlessness and chronic kidney disease, among others – no wonder I’m anxious!
Here’s the path to where the MandyCanUDigIt website is today. If I can do it, anyone can! If you want to see me suffer, check out the bloopers.
