Hey there, welcome to my blog. My name is Sian, I’m 28, I live in Scotland and I have a chronic illness called M.E. What is M.E.? M.E stands for myalgic encephalomyelitis. It is also known as chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). How long have I had ME? I developed M.E 2 years ago at the start of September. I was about to start college to study beauty therapy and the day before I had a headache. Ok, no big deal, everyone has headaches. By the evening it had developed into a migraine (you know, when you can’t stand the light, or sounds, and you feel like you’re going to throw up). I didn’t think too much of it and hoped it would be gone by the morning. Well, it didn’t go. In fact, I had that same migraine constantly for 6 months straight. What did you do? I got on with it. I started college the next day, and I attended every day I was supposed to until I couldn’t handle it anymore, which was Christmas 2016. What ...
They were amazing!
We had such a fantastic day, everything was perfect. Getting to Glasgow was easy, we got booked in for dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant which we have been to before, we ate by candlelight and my M.E. behaved almost all day.
We were able to walk straight into the Hydro arena with no queuing, which was great. I had already emailed them to ask about disabled access to avoid standing still for long periods, but it wasn't a problem in the end. We always buy t-shirts and put them on before the concert starts, and we did that again this time.
There were two warm up acts, first it was Roe, a 19 year old musician with Ed Sheeran's style of performing, she did all the music herself, and she had a great voice. Following her was Kodaline who were also great, it looks like their music is in a lot of programmes so there's a chance you've heard them.
Snow Patrol kicked off with Take Back The City, followed by Crack The Shutters, during which I cried. I have listened to that song for quite a few years and always thought about Denys and us being together, so having him sat next to me and to have Gary Lightbody singing it in front of us was overwhelming, but in a good way. I kind of had to pinch myself to check it was real and I hadn't anticipated that I would cry, but a lot of the songs got to me. I have had some very low times where I would go out for walks in the dark to keep myself safe (from me), I would listen to the creative and intricate lyrics and try to block out the storm going on inside my head. I found out after the concert that some of the songs hit Denys quite hard too, and both of us couldn't believe we were there together.
They chose some good songs from several of their albums and it was a great mix, I sang my heart out to every one. The energy in the arena was amazing and they really got everyone involved. The only shame was that it went too quickly, and before I knew it, it was over.
On the way out my legs started to act up, sometimes it's like the link between my brain and my legs isn't working properly, I have to really concentrate to get them to move. I took my walking stick just in case, and I was glad I did. I haven't had to use it for about two months, which is amazing! We took our time getting back to the car, there's not much point in rushing, but at least this time I got to walk back - when we saw James Blunt in 2017 I had a bad flare and couldn't stand, I was taken to the car in a wheelchair by the ambulance crew in the arena.
We weren't home and in bed until about 12:30am so the next day I was pretty tired and worn out, as was Denys.
The following day I was feeling quite tearful, it's probably because it was so emotionally charged for us. I was also sad that it was over, I had been looking forward to seeing Snow Patrol since the summer when I bought their new album, Wildness, and when we bought our tickets, and it goes by in a flash. I have amazing memories though, and while we were there, it felt like he was singing 'our' songs to us and I will always treasure that.
Something about the night changed things in Denys and I, I'm not really able to describe it, but we have both felt kind of new and that we want to be the best we can be for one another. Whatever it is that has happened, or changed, we both love it and things are good.
Thanks for reading.
That ME Girl
I'm glad you both had a great time and that it meant something to you both. Great that you were able to walk out, albeit with your stick. Also great that it has renewed your relationship together :-) shared positive experiences can do that.
ReplyDeleteThank you Vaughn. It's hard to explain what's happened, but I'm feeling more positive and hopeful about the future.
Delete