Greetings readers,

Welcome back to the blog!

It’s been a while since I posted a blog…I know I’ve been absent from blogging and posting consistently over the past year. A lot has happened. And more importantly, I was doing some behind the scenes activism work, not under The Invisible Vision Project, or even using my real name, because the online world can be a scary place sometimes. What’s more, I also developed new hobbies and interests this year, so I do more of that than blogging and posting. Anyways, since this blog is a farewell to 2022, let’s talk about all the ups and downs of this year, shall we?

In January: 2022 started not so great…around mid January, I started a program called pulmonary rehabilitation. I wrote about this experience in this blog, check it out if you haven’t already. Well, as someone who’s not very sporty or used to exercise regularly, it was a very hard thing to do at the start, and I was in a lot of discomfort and tears. But my Physiotherapist (PT) was very nice and compassionate, it made the experience more tolerable and enjoyable.

In March: I graduated from the Pulmonary Rehab program I started in January, I did better than I started. Of course, this doesn’t mean all my health problems went away. But, I was and continue to be able to do a bit of light exercises each and every day.

In May: At the beginning of May, I had an appointment to see a pain specialist, to address my chronic pain issues. My interaction with this specialist has been a very difficult one since the start, I don’t deny that I played a part in that, too. But, the lack of compassion, care and understanding left me heartbroken. Every time after an appointment, I had to find a friend or a loved one to cry over the experience I just went through.

In June: At the end of June, I went back to the pulmonary rehab program for a post 3 months assessment, the progress I made in March maintained, and I think it maintains to date, because I never stopped doing the exercises I was prescribed to do, and I even increased them a bit from time to time, on my good days. Also, because summer’s coming, I started being outside more, and I even met with friends, in a park or in their backyards.

In July: Summer’s in full swing. I had a friend from out of town visiting for the first time since before the pandemic, it was a 3-4 days visit and we did many fun things together. Then, right after that, I had family visiting. So, for half of the month, I was a busy bee!

In September: This is where things started to get more interesting… at the end of September, I started playing a game called Genshin Impact, it’s playable through mobile, computer, and PS4/PS5. It’s a role play game. I know a couple of people playing it, so I wanted to try. Usually, I’m not a gamer, but I play the odd games on my phone, only occasionally. But I love anime, and some RPG games came from anime, but I never tried games that are or look too complicated. What can I say…I now enjoy games that aren’t easy.

In October: I have a pet now! Some of you have seen pictures. I now have a male half moon betta fish, his name is Levy, his colours are red and blue. I haven’t had a pet since becoming chronically ill, because I could hardly take care of myself sometimes, how could I take care of pets. But, I’m happy that I have a pet now. I sit by his tank sometimes and looking at him swim around, and I talk to him, too!

In November: This is where my gaming journey expands. During Black Friday, I redeemed (note here, not purchased!) a Nintendo Switch Lite and the still popular Animal Crossing game with points (yes, I had a lot of points!). I like playing Animal Crossing and Genshin Impact, because Animal Crossing is a more peaceful game; and Genshin Impact gets intense sometimes. This, of course is not the end, I also added more rhythm games and RPG games on the Switch that I play occasionally.

In December: I somehow mysteriously got sick at the start of the month, I checked multiple times making sure it’s not COVID-19, it wasn’t. Even so, I was sick for a couple of weeks. Some days were more miserable than others. I know this is already being said in the disability/chronic illness community: being chronically ill on top of a common illness, is NEVER a good mix! But, I’m glad I got well and safe just before the holidays…and then, there came a snowstorm. I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day alone. But, I made sure to order tasty take-out food. Now Christmas is behind us and this year is coming to an end, I’m actually glad about that. It’s been an exhausting year. But, it’s not all bad. I just hope next year to be a better one. What are your hopes and dreams for next year?

Alright, this blog is getting really long, so let’s wrap up here. Just because I haven’t been blogging and posting regularly, I hope that you will still stick around and stop by to read my blogs and posts when I do post them. Since developing my new interest in gaming, I’m tempted to do some disabled and blind gaming content creating. I hope in some way, this small community, or at least some of you will support me, once I gather all the courage and tools I need to do content creating. I don’t know when that will happen, but I hope it will happen one day!

By: The Invisible Vision Project