Organisation

People often ask me how I keep all of my treatments and medications organised and I must admit that this is something that I constantly work at. Two things that I learned about myself a long, long time ago is that I am a naturally lazy person and I also have a terrible memory so my first organisation strategy is a diary.

1. Diary - When I started high school we were all required to have a students diary with a week to a page so we could write down all homework to be done and when assignments were due etc. I did this faithfully and found that it really worked for me. My ex-husband Michael and I met and got engaged when I was 16 and he was 17 and we moved in together when I was half way through year 12. Basically I have been running my own household for 20 years now and I have always had a diary. In it goes all clinic appointments, notes for things to discuss with my Dr Phil along with regular everyday stuff like birthdays, meeting times etc. This is truly the bedrock of keeping my life together, I honestly don't know how people get anything done without some form of appointment diary.

2. Medication containers - I get a months worth of medication at a time from the pharmacy at the Prince Charles Hospital. There are bags and boxes of medication, I certainly can't carry it so Brad picks it up for me. I bought 4 seven day medication containers that have am and pm compartments. When I get my medication home I get the 4 containers and distribute the entire months worth of medication into these containers and I keep one container, containing a weeks worth of medication, on the dining table for easy access.

3. Doubles - Now this is to address my laziness gene! For frequently used equipment and medication I keep doubles in another part of the house. For instance my nebuliser is in my bedside table (inside the drawer with a hole drilled in the back for the cords so it is all nice and neat) and this used to be the only place that I had my myst. There I also keep my 2 puffers and a nasal spray that I have after my myst. I found that if I was running late I would go without my myst rather than sit on the bed for 15 minutes getting nothing done. I do however, religiously check my email every morning when I first get up, so when I was given a second nebuliser I placed it in a drawer in my study so it is next to me while I use the computer, along with doubles of my puffers and nasal spray. This way I can have my myst and puffers while I check my emails. I also keep a container of my digestive enzyme, creon forte in my bedside table and in the drawer in the study as I quite often drink my mega-calorie shake that Brad makes me while I am either not feeling great and sitting up in bed or while using the computer. I have to take the creon forte with meals and drinks so having them on hand on the dining table, in the bedroom and in the study is incredibly handy.

4. Hospital bag - A while ago I did something that I had always dreamed of doing, I bought a 3 piece set of matching luggage; the large suitcase, the overnight bag on wheels and the beauty case. It took me ages to pay off the layby but it was so worth it! I keep the overnight bag on wheels permanently packed with what I would need for a 2 week hospital stay. Since I am in so frequently I have developed a "hospital wardrobe" t-shirts and 3/4 length stretchy pants for the day and singlets and sleep pants for at night. I also have packed 14 pairs of knickers, slip on shoes and a writing pad, envelopes, a pen and stamps. This is so good for the times when I go to clinic and I am not expecting to be admitted and I can just tell Brad to get the hospital bag and he doesn't have to worry about what to pack.

So this, my dear readers, is basically how I keep my life organised. I anticipate that for me, organisation will be the name of the game after transplant; with so many clinic visits (twice a week at first) and a plethora of new medications to learn, I think I will be relying more and more on my existing system. Anyone else with interesting organisation tips that they think I could use?

love

K