Risky Business
Autoimmune diseases turn our bodies into self-destructive machines. It’s exhausting, having an immune system in overdrive FIGHTING ITSELF. I take medicine to stop the fight which lowers my ability to properly defend myself against actual threats: viruses, infections, etc.
If you have someone like me in your life and you want to keep them safe, you need to get vaccinated. If you don’t want to, stay away. I can only speak for myself when I say: If you aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19, I will actively avoid you.
You choose what you do with your body. I’ve been sick my whole life & it’s my choice to avoid a virus that would kill me. Thank you to all who’ve gotten the shot to keep people like me safe.
I spent 3 weeks in isolation at CHEO when I caught the chicken pox.
My immune system cannot defend itself because it’s suppressed. If it’s not suppressed, it will destroy all tissue (organs, bones, blood).
If you choose to not get vaccinated also choose to stay away from me.
What I’ve said might upset you. Heck, maybe you WANT to harm me/others. Maybe you don’t believe me and have your mind made up. If these tweets reach anyone whose uncertain about the shot: Please consider the young ones who have a hard enough time surviving.
Talk to your doctor or local public health nurse if you are hesitant. Make your own decision, for sure. Attempt empathy for others without immune systems. We exist. From small to tall.
Always do what’s right for you.
Everyone’s lived their own life & had their own experiences which help to form individual, personal opinions.
Having a different opinion is OK. Purposefully hurting others physically, verbally or spiritually because of an opinion is not OK.
Life’s all about risk; the ones you are and aren’t willing to take.
It’s been a calculated journey for me & my experiences have brought me to support vaccinations.
Your journey may be different.
I am hopeful that one day we can all be buds again, safely.
Happy New Year
Welcome to 2021!
If you’re reading this, you survived 2020. Congratulations! May this year be better in every way for everyone.
Globally, this past 365 was a nightmare.
Personally, this past 365 was pretty alright. Bought the cottage, got married, earned my full moto-license, started working at a new station (dream job). It wasn’t without its difficulties, though.
We had to learn how to work from home with two young kids who need constant stimulation; enter iPads, LeapFrog Academy, Nintendo, YouTube, Netflix, Minecraft, et al. Lesson learned: teach your offspring to not rely on you as their number one source of entertainment once they’ve grown out of the age where they need you to be.
Enter anxiety; personal health vs. pandemic + anti-masker/anti-vaxxer attitudes; gym closures & a complete shake-up from the daily routine. Car trouble. Daycare hiccups. Personal finances. Missing friends & regular social interactions.
As this pandemic carries into the new year and lockdowns keep us locked up, we have to try and remember that everyone is going through a lot right now.
Be kind.
We NEED to Talk.
In times of darkness look for the light.
Working in media, I find myself consuming a lot of stories. Constantly paying attention to global issues. I become attached to stories that move me.
Sometimes the hardest stories are the ones we wish we never heard but they are the ones we need to hear the most.
Beyond playing your favourite pop music during my radio show or sharing a few laughs about celebrity news or whatever, I’m a human trying to process the state of the world through a sometimes indescribably horrid lens.
Talking allows me to process the tougher stories and harsher realities that come along with absorbing so much.
I feel these stories and I genuinely want to help. It’s the only way I know how.
What's Your Favourite Ghost Story?
Spooky tales from The Amy Volume Show on KiSS 105.3. A mix of calls from listeners, text messages and Facebook comments all from people who’ve been visited by spirits. Some kind, some not so kind.
Like most of you, I’ve been watching The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix. I love a good ghost story, so I asked the question: “what’s your favourite ghost story”? It could be a television show, a movie, a legend or maybe a more personal experience.
As they say, ask and you shall receive…
The above audio is a collection of stories from The Amy Volume Show on KiSS 105.3 from October 19th, 2018.
More stories were shared via social media but due to privacy restrictions, I am unable to embed the original post. However, you can CLICK HERE to be taken to the thread filled with ghostly movie suggestions and personal tales, like these:
“One Halloween weekend at the cottage a group of us hired a medium to come and do our readings. During his last reading the medium looked out to the balcony and asked my friend ‘who is the man standing there looking at the roof with his hands on his hips’ I’m seeing an apparition! She said that’s the owner’s father who built the cottage, he was always inspecting the roof. The medium was so spooked that he left right away without saying goodbye to anyone!”
“I was living in a farm house east of the city and one night as I was about to fall asleep, with my eyes closed I saw a super bright light in front of me then as I tried to get up I felt pinned down. It happened twice. Needless to say I ended up leaving the lights and radio on all the time.” - Matt
"In the delivery room giving birth to my first child. The nurse that looked after me looked just like my Nanny who had passed away just before my daughter was born. The labor and delivery were difficult, and I had serious complications. The same nurse stayed by my side even in the delivery room and kept telling my husband and I everything will be alright. My daughter is born, and she was beautiful and healthy. We wanted to thank the nurse (who looked just like my nanny) for taking care of me and our baby. We asked staff members if we could speak to nurse Louise (my Nanny's name) and staff told us there was no Nurse Louise on the unit!"
"I have a scary story about me and my friend... [We went] to her cottage for the weekend and we were bored and found an unopened Ouija board, we started playing and it worked! We were really scared. There was a person we contacted... It was a girl and she was sixty-one and we were asking how she died… The pointer went straight to ‘goodbye’ and we kept hearing noises outside... It was a very scary experience." - Katie
“I was with my mother a few years ago at her house and we were having a conversation in her kitchen. My mother keeps her utensils in a jar on the counter, then one day when [we] were standing on the other side of the kitchen, her potato masher lifted out of the jar and flew across the room all on its own. It was SUPER creepy!” - Nina on Facebook
“An old apartment of mine in Kemptville is haunted. I lived there for over a year and I was getting really sick. I kept going to the doctors and had so many tests done. We couldn't figure out how or why I was throwing up, up to 15 times a day, sometimes more. Eventually I got fed up and went to a psychic. Turns out, I wasn't welcomed where I was living.
I have seen all my cupboards fly open. I was laying in bed once, no fan no window… Everything closed. And a little figure (child like) was coming out of my curtain from my closet, just standing like a child would wearing a sheet to be a ghost.
There were constant cold spots. My girlfriend and I were trying to film, in separate rooms, and we couldn't hear each other from 10 feet away. We were screaming and didn't hear one another. We watched the footage and we could hear everything, each other's yelling one another's name, saying come here, etc.
There were two or three suicides in that place and it got destroyed in one of the great fires of Kemptville. I moved out and I haven't been sick since…” - Chelsea on Facebook
“My husband is in the flooring business and has a lot of experience so he has people calling him all the time. This one time we got a call from a friend who needed some help. I couldn't get out of the car… I felt physically sick. I am quite sensitive. Hubby went and came back about 45 mins later. I didn't know his friend had told him something happened that night...
We go back the next day and I forced myself to go in. Huge mistake. I didn't see but I sensed things. One room a man had stabbed his wife to death and then hung himself. Moving along I came a smaller room where a baby died. Freaked out I went into the room where they were working and said I have to leave. They both look at me.
’Why? Are y'all crazy? How can you stay here?’
‘One of the previous owners wants you out he doesn't like that you are renovating his house. He tried to get you to leave last night.’
[Before leaving, I headed down to the basement] another bad mistake on my part. I felt a sense of cold at the top of the stairs. A flash of light from the corner freaked them out and when they turned and looked at me my very long hair was standing straight up. I walked over to a door and said never open it. And took off running I haven't been back and have to idea if they ever opened that door.” - Patti on Facebook
“There’s this place forty minutes outside of Pembroke called Buck Hill on Round Lake Road. I went there with friends one night and I saw the man; the story is his daughter was lost in a snow storm and he searches the bush looking for [her] and when he died, his ghost continues to look... It’s quite the story but I saw the light floating and then he was right outside my truck.”
Do you have a story to share? Contact me any time via e-mail, or join the conversation weekdays from 9AM to 2PM on KiSS 105.3 in Ottawa, Canada.
Personal Post: New Baby Incoming
I spent the last few days away from the city to spend some quality time with Everett before the new baby comes. We returned on Thursday to some news that baby might be in a weird position (keyword: "might") making things tricky for a natural delivery. Therefore, I will be laying extra low over the next week doing everything in my power to not trigger labour.
The plan is for a scheduled C Section. Everett was an emergency C in January 2015. It was a shocking and scary situation for me and I have increased anxiety regarding new baby's arrival. I'm doing my best to avoid stressful situations. We had a lot of visitors (family) with E's delivery and, in retrospect, I was not ready to socialize at that time.
This post is to let you know I might be unavailable over the next few weeks or months. I really enjoyed my down-time when we brought Everett home. Granted, life is busier now (career, building a house, rambunctious toddler) I ask that you respect my wishes surrounding said down-time.
Major concerns...
Major concerns for me include the health of baby during and post delivery, my physical and mental well-being and the transition home to our new family dynamic. I don't know how this new addition will impact Everett or how handling the stress of a toddler, newborn and rheumatoid arthritis (which tends to flare post delivery) will affect me and my relationship with Ryan and the kids.
People want to see the baby, especially family. I understand the desire to have a first look. As it stands: I, personally, will not be having visitors in my room at the hospital.
Here are some guidelines from the Ottawa Hospital regarding visitation in the Maternity Unit. If you are a family member thinking of visiting, you absolutely must read this: CLICK HERE.
“We know how exciting it is to have a new baby. Remember that the new mother is recovering from giving birth and learning to take care of her new baby. Make sure she has time to rest and enjoy her baby.
Consider visiting the new family when they get home instead of in the hospital. Some mothers ask the nurse to limit their visitors.”
If you are a family member hoping to visit at the hospital, I also request that you make Ryan your point person. I will not be taking calls or responding to messages for the first couple of days.