norman's website
  • Home
  • Blogs
    • Scraps of life blog
    • Creative Academic >
      • BYOD4L BLOG
    • Garden Notes
  • Books
  • Change
  • Creativity
  • Professional services
  • Contact me
  • luminate
  • OU employability
  • Qinghai
  • CISC
  • NTU
  • creativejam
  • CRC
  • GMIT
  • BNU STUDY VISIT
  • AIT
  • portsmouth
  • DIT
  • TLC
  • BERA
  • ICOLACE4
  • PDP
  • OUC
  • MMUni
  • Derby
  • dmucreatives
  • Chester
  • Brighton
  • Buckinghamshire
  • Hallam
  • St Marys
  • LIMERICK
  • kingston
  • UWL
  • SEDA
  • MACAO
  • Beijing
  • IFIUT
  • CRA seminar
  • FBSEworkshop
  • birmingham
  • Creativity in Higher Education
  • graduatestandardsprogramme
  • MAKING MEANING
  • Untitled
  • Blogs
  • SURVEY
  • bits and bobs
  • roger
  • GARDEN PARTY

Learning to cope with illness, suffering, death and dying

15/7/2014

0 Comments

 
It's exactly a year since our son was dangerously ill in hospital and a second hospital experience this week with another close member of the family brought the memories flooding back. Also my father, who is nearly 90, is in and out of hospital in Australia.These sorts of experiences are both physically and emotionally draining and my experience reminds me of Elisabeth Dunne's piece 'As I grow older' when she talks about the loss of a partner and she questions what learning means in such deeply personal situations. 

'Such experiences are maybe less easily recognised as ‘learning’ in the conventional sense........ I cannot keep building on my experience. I do not think I will be better prepared in the future; I do not have confidence in the learning process. It is an emotional journey, emotional learning, forced upon me unexpectedly; and I have developed as a person because of it. Somehow it gives me a deeper sense of humanity and what it means to be human. This is not the same as learning about [something]... So the question remains: is something that has by far the greater impact on my deepest feelings, my ‘inner’ being, appropriately characterised as ‘learning’. No-one would wish to test me on this learning, but it has changed the ways I behave, the ways I think, the ways I interact with people, the ways I appreciate the world around me..... So, I ask, is this the meaning or the very purpose of learning, whatever form it takes… to enable us to think differently, to shift our perceptions and understandings, and to allow us to grow as individuals and as members of the human race?' Elizabeth Dunne

These words express very well what I have experienced on a small number of occasions in my life - the death of my first wife, the very premature birth and intensive care experience of my daughter's twins, the terrifying illness of my son and recent operation on another close member of the family. They are all situations in which you feel helpless to influence the outcome - all you can do is cope and support others who are involved.  Nothing really prepares you for these situations and surviving one such experience does not give you confidence when it comes to the next because they are all unique in their circumstances and consequences.  They take us outside the world we know and deposit us in a world of uncertainty and fear.It's hard to say exactly what learning is in such situations but it's fair to say that when we have come through we are probably more compassionate, empathetic and sympathetic human beings. Its also fair to say that situations such as these drain your creativity away and all desire to be creative.
as_i_grow_older__elisabeth_dunne.pdf
File Size: 148 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

The Gift of Life

15/7/2013

1 Comment

 
This is the first time I have felt able to record my thoughts and feelings. It's been a very difficult even traumatic few weeks for me and my family as we have had to cope with the ordeal of a member of the family becoming very ill a long way from home. My wife bore the brunt of it and has stayed close by him throughout. It has been an emotional rollercoaster and we have had to cope with the situation and deal with the worst imaginable scenarios. Thankfully he is getting better although progress is very slow. The experience has taught me once again that good health and mental, physical and emotional ability are just the most important things in life and how much we take them for granted day to day until they are removed. Its revealed an aspect of my wife's character and strength I knew would be there but which can only ever going to reveal itself in such situations. It's revealed the love and concern of our family and close friends. I think the ordeal has made our family stronger. It's given me experience and insights into life in intensive care something I have never experienced before and the enormous dedication, professionalism and kindness of clinical staff. But also seeing life on the wards and experiencing the frustrations as a parent of not being able to get the care and attention you need when you need it for your child and seeing just how much you have to fight sometimes to get the attention you need. Coping with the uncertainty of not knowing what was causing my son's illness was one of the hardest of things until you realise that it's almost academic and the most important thing is to treat the illness by every means until there is a positive response. Google also played its role in provided much needed but not wanted information on the possible conditions and outcomes we were dealing with.

I know the experience has had a significant impact on my feelings - at times totally drained of energy and numb while at other times overjoyed and everything in between. At the moment I am just thankful that we are where we are now and not where we were three weeks ago and I appreciate all that so many people have done to help him and us through the ordeal.

1 Comment

Difficult time

29/6/2013

1 Comment

 
It's been an emotionally draining week for our family as our son has been very poorly in hospital.  It is not something I want to talk about in my blog. On Friday he heard that all his hard work at University has been rewarded with a first class degree.
1 Comment

Alice's Bucket List: A life full of purpose

22/1/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
http://alicepyne.blogspot.co.uk/

The internet is a fantastic tool for connecting us to people we are never likely to meet and be touched in the process. A few days ago I came across a blog called 'Alice's Bucket List' written by a 17 year old girl who was terminally ill with cancer and what proved to be her final blog was written on Jan 1st 2012. Her mum's post explained that she had died 12 days later.

I read lots of blogs but there was something special about the way Alice's blog was helping her create new meanings and purposes in her life in the eighteen months she wrote it. She realised that she might not live very long and so had created for herself a 'bucket list' of experiences she wanted to have. As Alice explains in her blog the bucket list helped her live her remaining life to the full doing the things that she wanted to do and achieving her dreams and ambitions in the process with the people she loved and who loved her.

'I've created a bucket list because there are so many things I still want to do in my life ... some are possible, some will remain a dream. My blog is to document this precious time with my family and friends, doing the things I want to do. You only have one life ... live it!'

This list of things to do also gave her family and friends a list of things to help her achieve and so added meaning and purpose to their own lives. You cannot help but be moved by the stories Alice tells in her blog of the way she achieved her dreams and ambitions in spite of being very ill.

But her bucket list was not just about satisfying her own needs and desires. In particular, there were two items on her list that were focused on the needs of others, and of trying to make a positive difference to the world, in the time she had left. The first was to set up, with the help of parents and friends, her own charity  'Alice's Escapes'.

Alice’s Escapes is run by a team of volunteers committed to providing free holidays for families with a seriously ill child. The idea for Alice’s Escapes came after Alice and her family spent a week being looked after by the Torbay Holiday Helper’s Network (THHN), based in Devon. All accommodation, food, outings and activities were given with the compliments of local businesses. After many years of gruelling treatments, Alice and her family were able to step back and experience ‘normal’ family life. Alice, and now her sister, who is carrying on, with the help of friends and local businesses are raising money to help the families of very sick children to have a holiday together in the Lake District. You can find out more and donate http://www.alices-escapes.co.uk/

Because of her illness and treatment Alice was acutely aware of the need for bone marrow donors so at the top of her bucket list was her wish to raise awareness of bone marrow registers and to get everyone who was able to register. So far over 40,000 people have registered after reading her appeal.

Alice not only achieved most of what she had on her bucket list, she has inspired many other people to do things that they would not have done, and she has created a legacy that, through her family and friends, especially her sister Milly, will live on and carry on making a difference to the lives of others who are going through what she went through.

In sharing her thoughts, feelings, fears and ambitions through her blog Alice has had a profound effect on the world.  Reading her blog you feel her love of life and the people she cared for and who cared for her, her desire to do and to achieve and her happiness at doing the things she set out to do. But also through her words you feel her pain, suffering and despair and the way she bravely comes to terms with her own demise as she nears the end of a life in which she has created so much meaning and purpose.

This issue of Lifewide Magazine is dedicated to becoming the person you want to become. Alice had very little time to become the person she wanted to become but what she had she used in a way that enabled her to become that person. Her story is a shining example to us all of how we might create and live a life of meaning and purpose and inspire others around us to do the same.

Although I never knew Alice, through the thoughts and feelings she crystallised in her blog, I felt connected to her and her family and what she was trying to achieve. I noticed that I wasn't the only one  - I was the 4,776417th visitor to her website!!!!!  Why not be the next?  http://alicepyne.blogspot.co.uk/

Alice's Bucket List

·                     To get everyone eligible to join a bone marrow register
·                     To get EVERYONE to have a bucket list
·                     To get to the Royal Garden party in May
·                     DONE - To buy a static caravan for my charity
·                     DONE - To actually receive my B.E.M. medal
·                     DONE - To go whale watching
·                     DONE - To go to my school leavers prom
·                     DONE - To meet Take That
·                     DONE - To design a Emma Bridgewater Mug to sell for charity
·                     DONE - To stay in the Chocolate room at Alton Towers
·                     DONE - To swim with sharks
·                     DONE 'ish - To go to Kenya (got to go to Kent-ya)!
·                     DONE - To enter Mabel in a Labrador show
·                     DONE - Photo shoot with Milly, Clarissa, Sammie and Megs
·                     DONE - To have a private cinema party for me and my BFFs
·                     DONE- To stay in a caravan
·                     DONE - To have a purple Apple ipad
·                     DONE - To have a nice picture taken with Mabel
·                     DONE - To have my hair done
·                     DONE - To have a back massage

To donate to Alice's charity visit http://www.alices-escapes.co.uk/  or visit Alice's own website http://alicepyne.blogspot.co.uk/
Bone Marrow Registers WORLDWIDE
DKMS Bone Marrow Register
British Bone Marrow Registry 18 - 49 inc

0 Comments

    Purpose

    To develop my understandings of how I learn and develop through all parts of my life by recording and reflecting on my own life as it happens.
    @lifewider1
    @lifewider
    @academiccreator

    I have a rough plan but most of what I do emerges from the circumstances of my life 
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    View my profile on LinkedIn

    Archive

    January 2021
    December 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    March 2019
    January 2019
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    November 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories
    these are the tags I've used 

    All
    5C's Of Social Media
    Achieving
    Applying Learning
    Appreciation
    Attention To Detail
    Awareness
    Band
    Beautiful Day
    Being Influenced
    Being Influenced
    Beliefs
    Bonding
    Book
    Bucket List
    Caring
    Climate For Change
    Cocreation
    Co Creativity
    Co-creativity
    Collaboration
    Collective
    Commitment
    Communication
    Compassion
    Conceptualising
    Conference
    Conflict
    Connected
    Connected Learning
    Connections
    Constructionism
    Creativity
    Creativity In Development
    Creativity Nurturing
    Crowdsourcing
    Cultural Exchange
    Culture
    Curriculum
    Dealing With Emotion
    Dealing With Emotions
    Dealing With Setbacks
    Dealing With Situations
    Designing
    Development
    Disruption
    Disruption In Life
    Ecology
    Emergence
    Emergent Need
    Emergent Opportunity
    Emotion
    Emotion (negative)
    Emotion (positive)
    Empathy
    Engagement
    Enthusing Others
    Environment
    Experience
    Experimenting
    Facilitation
    Failure
    Families
    Family
    Feedback
    Fulfilling Our Purposes
    Goals
    Good Ideas
    Great Idea
    Growing Up
    Guilt
    Health And Fitness
    Histrory
    Ideas
    Identity
    Illness
    Inflections In Life
    Influences
    Influencing
    Information Flow
    Insights
    Inspiration
    Interest
    Intergenerational Learning
    Joy
    Juggling
    Knoweldge And Understanding
    Knowledge
    Knowledge And Understanding
    Knowledge Development
    Knowledge Working
    Leadership
    Learning
    Learning Ecologies
    Learning Ecologies
    Learning Ecology
    Learning For Teaching
    Learning Through Experience
    Learning To Cope
    Learningtoday
    Liberation
    Lifedeep
    Lifewide
    Lifewide Learning
    Lifwide Education
    Liminal Space
    Looking Back
    Love
    Making A Difference
    Making Progress
    Making Progress
    Making Something
    Managing Self
    Men's Sheds
    Models
    Motivating Others
    Motivating Self
    Motivation
    Motivational Strategies
    Motivation By The Spirit
    Motivations
    My Fitness
    My Purposes
    Narrative
    Narrative Inquiry
    Narrative Inquiry
    Natural Beauty
    Nature
    Neurological Process
    Opportunities
    Partnership
    Paying Attention
    Performance
    Personal Creativity
    Personal Development
    Personal Development Planning
    Perspective Change
    Planning
    Play
    Procrastination
    Purposes
    Reflection
    Relationships
    Remembering
    Retirement
    Role Model
    Sadness
    Sarendipity
    Seeing Potential
    Seeing Potential
    SEEK SENSE SHARE
    Self Motivation
    Self-Motivation
    Self Regulation
    Self-regulation
    Significant Personal Events
    Slogging
    Social Age
    Social Leadership
    Social Media
    Sorrow
    Spiritual
    Stories
    Survey Monkey
    Symbolism
    Teaching
    Teamwork
    Technology
    Tools
    Tradition
    Trajectories
    Twitter
    Using Technology
    Values
    Vision
    Visualisation
    Wellbeing
    Why?
    Willpower
    Work
    Working Out What You Have To Do
    Workshop
    Writing

    RSS Feed