Life update: career shifts, travel adventures and family milestones

Hey peeps

Welcome (back) to my blog!

In this post I’m getting back to the heart of what makes a personal blog truly personal.

It’s been a few years since I last wrote here about my life as an update and what’s been happening lately. While my recent posts have been about travel and physiotherapy, this time, I’m opening up about my personal experiences and thoughts as I feel like loads of things have happened since.

Come along as I share simple, honest reflections on what life has been like for me lately.

• In my last personal blog post, I mentioned that in November 2019 I secured a job as a Neuro Specialist Physiotherapist while still on maternity leave, intending to return to work soon after. In January 2020, I commenced the job, it was a fulfilling job role where I’ve implemented the development of neuro physiotherapy documentation and pathway. Additionally, I attained accreditation as a Physiotherapy Practice Educator from Sheffield Hallam University and mentored students. All this occured during the Covid-19 pandemic (I’m not going to say much about the pandemic because it was a strange time, we’ve all experienced it one way or another), working as a physio in this altered environment, with social distancing measures and face masks posed challenges. Social distancing felt particularly awkward for someone accustomed to offering ‘hands-on’ therapy. By the end of the year, I’ve received a very good work offer from my previous employer and couldn’t refuse. Consequently, I resumed my role as a Senior Physiotherapist and worked in my previous workplace again for about 11 months.
• In 2020 we’ve travelled A LOT but only within England, Wales and Scotland. The opportunity to travel again was such a great thing for our mental health as I do not know what we would do without being able to travel and ‘see the world’, even though our world at that time was only the UK. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, Lukas had limited interaction with children his age, most childminding places were closed due to Covid cases most of the time so his social interactions mainly revolved around our friends’ younger babies. We tried as much as we could to take him out, as he likes exploring so travelling was something that he really enjoyed.
• In the summer of 2020 we uploaded our first YouTube video showcasing our adventures in Cornwall which hit 2k views – a significant achievement for us – see here.
• In the summer of 2021 I became the AHP (Allied Health Professions) Yorkshire region representative for BGS (British Geriatrics Society) and have been involved in this since then – see more here.
• In autumn 2021 I’ve decided to prioritise spending quality time with my family and achieving a better work-life balance. This way I’ve applied for a Clinical Disability Assessor role despite feeling apprehensive about this career shift. However, I realised I was dedicating more time to work than my personal life, leading to constant stress. I secured the job, but tragically, my beloved grandmother passed away just two weeks before I was due to start. Her loss hit me hard, especially since I hadn’t seen her since 2019 due to travel restrictions and the pandemic. I know she was old and we should have expected it to happen, but despite preparing myself for her passing, nothing could prepare me for the overwhelming grief. To some level I blame myself (and especially Covid) for not seeing her since 2019 as that’s when we went to Romania last time and I kept promising her that we will visit again in 2020 and then again in 2021 but looking back at it I realise that we didn’t visit her at home as before, we visited her grave instead, this is so sad and makes me cry each time. I had such an amazing bond with my grandparents, I’m glad my grandpa is still alive!! I see how much he misses her every day. We went home the same day when grandma passed away as my mom video-called me and I saw my grandma on video and she didn’t look well, she called my name and I think in that moment she thought I was actually there in front of her, we bought the flights tickets when we saw her like that and unfortunately, on the way to the airport my mom rang me and gave the bad news. I won’t expand more on this because it’s still a very sensitive subject.
• Shortly after this emotional incident, I began my new job, gladly being a hybrid role I was able to do the initial training remotely from Romania before returning to the UK.
• In 2022 I’ve received a new job opportunity within my current workplace taking on the role of Clinical Coach/Mentor in addition to my position as a Clinical Assessor. This decision marked a turning point in achieving a better work-life balance and managing my workload more effectively.
• In March 2022, one of my photos was featured in Wales Online regarding the ‘I’m a celebrity’ show, see photo here.
• We went on a lovely roadtrip in 2022 – around Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.
• At the end of 2022, I decided to apply for Master studies in Public Health which I successfully enrolled in as a Distance Learning student – however, I’m currently on a study break due to current circumstances (you will see why later in the post). Reflecting on my journey from the start of my career in Physiotherapy to the present, my professional aspirations have evolved significantly, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic. My current goals differ from those I set when I first embarked on my physiotherapy career in the UK in 2015/2016, hence why I’m currently studying Public Health which connects more with my current job role and what I want for my future self.
• In December 2022 I lost my other grandma, another sad event.
• 2023 was a good year!! In March, I won a competition in Leeds, earning VIP tickets to the Snoop Dogg concert at First Direct Arena and a voucher to spend at The Lock – see posts here & here. Additionally, we signed up for a National Trust membership which has been incredibly rewarding; when we finish seeing all the places (not sure how long it’s going to take us to do so haha) we will sign up for the English Heritage one.
• In May 2023, I’ve received my first work-related award – MGG UK & Ireland Excellence Award – see post here, which I’m immensely proud of.
• In June 2023, we found out I was pregnant with baby no2. We were so happy!! Lukas, our eldest, eagerly embraced his role as a Big Brother – see post here.
• During the summer of 2023, we travelled a lot again by car – Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria. More details about this adventure will come in a future post, stay tuned!!
• I’ve been on maternity leave since the end of November 2023 and welcomed our second child, Yannis Sebastian, on 02/02/2024 (his due date was 06/02/23 but he was keen and decided to come a few days early), a very positive birth experience (quicker than the one that I had with Lukas, maybe I will post more info about this in a future post but dunno if it would be of interest or not to discuss about decision making in terms of your rights regarding birth in the UK etc).
• Lukas is going to turn 5 in May, I’m struck by how quickly time flies!! He has grown into a smart and beautiful boy and I’m incredibly proud of the kind support he provides to his younger brother.

In conclusion, my journey over the past few years has been filled with both challenges and triumphs and I’m grateful for every experience that has shaped me along the way. From navigating career changes during a global pandemic to cherishing precious moments with my growing family, each chapter has contributed to my personal and professional growth.

But this is just a snippet of my story and I’d love to hear from you! Whether you’re embarking on a similar journey, have questions about my experiences or simply want to share your own adventures, I invite you to connect with me in the comments below. Let’s continue this conversation and inspire each other to embrace life’ twists and turns with courage.

Thank you for reading this long post, I hope I didn’t bore you too much 🙂