Special Anniversary Post: Review of the Year

Its that time of the year again folks! On the 21st of this month, I will have been off steroids for 2 whole years! This time last year I did 3 special anniversary posts to mark the occasion. They are well worth a read if you haven't read them already. They were:

Reflections 12 Months Off Steroid Creams
12 Months Off Steroids: Skin Changes
12 Months Off Steroids: How To Cope

They were landmark posts for me and the last one in particular, should be a post that EVERYONE going through TSW should read.

Anyway, I've decided to do something similar this year and I'm starting off with a review of the year, starting where I left off with my anniversary posts. This year has been amazing for me and I wanted to share some of the highs and lows with you all.

November 2012: November last year was a rough month for me. It started with a bad flare, but ended with good skin. By the end of November, my skin was in better shape than ever and I was feeling good.

December 2012:..Unfortunately it did not last. December was a really bad month for me, due to the really bad weather we had here in the UK. However, a big boost for me was the news that fellow blogger Rochelle had finally healed of her TSW after 16 months. Her wonderful vlog gave me the courage to go on. December was also my blogoversary, and I celebrated the fact that I had 83,000 hits!

January 2013: New year, new skin? In January, the blog viewership passed the 100,000 mark and I was jumping for joy. The best thing that happened in January was the fact that I got to meet up with some other red-skinners on a very cold day at Festival Hall in London. It was an amazing experience and I felt a connection with everyone I met. Another high point was fellow-blogger Joey winning an award for her Squidoo article on the dangers of steroid creams.

February 2013: February was another miserable month for me thanks to the bad weather. The only high point was receiving an appreciative email from someone who had read my blog and said it had literally saved their life. By February there were lots and lots of new TSW blogs popping up, giving TSW a greater profile on the Internet.

March 2013: March was snowy and the cold weather was relentless. My skin was still going through flare cycles and I was desperate for the good weather to rescue me. I also had a go at reducing my steroid inhaler dosage, but it just wasn't happening for me at all.

April 2013: Things started to change in April. The weather was better and so was my skin. I was very happy to receive an award from Itsan for all of the hours I have put into volunteering. Itsan had their first international get-together in California and I wish I could have been there. The sun was out in the UK too and my skin went through a huge metamorphosis and cleared up nicely. The best thing that happened in April though, was the release of our lovely book, Taming the Scratchy Monster, which was a result of over a year's hard work and planning. I am grateful to Kristina for helping make my little story into a big success.

May 2013: I only updated the blog 5 times in May because I was out there living life to the full. In May I hit the 18 month marker. My skin was almost clear and the blog hit the 170,000 viewer marker. The best thing this month was meeting my blog-pal Miss Kitty Fantastico on a busy Saturday in Ikea. We had a lovely time and I am a big fan of hers. Meeting other TSW'ers is always a huge buzz.

June 2013: In June I had more good news. Another blogger, Juliana posted on her blog that she too, was finally healed. This was a big boost. My skin was also better than ever and looking nice and pale! The Internet was bursting with new TSW blogs and I was over the moon.

July 2013: In July, our book was finally available to order from the Itsan website. All of the money raised from the book has gone to Itsan and has helped many, many families understand how TSW affects the body. July was also the month in which Itsan released an informative video about the dangers of steroids, which can be viewed here. Here in the UK, we had a heatwave, which cleared my skin up to the stage of almost being completely healed.

August 2013: I had a great August because this was the month that we went on holiday to Devon! I have great memories of sitting on the beach at Ilfracombe, getting lots of sun on my skin and I was even brave enough to have a paddle in the cold sea. I could finally tolerate alcohol again and was able to enjoy a nice drink every evening during the holiday as we watched the sun go down. I only wrote 4 posts this month because I was so busy having fun. I was even able to tolerate scented bath products! Yummy.

September 2013: September was a big month for me because it was the month that the Itsan forum went live. We previously had a Google group, but the forum was woefully inadequate and it was hard to keep track of previous threads. The new forum was wonderful and a lot easier to manage. I came on board as a moderator to help Joey out and a few more of us "vets" came on board as forum staff, meaning that we were better able to keep an eye on the forum 24/7. In the few short months that the forum has been running, we have had almost 600 people join us and there is a wonderful, welcoming atmosphere on there. The International nature of the forum means that there is always someone online and always someone to answer questions or provide a shoulder to cry on.

October 2013: By this stage I almost thought I was healed, so it came as a bit of a shock when the weather turned and so did my skin! I had a massive rebound at the end of the month which completely knocked the wind out of my sails. TSW is so unpredictable. On a more positive note, the blog passsed the 250,000 pageview marker, which was massive for me.

..Which brings me to now...This year has been amazing, despite the ups and downs. I would have loved to say that I am now healed, but I think I need to "cook" a little longer yet. Hopefully this time next year things will be different. I had a massive break in the summer though, so I can't moan too much. Itsan have accomplished so much in getting the word out there. It has been great to have been a part of it.

Attitudes are changing and hopefully next year will bring even more changes.