Hi Chaps,
I haven't been around much of late so I thought I'd better just check in briefly. It's been a pretty momentous time lately. My wife has been forced to leave her job through health concerns (she had a nervous breakdown brought about by workplace bullying & piss poor management). Last time she was out of work, I was able to support us from my guitar lessons. However, my tuition business simply isn't paying the bills at the moment. Hence, I'm spending every waking hour tweaking my CV & chasing job applications.
Added to that, Jackie was rushed into hospital with a suspected heart attack a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully it wasn't as serious as that... a virus she'd picked up had caused an attack of SVT (Supra Ventricular Tachycardia) which gives the same symptoms as cardiac arrest but is much less serious. The doctors were able to stabilise her & send her home the same day.
Then, a couple of days after she got home, she started having back pains & there was a swelling at the base of her spine. It turns out that the virus had also caused an abscess which was pressing on her sciatic nerve. Anyway... back into hospital last Monday for an operation to drain the abscess. She was well on the way to recovery when she contracted an E coli infection in the hospital which knocked her back again. She's in good spirits though & should be home next week sometime... hopefully.
Despite the fact that we have a brand new, state of the art hospital about 20 minutes from our house, for administrative reasons, she had to be taken into a hospital which is about an hour away by bus.
At the moment, I'm either doing lessons, or trying to drum up business, or filling out job applications, or going to interviews, or visiting Jackie in hospital. Hence the fact that I'm barely touching the guitar to do anything creative or fun. I hope to be back in the saddle again sometime soon & look forward to hanging out on SC more often once again.
See you all again soon, chaps :)
Cheers,
John.
I can only wish you and your wife all the best.
Hard times and good times don't last forever.
Alfredo
Hi John,
Wishing you and your wife all the best through these trying times.
Hang in there.
Mach
Hi John Hope Jackies feeling better soon and you find that job and get back on your feet sooner rather than later.
Horrible news. Hope all turns around quickly. All my best to you and your wife.
Bruce
Sorry to hear you're going through a bad time Johnny. Hope things soon turn around for the better for you both.
Pete
Oh dear John, when you're down life has a way of giving you a kick while you're down there. My wife also had a breakdown about four years ago and is still very fragile at times. That problem would be enough on its own but Jackies physical probs compound the troubles. We can only wish you both happier times and and hope they come sooner rather than later. Kindest regards Willie and Sheila
Hi Johnny,
I am sure you and Jackie will get through this, unfortunately we can only offer you virtual support, however their is a wealth of talent at this site (I am not referring to their musical talent, that is a given,) that can provide good advice, guidance amongst many other things. You know where we are.
My thoughts are with you and yours.
James
I wish you all the best. Take care
Sorry to hear this news, Johnny. Hang in there, and I hope your missus has a speedy and complete recovery.
I sometimes think life's journey is a bit like walking along an abandoned railway line. Sometimes we're on an embankment with views over the valleys below, sometimes we're in a deep cutting with no idea what's happening around us, and sometimes we have to walk through a tunnel that's dark and cold and seems never-ending.
I hope you and your wife are out of the tunnel and back into the sunshine very soon. Best wishes.
Johnny...
From my experiences in life I have seen that life can be very cruel. But importantly I have also seen that in the middle of very dark places that can seem overwhelming, there is always something better on the horizon. I think your wife will be better out of that workplace in the long run. There must be so many people in the same situation and spend many years living like that...
I hope you can sort things out soon...
Peace
Mike
My thought are with you and your wife.
Rock on!
Hi John,
I'm sorry to hear about you and Jackie. It seems that bullying and piss poor management are a sign of the times - but not excusable. I wrote a song about it a couple of years ago called I'm the man. It has a massive impact on the bullied and it also flows through to family and friends.
I hope you are both back on track very soon. You are one of my favourite Songcrafters, so I'll miss you if you are not around. But I know that your priorities will be with your family right now so don't worry about this place. We will be sending our positive energy to you and wishing you a quick return to happier times.
Ian
My thoughts are with your family!
I wish all the best!
My thoughts are with you Johnny, Here's hoping for a speedy recovery for Jackie, It never rains but it pours,
Take care pal, all the best Alex
Hi johnny,been away for a few days with no real reliable internet connection and just playing catch up and just seen this.
I'm so sorry about your cascade of bad luck,I know through our emails that things had hot tough for you but it just seems to be getting worse ,I hope you get a good turn of luck and stay positive mate as much as you can.
You wife will need all the positivity and love she can get at the moment from you and once you get a job as I'm sure you will,this cloud of bad news I'm sure will lift.
As jim said we can only send you our hopes and positivity from these emails but every bit of support and positivity will I'm sure give you some comfort and a push in the right direction.
The only way is up mate.
Can't for the life of me understand why someone with your talents is not in a gigging situation with a major solo artist or doing session work full time.
I suppose it's all down to being in the right place and the right time with this business.
Please tell your wife I am asking for her and I hope she gets well soon.
Chin up mate and the music will take care of itself when your back to normal,we ain't going anywhere ;D ;D
Oh I've just seen this too - I'm so sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope Jackie is better soon and that you find a solution to your financial issues.
Don't worry about the music, as Kenny said, it'll sort itself out when you are ready and we'll still be here.
xx
Just picking up on this. That's some run of bad luck, Johnny. Dreadful.
Quote from: leighelse on October 22, 2016, 02:45:00 PMI hope you and your wife are out of the tunnel and back into the sunshine very soon. Best wishes.
Well said.
Thanks so much, everyone. I am really touched!
Just got a call from Jackie & she's coming home today so I'm going to pick her up shortly. I'll be glad to have my wifey home again. Still firing off job applications - did another dozen or so this morning. Just got to use a scatter gun approach... I only need one shot to hit the target.
Thanks once again for all the positive messages... it is easy to get disheartened and it's fantastic to get support like this from all my online pals.
Cheers everyone!
Hi John chin up ---
Great your wife Jackie is on the way home --
So things are on the up again.
Job wise keep plodding away something will turn up
Best regards to you both
Tommy
That is good news about your wife. I'm sure something will come around for work.
Rock on brother!
Johnny - sorry to hear this - hopefully things will get back on the up soon.
B