About 7 years ago everything in our lives was turned upside down. Penny was diagnosed with MS. She had a good idea what it was before diagnosis but it was still devastating when it was confirmed. The NHS is very good but MS diagnosis is still very slow. We needed to know and paid for a private scan in Cheltenham.
For a good amount of time things didn't change much. Then, slowly but surely the illness began to show. She was tired a lot. Her balance wasn't as good as it had been. Her walking suffered as a result. MS is quite odd in how it works. Relapses are the fear. When you have a relapse, which can be weeks or years apart, you lose a little of what you had and it's irretrievable. There is medication to help prevent relapses and it was painful for me as they all have side effects. Penny has relapsing remitting MS which is good. There is Secondary Progressive and then Primary Progressive and we really don't want to go there.
After a while fatigue was becoming a huge factor and Penny needed to drop to part time. She also had one day a week where she worked as a trainer for staff at hospitals up and down the Country. This was private work and she earned around £350 a day for this. This had to go as well.
I was a manager where I worked and was moving slowly but surely upwards and hoped to be making a very good salary before too long. The long hours, and I mean long, didn't really bother me and things were looking good. Things had obviously changed though and I needed to be at home more and not exhausted when I was there. I decided the only thing to do was to quit what I was doing and the business allowed me to drop down and work alongside my staff, As you can imagine this was quite difficult, but the right decision.
We were now financially a lot poorer than we had been but that didn't matter.
Sounds like a story of woe! Actually we've never been happier. Thankfully Penny's condition has been very stable over the last couple of years and now we've had this fantastic news.
Pokerwise things became a little different for me. I'd always enjoyed the game and been a small winner at it. How much, I didn't know. I kept no records and while we always remember the £50 buy in comp we won for £1800 we easily forget the 20 previously where we didn't cash. My sharkscope for other sites was decent but I knew online my cash game wasn't great so I didn't really know how I was doing overall.
When I started on Sky nearly 2 years ago I decided I would start to keep proper records. Live and Online. The money was now more important, as I had less disposable income. I set myself a target of £10000 in 2 years. Last week I got to the £15000 mark which I'm really proud of. I'm very average but do what I know i'm good at. Online is a chore for me but i'm good at DYM's, cash less so and I rarely play that these days. Live, i'm pretty good. This is my original poker background and it's amazing how many easy games there at 50/1 live. I do pretty well from a small Sky sample at tourneys but it's hard to commit to an entire evening. The SPT was obviously a huge help for me to help me achieve my target and on that day I was far from the best player but ran incredibly well.
Live poker is my true poker love and whilst I do want to win, having a good time is the most important criteria for me when i play it. The SPT's have been just fantastic and I've met some great people at them. I probably won't be able to play as many next year for obvious reasons but i really hope to be able to at least get to some.
I do despair when people get so upset over a game of cards. I can sometimes understand the original reaction but have learned there is far more to life and get baffled by some of the feuds that can develop.
Bit embarrassed and unsure whether to press 'add post' but.... add post
About 7 years ago everything in our lives was turned upside down. Penny was diagnosed with MS. She had a good idea what it was before diagnosis but it was still devastating when it was confirmed. The NHS is very good but MS diagnosis is still very slow. We needed to know and paid for a private scan in Cheltenham. For a good amount of time things didn't change much. Then, slowly but surely the illness began to show. She was tired a lot. Her balance wasn't as good as it had been. Her walking suffered as a result. MS is quite odd in how it works. Relapses are the fear. When you have a relapse, which can be weeks or years apart, you lose a little of what you had and it's irretrievable. There is medication to help prevent relapses and it was painful for me as they all have side effects. Penny has relapsing remitting MS which is good. There is Secondary Progressive and then Primary Progressive and we really don't want to go there. After a while fatigue was becoming a huge factor and Penny needed to drop to part time. She also had one day a week where she worked as a trainer for staff at hospitals up and down the Country. This was private work and she earned around £350 a day for this. This had to go as well. I was a manager where I worked and was moving slowly but surely upwards and hoped to be making a very good salary before too long. The long hours, and I mean long, didn't really bother me and things were looking good. Things had obviously changed though and I needed to be at home more and not exhausted when I was there. I decided the only thing to do was to quit what I was doing and the business allowed me to drop down and work alongside my staff, As you can imagine this was quite difficult, but the right decision. We were now financially a lot poorer than we had been but that didn't matter. Sounds like a story of woe! Actually we've never been happier. Thankfully Penny's condition has been very stable over the last couple of years and now we've had this fantastic news. Pokerwise things became a little different for me. I'd always enjoyed the game and been a small winner at it. How much, I didn't know. I kept no records and while we always remember the £50 buy in comp we won for £1800 we easily forget the 20 previously where we didn't cash. My sharkscope for other sites was decent but I knew online my cash game wasn't great so I didn't really know how I was doing overall. When I started on Sky nearly 2 years ago I decided I would start to keep proper records. Live and Online. The money was now more important, as I had less disposable income. I set myself a target of £10000 in 2 years. Last week I got to the £15000 mark which I'm really proud of. I'm very average but do what I know i'm good at. Online is a chore for me but i'm good at DYM's, cash less so and I rarely play that these days. Live, i'm pretty good. This is my original poker background and it's amazing how many easy games there at 50/1 live. I do pretty well from a small Sky sample at tourneys but it's hard to commit to an entire evening. The SPT was obviously a huge help for me to help me achieve my target and on that day I was far from the best player but ran incredibly well. Live poker is my true poker love and whilst I do want to win, having a good time is the most important criteria for me when i play it. The SPT's have been just fantastic and I've met some great people at them. I probably won't be able to play as many next year for obvious reasons but i really hope to be able to at least get to some. I do despair when people get so upset over a game of cards. I can sometimes understand the original reaction but have learned there is far more to life and get baffled by some of the feuds that can develop. Bit embarrassed and unsure whether to press 'add post' but.... add post Posted by Jac35
Fantastic read Paul and well worth the post!!! sounds like you two haven't had it easy which makes the news you broke today that bit more special.
Great post. A lovely read. Got quite emotional reading but you realise all things are possible and you always maintain a positive attitude which is what you need
I don't aadmittedly know you but can believe your a sound guy. I'll definitely be following your post (anytime I need dym help, can I give u a shout lol)
Very nice read and honest aswell. Really pleased to hear your good news. Its really nice when one of the good guys get what they deserve in poker and in life. Pleasure to meet you in Newcastle and the next pint is on me whenever that may be.
Comments
Brilliant news, delighted for you and Mrs J
Congratulations!
Huge congrats to you both!!
I need some motivation like that, although not even 5-6k would persuade me to have another child!
Best of luck.
About 7 years ago everything in our lives was turned upside down. Penny was diagnosed with MS.
She had a good idea what it was before diagnosis but it was still devastating when it was confirmed. The NHS is very good but MS diagnosis is still very slow. We needed to know and paid for a private scan in Cheltenham.
For a good amount of time things didn't change much. Then, slowly but surely the illness began to show. She was tired a lot. Her balance wasn't as good as it had been. Her walking suffered as a result. MS is quite odd in how it works. Relapses are the fear. When you have a relapse, which can be weeks or years apart, you lose a little of what you had and it's irretrievable. There is medication to help prevent relapses and it was painful for me as they all have side effects. Penny has relapsing remitting MS which is good. There is Secondary Progressive and then Primary Progressive and we really don't want to go there.
After a while fatigue was becoming a huge factor and Penny needed to drop to part time. She also had one day a week where she worked as a trainer for staff at hospitals up and down the Country. This was private work and she earned around £350 a day for this. This had to go as well.
I was a manager where I worked and was moving slowly but surely upwards and hoped to be making a very good salary before too long. The long hours, and I mean long, didn't really bother me and things were looking good. Things had obviously changed though and I needed to be at home more and not exhausted when I was there. I decided the only thing to do was to quit what I was doing and the business allowed me to drop down and work alongside my staff, As you can imagine this was quite difficult, but the right decision.
We were now financially a lot poorer than we had been but that didn't matter.
Sounds like a story of woe!
Actually we've never been happier. Thankfully Penny's condition has been very stable over the last couple of years and now we've had this fantastic news.
Pokerwise things became a little different for me. I'd always enjoyed the game and been a small winner at it. How much, I didn't know. I kept no records and while we always remember the £50 buy in comp we won for £1800 we easily forget the 20 previously where we didn't cash. My sharkscope for other sites was decent but I knew online my cash game wasn't great so I didn't really know how I was doing overall.
When I started on Sky nearly 2 years ago I decided I would start to keep proper records. Live and Online. The money was now more important, as I had less disposable income. I set myself a target of £10000 in 2 years. Last week I got to the £15000 mark which I'm really proud of. I'm very average but do what I know i'm good at. Online is a chore for me but i'm good at DYM's, cash less so and I rarely play that these days. Live, i'm pretty good. This is my original poker background and it's amazing how many easy games there at 50/1 live. I do pretty well from a small Sky sample at tourneys but it's hard to commit to an entire evening. The SPT was obviously a huge help for me to help me achieve my target and on that day I was far from the best player but ran incredibly well.
Live poker is my true poker love and whilst I do want to win, having a good time is the most important criteria for me when i play it. The SPT's have been just fantastic and I've met some great people at them. I probably won't be able to play as many next year for obvious reasons but i really hope to be able to at least get to some.
I do despair when people get so upset over a game of cards. I can sometimes understand the original reaction but have learned there is far more to life and get baffled by some of the feuds that can develop.
Bit embarrassed and unsure whether to press 'add post' but.... add post
Sweet post Paul.
Your post really tipifies what's good about the forum and also poker.
In fact, it's one of the best contributions i've seen on the forum ever.
100% you did the right thing, being there for Penny was way more important than earning the big bucks working 12 plus hours a day.
Absolutely delighted with your news today.
Also brilliant achievment hitting 15k, you thoroughly deserve it.
ps 15k from poker - vwp!!
Nice one.
Very honest post. Not sure I'd have the balls to do one similar. Glad to see everything is going well at the minute and long may it continue!
What a great Post Paul, as someone else said, one of the best I've ever seen here.
Really pleased to hear your good news.
Its really nice when one of the good guys get what they deserve in poker and in life.
Pleasure to meet you in Newcastle and the next pint is on me whenever that may be.