Ups and Downs

Highlight of the week. Trip to the Barley Mow 

Nearly two weeks since the op and here I am still sitting on the sofa. My world is tragically small but I know that is not going to be that way for long. I am filling my time writing a book about Naser and Syria. So far, so good on that front. I think I’m ready to do Syria as my Mastermind speciality. Google has a record of the strange trail of things I have checked up on by now. I just wonder how those algorithms work in cases such as mine.

I titled this blog; Ups and Downs as this is what I take so much time doing. I am getting pretty nippy on the stairs. I go up on one leg and two hands. I can reach down to pick things up on one crutch and I can get my evening glass of wine from the kitchen to the coffee table by crawling and moving it along the floor in front of me. I continue to show Mattaya how to crawl – I hope she is impressed! Some things have just become routine as my new way of existing.

There have been a few blips though, I fell into the wardrobe. Easily done! I was balancing on a crutch on my left side and holding the doorknob with my right hand… Oops, no hands. I needed a t-shirt so I flung the crutch backwards onto the bed, leaned in to grab the t-shirt when the knob fell off the door! I fell in headfirst – silly me. Narnia revisited!

Diane and Jeremy said there are adverts on television advertising aids to help the elderly around the home. The particular one they say I should try and emulate is  the one where a sprightly, middle-aged woman enters the shower with a fixed smile and wrapped in a towel. Apparently, the towel remains wrapped around the body and dry throughout the shower. Handy! I have been working on the fixed smile as I perch on the stall in the shower (no towel needed). However, a soap on a rope would be a useful addition to my routine. Showering with a plastic bag tied on the cast tied up with a pink ribbon has been easy. This technique has been 100% successful so far.

I am also getting creative in finding ways to get myself clad with just one hand while balancing on a crutch. Putting knickers on is my biggest challenge. I also only wear jumpers that have a front pouch so I can carry my phone. Sleeping has caused the most problems for me. I started off with a pillow under my poorly leg. This pillow always ended up on the floor so I gave up. Then after a week, the strapping around the cast began to disintegrate overnight. The fluffy cushioning pushed through the bandages. Danielle brought Shadow’s bandages over to do a repair job. This lasted one night and now that strapping is also falling off after a night’s sleep. I have nearly two more weeks before the cast gets changed. I can see a big apology coming on about the state of my dressing when I see the doctor.

Ezra-Mae is very concerned about my poorly leg. I told her a doctor cut it open to make it better. She has promised to look after me. So far, so good – just a bit more training needed to get her to do some chores… child labour!

Meanwhile, I have visitors who come and see me, make coffee and sort themselves out. I got to the pub in the rain with Danielle as my spotter. It is a bloody long way on one leg. My standards are slipping on all fronts. The house hasn’t been cleaned for two weeks and I am OK with that as I know I’ll be more mobile once I have a new cast - not long to wait now… Yippee!

 

Me getting my shoe off after a trip to the Barley Mow- Danielle likes these compromising pics