Physio today was a million times better than the wasted session yesterday where I had to spend it on the plinth laying flat on my stomach. Today I was lifting from a step on the floor and then from the floor itself on to the plinth. At one point I actually went from floor to chair, not 100% on my own but not far off. I am looking forward to tomorrow now where I can try again. I am so determined to get that transfer done but I am well aware that it is something that I will be needing to practice my ass off with at home, it is unlikely I will be good enough in the couple of days remaining to crack it, but let’s just see shall we.
Immediately after physio I had a swimming session in the big pool at the Guttmann Centre with Kirsty and Georgie, we were running a little late but I was all ready to get my trainers and tee shirt off and get right in to the pool. I felt a lot more relaxed and confident this time, as soon as I was lowered in I got off of the hoist chair and I was swimming. 6 and a half lengths today, before I got out. It is very strange that I can tread water better now than when I was able bodied, even though I cannot actually tread anything, weird. I got out after six and a half lengths because at the end of the sixth length I got a spasm. Not a huge problem because it means that I can’t get my legs to sink and so I stay on my back. A little worrying to start with but as long as I stayed on my back I knew I was ok. Then, when the spasm had broken I swam back to the shallow end of the pool which is where the second spasm started. I had not quite reached half way when I locked up again. I was able to move my arms to keep myself headed in the right direction and to keep me on my back and so I headed for Georgie who was in the pool with us. Kirsty again stayed on the side of the pool to have a better view of where the three of us were. I swam to Georgie and told her that I was in spasm again and that I could do with a hand to get to the upright position or to simply break the spasm, which she kindly assisted me with. I got straight on to the hoist chair which was already in the water as I figured that my body was probably telling me that it was cold or that I needed to rest. I was immensely pleased with how many lengths I had done and with the confidence I now had in the swimming pool.
I was hoisted out and today I had the disabled changing room. It has a shower and benches to sit on and so I asked the girl if she would hold the hoist chair still while I got on to the bench. Getting my swimming shorts off on the bench had to be easier than on the hoist chair and so I transferred across. It was indeed much easier to get my shorts off but now I had to try to balance, it would not be good to be on the floor, naked and need to have the staff come and pick me up so the showering thing took a bit longer than I had hoped. Drying was another issue, my top half I managed fine, Junior and the twins was fine, my legs were fine and my right foot was also fine. I picked my left foot up and put it on my right leg and dried it and then it fell down to the ground, no problem though as I will simply pick it back up….or not as I overbalanced and only just managed to stop myself from ending on the floor. So I have my right leg through my underwear, and my trackie bottoms and my foot in my trainer. My left foot is on the floor and I am in no way shape or form able to pick it up and place it on my right leg again. If I try then I have a spasm because I am obviously getting annoyed and this makes my balancing harder. This is not looking hopeful, this is going to look a bit suss if I am not careful. I asked Kirsty what the time was and she informed me that it was ten minutes past twelve. Lunch is at twelve until one and then all of the sessions start again, I have to get this sussed and get my foot up and finish dressing. After a further five minutes I again had to ask for help, this time to simply lift my foot up for me so I could dry it again and then finish dressing.
With my foot back up on my leg it took only around ten minutes to finish dressing and then Kirsty held my chair still while I transferred in to it. I think it is a good thing that it was my last session of swimming today, if the same thing were to happen next time I think that an injunction order may have been put in place. I can hear it now, “So let me get this right, George `has problems getting dressed so Kirsty has to help`, hmmmmm”
I had my usual salad today. Neil who is the guy who serves us our food was all apologetic because the salad I had ordered had not been sent and I had a cheese salad instead of an egg one, oh hell no! I told him that I was not in the slightest bit concerned but he really was so apologetic, I got the impression that over the years of working here he may have taken the flack for someone else’s mistake where food was concerned. I again told him not to worry but that he could help me spice up my salad today if he had no objections which he of course didn’t. He asked me what he could do to help and so I asked him for an extra salad cream sachet. Admittedly he did look at me a little strange but then laughed and shook his head. At least he was not going to be worrying about the wrong salad for the afternoon!
Wheelchair skills was a “push to the shops”. Because the local chip shop is right next door to the shop which we were going to I figured that with all of the salads I had been eating I deserved to treat myself (rightly or most probably the side of WRONGLY) to a kebab, with chilli sauce… and so I did. When we got back and had our debrief mainly for those who had not done the trip before, I was told off by Georgie for using the cycle lane on the road. Admittedly it is not the best thing in the world to do but the cars should not be in it anyway. Whilst I admit I am not a pushbike I do have wheels and if the pavement is in shit state like the one on the way to the shop then it makes sense to jump on to the cycle lane for twenty meters and then back on to the pavement, unless it is dark of course because that would be bloody stupid. I acknowledged what I was told off for but did point out that at times you have to bend the rules of common sense for the sake of common sense. I was not going to argue with Georgie over it, but I have been doing the whole fighting with camber and shitty pavements for over 12 months and so I know that sometimes you have to think outside of the box a bit and take a chance. By the way, my chilli sauce which would ordinarily not have been that hot before my accident was hot enough that I sat there sweating quite badly whilst eating it, just as well I haven’t done that every week!
Lara came to visit today on her way home from work which was nice. By sheer coincidence she had the Rummicub game in her car so it was rude not to have a game, which she won so we had to have another, which I won and so the decider…..which I won, yey! The weather that she had to leave in was incredible. We could hear her car alarm going off across the road from the rain hitting hit which was pounding down and then the light show from the relentless lightning storm which lit the whole area up was something else. I refrained from going outside and instead thanked her for coming to visit but I was not going to roll across the road to her car like I do sometimes as I did not want to get soaked. The lightning was amazingly bright, it has been a long while since I have seen lightning light up an area so well. And so that has been Tuesday. I am going to get in to bed and get to sleep now, a full day tomorrow of physio and sports and I want to make every second of the day count, to that end I need to be refreshed.
Goodnight all.