Jan - Feb 2023

 A very busy little period since the last update which got off to a flying start when I was able to pick up my new legs from the prosthetist. After my revision surgeries I needed to be recast and had been wearing my wash legs until my replacements were ready. It’s always a very tense wait as you’re never quite sure how they’re going to fit but I’m happy to report that they are really good! So much more comfortable and only one set of socks to help with the fit. I had been up to six on my last ones!

This time I’ve gone for a lovely sparkly dark blue which were very fetching when matched with my Stepdaughters Doc Marten boots 😂. Not my usual footwear I know, but stay with me here. Jasmin had been having the usual problems with brand new Docs, cutting into her toes and taking forever to wear in, so I offered to break them in for her! It seems to have gone well as I wore them throughout a visit to Dublin that David and I took and my feet came out of it blister free. Thankfully so did my stumps as the new legs wore exceptionally well also 👍🙂

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYrj48T2/

It was our first visit to Dublin and both flights were during the gale force winds we had at the beginning of January. After two rough landings the tail of the aircraft was moving all over the place. We managed to get on transfer vehicle in Dublin but in Newcastle it was too severe. In the end I was taken down the rear steps in an automatic stair climber chair. An experience in itself but excellent service from the Assistance team who did everything they could to allay my fears. One note though, the wind was so strong that while the guys turned their backs to open the minibus doors, a strong gust actually sent me scooting off across the tarmac strapped to the chair…Oh how laughed!🙄

Dublin was great. Despite having my new legs, I did spend most of my time in my travel wheelchair as we wanted to explore the city. I have to say that was impressed with the accessibility of the city itself. Everywhere has drop kerbs and most of the places we visited had very good Disabled toilet facilities. And of course we couldn’t visit Dublin without visiting the Guinness factory which is very Accessible. I couldn’t drink drive as I had the chair but David very kindly took advantage of my complimentary drop of the Black stuff 😂

One problem we did encounter however was Range anxiety. I can understand now how it must feel for those who drive electric  cars on long journeys. The travel wheelchair I have is fantastic but the standard battery it comes with is too highly rated for air travel. It needs a separate Airline friendly battery ( which costs an additional £390!). Being of a lower rating means of course that it’s less powerful. Having previously learned our lesson at the bottom of a steep cobbled street in driving rain in Bristol, we take our charging cable with us and plug in wherever we can throughout the day. But nevertheless, it happened again, running out of power 500 yards short of our pick up point for the bus back to the airport. So there I was, middle of the path by St Stephens green, in the dark while David ran ahead to see if we would make it. We didn’t, but a quick Uber later and we were back at the airport and on our way home. Again, lesson learned and we now have two travel batteries

Next, after a year’s postponement due to my revision surgeries, we finally picked up the Bionic Hero arm 🦾. Thanks to the guys at #openbionics who managed to schedule both a final fitting and delivery appointment back to back over two days to save us taking the long trek from the North east to Bristol. They did my final adjustments and 3D printed my sleeve overnight so that I was able to take the finished arm home the following day.

I know that the arm is never going to replace my own hand or give me anywhere near the range of motion or movement to do everything but it’s another tool I can use for some basic, everyday tasks that I can’t currently do on my own. I’m also hoping that the look of it will draw in people to discuss it rather than to look away as they do with hooks or my residual limbs. Im also aware that it is going to take a lot of practice and hard work to master the muscle movements needed to get it to do what I want it to do. That said, it’s very hard to manage your expectations and extremely hard to hide your frustration when it just doesn’t work or pick up the signals ( which believe me, happens quite often at the minute ) but given the generosity of strangers provided the funds for my Hero arm, I will persevere and use it as just one of a range of prosthetics.. Watch this space…but in the meantime, take a little look at this. So difficult. So small. But so rewarding 🙂

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYSNtLW6/

In both Dublin and Bristol we tried out the accessibility of Airport to city centre shuttle services and have to admit that both were very good. More importantly, it was the same price to book the buses for able bodied or assistance passengers. More than can be said I’m afraid for taxis or private transfers,with the average fee being triple the cost of an able bodied transfer. This really is ridiculous and something that needs a lot more attention..one for another post of its own  I feel 😡

And finally ( Hurrah I hear you cry!🎉)  I’ve finally found a Pilates instructor who is willing to take me on. Pilates was previously such a large part of both my fitness regime and my social life. Since the amputations I have tried unsuccessfully to find classes or instructors who could take me on. No criticism from me as I’m aware just how daunting it would be for both the instructors and the other participants ( not to mention me🙄) but a massive thank you to Leila at Shaping  Futures https://www.facebook.com/PilatesstudioDurham who saw only the challenge and not the impossibility of taking me on. I’m currently doing 1:1 sessions while Leila and I learn my capabilities but together we are hoping to build my strength and both of our confidence to integrate me into group classes. 

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMYSNGdoA/

Well, as Leila might say “And breathe……….” 😂 Sorry such a long update but we’ve grabbed the bull by the horns and come out of the traps running ( kind of ) for 2023!

Lots more in store for us as we explained to Gary Phillipson of BBC Radio Tees when we did a catch up interview with him. We went in with such lofty aims of raising awareness of Sepsis, Disability, accessibility etc, but as you can hear in the link below he is such a lovely man that we ended up just chatting away about us 🙄..it was like a catch up with an old friend and I don’t know where the time went😂

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0dy61sn

Until next time all. Take care.