I’m on my way ......

 Another lengthy gap since my last update and again, another very busy couple of weeks. I realised that the posts were getting a little lengthy so I’ll concentrate on just a couple of key things. Lots going on with my rehabilitation and I continue to have problems with the healing of the skin graft site on my left leg. It’s taking a long time to heal and is constantly becoming infected. That said, little by little I am managing to wean myself off the high doses of painkillers. Hopefully this will help blow away some of the Brain fog I seem to have. I mentioned in my last post that I had been in touch with @openbionics. Well at the beginning of this month I had my first Face to face appointment. The Prosthetist, Kameron, was so informative and patient and the afternoon just flew by. By the end, initial scans of my arm had been taken and the muscle contact sites identified so that we could be sure that I had the ability to operate the Hero arm. Thankfully, I could 🙂 https://vm.tikto...

 Another full and interesting month that’s been spent talking with various people and groups. As time goes on I want to better understand what has happened so far, how that affects me now and how I move forward from here. I also want to help others gain some level of understanding of that as well and I can only do that by engaging with people. A far cry from my wanting to just hibernate in my own safe space and send out the occasional blog post 😂 I feel this is a positive thing and David  doesn’t need to persuade me quite as much as he used to.  With that in mind, I had the opportunity to present to a Disability network group of professionals who serve the Disabled community daily. I think my aim was to give an insight into the impact of a life changing event and just how fragile the certainty of our immediate future can be. Heavy stuff eh? Haha Well you would think so, but actually it wasn’t  The attendees were warm, welcoming and more importantly, interested. It f...

 7 weeks since my last post!…Were you wondering where I’d gone or were you just glad of the rest lol 😂  Lots happened since the last blog and so many times we’ve tried to sit down to update you all, but things just get in the way. We always said that one of the aims of the blog was to reflect the reality of being an everyday amputee. Well one of the realities is just how challenging it is to keep on top of everything. Not just for you as the amputee but for your loved ones as well. As you all know, David helps me with the blog and we try to make the time to sit down and log my/ our thoughts. But as we all come blinking out into the light of a Post-Covid “new normal” world, that involves  him being back at work doing 12 hour shifts with an hour commute either side. I’ve already explained our need to dial back the hours we can afford for the Carers to come in , so David picks up the shortfall.  This is by no means a unique situation and is one that’s repeated across c...

 Almost a month since my last update but what a month! It has been full of highs and lows but the overall feeling has been that I’m managing to keep moving forward 🙂 The funding question around my ongoing care continues to rumble on and I have to admit that has left me feeling anxious and angry in almost equal measures. I can totally understand how people must feel like giving up when it seems like you’re constantly being told the equivalent of “Computer says No!” Over and over again.😞 It seems that the system can’t cope with any circumstances that deviate from a prewritten flowchart. That said, I can’t let this demotivate me and, until we get a final outcome, I need to concentrate on doing more for myself so that my need for personal care becomes less over time. ( End of the boring finances moan 🙄) A massive thing for me this month was finally being able to get back to my own Hairdressers @aurum_hair in Knaresborough.  It’s crazy, I know, to travel over 60 miles to get you...

 Another eventful couple of weeks 🙂. We had some lovely reactions to the interview we did with the wonderful Gary Philipson from Radio Tees and one of the recurring comments was how strong a team David and I seem. During the conversation I also realised that , while my initial reaction coming out of the coma last year was one of sheer dread, there really are worse things in life than being a Quad-amputee. Feel free to listen to it on the link below. It starts about 20 minutes in. 🙂 https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09m8vm2 I’ve also been trying to get myself out and socialising more. I have to get back to feeling comfortable mixing with people so we arranged a meet up with an old friend of David’s and strong supporter and new friend of mine, Julie Munton who was in the area for the first time in a while. It was lovely to finally meet face to face. What Julie didn’t know was that it was the first time I had had dinner with someone outside of the immediate family but she made me f...

 Well after my decision last month that I had to become more independent, I have spent the last four weeks working towards that. I am gradually trying to build my strength and balance, moving from walking with two sticks to walking with one, and just once or twice, a few faltering steps with none!🙂 I received the attachments for my adapted Koalaa mitt and was able to pick up a mug and drink one handed without a straw. It may seem small but it was sooooo satisfying  Following on from that, we had a zoom meeting with Nate and Elena from  https://www.yourkoalaa.com/ to discuss how things were going with the new sleeve. The guys honestly couldn’t be more invested in what works for me and were more than generous in their advice and offer to help me obtain a Mitt for my left arm. Speaking with these two, you simply can’t come away not feeling part of a community.🙂 A left arm Mitt Will hopefully allow me to cut up my own food while eating. Currently, David cuts through it then...

 An extremely busy two weeks packed with lots of firsts, most of which have been prompted by David’s return to work. We finally received the start of the care package, but still no decision on how it’s to be funded. Four meetings now and still no resolution. Hugely frustrating but a great relief to have some help in the meanwhile. The staff who come in are lovely and can’t do enough but it’s a very different situation to having David by my side 24/7.  Overall the first week was a success as we were all just finding our way around it but two things really struck home how dependent I am on the help of others. The timing of the night time visit is 7pm. We always eat late so we have found ourselves having to get dinner prepared, served and eaten in time for the carers arriving. Between David getting home and the night time visit it’s just a flat out race to be done in time. I’m then taken upstairs, washed and put into my pyjamas ready for bed…..at 7.30pm…..I’m 56 years old for goo...