Saturday 19 June 2021

Three weeks in

Life temporarily lived in a wheelchair has settled into a routine for me. If it was to be a permanent thing I'd need to make a lot more effort but we are in a holding pattern. A couple of times a day I get wheeled into the bathroom on a commode chair to shower, brush teeth and so on. Someone gets me a bucket of hot water to wash with and if it's really chilly we put a heater on because washing under intermittent splashes is not conducive to staying warm. The advantage of having this procedure done in early winter is that two legs in casts would be unbearably hot in summer.

If the weather is warm and someone is around I sit in the sun on the deck for a lot of the morning. I have barely read a book in many years and have become so habituated to the five or eight minute online read that I wondered if I could even read a book any more but I opened "The Paris Wife" and have happily read it for a few hours long sessions.

I've spent many hours on a frustrating quest to renew my national criminal check needed for employment and even more hours trying to apply for benefits to keep me going while I'm away from work.

My girls are improving their ability to get me out of the house and into a car. On the first attempt it took a full fifteen minutes but now we can do it in about five and the faster we can do it, the more I can go out.

It's grey and cold today. I stayed in bed late, keeping my feet up because my toes were starting to look like sausages. There is leftover Indian food for lunch and I'll read or watch Netflix or do some other quiet indoor activity.



20 comments:

  1. I am really, really glad that you can get out and about a bit. I hope that you get it down to a fine art soon.
    Chilly here too(and I do understand the sausage toe look). It is less than attractive isn't it?
    Good luck with both applications. They can be frustratingly difficult but are sadly essential.

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    1. the annoying applications keep me busy and i dont want my toes getting too swollen because then I'll have to got o emergency and get the casts cut off. Might need to lie in bed more!

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  2. I am gad you are falling into a routine. When I was 15 I was in a bad wreck and in a chair for a few weeks before transitioning to crutches for several more months. We had things down to a pretty decent routine, but being in the car was difficult because my leg was in a cast up to my hip. I could sit kind of sideways in the back seat, but it was hard to sit that way for any eight of time. Fortunately I was just in a cast on one leg. The splash bath worked for cleanliness but when they finally cut it low enough that I could keep one leg out, sit on a shower bench and have the shower run all over me it was bliss.

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    1. I can relate to the bliss of a proper shower. My first five days in hospital were bed baths and by the time I got a shower it was like heaven!
      It's tough for a fifteen year old to be so hampered. Did you recover completely?

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  3. Keep on working at this one.

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    1. Hi Red, as I say to people, I can't change my mind now!

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  4. I am glad that even in your position, things are improving. Splash baths do call for a bit of heat or at least the ac down a bit. When will you get the casts off?

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    1. Hi Linda,
      I'll have x-rays this week and if I have enough healing I'll have the casts off and move into boots.

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  5. Three weeks down - how many more to go?
    You did mention it……quite a few to go if I remember correctly.
    It’s good you have support who are fun to be with and good at solving puzzles. “How do we get mum in the car without having her legs sticking out the window????”

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    1. Cathy they told me 3 months in the chair and up to a year for full recovery. I have no idea what abilities I'll regain and when.
      They are great problem solvers and Caitlin has the extra ability to crack me into shape if something goes wrong 😊

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  6. I am glad you have your feet up, Kylie !
    Cold and windy does not sound like Oz, but casts would feel horrid in the heat.
    You have had a busy life as Mother and Worker, so you lost touch with books.
    Reading is good for the brain as are puzzles, maths, chess, learning a language.
    Someone told me you need a good memory to play bridge.
    If you liked The Paris Wife, you will enjoy A Moveable Feast.
    I prefer the unrestored version of Papa's memoir of Paris in the Twenties.
    Sometimes I read the first pages aloud as I read Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, JM Hopkins.

    *Then there was the bad weather. It would come in one day when the fall was over.
    We would have to shut the windows in the night against the rain and the cold wind would strip the leaves from the trees in the place Contrescarpe.*
    Jack H

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    1. Hi Jack,
      I'm sure Sydney cold and windy is milder than Glasgow cold and windy but having said that, it's well known that Sydneysiders mostly try to pretend winter doesn't happen and people with experience of cold climates say they suffer the cold more here than in the cold places.
      My husband didn't allow me to read and by the time I realised that I didn't need to let him determine everything I was well out of the habit. I have time to develop new habits.

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  7. The tone of your post is quite positive and you should recover as expected and be mobile and active. My best wishes that you do.

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  8. There's nothing like a positive attitude to get you through adversity and you certainly have that. It's good to hear that you are doing well and good luck with the toes!

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  9. I also wondered if I could still read a book -Yay! I can! It's probably something we don't forget - trouble is that now I can't put the damn things down to do anything else!
    Speedy recovery to you - it sounds like it's all going well so far.
    Sx

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  10. Okay I need to read your older posts, as I'm out the loop! Sorry I've been keeping my activity on the computer limited as I have eye issues sadly.

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  11. Reading longer material definitely requires a different skill set; at least that's what I found during one lengthy period of withdrawal from books. It took some practice for me to be able to concentrate for longer periods of time. I'm glad to hear you were able to do it quickly.

    You have such a positive outlook. It helps those around you as well as yourself - which in turn helps you even more, since it allows them to care for you with more joy. I am dealing with my mom and her cognitive loss and tendency to be negative, and it is exhausting. I was never this burned out dealing with my father; he was so gentle and accommodating and cheerful the majority of the time, even though his health issues were monumental.

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  12. It looks like you're settling into a recovery routine quite nicely. Glad to hear you're doing some serious reading rather than quick squints at the internet. Also glad to know you're keeping up your personal hygiene despite your physical limitations!

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