It's A Positive Week; Week 13, (My third 21st)

This week has been a week of positivity.

Saturday 21st: Was my Birthday lunch at Westbeach, to those who do not know the restaurant its a nice little eatery specialising in fish. See the link: http://west-beach.co.uk/ Got a cab down and walked back, I must be getting better. But as Hayley my physio says don't push it Mark. Remember its watching the grass grow. It was my third 21st, last Wednesday the 18th.

It was a great day, Lynne and Johnny came, and Andy Price bought me a really great bottle of wine, trouble is the 'La Paz' I normally have, wont cut the rug any more cheers Andy. It was in his plan to make me spend more when I'm there. And that's most Saturdays. 

After lunch and as I had heard that the Uk ladies volleyball championships were on, I thought it only right and proper to go take a look. It was quite stimulating in a perverted sort of way.

Sunday 22nd: Was hangover day, or rather walking in treacle day. Too much wine and whisky.

Monday 23rd: Physio day, all is going well at week 13. I have the required range of movement (ROM) for this stage in my rehab. Walked there and back, did my first bit of shopping on my own. Only three things but its the small stuff that matters. A little bit more independence. They all add up, to eventually make a normal life again.

Tuesday 24th: Bit of a Groundhog day, went for a walk for two hours, mind you it would normally have taken me 15 minutes. Oh yes so many people have said I should take legal advice over my accident, so I have decided to do something about it. Well it's not so easy as you might think. There are a hundred and one, Underdog.com's, Accidents for U.co.uk, but in reality there just ambulance chasers. So I contacted a local highly recommended firm of Solicitors; Ellis Jones.

Well to start with you have to do everything for them. I need pictures with measurements, do I have legal cover, I need to write a statement of fact. Oh and am I whom I say I am, well hello, whom the fuck do you think I am. Mark Darcy? Apparently I might want to launder money! What money would that be? I'm having a hard time laundering my clothes. So I'm going to cause myself a major trauma just so I can launder a few bob? Really! So now courtesy of a few of my friends in the office, who went on a 100 mile round trip to obtain the photos for me. That would be Louise and Megan thank you. I now have put to getter a 50 page A4 bound booklet on the whole incident, and you just know it's not going to enough. So watch this space.

One other thing, bear this in mind, No Win No Fee really does not exist. There's if we win there's you don't have to pay the fee. Well you do, it comes out of your  settlement.

And also remember you are only going to get what you have lost, so some of that is going to the solicitor, there not doing it for free and their costs are astronomic. So what happens if you lose, your solicitor does not get paid, but what about the other side. Of course, there will be costs and they can run into tens of thousands of pounds, and who is going to pay the others sides costs. You got it; me. So it's not so cut and dried. So I've started down the road we see where it takes us. Up to now the injury has cost me directly about two thousand pounds, so I have no alternative to make a claim. See picture of the spot I went arse over tit on.

Wednesday 25th: End of my birthday week, yes I'm greedy always have a birthday week. Didn't go out today not been feeling well.

Thursday 26th: Physio again today, 105 degrees of ROM in my right, and 94 in my left. Its coming on and only another two weeks till I see my consultant, then hopefully I can start doing some strength exercises. Walked there and back again. On my way back I picked up the bound booklet from the printer. Once I have a large enough envelope I can get it sent to them, you never know they may take me seriously. I bet Derek Jacobi is not having these problems.

Friday 27th: Its been a groundhog day today, weather is a bit dreary. One bit of good news, for the first time I managed to walk down Richmond Hill. That's the hill I live at the top of, and its steep. I am so pleased with myself, its a real step forward. Well that's all for this week. Have a good weekend and I'll be posting next Friday.

Another bit of advice: Buy legal insurance it will save you in the end.

One other thing, I've been posting to my other blog all week, if you like to be titillated go to: http://markdarcyerotica.com

Highs and Lows; Week12 (Its my Birthday and I'll cry if I want to)

Just to hark back to the weekend, Peter and I got into the office, my first time since the accident on 1 April. All the work that needed doing got done over the Saturday and Sunday, thank you Peter for giving up your weekend to help me. Not that I could do anything, I just sat there and directed what needed to be done. Anyway alls well and all that stuff, well not really it transpires. I later found out on Monday that its got to go back the way it was....... words fail me. But at least that can wait. Oh of course then, there was England!

Monday was a good day, Had my fit note through. Fit note its more an unfit note, written and signed by a GP who has never met me or delt with my injury. The ways of the National Health Service are a mystery. I had physio session on Monday,so thought I would cab it round to the office after to drop my fit note in. I got to thinking it's fairly flat from the Physio Clinic to the office, so I would give it a go at walking it. If I got stuck I could always call a cab. Well I made it, another step on the way to recovery. It was really nice to see everyone in the office.

Tuesday was a low day, I had been trying to get hold of the hospital, in particular my consultants coordinator. I spent all Tuesday morning trying to get hold of him, eventually after threatening to throw myself out a window, he calls me. The reason I had been trying to get hold of him was to enquire if I had any options on hospital transport. As this Friday 20th I should have gone for my 12 week check up, it now transpires as I am not eligible for hospital transport its going to be my 15 week check up. Its a 100 mile round trip to the hospital, the irony is there is a car I can use but no driver. Most of my friends who might be available are all on holiday. So because I could not guarantee getting to my appointment today Friday 2oth, it had to be changed to a date I know I can make, courtesy of Nurse Lynne. This has set my recovery back by three weeks, as I can not till I've seen my surgeon move on to the next phase of physio. Fuck!

Wednesday is a better day, well it was my Birthday...... And to celebrate its was another Groundhog Day. I share my birthday with a number of famous people, Paul McCartney, Alison Moyet, oh and Fabio Capello, god that brings me back to England. To my American friends reading this that's a reference to our National soccer team, that's if you can call them a team; more like 11 overpaid individuals. All with varying degrees of mediocrity.

Thursday is a high and a low day. Its Physio today and as it's such a lovely day I thought I would try and walk it. Well it was not easy, the bit up St Peter Road is quite steep and was a challenge but I made it. A 10 minute walk took 40 minutes, but its a win. That was the high, you just know whats coming next. Yes the Low, England once again, I'm lost for words.

Friday 20th, its been a quite day today, reflective about our boys. I am really feeling for them, it must be so distressing for them. Did they really have to go all that way to Brazil, to prove what a bunch of overpaid, underperforming bunch of dates they really are. There combined weekly wage would pay off the national debt several times over. Rant over, see you next week.

It's all coming along; Week 11 (Friday the 13th)

On Monday had another little win, I asked my friend Johnny Penistone if he would pop over with his car, to see if I had enough range of movement (ROM) in my legs to actually get into it. I had no luck with work sending one of our spare cars over, so was forced into begging favours. Anyhow after several attempts I made it. So now I can get out.

This is important for three reasons, one, I am now paying for my physio sessions, so home visits cost £76.00 and sessions at the physio centre £40 so it’s a no brainer, if I can get into a car I can get a cab and save myself £26.00. Twice a week for another month at least is a lot of money. Particularly if you’re a church mouse; like me.

The second reason I have to get to see my surgeon on the 20^th June, it is a hundred mile round trip. So I need to get there by car, irony is I have the option of a car but no driver. So at this point it’s a worry. On Monday I’ll ring my consultants secretary to see if there is any chance of hospital transport. I’m not holding my breath. The third reason is work; we have an office reorganization going on over the next two weeks. I have been asked if my friend Peter can go in and move a lot of equipment stored in the finance department to our overcrowded store room. He cannot go in on his own in reality so I need to get in with him, as I have the key and security fob. Not to speak about the alarm system. It’s a mute point if I should, but as I have said in emails to the office needs must.

But now I find not only do they want the equipment move from the back of the finance office, but for my work area to be dismantled. They must be joking. One man and a cripple; really! Not only that it will be the first time in 11 years I have not had my own work area, and I am not happy. Its actually making me feel undervalued. This is all going on while I’m unfortunately off sick; well I’m not sick but severely injured. It really makes you feel that you don’t matter. Well tomorrow I’m going to do my bit, you get thanked in to most strangest way.

But in all this week has been a positive moving forward week. My OAP chair is now redundant, I can with the aid of two cushions sit on the sofa. That’s so good, the OAP chair was good, but uncomfortable. Also I can now sit in my office chair that I have here at home, so for the first time I’m writing this at my desk in the living room. I can manage about an hour at a time then have to walk about for a bit and rest my legs for an hour or so. But it’s coming on and in the next few days/weeks should maintain longer.

Thursday was my first physio at the clinic; got there by cab, all went well, have the required 90 degrees in my right leg, but only 70 degrees in my left. So I have a week to get the left to 90…. It’s doable. I keep moving forward.

Next week I’ll tell you the reader how this weekend went, should be interesting.

6 June 2014; Getting Dressed and other stuff; (70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings)

6 June: Its coming to the end of week 10, and progress is painfully slow. I thought I might have got out and about by now. Had an email from Jim Falvo in Dallas Texas last night, he’s another quad brother so to speak. He and Jim Clawson had been in contact since their Quad Ruptures in 2006. I read Jim Falvo’s experience and wished I hadn’t. But as he said in his email last night, it’s like watching grass grow.

And you can do more damage than good, by pushing to hard. So it’s all going at tortoise pace.

Piece of advice number eight don’t go looking on the Internet, you may not like what you see.

Anyhow enough of the gloom, the subject of my blog this week is getting dressed. A relative simple process if you’re able bodied. When you have BQTR, it becomes more challenging. In the first few days I didn’t really have anything I could wear.

I lived in my dressing gown until Nurse Lynne got me some granddad nightshirts, they were adequate, but a challenge for the commode. The problem was the splints; most of my regular trousers were not big enough to go over them. That’s if I could ever get regular trousers anywhere near me. So I started thinking about those three-quarter length shorts. But would I not have the same problem with the shorts, and then the brain wave hit me; get them three sizes to big.

So I looked on the Marks & Spencer website and found something that would do. I then sent Peter off to M&S to obtain them. On his return I experimented on how to get them on. First your need your underpants, lay them on the floor making sure you have your helping hand (device for picking stuff off the floor), to hand so to speak. Then try to shuffle your feet into the leg holes. When your feet are in the appropriate right and left hole, remembering you’re held up on your crutches grab the helping hand and grasp the elastic of your underpants, now pull up. This is not as easy as it sounds, they get stuck around the bottom of the splints, eventually your get them up and round your privates. Bit of advice number nine, always wear your underpants, sweaty undercarriage is never a good thing.

Now for the shorts so basically it’s the same procedure, shorts on the floor, try to locate the leg holes and shuffle your way in. This is a bit harder and takes up more shuffle space. Pull them up using the helping hand and you’re halfway there. You're have to wriggle them up past the splints. 

Now for a shirt and something for your feet. Bit of advice number 10, your need something comfortable for you feet, slippers are too fliperty flopperty  to get your feet into, so I suggest a pair of leather Dingo's.

You will have to buy on-line in the Uk, the only place I have ever found them on sale to actually try them on and buy, is in the market in St Tropez. You can wiggle your feet in this type of shoe, what also helps is one of those long shoe horns.  And you’re dressed and ready for another Groundhog Day. So by the time you have done a bomb run, washed and dressed the best part of the morning has gone.

This week has been slow, Hayley came on Tuesday and is coming today Friday 6 June, physio is going well. Just not as fast as I want it to. I have another two weeks today before my next appointment in Winchester. I hope to be able to get into a car by then, but am hampered by the fact I do not have a car here to practice on. What a strange concept having to practice getting into a car.

My car is stuck in Eastleigh, the weekend before my accident I was driving to London and had engine problems just before junction 13 of the M3. I managed to get off the motorway, and found a convenient place to park. I got a bus to the station at Southampton Airport and continued my trip to London with the idea I’d get back later that week to have her recovered back home. I’m sure it’s a fuel management problem, easily fixed. But 10 weeks on and she is still there; I hope. So until I know I can get in and out of a car getting to the hospital is a little uncertain at the moment. What I don’t want is a taxi turning up, and me taking half an hour trying to get in. What will be will be.

Apart from that not much else has happened this week, no visitors, my friend Sandra sent me some more St Repair, oh and did you see that guys head explode on ‘The Game Of Thrones’, I did not expect that.

One other thing, there is a meeting going on not 200 yards from me, it’s a work meeting at a hotel; as I say not 200 yards from where I sit writing this. I would have liked to have gone along, but the hill down to the hotel is to challenging at the moment. How pathetic am I……….

I hope to report in next weeks post, better progress. Well I had better as next Saturday 14 June I am supposed to get into the office with Peter and supervise him moving gear from one spot in the finance department to our storeroom. You may never know I just might make it.

A thought for the day; today is the 70 anniversary of the D-Day landings, I have been watching some moving coverage from Ouisterham in Normandy. My father was part of the D-Day landings, he flew two sorties in his Lancaster on D-Day and later in life told he me, "That they heard the BBC announcement on the aircraft wireless,as the breaking news about the D-Day invasion was being transmitted all over the country. The bombing offensive that we'd taken part in, had been the start of the Allied landings in France. My heart began to beat somewhat faster...." Following the second sortie of the day, he wrote in his log, "We landed at Mildenhall for a second time that day...and then thanked our lucky stars for having survived such a memorable day."

Today I remember my Father and Grandfather who was wounded on the 'Somme' rescuing two comrades from the 1st Battalion, East Surrey Regiment. After convalescing in Bournemouth he was sent back to the front and survived the fourth and fifth battles of 'Ypres', my father who flew 42 sorties over Germany between 1943 and 1945. At the start of their wars they were 16 and 18 respectively. A sobering thought.