My New Wheels,

Apology from Betty, 
Sorry everyone ...... by the time you read this it will be old news. I've been on holiday and I didn't get chance to go on line. Fair play to TheReMarkable though for writing and sending it anyway.

....well the parts have arrived and I'm in my new set of wheels, I think the purple sparkles are starting to grow on me.... Not really! And thankfully with my legs being so long most of the frame is obscured, but there's no hiding the purple leather on the back and arms ....I definitely think there's been a few funny looks, especially from kids when we where in McDonald's the other day, always nice being judged by 8 year olds! 

....must admit there's been no major changes this week, settled in to my new ward and have now managed a whole 10 days without being moved which is pretty novel, so have now begun to amass a world of mess on my table and cabinet, don't know where it comes from! ....physio wise, I have been doing some new things.

Managed to master the art of the slide board transfer, which is basically sticking a piece of plastic under my derrière and using it as a bridge for getting to and from my chair, so I no longer have to be hoisted like a sack of potatoes, sounds fairly insignificant but it's a pretty big step! I've also tried a couple of transfers in and out of a car which weren't too bad so really looking forward to getting signed off on them, as simply going for a drive will be brilliant, especially when compared with my recent taxi journeys! ....in Middlesbrough the taxis seemed to be purpose built for wheelchairs with plenty of headroom. So far the ones I've been in in Southport are more along the route of a botch job! Basically, a standard hackney with a ramp fitted, getting in is fine, it's just having my head tilted on a 45 degree angle for the entire journey that's a bit of a test on the old rods in my neck and is far from comfortable. There's also the fear that any significant bumps could see me back at square one! So thinking a bit of research on local taxis may be required.

Tough Day Indeed!

To be fair they did the job as had a lovely day out in Southport on Saturday with Jen, met a multitude of visitors on our way round from coffee shop to restaurant to coffee shop to pub, sounds like a tough day indeed! ...ate and drank far too much but sounds like a normal Saturday to me so all good really!

....oh and a bit of gossip on the ward!  .....I had an interesting gym session the other day, new bloke turned up who'd just been admitted, looked a little rough round the edges, had the standard what happened to you conversation? I was a little taken aback to hear he was being chased by the police and jumped out of a window that was 40ft high!! ...sadly I forgot to ask why he was being chased, I'll try and find out for future blogs! ...it can't have been anything too serious mind as he's free to come and go around the hospital (so seems a little strange you'd jump out of a window!), maybe they thought the broken back was punishment enough! ...bumped into him when Paul and I were heading back into the unit last night and he was absolutely battered, I don't think he'd been drinking so must have been something slightly more illegal, rumours abound, as the keys for the controlled drugs trolley went missing when there was an unscheduled fire alarm yesterday! All a bit suspicious if you ask me!

Anyway that's about all the drama for this week! ....sadly back to the antiques/decorating/jeremy Kyle filled daytime tv.... I miss the Olympics! ...although footy is back on Saturday so happy days, fingers crossed Brendan Rodgers is the chosen one!

Cheers

Mark xxx