World's Worst Blogger!

Apologies from the worlds worst blogger!! ....it seems things have slipped a little since I've left hospital!! I've been fully intending on updating for about the past three weeks but something always seems to come up, which I suppose is a good thing in a way as I must be keeping myself busy, but it does not make for a good blog!!

So what's been going on since my last post? As ever something of a mixed bag!

Thankfully the positives outweigh the negatives this time out and it's been largely steady progress in all areas! But ever the pessimist it seems only right to start with those negatives!! And once again it's those bloody infections!

....having spent the first two weeks of the new year on antibiotics and largely house bound, I thought the coast was clear.... but alas a month on, the shivers and temperature returned worse than ever really! And despite my familiarity with the more common symptoms of a water infection this one threw in something of a curve ball (sadly all to literally!). It seems the bladder is not an isolated area and the infection managed to find its way elsewhere (again a parental guidance warning here!!) The elsewhere being one of my balls!! Which very very worryingly was about the size of a jacket potato (I hope no one's eating whilst reading this!)

So upon discovering this I was literally straight onto the doctor who sent me off to Whiston hospital to get some intravenous antibiotics and more importantly anti-inflammatories! and this all resulted in a three night hospital stay, which I was far from pleased about as it was quite a setback and I never imagined in my worst nightmares I'd have so many males getting acquainted with my testicles!! ....fingers crossed, all now seems well and I have an appointment with a specialist to try and get to the bottom of these infections, as the current rate of one a month isn't really suiting me too well!

Thankfully that's about it on the downside and there's been plenty on the upside too....

The biggest and best of which has been getting my Motability car through!! It's a very sporty looking Astra with an equally sporty engine so it certainly shifts! I've had it for well over a month now and feel pretty used to the hand controls which are quite simple really, although they do take some getting used to.  I was more than a little nervous when I picked it up from the dealer on a snowy day in January with it parked in a tight space and had to get it out on my own, thankfully I didn't crash but jerked back and forwards like a madman as I familiarised myself with the hand lever in front of an audience, it wasn't pretty but I got out....just!

...I've steadily improved and got used to the lack of balance when going round corners all my fellow road users will be glad to know! And I've been getting out and about in it as much as possible! It really feels great to do something so normal as drive a car and I'm enjoying not having to rely on everyone for lifts constantly! And one other thing that makes me sound probably more than a little sexist but when Jenna and I go out, I would almost always drive and it's nice to be able to do that once again too and let miss hues relax and enjoy the scenery, as she more than deserves with all the running around and 'tooing and frowing' she's been doing for me since the fateful day (as I think it should now be known!!)

I've also been cracking on with going to the gym and tried my hand at a few more activities, handball, table tennis and hand biking all of which are pretty good, sadly my favourite is probably the table tennis which has the least cardio by a mile! I've even entered a tournament down in Crewe next weekend which promises to involve a good few drubbings but it will be good experience to see what I'm up against in my disability class, wish me luck as I know I'm going to need it!! I've also signed up to have a go at wheelchair tennis next week as I continue in my quest to find something to replace football in that its exercise without being a chore!

In other news I'm also going to be best man for my mate Bebbo who has bitten the bullet and proposed to Emma so massive congrats to the two of them, and in other wedding related news, another pal is off to Munich this weekend for his stag do and with some trepidation I am heading over there for a night, Paul is coming with me in case of any problems but I'm not sure who's going to be looking after who, once the beer is involved! But here's hoping that all runs smoothly and I survive the weekend! and fyi don't break your neck it makes travel insurance pretty pricey!! ....oh and I'm a little nervous as to what might happen when going through airport security what with two big metal rods in my neck!!

....This one may be up for debate as to whether it's good news or not! but I also visited work with a view to looking at what adaptations and considerations are needed for me to return and we came up with a provisional date of July for making some sort of return to the fold which will be a huge step in the whole recovery/ rehab process, I'm pretty sure it will wipe me out initially as most things seem to at the mo but it will be great to get back, as I actually quite enjoy my job and we have some pretty good banter too, which whilst I enjoy spending lots of time with Alfie these days, his banter is somewhat limited!!

 .....speaking of work, my colleagues who I feel I should refer to as my friends more so!! ...are organising a night 'of musical excellence' with lots of live music and some great dj's. It's at studio 2 on Parr St, Liverpool on 12 April and promises to be a great evening! And it's in aid of, well, me!
All ticket affair....see the poster attached. But there's 200 available so get snapping them up and I'll look forward to catching up with people there.

Thanks as ever, will try and increase the frequency of updates again!!
Love Mark