Perhaps mentioning Ms Nature in the last post was a mistake, a push too far perhaps? How was I to realise she kept that up to date with my blog? I would say that I have learnt my lesson but we all know I never will.
This evening I comfortably pushed 3 sets of 30 press ups, ok comfortably is not the right word but come on I couldn’t manage a single rep when I started less than 2 months ago so that’s one hell of a step in the right direction. I ran a hot bath, I reset my physio splint (it had a hard corner) and brushed my hair without losing handfuls. All in all a pretty good evening for a man who has no functioning wrists to speak of and who has long since surpassed the expectations of the medical profession.
I am a fan of a bath, showers have their place but for me nothing beats laying in a red hot bath letting the heat work the stress out. I laid in the bath testing the movements of my wrists and checking the vivid red scar on lefty and the small pink traces of blood that cloud in the water as they leave righty. I massaged the aching left knee and, following some deliberation, concluded that the graft site on my leg is lightening in tone.
I considered all this against the memory of my first bath after the accident resplendent with two casts, the battles with tins, clothes and all the dozens of tasks that I have fought and slowly beaten. It may be a slow path I thought but sometimes its good to reflect on how far I have travelled.
Bath finished I sat up and hooked my fingers around the grab bar on the bathroom wall (hotels are good like that) and pulled myself up, then she struck. My high spirits meant that I didn’t put quite the concentration into the exercise that I should have, I didn’t grab the bar properly just hooked my fingers through the bottom of it and balanced the load with my left hand on the side of the bath. As I pulled up there was a crunch and righty lost out to the angle, my load transferred to lefty which, of course, can’t produce an appropriate angle and collapsed, with nowhere else to go I fell back into the bath crashing back into the water as my legs went out from under me.
I know this may sound entertaining but in those few seconds everything resets and I become the frail 90 year old falling backwards to a hard surface, briefly I see me hitting my head and slipping under the water unconscious. Seriously having got over the initial pain I was shaking in shock, suddenly the most vivid memory in my mind was the terror of getting stuck in the hospital toilet, of falling in my front room and of falling out of bed, suddenly I’m no more independent than the little old man with the oxygen and walking frame.
So thanks Ms Nature for reminding me I’m not there yet, but remember just because the I’m not there yet doesn’t mean I won’t be, so enjoy your fun while you can.
