Monday morning- more rain

This weekend was fun. My school friends visited my village. We are all keen on board games and so I introduced Settlers of Catan to them.  It was a tough game and finally Paul won.  I should have had the edge, however, I certainly didn't have the killer instinct. You can teach a game and then wipe the floor with everyone - anyway that's what I am telling myself!!  We then went for curry and more beer. 

The next day we went to billy bobs for breakfast.  Excellent end to the boys weekend. Whilst we were doing that Isaac and Georgina were doing the Santa Fun run in Skipton. Afterwards we went to the swimming pool and the kids.  Finally we Skyped our ex au pair, Fenia, who was helping the children with German Christmas carols for school. For the weekend I had still been using crutches almost consistently. Walking in the boot feels unnatural and awkward. I've been able to do foot stretches 3 to 4 times a day using a towel around the balls of my foot. Flexibility feels like it is slowly returning. Today I felt stronger. Maybe some strength in my upper leg has returned, but this morning I spent also the entire morning without crutches and just hobbled instead.  I am hoping that I can break records in recovery and, without over doing it, get myself fit as soon as possible. I see the physio visit to being key to this.  I think I need some tall shoes so that I don't hobble quite to much. I want to avoid the limp as much as possible as I know this will be a challenge to loose later on.  For now though I rejoice in my ability to carry stuff around the house using my hands. It will be longer before I venture outdoors without crutches- I think I might get stuck somewhere!

Well I am the internal examiner for a PhD on Wednesday so better get ready for that. Georgina will be giving me a lift in.

In a Moon Boot

Yesterday the cast came off. Just short of 7 weeks. My upper body is strong and crutches almost feel like part of me when walking.  I was not sure what to expect. I had high hopes initially and then a few days ago I downgraded my expectations. The boot was fitted in the plaster room. Afterwards I headed back to see the consultant. My foot looked weird to me. The shape looked wrong. Walking felt not possible with the boot. Fear of pain, lack of strength, combination of the two? I was given another 6 weeks unfit for work note - this shocked me. I thought I'd be back to work.  I was given a physio card and I went straight to the physiotherapy department.  Very lucky for me there was a free appointment within 20 minutes of arriving. The physiotherapist was called Jess. She assessed me through questions but also a physical examination.  She commented that I had a decent amount of movement for somebody who has been in a non weight baring cast for 6 weeks.  She probably tells everyone this, but for now I'll accept it as the truth!  She gave me two exercises to do without the boot on.a) Using towel pull my foot towards me with my bottom on floor and a straight leg hold for 30s. b) Same but straight leg. I check with a friend and I should do this 3-4 times per day. Once I'm out of the boot she said we can do a lot more. My boot will be adjusted in the plaster room in two weeks (make it flatter). The aim is to have a flat foot within 4 weeks. I will also see the physio in 3 weeks. All of this seems conservative compared to what I have read on the Internet. However, I am not an athlete and at 36 maybe it takes longer to heal. Aim of this week is to get confident on my feet and get more movement in my foot.  Georgina photographed my legs. She was shocked. My muscles have wasted away in my left leg - maybe this is the reason walking is not yet possible!!!   Another suprise was that my wound had not fully healed and the pain I felt was the skin feeling tight rather than tendon (I think). So positives and negatives, I will be focusing on the positives.  Oh wow, ok so I walked (with a limp) using the boot without crutches - confidence perhaps??  Big step forward for me (literally!).

Long weekend

Georgina took Thursday and Friday off and the au pair was heading to Glasgow with her sister to meet their boyfriends. Still feeling tired after my epic couple of days of trying to improve my crutch walking skills. We decided to get out on the Thursday afternoon. The aim was to go to visit a panto with Georgina's uncle in Burnley and then travel over to my parents house.  We visited Queen Street Mill in Burnley in the afternoon. The museum looks fantastic. It's a textile mill with working looms. It has a steam engine in the upstairs. There was a mobility lift to the top which myself and Isaac travelled in. The museum was fantastic. Lots to see and do if you like this sort of thing. We have been to bancroft mill many times in the past. Bancroft is a different experience, and the focus is more on the engine - the Burnley museum is much more about the textiles and the working conditions and so on. It was two days before Halloween so they had witch school for the children. It was rather long, but thankfully the fun improved as time went on rather than the other way around.  When it ended we headed to Deno's restaurant and met Philips, his wife, and Heather. We nearly all had pizza, all good except Isaac's pizza had been forgotten. It turned out Philip ruptured his achillies 20 years ago.  He reckoned he was never put into a cast, but could not exercise for 10 months. After the meal we had coffees and headed to St. Stephens school to watch a panto. The panto was amateur in presentation but on the whole very funny. Perhaps a little long for our children. Afterwards we headed to my parents house.  We arrive just after 1030pm and got the children into bed within a short while. We slept in the campervan. Not a sound. We had a good sleep.  When we came back into the house dad was awake with the children watching TV.

We hatched a plan for the day. Swimming and then Rufford Old Hall. The kids love swimming and they must have spent nearly two hours in the pool. I had some time to talk to my mum. Dad seemed to enjoy playing with the kids. Afterwards we headed to Rufford, but stopped in Ormskirk for lunch. I got a baked potato from Morrisons. It was the smallest potato ever.