22. Solo Walk, Exercise, Medical & Updates

Joking Around

My sense of humour wouldn’t suit everyone but I had to giggle. Della started to cut and dry my hair after she helped with the cleaning in our bedroom.  I noticed that she had left some cleaning products on my dressing table, so I couldn’t resist some fun on social media and posted a photo with,  “I have plenty of cosmetics but Cillit Bang & Fly Spray are not included.  Thought it was funny that somebody left them on my dresser – could be a hint to change my beauty regime 🙂 Hee Hee ….”.  Well, it’s important to maintain a sense of humour ……

Medical Check Up with Social Services

I had a medical Check up appointment in Malaga with social services.  As I hadn’t been able to work since my attack, I guess they had to check that I wasn’t faking my condition.  Unfortunately, quite a few people have faked in the past, which made it more difficult for genuine cases. 

I felt really nervous, but shouldn’t have worried.  The staff were pleasant and helpful.  They assured me that there was nothing wrong, wanted to update my condition and made a new appointment for a few months later.  The whole system proved to be really excellent.  A couple of days before my due appointment, I received a text reminder to confirm the date and time.  Next time I won’t be quite so apprehensive.  I certainly had no complaints about the treatment I received through the national Spanish health system.  It was fortunate that, as Colin and I are Spanish residents and paid our taxes, we receive treatment through the National Health System, or it could have cost us a small fortune in private medical bills.  Apart from the hospital “Night Witches and the Sadist Nurse”, I have to say that I’ve had excellent treatment and care during, and after my time in the hospital.

My First Solo Walk – 4^th August: I told Colin that I would go upstairs for a siesta (Spanish afternoon nap).  When I got ready for bed, I looked out of the window onto the garden below, saw a bright sunny day and a clear blue sky.  I thought, “What am I doing?”.  Why on earth was I wasting my time on a beautiful day, when I could have been outdoors to appreciate just being out?  After that, I got dressed, laced up my training shoes (with the usual fumble) and went downstairs.  Colin said, “I thought you’d gone to bed!”, so I told him that I felt like trying to go for a walk alone.  He said, “are you crazy?  What if you fall?”.  I told him I was confident that my balance had improved and that I was determined to see if I could do it.  Besides, if I did have a fall, I could always call him as my “phone a friend” on my mobile phone if I got into difficulties.  It probably sounded very stubborn of me, and you would probably be right.  However, I just felt the urge to try and not waste the beautiful day.

The Walk and My Reward: It was much scarier than I had anticipated, several times I really wished that I hadn’t been so reckless and foolhardy.  What on earth was I thinking?  Although my balance had improved, my bad leg was still straight, dragged behind and my ankle wouldn’t show much flexibility.  I had no one to hang onto this time, and to get through the hilly sections proved to be a bit frightening.  I managed to grab onto anything at hand, like a wall, lamp post, even the odd rubbish skip, for my balance as I inched myself along.   I took a deep breath when I eventually got around the walk unscathed in the end.   Colin was concerned that I hadn’t called him after 30 minutes but, as he heard me at the front door, he sweetly surprised me with a chilled opened bottle of my favourite rosé wine to celebrate the occasion.  What a man!  I certainly needed it by then ………..

Both Hands Free – 9^th August

Although still very stiff, I wanted to show that I could move my bad arm higher than my head to wash my hair in the shower.  Before then, I had struggled to lift my bad arm high enough to touch my nose, so I posted, “Able to stand freely in the shower without having to grab a rail for support was wonderful.  To wash my hair with both hands was priceless 🙂 ”.  I just wanted to keep positive and let people know that I was making slow progress.

Cooked Chicken Madras Curry – 12^th August

My chopping skills were still not up to my old ways, but I managed to master the mini electric chopping machine. I got to grips with the chicken and other ingredients without any harm.  It took me absolutely ages to prepare and cook, but I managed to present a half decent meal of chicken madras, poppadums, and onion relish on the side. Colin had been extremely patient, as I had plenty sit down breaks due to back ache. Eventually, I was able to present him with my dishes, which actually turned out alright and went down pretty well. Prepared by his favourite one handed chef – hee hee …….

Friend from Afar: The same day, my friend, Maggie, from the UK and I celebrated 8 years of friendship on social media.  She kindly posted “To a friend who has enormous courage and determination! So proud of you! Xxx”.  I was so very touched by that.  Actually, no courage involved on my part.  I merely did what most people would have done in my position – just fought for some normality.  However, I really appreciated the sentiment. 

Longest Walk Yet – 14^th August: Colin and I took Oscar out for a walk.  I should have said, he had taken us for a stroll!  We opted for a different route, much longer than my usual “round the block” destination.  We passed our friend’s, Gregorio’s home, (owner of “Gregorio’s”) where we normally met with friends for drinks in Villacana.   He had chickens that roamed freely on his land and it was funny to watch Oscar’s reaction to these strange live, clucking creatures.  We walked past the mini market that we used to own many years ago.  It was so nice to see our old staff still working there and we had a nice reunion, got a few things, introduced them all to Oscar, our new baby.   I hadn’t walked for a while, as I had lost my confidence when I previously fell and twisted my bad ankle. The good news was that I had went for my longest walk yet. I noted on the app on my phone and walked 2.5 Km and 3,567 steps! No wonder I was shattered! 

Dodgy App!: A few days later, the same app on my phone hadn’t recorded my cycling exercises on top of my usual walk.  It indicated to me, “less sitting and more exercising”.  The cheek!  Even after walking with Oscar and Colin, I had done 2 x 15 minute sessions on the exercise bike, which represented a total of 6 km.  I was miffed that the phone app failed miserably to record it!

Medical Update – 21^st August: We had another appointment in Malaga for a scan, before we were due to see Dr Hamad in a few months.  As Colin still didn’t like to drive that distance, John and Anisa kindly brought us.  I felt awful that they, and Colin, had to sit in the waiting room, while I had my scan session.  This time, I had to get undressed and wear their standard blue gown, plastic hat (like a shower cap) and blue plastic booties (shower cap for feet).  Although I felt rather vulnerable, uncertain and strange in unfamiliar surroundings, the staff were very helpful and friendly.  A young man guide me to their machine, gave me an injection and explained that he would monitor me during my session.   Lucky me!! He was very gentle and reassuring, as he slid me into their scanner machine. 

This clinic and scanning machine were very modern.   The nice young man explained he would play an animated cartoon above my head on the wall behind. In the reflection of a mirror above my head during my session.  I hadn’t felt the same enclosed and claustrophobic sensations of before sessions, as everything had been kindly explained to me at each stage.

The Session: The animation began with a beach view, palm trees and falling coconuts at intervals. There was also a speed boat that travelled from left to right, and back in circles in the background.  I was told over a loud speaker that my session would take around 40 – 50 minutes to complete, so I should relax and get comfortable.  Since it would take so long, I began to count the amount of falling coconuts and how many times the speed boat went past mentally and on my fingers.  The nice male nurse kept talking over the loud speaker telling me how much time was left.  At the end of my session, I told the guy that I had counted 183 falling coconuts and 20 times the boat had gone round in circles.  He laughed at me, as it had been the first time anyone had ever mentioned it.  He told me to make sure I took 2 litres of liquid in the following 2 to 3 hours.  I cheekily told him, I planned to go for a beach lunch with Colin, John and Anisa so what about a bit of wine.  He smiled and said, “go on then”.

Celebration Lunch: The four of us went for lunch at a beach bar, close to where we lived, called “La Antigua”.  They had closed for major renovation over a year ago, so it was nice to be at their “Soft-Opening”.  Everything had definitely changed, but it was an excellent lunch, served by nice staff.  It was a lovely time to relax and I celebrated getting over my latest medical ordeal. By the way, I was holding a glass of rosé wine, diluted with fizzy water!

Dancing a Few years ago

I had a lovely surprise when my friend from the UK shared on socal media an old video of Colin and me dancing at our golf friend’s celebration, Susan’s special birthday.  It was a wonderful memory of how Colin I used to dance and it made me even more determined to dance the same way again some time soon.  Such a shame I didn’t get a copy but thank you June, I had forgotten about that time xx

More Cycling – 23^rd August

Most knew by then how I hated that cycling machine of ours.  I thought I would show how I continued to persevere and demonstrate my cycling improvement.  Each time I reached a 15 minute session, which represented 3 km, I celebrated with a cheer and raised my arms in the air. I actually managed to achieve 3 x 15 minute sessions a day sometimes.  Not every day though! …..

“Naughty Girls” Get Together Again – 27^th August

Yet another great lunch to catch up with my lovely “Naughty Girls Golf” friends at the club yesterday. I surprised them with a logo I had designed and printed on a golf cap.   I think they liked it. Some wanted to know where I got it from!  It was just a fun thing to do ….

Some girls had noticed that I had more movement in my bad arm and spoke slightly better. Although I couldn’t cut anything with a knife, I could raise my bad hand up better. I still ate one handed, but I felt a little more normal than our previous get together. Bit by bit ……..

Trying Out CBD Oil

Tried CBD Oil: Colin met one of our advertisers and obtained some “CBD Oil” (Cannabidiol). It was descibed as, “a natural compound” found in the resinous flower of cannabis, a plant with a rich history as a medicine, that goes back thousands of years. The therapeutic properties of CBD are being tested and confirmed by scientists and doctors around the world. It was a safe non-addictive substance. CBD is one of more than a hundred “phytocannabinoids,” which are unique to cannabis and endow the plant with its robust therapeutic profile”. 

Reason For Trying It: Colin had been concerned with the sleepless nights and amount of pain and spasms I experienced, so bought a small bottle for me to try.  I had to put 3 drops on my tongue in the morning, and again before I went to bed.  I felt dubious but decided to give it a try.  After a few days, Colin asked me, “how was it?”  I actually slept a bit better, so less risk of me waking up to the usual bouts of imitating a werewolf breaking out of my body.  I hadn’t wanted to upset Colin’s good intentions, but I had to later admit to him that the oil tasted almost a bit like “cow dung”.  Not that I’d ever tried cow dung before, but it was my only best description of what I thought what it tasted like.  From then on, Colin unsympathetically asked me each day if I’d taken my cow dung yet!  When the small bottle finished, I politely refused to repeat the experience.  It may have been great in different doses and forms for others, but I actually preferred to continue to grit my teeth during my usual nightly ritual.

Cooking Again – 31^st August: This time, I attempted an experiment.  I had some spare minced beef and attempted to do my version of, “Indonesian Style Spicy Beef” with a garnish of sliced cucumber, onion, chillies and fresh coriander.  I still couldn’t chop the ingredients properly, so I resorted to my new best friend, the electric chopper again.   The dish actually turned out alright, as I used Colin as my usual guinea pig.  I think we’ll have that dish again, as Colin gave me his “thumbs up” seal of approval …….

Please view next page 23 at link “Nosebleeds, Movement & Housework”: https://www.rebootinglinda.com/nose-bleeds-ankle-support-improved-movement-and-limited-housework/

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