August - Olympics and Paralympics

w/c 6th

I was due to visit my befriendee in Cheltenham he cancelled due to an OT visit, I went over to see Dan for an hour, I have a really bad achy left foot so I did some Vibrogym work no treadmill, Dan thought it was my plantar fasciitis. I lifted 4kg weights with my right arm and tried my left arm too except it couldn’t hold 3 or 4 kg weight.

When I came home Charles called to say he maybe down earlier than expected as his Dad had had a heart attack whilst working on way back from London. Nik was driving back from Scotland so diverted back to Charles’s and picked him up and brought him down to ours, as his Dad is in the JR at Oxford, so with Val’s help we went over to see his Dad that evening, what a day!

I got into see my Doc the following day, he checked out my foot and I apparently have gout! Great, taken off one lot of medication and given another, I didn’t go to the Connect meeting as I was taking Charles to visit his Dad, he had 2 stents in and came out on the Friday with his heart not as badly damaged as first thought.

Ed is dog sitting a lovely black Labrador called Molly this week, she is lovely, very well behaved, and in season!

On the Saturday Nik and Ed did their first proper 10k race at Moreton Morrell, and they both did really well, Ed doing just over the hour 1hr 1 min and Nik did 1 hr 20 mins, Andrew came to help me in the wheelchair, and we took Molly. It was a nice day, we were able to sit out in garden and have lunch.

Sunday, we went to Batsford and had a nice lunch and a walk around the garden centre we saw Marianne and Mike with Hector the dog.

w/c 13^th

Catch up with stuff Monday, did some crm, searched jobs website.

Over to Dan with Ed, having worked on my leg/legs for a year we’re going to look at getting the arm working, and also my foot is still aching from whatever is wrong with it, so I did some Vibrogym, and the TRX rip trainer for my arm strength.

Young Stroke network meeting at a new venue, Wootton Hall Social club, good meeting, Ed came with me and I took him to the shopping centre in Gloucester to pre order FIFA13, and I drove on the motorway for the first time, there and back!

Lewis’s 12^th birthday, gave him a call and wished Happy Birthday, Hal has his results and got 3 passes.

Went back to see the Doc about my foot and he reckons it might now be Morton’s neuroma, so he injected some steroid in it between big and second toe. I was interviewed and so was Ed by Radio Gloucs for their Tuesday morning breakfast show, discussing younger stroke survivors and stroke services in Gloucs.

Saturday night Ed working Nik and I decided to go to the cinema to see ’Wedding Video’, however, my left foot was so bad that we ended up going to A&E at Cheltenham, had my foot x-rayed, got some codeine and more gout tablets, and missed the film! Great evening in Cheltenham A&E comparable to the mutants bar in Star Wars, why did the drunk choose to sit next to me and tell me about his pancreatic cancer!

w/c 20^th

An hour with Dan on Tuesday and because of my foot pain had a small go on the I had a go with the Im-AbleX computer game rehab equip for my left arm/hand, because of my aching foot.

 

My car had its first service, I can’t believe I‘ve had it almost a year now, where did that time go?!

On Thursday I went to the OCE to get some more botox, more put into my left hand and arm this time let’s hope we get some more action with it.

w/c 27^th

Bank Holiday, Ed worked lots over the weekend. Nik and I went for a picnic which was nice to do.

On my hour’s session with Dan I did some more Im Able work.

On Wednesday I went to the John Radcliffe (JR) to have my baseline assessment for the electrical stimulation research I am doing with them for 2 weeks in September, all went well, there’s going to be a good lot of work/physio on my left arm/hand, and they tried TMS on my head as pic below shows! We collected Charles from Oxford station, as he’s coming down to the Paralympics with us on Friday.

Back to my own GP again on Thursday to see what could be done about my foot, it does seem like a Morton’s neuroma, I can’t have any more steroid injection for 3 weeks.

Friday – well what can I say, I have so looked forward to this day, after seeing such fantastic sport with the Olympics. We drove down and parked up in blue badge parking in Westfield. First of all we met up with Ellie and Michael and shared a nice bottle of Laurent Perrier rose at the champagne bar, a great day to start our Paralympics day.

 

We had a good walk around the park, along the river, a trip to the megastore where we all bought T shirts, memories of our fab day.

We made our way to the Olympic stadium, the seats I had booked were quite high up and no lifts available so we were able to swap them for better seats quite easily, the whole process was very smooth and well organised, a truly amazing, inspiring and humbling day.

 

To add icing on our cake, on the way out we met Tanni Grey-Thompson and I had a great chat with her, she remembered meeting at the Cotswolds Conference Centre in Broadway 4/5 years ago, told her about my stroke , I asked if she knew if there were any stroke survivors taking part, she didn’t know but did say there were some ‘hemi’s’ taking part – hemiplegics- made my day!

A great end to my August.

 

 

 

September 2012 –Trans cranial electrical stimulation research at the JR

w/c 3^rd

Tuesday over to Dan’s for an hour using the Im-AbleX, good hand/arm activity using computer games to move the hand & arm, it was good my arm did ache a bit the day afterwards but all round good arm activity. I am limited to arm work really because of bad achy foot/toe.

I had a Connect meeting over at Hesters Way Community Centre then drove over to the Prestbury Centre where Julie and I did a presentation about Connect and what we do, what we offer. I saw the Scottish lady I initially shared a ward with at Cheltenham, she unfortunately had had another stroke but was doing OK.

On Friday Nik drove me over to the John Radcliffe, FMRIB dept. to have an MRI scan  before the start of the transcranial research next week, very very noisy and typical ’phantom’ feeling on head with the shuddering of the scanner.

Nik did his first real long distance run with Dan on the Sunday.

w/c 10^th

Not a particularly exciting week this week I had an hour with Dan on Tuesday, on the Im-AbleX, no leg work again.

On Thursday Nik had a call over on Anglesey with Dave B so I went with him which was very nice, we went and said hi to Mum and had a windy walk on the beach.

The Great Western had their beer and cider festival weekend, Ed did lots of shifts earning the monies!

On the Sunday Nik did another long 18 mile run over towards Snowshill, Springhill I was going out to meet him and got a flat tyre, so called RAC they came out to fix it, couldn’t and my car ended up going on a transporter over to Kwik Fit at Stratford for a new tyre!

w/c 17^th

I went to see my Doctor again about my foot, it’s not gout, it’s not a Morton’s neuroma, whilst cutting my toe nails after a bath Nik found hard skin on the top of my third toe of affected left foot, boy did I scream, so we now think that it’s a corn that has been causing me trouble in walking for the past 2 months – thanks Doc for all the unnecessary pain, lack of treadmill exercise, additional drugs & steroid injection!

She agrees and refers me for an NHS chiropodist appointment, which I  then have to chase up, North Cotswolds hospital in Moreton can’t see me until 25^th October, another month of pain and no treadmill, so I opt for an appointment at St Paul’s Cheltenham – of which more later!

Today I start my electrical trans cranial stimulation research at the John Radcliffe Oxford, I have to organise a taxi with Leigh because I have no car due to tyre trouble on Sunday!

The physio on my affected left hand and arm is very intensive lifting a weight on my wrist in front of me and to the side, stretching down to my toes, moving a bean bag to 5 points on the table in front of me, scrunching a towel, trying to pick up a cup, and doing all this with a funny headband on and 2 pads where the current or (not) as there might be a placebo, is being passed through. I was knackered and really glad that I had by necessity booked a taxi, I fell asleep all the way back.

So I did this every day for the next 4 days until Friday and the following week. Ed did his practice D of E silver hike over Long Mynd in Shropshire between Thursday and Saturday and they were luckier with the weather this time.

I had taken part in a Ford Open Doors event competition and got to hear of two prizes I won, one was a private tour around Manchester United on 27^th Sept and the other was a trip to Jackdaws Castle to meet Jonjo O’Neill and other jockeys have breakfast with them and a tour of the stables, again on the 27^th which I couldn’t do because of the research at the JR.

Nik did another 18 mile run on Sunday, and then we went to the Fossebridge Inn to meet up with Kath and Andrew for Nik’s birthday, we had a lovely meal.

w/c 24th

Nik’s birthday today, and Ed goes back to Ashes Hollow for a school Geography trip, and they got pee wet through, so did the camera!

I carry on with the electrical trans cranial stimulation research at the John Radcliffe Oxford Monday to Friday with an follow up MRI scan on the Friday.

I met with Christine Clark the Sister in charge of the ARU at Tewkesbury and she is now the stroke co-ordinator for North Cotswolds.

Charles did the Manchester United tour and Sally O did the Jackdaws Castle tour and they all had a lovely time.

On Friday I met up with Charles at the hospital as his Dad was having 2 more stents fitted, we met at FMRIB after my MRI scan,  he came over later and stayed the night at ours as his Dad had an overnight stay.

Saturday - Nik and I went to see Dan, Nik was on the treadmill and did 12 miles, I went on the Wattbike and really enjoyed it

Sunday - Nik is up bright and early to do a 20 mile run with Dan.