Self Help

Hello Dear Readers!

Look after yourself. There is only one you, one Life. Make the most of it.

Anon

These are not easy times.

 I’m sure that those of you with the dubious honour of being regular readers of these poor scribblings will understand why. For those that don’t know what the hell I’m talking about please see Different Strokes

The last week has continued to be trying for all sorts of reasons but it has had its positives too and it has even supplied both myself and Tina with opportunities for a little self-reflection.

Best Foot forward

The real positive is that Tina is showing remarkable signs of recovery. This is most evident in her left hand which is recovering, if not strength, then a lot of its range of movement. Her Left foot however is dragging its, um, feet (or something), in comparison, both metaphorically and in actuality.
 

I had thought that Tina would be more concerned with her hand, being, as she is, a keen pianist but I think the slower progress with her foot coupled with its more noticeable nature is proving more of a frustration.

Now as someone who has always had problems walking I can kind of understand why that may be.
 

The way someone walks, the way they move, is something that is immediately evident to even the most casual of observers and I think Tina may be taking some time to acclimatise to what can on occasion be rather unabashed staring.  This, coupled with the increased unsteadiness and therefore increased difficulty in what should be mundane and simple tasks, has resulted in a lot of exasperation.

Frustration! A Game For All The Family

Of course this vexation is somewhat shared, and we are both having to be careful not to allow our joint frustrations to bubble over. We have, however, received a lot of offers of help through this difficult time from some wonderful friends, which have ranged from chats, to visits, to one very kind but possibly misjudged but gratefully accepted offer to look after our hyperactive thief of a dog for a few days.

 Even with this invaluable aid, I, of course, am finding myself a touch busier these days, as a matter of necessity, and although I do not begrudge this one little bit, I think it does highlight something about the relationship I share with my remarkable wife.
 

We do, you see, have a tendency to look after each other considerably more than we do ourselves. I will nag Tina to go to the doctors, or to pick up prescriptions and she will do exactly the same for me but we both need the nagging in the first place.

A sure sign of this is that whilst Tina was in hospital I managed (within four days!) to succumb to a Urinary Tract Infection that meant for a few strange hours I went from hospital visitor to hospital patient. I also put off my B12 injection (mentioned in Getting The Needle) which was overdue in the first place. I am obviously not to be trusted with my own wellbeing.

via GIPHY

Ft For Purpose

All of this has resulted in both myself and Tina taking time to really think about our health in general. We looked at getting a general health check booked in when we turned a certain age and I think that might well be back on the cards. Apart from that? Well we could both do with eating a little better, cutting out at least some of the takeaways perhaps, and maybe actually using the Nutribullet from time to time. Tina is keen on Juice Plus but I tend to be just a little skeptical of some of its claims and ultimately its suuitability for investment..

The other thing I think we need to put in place is some kind of exercise regime. This does of course need to be wheelchair friendly (at least for myself.) and, importantly, something we can incorporate into our lives in a way that it becomes embedded. I know we have both flirted with exercise in the past, winked encouragingly at long walks, made the odd suggestive comment to gym memberships, but this needs to be something that sticks. History shows that we both have a tendency to commit ourselves in the short term but that once we get out of the habit then it’s game, set, match, laziness.

Of course this is all once Tina makes a few more strides down that road to recovery, but I think that at that point it will definitely be time for a change to the old routine.

Time for a plank before tea perhaps?

Until next time…