D-Day !

Donny Day !

Marie did the early shift today and arrived at 12pm to find a fully showered kp. She had had her first shower which she really enjoyed. That might take the place from the bath from now on as it is easier for kp. We will see. The nurses had done her hair lovely.

I didn’t arrive until 4pm. She was just waking up from a snooze, and was very quiet for a while and I thought she may be going on a downer. But it was only temporary.

Marie, kp and I went outside for a bit of fresh air. Marie took control, which I really appreciated. It’s nice to just sit and talk with kp without being responsible for every move required. And then something happened which took my breath away. Marie helped kp sit up on the bed and dangled her legs over the end of the bed, positioning the wheelchair so it was next to the bed. With NO assistance, kp got up and turned and sat in the chair ALL by herself. I am so used to the routine we have for doing that, to see her do this for herself without my help was amazing.

After the fresh air, it was time to go back inside to get beautified for Donny. kp’s hair had got a bit ruffled during the snooze so the same nurse came back in (ex-hairdresser) to give kp a tong and curl. Once dressed, I took a picture of her holding a pair of Netty Knickers that one of the physios had given her to chuck at Donny.

We were all set. Marie set off home, we set off through Newcastle (hellish traffic) to arrive at 1 minute before start time. We were greeted by Tony Sagar (kp’s ex work colleague) who was very pleased to see kp and vice-versa. He kindly ushered us to our seats. It’s thanks to him, that kp was able to go at all. Thanks Tony !!

The show was very good. Donny has a very good voice, and the most important thing is kp enjoyed it.

To see a video of kp with loads of smiles and some Donny, CLICK HERE

He did “Puppy Love” and some other songs I knew in the first half and it was great. As soon as he finished the first half, a chap came up to the barrier right in front of us and said :-

Chap:- David, Can I get you some drinks ?

I was looking good tonight, but I wasn’t too pleased I was appealing to someone from the same sex.

Chap:- Tony Sagar said they are on him. He insisted !

Well, that was lovely. One, it saved me opening my wallet, which I always appreciate, but more importantly it was a lovely thought and we were very grateful. It also meant we didn’t have to try and push the wheelchair through the hordes to get a drink.

The second half had another song I knew “Crazy Horses”, and loads kp knew, but it got all a bit too loud for me and I had to resort to putting some motorbike ear plugs in. I quite enjoyed it muffled.

kp loved every minute of it, but a major bout of Numb Bum Syndrome (NBS) crept in just before the end of the first half. So during the break she stood up for about 2-3 minutes, which was great. I slapped her bum a lot, people probably thought it a bit strange, but it helps, so I do it.

NBS crept back after the break and she started contorting into a variety of sitting/prone positions to ease the discomfort. She stayed the whole show out and was pleased she had.

At the interval, kp said she found some of the songs quite emotional. I thought she had looked a bit tearful at times. When Donny sang “Perfect Moment”, I was close myself !

I’ll leave this blog entry on an absolute corker kp came up with at half time.

kp:- Eeeeeeee, It’s times like these where I am really glad I have a catheter fitted. The queues to the ladies are huge at the interval.