A stormy last couple of weeks, hence no blog since the holiday.
Probably the most upsetting 2 weeks since the accident for both kp and I. I don’t want to go into too much detail in the blog, but the upset revolves around work / home commitments for me and the impact on Karen. Both of us have felt really low, and one of the agreements we have come to is that I will seek counselling for the depth of my mood. The neuropsychologist is referring me on to an appropriate resource.

Anyway……let’s get positive. kp has been doing really well physically for the last week or so. The Spanish holiday did her the world of good. The warmer climes really do help her feel more agile. She started Hydrotherapy again at University Hospital Durham on Monday of this week. Adele accompanied her to help her with her swimming costume. She was fine after Monday’s physio, but Thursday’s hydro took its toll and she has been “rough as” since . Apparently the exercise that caused her the most gip was when (in the pool) she had to lift her right knee up and move it outwards, effectively straining the hip joint. Since the hydro, kp has locked up twice !!! It’s quite alarming to see ! She will be walking from one chair to the other and then suddenly will just stop midtrack in a strange position and do loads of “ow”s. After 10 seconds or so, it releases again.

This week has seen kp and I feel better in ourselves. kp unbeknownst to me had planned for a weekend of relationship building. Unfortunately we had a customer at the company I work for, that had a major problem with their one and only server, and this meant that I had to go in on Saturday. I asked her if it was ok if I go in. I got a “Do what you have to do” reply. So I did.

Later, I learned that this had gone down like a lead balloon. Another stormy night ensued !

But, today we had a good day and I think we are back on the right track. I just have to be very careful with the work/home balance. It’s swaying too much towards work at the moment.

Today, we went shopping at Sainsburys (15 mins away). We did a cracking shop – both enjoyed it. Got to the till to find out we had forgot payment methods. My mind is all over the shop at the moment. So I dropped kp back at home and went back for the shopping.

As a result of the last 2 weeks or so, kp is making an increased effort to be independant. She even wanted to have a go in the car. Only up the drive I hasten to add. Should be fine I thought. With me ready to whap the handbrake on full if anything went awry.

The problems she encountered in order were as follows :-

1. Getting into the driver’s seat
2. Getting the seat forward
3. Getting it into gear (with her left hand) (we ended up in 5th, then 3rd). I put it into 1st.
4. Getting the handbrake off (non-starter) – she had to use her right hand

After that, things seemed to go ok, as we crept up the drive clipping the conifers with the wing mirror. Great !
Then, Karen had a great idea. The garage is open – “why don’t I park next to David’s motorbike”. My heart was in my mouth. I have just had the motorbike resprayed white (for maximum visibility) and was extra protective of its paintwork. As she headed gleefully to clip the bike with the car wing mirror, I screamed.

dp:- “STOP !!!! The bike !”

Nothing wrong with karen’s emergency stop, thank the Lord ! With that over we headed inside to get warm. Starting to get a bit cold in Durham. We had a good chat with Keith and Tommy. Keith resprayed the bike and had come over to put some extra fluorescent stripes on. Thanks Keith ! Keith is emigrating to Oz next year and he spent 30 minutes talking to Karen and I about it. I think kp would go over their to emigrate for the warmer climes if it weren’t for the redback and huntsman spiders stories !!

That’s it for this blog.