Not good, no, not good at all!

Ive been ill. OK well, not ill, but severely incapacitated, and I'm not even sure why. Wednesday evening I was bending forward at a very slight angle in the process of changing Ike. When this terrible pain ripped across by lower back. I say rip because that's what it felt like, as it if all my muscles were being ripped away, or if someone had just slashed me with a Stanley knife, such was the acuteness. It curled round my left hip and left me breathless for a few seconds. But I was on my own, hubby was in Carlisle, so in my usual way I ignored it, finished what I was doing and told myself it would go away. Indeed the pain did seem to diminish so my guess I was right, it was one of those things.

Hours later and I was sat on the sofa watching The Apprentice. Hubby was back making himself something to eat. I started wriggling about trying to get comfy and then started to realise it was hurting me to sit upright, in fact it was hurting me a damn lot all of a sudden. by now I was shouting out loud with the pain. I just couldn't sit up, mind you lying down wasn't much better. So I went to bed with a hot drink, convinced this was going to improve things, I need a rest.

By 1.30 I could take no more. Id tried lying on my back, on my side. I couldn't even bear to lie on my right side at all. Id had pillows to support my legs. Still no good, honestly the pain was relentless. So I woke my husband and wondered if we should go to A & E, maybe this was serious. Maybe Id done something really stupid like dislocate my hip, but maybe I hadn't, it was probably nothing. I eventually dozed but had a dreadful night, waking every hour or so.

The following morning I was little better but by then had decided to wait a few days to see how it goes. Medically speaking that's my motto in life.

So since then Ive been taking it very easy indeed. Lots of sitting around watching TV, lifting nothing heavy, and lying down when possible. Very slowly I'm feeling better physically but I'm taking nothing for granted and will continue to be waited on hand, foot and finger.

iglide, youglide, weglide

Assistive technology. That's the term used for things such as E-motion wheels, a small motor helps you when you need it. So with my large cheque from those lovely people at Eden District Council, I had to decide what to get, well that was the question, what to get with the money. Having pondered the E motions a couple of things put me off. Firstly there is only one supplier in this country, they charge top notch and give very poor customer service, that put me off a bit. I also heard the battery wasn't too reliable. Then I read about a geared wheels system which looked, well interesting, but I wasn't sure how it worked and there was no distributor in the UK, so again that wasn't ideal. Hmmm what to do?

With every review I read I came across the iglide. How everyone who had ever used one raved about it. The best thing ever, fantastic, amazing, and so on. The only snag being despite its great reception , it was discontinued just over a year ago mainly because it was priced too high. Anyway Id never even seen one second hand because everyone who has one seems to keep it forever. It was a quandary that's for sure.

So my favourite port of call is that site Ebay. Oh yes I'm always having a look for wheelchair related bargains because its all so expensive and I tend to buy certain makes for bits. Its better than being ripped off by suppliers and we all know who they are. So I was browsing and seeing whats there when suddenly I spot an iglide for sale, and boy does it have my name on it. Ive never seen one before or since, they are as rare as 4 leaf clovers second hand. ' Been in the garage, needs a new battery...' Well I thought worth a go, nothing to lose and if it doesn't work then I can use the bits or something. Whats to lose? So indeed for £50 nothing was lost at all.

When it arrived I was bowled over. This is one solid chair, built for people of titanic proportions I suppose, certainly designed with Americans in mind. Makes my RGK look like a toy next to it. Its certainly top workmanship as far as the chair is concerned. The metalwork was almost immaculate, barely a scratch, and everything very adjustable. New battery though. Rang up and ordered.....2 days later a DHL courier knocked on the door with this HUGE BOX. I mean ENORMOUS!!!! Who ordered this? my husband and I wondered? So we opened it and found inside..... another box. In fact it was a Russian doll of boxes, finally we found the battery which had been couriered in 2 days flat from the US, free of charge. Impressed? You bet. Does it work then? Oh yes its incredible, really it lives up to its reviews. Ill be giving my own shortly!!

OUCH, OUCH, OUCH!!!!

Yes I am, Yes I am, Yes I am!!!

The good people at the BBC contacted me and said 'We'd like you to do some of that blog stuff you do.' Well sounded fine to me until they said, 'actually we want a video blog...' Fine no probs sounds great I enthused and they sent me a webcam. So far Ive done the grand total of 1, and its very waffly to say the least. Actually I admit it was a practice run, so of course they've posted it on their website much to my cringing-ness! The problem with webcams is the frame per second speed means that you either talk more quickly than your mouth moves or it looks as if you have your eyes shut. So Ive been trying to talk, S.. L.. O.. W.. L.. Y.. and at the same time dont blink either. Its very weird I have to say, more in appearance than speech and Im looking to buy a better Cam so I dont have this juddering quaility which, lets be truthful Im disabled enough as it is thanks very much, Id at least like the camera to do a decent job! If you want a laugh you can find me lurking on OUCH. But with any luck I will get better I promise!!!

The Generosity of Others

Its easy to think no on cares, because in the day to day hustle of life most people are too busy to give you a second thought. When they ask how you are and you say fine, no one wants to take it any further because that's enough, we are all too busy arent we? Every so often I read of fabulous fund raisers that raise thousands for someone who needs certain equipment. Their friends or community have rallied round and done something for that person, or they are young, attractive, and promisingly gifted and so on. Call me a cynic but that seems to be the way of the world and for those of us who have I suppose sat on the periphery somewhat, never had zillions of mates or been at the heart of a 'community', then the disabled life is tough. Its tough because its so bloody expensive. The NHS supplies you with what you need, not what you want. Mostly you get the bit of equipment that is adequate, that sort of does the job in a round about way, but once you've researched it you find that there is something bigger and better that really is just what you need, but it costs 10x the thing the NHS have given you. Financially I'm not a bottomless pit and I find myself on a day to day basis thinking, if only I had ....... because I know in my heart that life would be easier with it, but then at the same time knowing that my sons need new shoes, clothes and so on.

And so it was with the E motion wheels. You may recall Ive been after a pair for sometime. With a 1 yr old and another on the way, the going does get tough at times but at a huge cost. It was a bit of a fantasy purchase. I was chatting to an old work friend about it and thought no more when several days later she sent me an e mail. 'We are having a fund rising for you at work it said. Well how incredible was that? I mean no one has ever even offered to do something like that, and to be honest Id never dream of asking anyone for money. So I was pleased, touched and embarrassed all at the same time. I never thought anyone would ever do anything like that for me after all I'm no one special.

2 weeks later a nice cheque arrived courtesy of Eden District Council. Im still overwhelmed that so many people gave to my cause, it never felt much like a cause, it was just about being me really I suppose. Its reassuring to know there are lots of good people about, and they are people I know.

Anyway after all that I was able to buy...........................................?!

It was typical that on monday I wrote about our internet and phone breakdown. 2 hours later... silence. Nothing, zilch. no phone, no internet, no communication. So I spent ages on the phone to someone from BT in India who assured me it was the microfilters, and of course it wasnt. So the BT engineer returned, a different one this time who told us the previous bloke had made the 'wrong' repair. Its taken him all week to fix it in the mud and rain. But fingers crossed Im back on line, yes really and truly if youve missed me, miss no more for the blogger returns!

break down

Its been a while since I last posted...this is because things always tend to blow up, fall apart or break down in groups, and its been one of those times when we have had our fair share.

So on Easter Sunday our boiler broke down. You can guarantee that these things always happen over a bank holiday and with snow falling its was just above freezing. Our house was an ice box, without exaggeration our fridge felt warmer, so we huddled in the living room around the coal fire with me shouting 'shut the door!!' every few minutes. Consequently I tried very hard not to go any further than the living room or bedroom with lots of hot water bottles. The computer was no-go because the room was Arctic! It took the best part of a week for it to be mended, and for me to feel like a human being again.

Then last Monday, our phone and Internet went down. A man came on Wednesday and fixed it, for 2 hours and then off it went again. 'Hmmm' said BT 'sounds like your microfilters'. I wasn't so sure, and so it was a man with a spade and woolly jumpers and a balaclava came and walked round our house digging holes. 'Rabbits' he grumbled. We nodded wisely for we knew this to be the case as it happens every few months, but of course, what do we know? So its taken him 2 days to replace the cables and get us up and running again.

So there we have it, now whats going to break down next?