Amazing difference in a day.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

Hopefully this time I will be able to dictate without any problems with the Dragon voice recognition software now that I've done a restart of my laptop.

It is Thursday today, when I was still working it was my favourite day because it was followed by Friday which meant glorious weekend free from work.

even though I am not working Thursday is still a favourite day of mine, and I still like the prospect of the weekend approaching, anticipation of a pleasant event is good fun.

Yesterday when I was put back into bed, Richie placed one of the torso supports on my leg just under the knee to lift the area of the pressure sore off of the mattress.

That evening when I was in the bathroom, sitting in the shower chair Richie had a look under the dressing to check whether anything had changed.

He was very pleased and reported that the area was much drier than it had been previously; amazingly the new procedure was having an effect already.

When I went back to bed Richie placed the support back under my knee where it stayed for the rest of the evening and during the night.

When Richie took me to the bathroom to put me under the shower, he removed the dressing and noticed that it was much drier.

How amazing that taking the pressure off the area has made such a difference in such a short time, it makes me feel optimistic.

More to look forward to.

 

Roberto Matta.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta

We had an early start today due to the fact that a supplier, Beenhakker was going to deliver the new cushion for the shower chair.

At 09.30 the doorbell rang and it was the engineer from Beenhakker with the new cushion, which he expertly attached to the back of the shower chair.

By the sound of his voice he sounded very friendly; Richie and he were very animatedly talking about the dogs that were playing around them.

Not too long after he left the phone rang and it was our friend John from Glasgow, telling me that he would be here on the 8th of December for a week.

He told me that if was anything we would like Scotland then I should send him an e-mail and he would see if they can get things we ask for.

We are both looking forward tremendously to seeing John in December, it will be special to see him again; we are both excited about the prospect.

Tonight Richie is going to start preparing the fruit for our Christmas cake as well as Christmas pudding, so more exciting things to look forward to.

I know I will have to wait a bit longer yet, but I do like the whole Christmas season my favourite days are 19, 20, and 21 of December.

Tonight I have another edition of Later with Jools Holland on BBC2 to look forward to, it is being quite day to day and it's not over yet.

Sunday, 10th November, 2012 The Reality Of My Life.

 

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

It is good to have many distractions as I do, however it does not mean that I have forgotten my severe handicap.

I just do not want to concentrate purely on writing about my multiple sclerosis and how it is progressing.

As I've always been somebody who is interested in the world around me my blog reflects this aspect of my personality.

Sometimes I wish that I could forget the fact that I've become severely disabled since my diagnosis of MS in 2006, if only I could forget.

I wish I could totally forget it but I can't because it's ever present and it is becoming more and more obvious that my spine is getting badly malformed.

Even if I could walk I would not be able to stand up straight, instead I would be very crooked and I wouldn't be able to make eye contact with other people.

The de formation of my spine is making me feel a lot of pain and discomfort; I was naive enough to think that I would not have to endure anything apart from the MS.

How wrong I was, my spine is making me bend to the left, when I am in bed I don't notice it but as soon as I'm either in the shower chair or wheelchair I notice it.

Last night it was making me quite miserable thinking about my deformed spine, I hate having not only to cope with this shitty multiple sclerosis but also with my spinal de formation.

There are moments like yesterday when it all become just too much for me, last night watching the football on Match of the Day on BBC one took my mind off my situation.

I am not going to simply let myself be distracted without remaining totally aware of my current situation, but I'm not going to let my handicap rule my life.

I am more than this nasty progressive disease and my deformed spine, I am a brave resolute woman who is determined to make the best of everything and enjoy the moments.

Remembering Stories.

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

The day started early this morning as I had to be ready for 10.30

Because of an appointment concerning my shower chair.

The cushion that was made especially in 2010 to give me a better sitting position needed to be adapted because I need more support.

The appointment is with Annelies, my mobility advisor from the council, as well as two people from Beenhakker and a physiotherapy who is doing work experience in the rehabilitation clinic.

Richie had me showered, dressed and perfumed with Versace´s Woman, wearing earrings, necklace as well as to my favourite rings.

One is a purple Amethyst, the other is a blue Topaz, and both were presents from my Darling Richie, the Amethyst I got Christmas 2004.

The blue Topaz was given me by Richie when I lost two silver rings down the toilet, at work, they must have fallen in when I pulled my trousers up again.

When I rang home to tell Richie about it I was very upset as both rings had been given to me by close friends and where irreplaceable.

That evening as soon as I got in Richie had a present for me; I could hardly believe it when I opened the jewellery box and saw a beautiful blue Topaz ring.

It is a gorgeous ring and more than made up for the two lost silver rings, the next day showed my new ring to Hennie, the receptionist where I worked.

All day many colleagues came to the service desk and all they wanted was to see the ring, they had all been told by Hennie the receptionist.

A few months later it was my birthday and Richie got me a blue Topaz pendant as well as gorgeous blue Topaz earrings to match.

All my female colleagues thought that Richie was a wonderful man; some of my male colleagues were worried that their partners would hear about this.

Their concern was that their partners would expect the same sort of presents from them, they joked that Richie was letting their side down by showering with presents.

Every time I wear these rings I remember the stories which bring a smile to my face, just like it did again today, after the successful appointment I was smiling even more.

Enjoy Every Moment.

.

Roberto Matta.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Matta 

The weather today is nice, blue skies, sunshine all day which is lovely for me to see, I like looking out of the window on days like this one.

It's been a very relaxing day, we are both taking it as easy as we can, having said that Richie still had plenty to do.

Showering me is not as easy as it used to be, as my hands are not functioning well.

Up to recently I could hold on to the armrest on the shower chair to give me support, I can't do that anymore, this makes me feel like I'm not sitting securely.

Which is not true, as I am sitting securely but it doesn't feel like that to me, to me it feels like I'm wobbling about and I could fall out of the shower chair.

Richie has to constantly adjust my sitting position, which must make showering me like wrestling for him as well as for me too.

This afternoon was another difficult session in the shower; up to recently I was able to cooperate with Richie dressing me.

Now all that my hands not functioning well and I can' lift my arms and place them around Richie's neck, in order for my bra top and top to be put on me.

I can just about get my left arm up around Richie’s neck but I can't move my right arm anymore.

So now Richie has to get my arm up that I can try to hold on while he pulls me forward, this afternoon is was very difficult, it was a relief when it was over.

As soon as it is over I can forget about it until the next time, I'm not even going to bother worrying myself with questions how we will cope when my disability gets worse.

I've learned not trying to second-guess the future, it is a pointless exercise and a total waste of my time which I prefer to use to enjoy every moment I have.

A Pleasant Shower.

The Declaration.
Edgar Ende.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Ende

Today has been another good day; Beenhakker brought the shower chair back at 09.00 instead of 11.00 as had been arranged last week.

 Which was great, what was even better was that the adaptations are very good and extremely useful.

They have covered the cushion in material that is better and easier to use, plus they have put clips on the shower chair to hold the cushion in place.

We tried out the shower chair and the adaptations have made using the chair 100 times better and easier than before.

Less work for Richie and no longer uncomfortable for me, because the cushion is now fastened with four clips instead of tied in just two places.

Because it is now held in place with 4 clips, it does not slip around and I am well supported at last.

Before the adaptation, showers were not a comfortable event because the cushion would slide around and I would end up leaning to the left.

 Richie had to adjust my position constantly as the cushion would never stay in the right place.

He would have to dry and dress me while holding me and trying to pull me back from the left, which was a lot of extra work for Richie.

Today I stayed in one place and had a pleasant shower; Richie had less work to do, all in all a good bit of work by Beenhakker.