Tired Tonight.

Hi everyone, I've just finished a training session at my voluntary job and i'm really tired been there all day from 9.30am to 4.00pm this afternoon. So I'll update another day and tell you all whats been happening.

Take care and chat soon.

Physio's, Consultant's And Injections.

 Morning.

It was a really busy day for me yesterday  (Wednesday). At 10.00am I saw the physio at the doctors surgery, after having a mix up at the reception desk, they thought I was seeing a doctor instead of the physio. Somebody had got the appointment mixed up, they eventually realised what had happened and I was apologised to.

 So I took my seat and after five minutes was called in to the physio's room.
 He asked me all questions relating to my right knee and not my left, so I explained that I was here to see him about my left knee, which was also starting to hurt.
 One question he asked me made me laugh "why did I want to come and see him, and what do I think he could do to help me"?  I must admit I was honest and said to him, "not much I haven't got much faith in physio's I've had three and none could help me".
 He then asked me if he could look at both my knees, so I said yes and that's when he told me after the examination, that he  couldn't do anything and it was best to see what the consultant said in the afternoon, whether he wanted to see me again but the way I was at the moment anything he would try  make things worse.  He also said that he didn't think the consultant would agree to an operation as I was too young for any intervention but then again maybe because I was in so much pain he might agree to surgery for me.

 So I dutifully left the room angry, I called dad so he could pick me up and had a rant in the car, I was also in pain due to the manipulation that the physio did , so when I got in I made myself a cup of tea, had some painkillers and went to our lounge to have a chill out before seeing the consultant later that day.

Afternoon.

Lucy finished work at 11.00  that morning so she could take me to Yeovil Hospital for 3.30pm that afternoon, after a run and a bath she then, had to cheer me up because of my conversation with the physio earlier that morning. So off we go the weather was appalling and it seemed as if 100 buckets of water was just hitting the car all through the the journey. All I kept saying in the car when we were going to the hospital was "thank you Lucy, I really do appreciate what you do for me", I also felt like crying as the chat with the physio was still going through my mind.

When we finally reached the hospital we then had to wait for a parking space for about 10 minutes, the barriers would only let someone in if there was a parking space, so at least that was something, we just had to keep an eye out for the space that we knew was there.
It was still raining hard and both of us got soaked as we made our way to the enterance, we found a coffee shop and had something to drink and dry off a bit.

We got to the orthopaedic outpatients  dept and waited to be called in to the room. Both of us have brought books but we only had to wait about half hour until we were called in.

The consultant calls me in and then the fun begins (not).
The Doctor is on the defensive as soon as we walk in and if Lucy wasn't with me I think I might have had a worse time than I did his posture and tone weren't nice, he'd obviously been tipped off that I was trouble and he wasn't taking any arguments that I was going to give him, that was how it seemed to Lucy and I.
 He checked my mri scans and my right knee then he came and sat next to me and I think then he realised that I wasn't kidding and I was in pain, he softened his tone a bit and told me he wasn't willing to do an operation yet and it was only the last thing that he would try. He thought maybe just to try and see if it worked, I could have a cortisone injection into the knee and I could either come back for another appointment, or he could do it there and then, I'm not that stupid to suggest I come back to Yeovil as it is a drive and the parking is not good, so I said I wanted it then.

He gave me the injection and I was really surprised it didn't hurt at all!. Now because I used to be a care assistant I have had to watch my residents have these injections at hospitals or GP's and the howls they gave when they had them, I was ready for some pain so was I  quite surprised when I didn't get any.
After the injection the doctor said he would write to my GP about what he has said to me and if the injection didn't work then we could talk again about an operation.
The doctor then left and we had a chat to the nurse that was in the room. We were asked to stay in the waiting room for 20 minutes But because of the time and the traffic building up we left after 10 minutes and I was fine, we then went food  shopping when we got back to Taunton as it was early enough to do it.

So its now another waiting game to see if this treatment works!   Hopefully if it does then I can start to walk longer distances with my crutches instead of using the wheelchair, which will be great. If not then our GP will be really busy writing to the consultant again.

This morning (Thursday) my right knee feels as if I've been kicked by a horse but I did get told it would be ache a bit, so I'm taking it easy and praying that the knee will settle down and get better.
Next week not much is happening, no appointments are made for me to go anywhere this is because Lucy and dad have got M.O.T's, so I can just relax and get on with my IT course.

Asking a question (one of many bloopers).

Looking innocent again!

Take care everyone and I'll chat soon.

Quick Update.

I had a phonecall at lunchtime from a voluntary service I have applied for, they must've like the sound of me because they have asked me to come in to have two training days. They have said they have ordered a taxi for me for the two days and I dont have to pay for it, also as the training days are all day from 10.00 am to 4.30 pm I will have a free lunch as well for both days. Well you know me and food so I couldn't really turn them down could I !  I t just sounds too good to be true and if I manage to get a job, the voluntary work won't interfere with it as it would be at night or evening and I can choose when I want to do it. They also said that again any travel I have to do would be paid for WOW.

Quick Update On What Happened On Monday Afternoon!

There's not much to say about Monday afternoon. When I went to the Employment officer this time. I told her that I had begun the IT course that she had suggested to me and I'd also sent off some application forms for two voluntary jobs that was suggested to me by the careers officer I saw last week.

She was really pleased and surprised I'd done things so fast but she didn't want me to do anything else and just continue with the computer course and she would catch up with me in a months time.

The computer course is great I've learnt such a lot today and hopefully will send my first assesment off to my online tutor on friday, the funny thing is that they have given me until the 14 august to send the assesment off so I think I'm going to have to slow down a bit don't you!

I'm going to see the consultant about my right knee tomorrow (wednesday), so I will hopefully have a lot more to tell you on thursday.

Here's me enjoying a hot chocolate in M&S.

Good News !

College And Voluntary Work.

This week I've been busy sorting my life out. On Tuesday last week I got an email off my Employment officer saying that she had found a college IT course for me and it was free. I also didnt have to leave the house to do it, it was all done on computer and did I want the details so I could have a look at it and decide whether it would suit my needs..

The details for the course and enrolment form for Taunton College arrived on Thursday and after looking at it I sent it off and got a phone call on Monday to check I was OK to start the course, the woman on the phone said that I was accepted and congratulations I was now on a IT course and would start on Monday 16 th next week.  So I am now a mature student hhhmmmmm I'd prefer just student lol. When I pass I get a certificate which then enables me to go in for a higher IT course But I have to do this one first.

I have also on the encouragement of my careers officer have applied for some voluntary jobs both application forms have been given in and now its just a waiting game.

Due to popular demand here is the dreaded photo of me asleep in the car when we went to Bristol for Lucy's change of name party! I slept most of the way there, don't worry Lucy I will get my own back.

 Here is a photo of me actually awake looking innocent .

Next week is busy for me On Monday I have the Employment officer I can't wait to tell her about things. I'm also going to give support to Lucy when she goes to our doctor to ask why Lucy hasn't heard anything about her referal to the gender clinic so hopefully things might get started for her soon.

Wednesday is a packed day.  In the morning I have the physio and then in the afternoon I go to Yeovil hospital to see the consultant about my right knee. This I am not looking forward to because I might have to fight for an operation which I need But lucy is going to be there to help me out. I will let you know what happens about the visit.

Here are some photo's of our trip out to Bath with some Mad and Terrific girls.

Oh well thats me done for now, I will update you all on what happens next week, enjoy the weekend and chat to you soon....

A Non-Stop Long Weekend.

Wednesday Night.

Wednesday night was FANTASTIC Lucy, her dad, our friend Susan and I started off at the home of  the friend who was going to witness Lucy's deed poll. I can't remember the journey up because I slept most of the way to Bristol. Lucy took a photo of me sleeping aaahhhhhhh but it has to be transferred from her camera to my laptop so I cant put it on my blog until that gets done.

Everyone had some champagne (I don't drink). Then we all made our way to a Mediterranean restaurant, this restaurant was lovely and the food was Delicious and we had a great time. The staff were quite busy as there were loads of people including some noisy elderly people who were really enjoying themselves. The night ended by saying thank you and goodbye to our friends.

Thursday.

Thursday was sort of a shopping day in Taunton, with our friend Susan, I have noticed one thing recently there a lot of shops with people milling around but nobody buying anything the till were not ringing much at all. Lucy went into the bank to change her name with her deed poll while Lucy was seeing someone about the name change Susan and I sat waiting and getting over Wednesday night we both nearly fell asleep I then got the giggles because I could imagine Lucy having to wake us up.  We had a wander round but most of it was really relaxed day which was nice because of the hectic time on Wednesday night.

Friday.

Friday was a trip to Bath and to meet another friend called Vicky, we went into M&S to wait for her and then went exploring.  I didn't really enjoy it I'm sorry to say and I'm sorry to moan about it. The weather wasn't very nice it was raining and it wasn't very wheelchair friendly due to really bad pavements, I felt sorry for poor Lucy because she had to push me and get me up and down over kerbs.
As for me I felt like I'd been in a rodeo competition I'd been bumped up and down so much and one point I felt sea sick. Everything was done so fast and at some point we didn't know where we were going.  We went into a french cafe for lunch and the waitress seemed to be in a mood and wasn't very nice.
We couldn't really see much and most of the time was taken up with me shouting at tourists to get out of the way of the wheelchair. Oh well maybe another trip when I'm not in the wheelchair would be in order to see Bath properly and in better weather.

Saturday.

Saturday was a trip to Weston-Super Mare, I love Weston it is definitely wheelchair friendly and Lucy had no problems here. We did a bit of shopping and then at my request :) we went into a Edwardian tea rooms that is on the pier. I once saw a tea for two served to some people and it looked lovely on a two tier plate were sandwiches, cakes and pastries so as we were sort of on holiday I persuaded (they didn't need much) Lucy and Susan that it was in there best interest that we should order that, so instead of tea for two we had tea for three ;). It was as I expected and for once I was full up, especially after eating a massive piece of chocolate cake.

When we got back I found out that I had two application forms to fill in one for a college IT course that I can do at home and its free, the other one for a volunteering position, both got filled in and now I'm just waiting to see what happens.

 Here are some photo's from last year at Bournemouth, hopefully I'll have some recent ones on my next  blog. Take care and chat soon. xxxxx

Monday And Tuesday

Monday.

I saw the careers officer today and it opened my eyes a bit on how things have changed in trying to get back to work. She explained that I could see her three times this year for forty five minutes and it was my opportunity to tell her what I wanted and what help I needed to get back to work.

She advised me that due to me needing surgery on my knee and seeing a consultant that I shouldn't really look for work at this moment as I wasn't sure what was going to happen, so the best thing I could do was prepare what I wanted to do eg, I could sort out what training I needed, being on benefit I can enrol on any course in a college for free, go on a government training scheme which would give me the qualifications I needed for the work I was thinking about doing. Work experience, which she said I could do as a volunteer would suit me at the moment, the officer advised me that as long as the voluntary work was what I could do, for example working in a charity shop was out as this meant I had to stand up sometimes and so I could be classified I could this work as paid and the way my knee is I wouldn't be able to cope with it as a paid job.

Then when I showed her my C.V. she said that I needed to redo it and the main problem was that I had no personal statement. this had to be three sentences long saying why I should be in a certain job that I was going for. She said though that there was no hurry and don't panic as I couldn't go for any jobs yet and she would see me before I went for anything that needed my C.V. I did say I was very surprised at this as my partners C.V was in the same format and it got her some interviews and a job But she was adament that that was how it was supposed to be, so I gave in and said I would change it.

 So armed with websites dealing with voluntary work, training and how to create my C.V, I went away happy knowing that at least I was starting to get somewhere. I have written to Age UK and M.I.N.D (MIND is a voluntary organision giving support and advice with mental issues) asking for information on how I can volunteer for things.

Tuesday.

Today saw me go to the diabetic nurse I know it sounds silly but I was looking forward to seeing her, she was the one that got me an appointment with the consultant earlier than expected. So when I walked into her room I gave her a big thankyou and she hugged me, aaaahhhh. She said that I had to tell the consultant that my knee had gone bad and had swollen up quite badly, she asked if I was walking on it a lot and I replied a little but I had to, to get around.
 I have been checking my blood sugar four times a day for three weeks like she asked me and after checking the chart she said that it was what she expected and would I like to come off the metformin. I had to do this slowly at first so for a week I have to take one tablet three times a day instead of two three times a day, then not take any for the next week. Again I have to take my blood sugar four times a day   I have had my insulin increased also so we shall have to see how I go.

This is the day that Lucy has her meetings at work and all my thoughts go to her and I can't wait until she gets back to tell me how it went.
Tomorrow is Lucy's big day and I will update as appropriate......

A Busy Week Ahead.

A Busy Week.

This Week is going to be really busy and a bit strange for me.  Today (sunday) is going to be a chill day not much going on at all really, I'm just enjoying the lull before the storm, so they say.

Monday. 

Tomorrow I go and see the careers officer for a skills check, this is to see what kind of job would be suitable for me and perhaps to get me into some voluntary work that I could do to get me out of the house and meet people again. The employment officer mentioned maybe advocacy or Citizans Advice Bureau as this would use my skills, give me some experience which in turn would  help me get a job easier.

Tuesday.

This is when I go and see my diabetic nurse, she is going to get a big thanks for me and maybe a hug. It's thanks to her that I have got an appointment with the orthopedic consultant in two weeks and at least I know that someone cares in the medical proffession.
I have had to take my blood sugar four times a day for three weeks because she thinks it might be time for me to come off a tablet called metformin   I have been on it a long time and because of this she wants to see a comparison of blood sugars when I'm on it and when she takes me off it. So we shall have to see what happens. metformin i have been told can cause all sorts of side effects But I only occassionly get one and that is hiccoughs so I guess i have been lucky there.
 Lucy is also going to come out to her workmates on tuesday afternoon so will be waiting eagerly for her to come home to hear how things went.

Wednesday.

This is quite busy I have an appointment with a chiropodist (being diabetic I'm entitled to this service).  Then in the evening it's going to be " Lucy's Birthday" she is going to have her deed poll witnessed by a good friend and then we are going out for a meal there might be eight people at the meal so that will be fun and I'm really looking forward to it.

Thursday.

Lucy and I are going into town so that lucy can get her ears pierced, go into the bank to give them her deed poll so she can change her name on her bank account. We might have a small breakfast as well you never know. Lucy and her friend are then going out on a girly shopping trip.

Friday.

We are going to Bath to have a day out and meet  another friend, I have only been to bath once and can't remember much about it. Lets hope it's wheelchair friendly.


So as you can see its going to be really interesting week with some unknowns and of course I will be telling all on my blog which proberly will be updated every day next week lol.

The First photo is when we went to plymouth, The second is on Exmoor.