So this business of learning to walk again. I thought it would be a matter of time, things would come flooding back and there I'd be skipping the light fandango up West Street for a refreshing little VLT.
But no, apparently, that would be far, far too easy.
Once your spinal cord has been as pressured/swollen/etc. as mine, the signals along the cord i.e. your Central Nervous System can get all mixed up. Which makes walking again difficult, if not downright impossible.
Now that scares the living crap out of me. Never to be able to just pop out to the shop, wander into the kitchen for a cup of tea (oh OK, glass of wine). Never to be able to walk my dogs again. Never to do any of the myriad things I'd taken for granted for oh so long. Potentially devastating news.
Thankfully, into the breach step my new hospital physio friends. Who are brilliant at what they do and are much, much fun.. Well as much fun as you can have shuffling along the floor moving peoples feet between parallel bars. Two days after major spinal surgery (yep, they don't hang about on the NHS these days), they had me sitting in a wheelchair and hoisting myself up between the bars. Jesus that was hard work. I then had to remember about 20 something different instructions just to get ready to lean forward to take a step - not take a step mind - just to lean forward enough (without going tit over arse) to take one.
The fact that Helen sometimes confused her right/left made it even more brilliant - we ended up doing the chimpanzee piano movers - to me, to me, to you, to you....
Thanks ladies, I have every faith you'll have skipping that light fandango again - maybe not as fast as I'd like. A year or more is realistic though we hope.....
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