Did you know Monday

Hello everyone, here I am on this lovely, not too cold Monday morning had a somewhat late start, when my alarm went off at 4.30am I just didn't feel like getting up so it was 6am by the time I got up still managed to do 53 minutes of exercise. I packed it in when Leo got here as I had to pack his lunch and running him a shower now I am starting this before I have to leave to take him to school.

Friday saw me using a wheelchair while I went shopping and Jessica pushing me around and it was a big help I was in hardly any pain by the time I was finished and it only took 2hrs to get everything done instead of 4hrs it has taken me the previous weeks. So I will be doing that for the next couple of weeks and hopefully the ankle will really start to heal with no set backs.

Saturday saw me unwell and spending most of the day in bed sleeping, just had an upset tummy no vomiting or anything just felt upset in the tummy and not feeling great, yesterday though I was ok and today I am ok as well.

So since this is Monday that means it is did you know Monday, so today's did you know is this........

King Francis 1 paid Leonardo Da Vinci the equivalent of $50,000 US for his painting of the Mona Lisa and had it displayed in the Louvre. It has been there ever since except for two years that it was stolen (1911-1913). During the time it was missing, six different Americans paid $300,000 each for fakes they thought were the stolen painting.

Where is my Mojo

Jo-Anne has no mojo, she needs her mojo back, she thinks it is sleeping, tomorrow morning at 4.30am she will be waking it up and kicking it out of bed and putting it to work, just saying.........

This afternoon while watching telling and in between writing letters I received a text for Jessica wanting to know if I would go to Coles (supermarket) before I got Leo from school and being me I said yeah I would. After all tomorrow she is coming shopping with me and going to push me around in a wheelchair so I don't have to walk.

Leo was glad to be home with his mum tonight he is going through a stage when he wants to be around his mum all the time, not that he is naughty or anything while here he just wants to be with his mum.

Yesterday Kathy-Lee came over and helped me sort through my clothes and toss out clothes that had holes or that I just didn't wear any more.

Anyway the afternoon news is over and the Chase Australia is about to start so that is all from me for now.

Photo Wednesday

A photo of mum and Tim taken on our cruise, mum and Tim have a really close relationship no one can say anything bad about Tim around mum she will tear strips off you if  you do, just like she did with his father and brother when they said something about him she didn't like.

A bit about wheelchairs and me

Good morning all, there was no post from me yesterday because I forgot, I got up at 4.30am and worked out then I went back to the bed for a bit after getting up an hour or so later I had breakfast then went out to do so things for mum.

I had to pay mum's laybys and go to the chemist and then to Woolies and the building society to bank some money then back to the car, by the time I got back to the car I felt like crying from the pain.

The same thing happened on Friday when I went shopping by the time I got home I was in tears and it took so long for me to get the shopping done and I didn't do much but going from one store to another took a bloody long time. So I have booked a wheelchair for this Friday and Jessica is coming with me to push me around, I couldn't get a scooter so the wheelchair will do and me not having to walk everywhere will help my ankle. The more I stay off the ankle the quicker it will heal and I will be able to get around ok again.

Today is the first day of another school term and after I took Leo to school I went out to the day care Kathy-Lee is working at to pick up Summer as I have her today while her mum is at work then we had to go back and drop of Leo's medication at his school and now we are home and Summer is eating a sandwich and watching Paw Patrol.

Did you know that the first record of a wheelchair was around the 5-6^th Century BC or BCE if you like in China but generally the first wheelchair came about back in 1595 when one was built for King Phillip 11. Although it was an elaborate chair having both armrests and leg rests, the design still had shortcomings since it did not feature an efficient propulsion mechanism and thus, requires assistance to propel it. This makes the design more of a modern day highchair or portable throne for the wealthy rather than a modern day wheelchair for the disabled.

In 1655 a fellow by the name of Stephan Farffler a 22 year old paraplegic watchmaker, built the world's first self-propelling chair on a three wheel chassis using a system of cranks and cogwheels.. However, the device had an appearance of a hand bike more than a wheelchair since the design included hand cranks mounted at the front wheel.

The invalid carriage or Bath Chair brought the technology into more common use from around 1760.

In 1887, wheelchairs ("rolling chairs") were introduced to Atlantic City so invalid tourists could rent them to enjoy the boardwalk. Soon, many healthy tourists also rented the decorated "rolling chairs" and servants to push them as a show of decadence and treatment they could never experience at home.

In 1933 Harry Jennings and his disabled friend Herbert Everest, both mechanical engineers, invented the first lightweight, steel, collapsible wheelchair. Everest had previously broken his back in a mining accident, they saw the business potential of the invention and went on to become the first mass-market manufacturers of wheelchairs. Their "x-brace" design is still in common use, albeit with updated materials and other improvements.

So now you know.

Me and walking and no weight loss

Good morning, no Friday post this week as I just had no time in the morning and when I got home I was in so much pain from being on my feet all morning I just wanted to cry so I sat and did nothing but rested my leg.

While I was shopping I had a light bulb moment about my weight, more to the point why I am not losing weight as I thought I would. While on the cruise I said I wanted to loss up to 30 kilos by the end of the year but have not lost anything as yet although I have not gained any either. Anyway yesterday while I was struggling to put one foot in front of the other and often sliding my right foot as it was too painful to lift it, I thought this is the reason I can't lose weight, I cannot walk.

So I told Tim last night that was my thinking and he said nothing just looked at me with a look that said “so” and I said more and he said nothing but then this morning he said to me that he thinks the exercises I am doing each morning are doing nothing and that I should start walking up and down the driveway and I said I cannot walk and I wondered what part of not walking does he not understand. I don't want to walk up and down the driveway that would involve walking past the neighbours who would want me to stop and talk and I do not want that.

If I could walk I would go for a walk but I can't, I cannot walk from the lounge room to the toilet without a great deal of pain and sometimes not without my cane. I am doing the best I can but nothing I do is good enough........

How I am feeling

Yesterday while at the doctors the nurse asked me how my mood was lately, I said so so, as in up and down but truth be told it is more down then up, mum will be able to relate to this. I can't help thinking it was only a couple of years ago I could go for walks and do more strenuous exercises, now I cannot do either.

Also the pain in my left arm is terrible and the same can be so for the pain in my right thigh, the right thigh is all the time and at times makes driving difficult, then there is the tremor which is in both arms and my right leg. The shaking of my arms make doing many things difficult, like sending texts often I hit send in the middle of a word or hit the wrong letter and trying to fix the error is a task and a half.

Also this year I had bursitis in my right hip making moving and walking extremely painful and now I have it in my right ankle making moving, walking and standing extremely painful. I am so over all the pain and not being able to move.

Yes I still get up and exercise each morning but truth be told sometimes I wonder why I try, all in all life is so hard and painful at the moment.

I don't know what I would do without Kathy-Lee who is such a big help, often I just want to go to bed and cry.

What did I do to deserve all this pain and hassle.  

Off to the doctors I did hobble and this is what I was told

How is everyone this cold and wet Wednesday afternoon, I have had a productive day somewhat this morning I went to the podiatrist and had my toenails cut, while I went I left Blain home alone as he didn't want to go and I was tired of arguing the point with him, I was only gone an hour.

I was planning on going with Tim to pick Dave and grew from the ship but as I had to watch Blain while his mum had other things on I couldn't go.

Then this afternoon I had to go to the doctors for what is called a care plan review, this is where they check your blood pressure, talk about what medication you are taking as how my diabetes is going and my sleep apnoea and your get a referral for blood tests.

While I was there I asked about the results of the ultrasound it showed that I have tendonitis, which for those who do not know is an inflammation of a tendon, the tendon in question is my achillies tendon, tendons are bands of strong connective tissue that attach muscle to bone

It is usually a type of overuse injury; the tendon is repeatedly strained until tiny tears form. The symptoms of tendonitis can include, pain,swelling, stiffness and restricted mobility of the affected joint, muscle weakness and the skin over the area can feel warm to touch

Bursitis is inflammation of a bursa. A bursa is a small fluid-filled sac that acts as a cushion between bone and soft tissue (muscles, tendons and skin). A bursa (plural bursae) reduces friction and assists joint movement.

When you overuse or injure a joint, a nearby bursa can become irritated or inflamed. The bursa fills with excess fluid, causing significant pain and restricting movement.

The symptoms of bursitis may include, localised pain, swelling, increased pain at night, pain that becomes worse on movement, stiffness.

It is caused by injury, repeated pressure and overuse are common causes of bursitis. Some conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, gout and diabetes, can also contribute to its development.

An infection can also cause bursitis. This may occur if a joint is injured and bacteria get into the bursa.

Treatment aims to relieve the symptoms as much as possible while the healing process takes place.

Treatment options may include pain-relieving medications, cold packs, gentle mobilising exercises and rest. Anti-inflammatory medications or injections of corticosteroids may be used in cases of severe pain, although my doctor isn't keen on giving me an injection.

If the bursitis was triggered by a particular form of overuse, it‘s important to avoid that activity, or modify how you perform that activity.

So I have been told to rest the ankle as much as possible and that it will most likely take between 8-12 weeks to heal.