New journey

New journey

                    This is a fair representation of me hobbling along.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

I wanted to wait until Barry had finished all his explorations before I embarked on mine. However, backed up by the rest of the family, he was insistent that I ‘do something now, at least to get the ball rolling,’

It’s been some while since I’ve been able to go out for a ‘proper’ walk. I wrenched my knee in tussocky grass in April 2023 and thereafter, it took several weeks for my leg to recover. I compensated by my right leg taking most of the strain and I started to have problems with my right hip and knee and also my back.

Although I was not able to walk as far or as readily, life continued much as before. This summer, however, my right hip and knee have been troublesome. Whether or not it is relevant, after I had a tooth extraction in July, things became much worse. I said it was ‘referred pain’ or ‘trauma,’ but really, I was fooling myself. I said I would lose weight – that would be the answer, but it wasn’t. Barry took control, as he so often does, and on Saturday I went to have an x-ray at one of the local hospitals.

 I took a seat in the waiting room while Barry registered my details, because of course, I can’t do that for myself (!) and then he called to me. The chap next to me said, ‘You’ve been summoned,’ and I said, ‘It was hardly worth my while sitting down,’ which caused a ripple of amusement among the other people waiting.

Just in case we were confused about which department we were visiting, there were x-ray prints on the walls. I thought they were rather fine, but I only photographed one from an awkward sitting position.  

I didn’t have to wait long, and the process was so quick. Everything moved at the touch of a button. Maybe it’s been this way for decades, but I found it impressive.

Later on, after x-rays had been taken of knee and hip, I sat down to wait for Barry, when the man who’d been sitting next to me, walked past, and said, ‘You’ve moved.’ I said, ‘Not far, though,’ and he said, ‘Good luck, my darling. Have a nice weekend.’

It made me smile.

The results should be available later this week and then we consider next steps.

The previous week I had been sitting in another hospital waiting room, while Barry had something or other done – I’m rather losing track! 

Anyway, I was working on some puzzles in my ‘Haggard Hawks Book of Brain Teasers’ and became aware of the person beside me trying to see what I was doing, without actually leaning closer. I turned to him and said, ‘Do you want to know what I’m doing?’ and showed him the page I was looking at. His wife, sitting opposite, said, ‘He likes doing crosswords,’ and we spent an enjoyable few minutes puzzling out answers.

Not everyone sits, stony-faced, avoiding eye contact in these situations, I’m pleased to say. Naturally, I do recognise that many people in waiting rooms have dreadful problems and for them life is difficult, and I would never make light of their plight.