Once again it’s not a great day physically. Yes, I know this is a reoccurring theme and it’s dull! I can’t function in the morning though, but drag myself out of bed until one of the girls in the ward tells me I’m mad, and to get back in bed. There is a strict ‘you must attend sessions’ theme, and we’ve all worried all week that if we put a foot wrong they will kick us off, but doing something physical is just completely impossible. A message is sent to the physios running it that I can’t make it, and I fall asleep.
I wake an hour later to the doctor by my bed, checking I’m okay. A bit embarrassing they actually sent a doctor, when this is a quite normal part of the condition.
The sleeping helps, and the next session is relaxation. I’m able to follow it better than the day before and the technique used is called progressive muscle relaxation. You take each muscle in turn from the toe to the head and tense them, then relax them. It’s an interesting taster, but the results would be better at home somewhere in comfort. We’re just on normal chairs – and I tend to need full neck and head support to achieve relaxation.
I then have arts and crafts and continue glass painting. I still find the lady that does it very patronising.
Next up is cognitive therapy, with the theme on stress. No information is given that I would actually find useful on a daily basis. After the session I head back to the ward to sleep again. I wish I could get through a day without this.
Later on I have physio which I enjoy, but straight afterwards we have an hour of sports which is too much at once. My shoulders are in spasm from overworking it in physio, and every sport they have is based on arm movements – table tennis, short tennis, badminton, catch. The physio with us is interested in getting new things, and we suggest more lower limb based exercises (while remaining seated), and possibly something like mini golf which is more of an underarm movement. I play a game of table tennis with a member of the group and it’s much better than the week before! We end with a session of kicking a massive football to each other.
Table tennis Credit: Mishahu
My dad comes to visit me around 5pm, with the idea of going to the friends and family session. I was really pleased they were putting this on, as I hoped they would help explain my condition to him which I have struggled to do. Instead I’m told ten minutes before he arrives “It’s cancelled. Whoops, didn’t anyone tell you?” and so instead we go to the cafe next door for dinner. On the menu they have burger and chips, and that’s it. We order two of them, and are told they only have one. It’s actually worse than the hospital food!
He only stays for about an hour, and I then go straight to bed and am asleep by 8pm. It’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had so far.