Thursday 28 November 2013

My Cold War

Some people have asked me what I thought about the hospital's response to my questions. Well, I guess I was hoping for a little more insight into the prognosis based on the outcome of others who had experienced similar plateaus. Even if we do represent only 1%, that's still around 40 people in the UK. I think consultants are just reluctant to speculate on such things. And, in fairness I didn't specifically ask about prognosis.

So winter has arrived (yes I know it's not officially until 21st December, but being friggin cold and depressing is a good enough to constitute it being winter) and I am not (why isn't there a shortened version of "am not" apart from "ain't", which I hate. Why not "am't", it would save me time! ) looking forward to the next 3 months. Apart the practical issues of going out this time of year, it's also much more difficult to muster the enthusiasm or effort to go out when it's cold and grey. The thought of sitting in the car in bushy park car park sometimes just isn't appealing enough. I have become better equipped recently with my Russian hat, but a cold wind is still a show stopper.

Stefan Evanski fighting his personal cold war 


Indoor destinations are obviously better but I struggle to think of many locally; there's only so many times one can go to Mercedes World or Brooklands within 3 months. I would like to get up to London again and go to the museums and Tate Modern but going by car is too difficult for the carers, not to mention me. I have considered going to the Tate by train, I think my wheelchair batteries could manage the return trip along the Southbank. Maybe if we get a sunny mild day with the guarantee of no rain, I will attempt it.

But the place I miss the most is my favourite part of the UK; North Wales. Specifically the location of many wonderful holidays both as a child and more recently in Penmaenmawr. It has been around 4 or 5 years since I last visited but I think that returning is very unlikely. The 4 hour journey would be very tough but the accommodation would be the biggest problem as I need both a standing hoist and full hoist, so I think it's just too difficult.

Penmaenmawr from the stunning Sychnant Pass 

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Steve,

What a glorious photo of N Wales. I can see why you miss it so much. I think your Russian hat is very fetching, but being out in the cold must be miserable. Hopefully the upcoming festivities will offer some change of scenery and distraction from the usual routine. Love the pic of you with your carers. Anna P