Pt 3: My right leg AND my left leg, well let's just say it's my legs in general!

Hello there, I do hope you've read Pt 1 and 2. Because who would leap into something midway without getting a good grasp of the previous instalments? Well I would of course! I did it with 30 Rock, Friends, Harry Potter I'm sure there are more examples but these are long enough already without a list of stuff I've leapt into midway.

So I had a shower! Yep that's right big news I know but at the time it felt like being born again. Admittedly I do not remember being born the first time so I can't say for sure what it'd be like to be born again. Anyhoo after the shower I insist on wearing another hospital gown. Mostly because I'm still peeing in bottles and regular clothes seem like too much hassle. There's a humorous image in case you didn't know the deal with the gowns.

Every day they ask me if I'd like to wear something else; PJs my own clothes etc. I couldn't figure why. Well it's a big psychological thing once you're dressed you feel much more capable. Bit cliché I know but dress the part and you feel like a different person. Ooh I almost forgot about my flowtrons! These go over my lower legs to prevent DVT. But my surgeon mainly wants them on to stimulate my nerves into action.

I leave them off for 30 mins and Amy tells me I can't have them back on till I've been reassessed by a doctor. This is in case a clot has formed and the flowtrons may move it on and kill me. Sensible thinking tbh. So instead of Flowtrons, Jess issues me with some Teds. These are anti-embolism stockings in a rather lovely shade of dark green. They make it a little awkward to walk as the floor is low friction and the stockings are rather sheer.

TEDS

The friendly face of my surgeon makes an appearance just as the physios are getting me out for my daily walk about. He tells me with a very grim face that he's gonna have to send me to the gym. Now I dunno how well you all know me as there are some people in Egypt, Qatar, Serbia and Indonesia reading these so you may not know me that well...

Those of you who've had at least one conversation with me will likely have gathered that I love all things associated with workouts! Well almost...I hate people who go to the gym to talk and hog benches/machines whilst doing little or nothing. If you are going to be a gym douche I will do absolutely nothing as I am far too polite to and repressed tell you where you can go. I wasn't always this way, there was a time when I'd have picked you up, spun you round a few times before deftly depositing you in a bin all to demonstrate what can be achieved if you workout instead of wasting time!

Caught up in my enthusiasm the physios take me to the gym and put me on bikes, bars and a leg extension machine. Their findings are that I have great quads, which I do, but the muscles below the knee are not fully under my control so the gym work is not helping me. Wibbly wobbly feet attached to a piston quads. Well after two or three attempts this course of action is deemed pointless.

Also I'd resigned myself to the fact that this is going to be a slow process that is mostly out of my hands. I initially saw this as quite liberating but in fact it was me being lazy. Who remembers Arnie's six rules for success?

Do me a favour n give it a listen :-D. He has his short comings but he these rules man he's stumbled onto some truth.

I'm trying to sleep now and there is a a very old man who constantly speaks, sings and whistles. This is regardless of whether he's conscious or unconscious. He doesn't say, sing or whistle anything in particular but it just goes on and on. I'm slowly being lulled to sleep by his continuous rhythm less drone. After oversleeping, you know I'm out of sorts when I sleep for over 7 hours! I found out the dude is rather impatient. It's a good trait to have in my book. What wait for something to happen? Make it happen! :-D

Oh back to my point about Arnie's rules for success. Rule number five is the one that I forgot, work your butt off!

I kinda saw my time with the physios as being sufficient and resigned myself to it being a "gradual" process. I removed the weight of responsibility from myself and saw the speed of my recovery reduce.

So I hit my exercises hard, little too hard. Too many squats make me do the high rep squat walk, which is not great considering walking is a bit a struggle without achy thighs. But it starts to work I can get up much easier. You reap what you sow :D