A PAINFUL LEFT WRIST AND SHOPPING AT DFO

30th September and 1st October 2010

Another month has slipped by so rapidly, before we know it we will be into the Year 2011. September ended with me being in terrible pain in my left wrist and to my disappointment it has not improved for the first day of October.

I was kept awake finding it difficult to get a comfortable position to have my wrist without it causing dreadful throbbing pain up into my arm. Mum used massage, heat, elevation and those good old pain killers to try to relieve it for me, eventually something worked and I was able to gain a little sleep but before I knew it morning was upon us and the sun was streaming in the window.

We had a quiet day on Thursday and as I was still suffering from pain we could not really go out and do too much. I was able to do some of my physiotherapy exercises but my wrist has stopped me from making any progress now with my rollator, I can't put weight through it or my right ankle this is so frustrating, how am I supposed to go forwards when these things occur that set me backwards?

Fiona from the Parish paid a visit which was lovely, I find trying to go to Church every week difficult as we go at night time and by then I am just too fatigued and sore to go, perhaps when daylight savings and the weather really warms up, I will be able to find the strength to go more often. We said Mass and I used a verse that Sammy who has been writing to me, wrote in a letter, it was Proverbs 3:5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. We then said some prayers and had communion. I think that my belief that Jesus is with me stepping each step that I take helps me on some days, if he is there he will look after me even when my path may seem difficult and hard to bear.

We called Nana and Pop to have a chat, it was lovely to talk to them, I thought our weather was not the best but they have had so much rain up there, although it is good for the garden it is eroding the beautiful beaches.

I played Upwords and then we watched the Legendary Journey's of Hercules, it was then time for running training, the wind had really turned southerly and chilly so we watched Jarrett do his training from the car, he did extremely well and was able to try practising his new techniques to help his Vocal Chord Dysfunction, he said it was a little tricky but as time goes by he will be able to master it while he is running at an intense pace.

My wrist was not improving, it was aching still and my right knee and ankle had also become worse than they were earlier in the day. We still do not know exactly what is happening with appointments and tests that the doctors wanted me back in Sydney for from 11th October, I guess we will eventually be informed.

Another night of disturbed sleep from pain and being woken by Cosima licking my head with her large, pink sandpaper tongue. When you don't have much hair which I still don't, most of my hair is at the back, the sides are extremely bare unfortunately and when she licks it is the most unusual feeling.

An overcast first day of October greeted me this morning however the clouds disappeared and the sun shone through for a pleasant Spring Day. My wrist was still painful and each time I try to use it, it is so weak I am dropping things, my right ankle was also in pain this morning and it hurt when I attempted my physiotherapy exercises. I was still unable to do any practise with my rollator as my wrist has no strength and my ankle was too painful. It is like walking a path and coming to an enormous mountain that you can't go over, under or around you just have to try to work your way through it and that takes time.

I played Upwords and then we decided to go out to Fyshwick to DFO just to get out of the house and also to see if there was anything there we could buy for Mum's Birthday. We did not see anything for Mum but Nalani got a bargain on a couple of tee shirts and a CD , I got some pretty pink flower hair clips and a gift for a friends Birthday. Just being at the shop walking around and I can't even walk, I am being pushed tired me so much and I found that sitting in the wheelchair with my leg down my right ankle swelled dreadfully and was then even more painful, on the trip home I fell asleep in the car.

In the mail I received my next MRI appointment which is on 6th December, so it looks like I will be in Sydney the first week in December, earlier I had been told by my medical team that the MRI would probably be done in January unless there was something to be concerned about. We did not even expect to receive this appointment, I could not believe what time it is at either, 6.20pm!

My Dad had some spectacular news this week, he applied for a different job, one that he is hoping will give him more time to spend with the family as well as doing the type of work he loves to do, anyway he found out that he was successful and will be starting his new job on 4th November, he is going to be the Grounds and Facilities Manager at the two campuses of the School. He has been working at the Race Course for 26 years, he knows there like the back of his hand, it was a difficult decision, but he feels confident that he will be able to use his fantastic skills in his new job to be a true asset to the School.

I played the Nintendo DS Game Are you Smarter than a Fifth Grader and I found out that I was, wow, when our Prime Minister went on the show, she was not even smarter than a fifth grader, so that made me feel quite proud of myself, I did have a little help from Nalani though so I guess we are both smarter than a fifth grader.

This is from the Foot Prints in the Sand verse, so many people love this and have mentioned it to me throughout my journey this is a part that really strikes a chord with me, especially at this present moment - "I love you and would never leave you, during your times of trial and suffering when you see only one set of footprints it was then that I carried you".