Books waiting to be read...

My kindle is always either in my handbag or on my bedside table, and it's been used almost daily since I bought it around three years ago. While I love my kindle and credit it for getting me over an extended reading slump, I've missed reading "real books". One of my main reasons for purchasing a kindle was to reduce the amount of books that were taking up space that I didn't really have.

But late last year I gave my living room a complete makeover and I now have more than enough space for lots of lovely books. (I won't go too mad though!)

So for 2015 I've decided to cut down on downloading e-books and pick up some books that have either been purchased by me and have sat gathering dust (literally), books that have been bought for me or books that I've borrowed from friends.

Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer
I've borrowed this book from my friend John. I've probably had it for around six months and have stopped and started reading it a couple of times so I really should finish it so I can give it back to him! John did a really good sell on why I should read this, and as you can see from the condition it's one of his all-time favourites. Apparently he reads it at least twice a year, every year, and I'm really curious as to whether I'll love it as much.

Eeny Meeny by M.J. Arlidge
This book was a Christmas present from my friend Helen. A quick scan of the back cover tells me that it's a bit of a crime-thriller, which isn't my usual genre (I'm normally a fan of non-fiction, chick lit and YA) but it sounds as though it will be an intriguing read and it'll do me good to read something a bit different.

Bonkers by Jennifer Saunders
This book was also a present, this time from my friend Lou. I can't think of Jennifer Saunders without thinking of her TV partner-in-crime Dawn French, and her book "Dear Fatty" made me laugh out loud several times. I love autobiographies and am sure that this will be a great read.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I'm probably one of the last people on the planet to read this (and I haven't seen the movie yet either, because I'm one of those people who likes to read the book first!). I'm going to read this one soon because its annoying me that I haven't yet got around to picking it up.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
This YA book originally popped up as recommendation on Amazon and I ended up spotting it in a local charity shop for £1.50. The best part was getting home and finding a note amongst the pages from the previous owner/reader. What a fab idea!

The honesty of this really made me smile. I'm going to put little reviews in books that I take to the charity shop from now on!

Have you read any of these books? I'd love to know what you thought if you have. I'm always open to book recommendations too, so feel free to comment if you've read something that you think I'd like!

Wise Words Wednesday...

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Disability Diaries - AFO's 101: Are you standing comfortably?

Comfort - initial thoughts
Putting your feet and legs into rigid plastic cases, no matter how pretty the design is or how well padded they are, is never going to be an entirely pleasurable experience.

You're probably going to have your feet placed in a different position to your usual, and the nature of AFO's will mean that you will have to learn how to walk in a slightly different way. It's all very strange and not something that is easy to explain unless you've worn AFO's yourself.

The orthotics team at my hospital are fantastic and check everything over and over to ensure that my AFO's are as comfortable as possible but like me, you'll probably find that your AFO's will rub, dig in or leave red marks at first, because they're new to your legs and it's all a bit of an alien experience.

You will probably be asked to attend a further orthotics appointment a few weeks after you receive your AFO's so that they can be checked again and adjusted if necessary. I had to have them lowered at the top of my calfs because they were too tall and pinched the back of my knees when I climbed stairs or sat down. I was also given Velcro strips to stop the knee pads from dropping down and bruising my shins.

You also need to remember that AFO's may be pretty heavy, which makes walking a bit more of a challenge. My AFO's weigh almost 1kg apiece (and I can tell), so I suppose you could say that I'm walking whilst wearing leg weights!

Comfort - now
At the moment my AFO's are pretty painful because I've lost a lot of weight since they were made. Despite wearing long socks and leggings, I can't fasten the Velcro straps tight enough to stop my legs from slipping, and they're very loose on my ankles even though I had additional padding added at hospital a few weeks ago. Because my AFO's are heavy, the momentum of walking means that they're rubbing a fair bit which causes blisters. Not pleasant, but I'm having new AFO's made (I can't wait to get rid of the blue colour!) so these problems will soon be a thing of the past.

Disability Diaries - The Lt. Dan Legs (My AFO's)

It's about time that I introduced you to my AFO's (Ankle Foot Orthisis), hereafter known as the "Lieutenant Dan Legs" as they were immediately christened by my friend JP.

Strictly speaking, they should be Forrest Gump legs but Lt. Dan legs just stuck and so that's what we call them.

Firstly, you can't escape the fact that they're blue. Very blue. That was a biiiig mistake right there.

If you ever need AFO's and are given a card of designs to choose from, make sure that you ask the orthotics specialist what they are likely to look like once you receive them. The inch square picture that I based my colour/design decision on looked like inconspicuous pale pink and blue hearts on a cream background. You can imagine my shock and surprise when the finished products were carried into the room weeks later and they were THIS colour.

I have honestly regretted my style/cover choice ever since I got my AFO's. I might have felt differently and rocked the blue hearts with pride if I had some self confidence, but self confidence isn't plentiful at all and blue AFO's are very difficult to camouflage unless you want to live in baggy trousers, which I don't.

I'm more of a skinny jeans/leggings kind of girl, and although I wear my AFO's over leggings at work in the office, I still haven't ventured out in public in them unless they're covered up.

Needless to say, my next AFO's will be black! I should have just gone crazy and asked for the kids crocodile print! (98% of the patterns on offer were aimed at children. I don't know whether this varies between different NHS Trusts and countries but this was the case for me)

Just so you know:
You probably won't be able to walk properly in them straight away.

When I wore my AFO's for the first time, it took me at least ten minutes just to be able to stand up and find my balance (and this was with two people holding me up supporting me!)

I found that initial standing up experience really frightening actually. If I had to try and describe it, I'd ask you to imagine that you were wearing 3in heels for the first time whilst feeling very drunk, and that feeling that I presume you get when you first stand up in them and work out your new centre of gravity.

Only I didn't really have a centre of gravity at that time, because I'd done so much work in physio to learn how to stand up "properly" as opposed to my skewed normality and so my centre of gravity was all over the place to put it mildly.

 

So not only was I wearing 3in heels for the first time, but I was strapped tightly into these bright blue hard plastic cases from foot to knee with literally NO room for movement. I couldn't move my foot or ankle, my knees were being held back by pads and I felt as though I didn't know which way was upright. Akin to being very drunk balance-wise but without feeling relaxed or laughing your way through it.

I felt as though I was going to fall backwards if I tipped my centre of gravity back as per my physio sessions had taught me, so I automatically reverted to my "normal" and tried to shift my centre of gravity forwards. Another mistake because I nearly ended up flat on my face. I had to trust Debbie, the lovely orthotist, as she reassured me and taught me how to balance. I couldn't even raise my head to look up from the floor at first.

I remember saying to Debbie that I'd never even worn heels before so how on earth would I be able to walk in these?! For a good couple of minutes I thought that these people were barking mad for giving me these things to walk in, and I highly doubted that they would do me any good at all.

But once I realised which way was upright, everything became much less scary and I was led over to the walking bars to learn how to walk in the AFO's. Walking was much easier than standing still and I was soon walking back and forth (turning round was a problem at first though, even with bars on each side of me for support!)

I'd say that it took me a good few weeks to get used to wearing my AFO's, and for comfort and stability it's really important to follow doctors orders and get used to them gradually.

Starting over...

My decision to start my blog again here was made when this photo appeared on my Timehop app today.

It is now exactly a year and six days since my first assessment to see whether I could receive Botox treatment for my CP. A year ago today I had my first physiotherapy session since I was 12 years old.

I've always meant to blog about my Botox journey as it happened, but I could never find the right words.

But now it's a year since this crazy life changing plan of action began. I think it's time to share the highs and lows.

Wise Words Wednesday...

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Wise Words Wednesday...

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