Two Years In The Life, Part One

Posted on by Accidental Spacegirl

It seems almost impossible to me that two years have flown by since my last entry, and yet here we are. Hello again, world; I hope you’re still listening – because I have so much to tell you! In fact, I shall be catching you all up via the use of installments because I have so very much to say! So here is Part One.WheelchairAbandoned Wheelchair

In Part One, I’ve decided to concentrate on life after hip replacement. This appears to have been the last thing I posted about, and then nothing while I recovered from the surgery.

And recover I did, although it took longer than it may normally have done on account of the pandemic. I had no access to physiotherapy, except by phone. Not exactly useful to anybody, and so – in terms of learning how to walk again – I was completely by myself. Even after I became confident enough to hobble around the house, I was still using a wheelchair outdoors until around the end of March. By April I was walking from the front door to the garage, and back again after getting home from wherever Dom had needed to take me that day.

By July I was walking around supermarkets with Dom, and had managed to lose a stone (14lbs) in weight by myself – which took me down to 15st (210lbs: still far too much even for my athletic, ex semi-pro swimmer, frame). I was ready to think about hitting the gym: not only for weight/fat loss, but to build muscle. I was still using one crutch: my legs were weak and every muscle in my body was atrophied.

Original Weight

The day I enrolled at the gym (July 7th, 2021)

I’d love to be able to say that I’ve since dropped the crutch and “got swole”. I dropped the crutch and I’ve certainly turned that fat into muscle, but I still have a way to go yet! Regardless, I’m really enjoying the gym (even if my health issues do sometimes get in the way of my going there), and my personal trainer is amazing. She’s basically taken a cripple and turned that cripple into a human being again. I can walk with confidence now, and I’m enjoying the weight-lifting a great deal. It’s a shame about my shoulder limitations in that regard, but that’s for another post.

In all, there have been vast improvements since you last heard from me two years ago. How did 2021 treat you?

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3 thoughts on “Two Years In The Life, Part One”

  2. Hi Gemma,

    I’m so glad to hear of your journey towards better and better health. Full power to you for your continuing journey!

    2021 (and 2022 so far) have been lucky in that Geoffrey and I have so far still managed to avoid the Lurgi. We’ve each been doing plenty at home to keep occupied. Geoffrey is continuing to restore a Morris Minor Traveller (the ‘woody’ one) and I’m keeping busy on the air, having bought some new radio gear.

    We’ll be having a pretty big fruit harvest from the orchard this year, particularly from the blackberries; there must be a couple of thousand little green fruits on those brambles! There are masses of apples and pears ripening too. I hope they won’t get eaten by the squadrons of Ring-necked Parakeets that hang around here these days!

    Regards to Dom,
    Take care,
    Andrew.

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