Day 122 - Therapy, Therapy, Therapy

It's quite funny how cleo and I often think the same thing, at almost the same time. This afternoon, after physio at home (more of that later) we were driving to do some shopping, and cleo said to me "Should I walk round the shop?". That was wierd because i had been thinking too that the shop we were going to was not too big, and it might be easier than getting the wheelchair out the car.

So, we arrived at the shop (a large clothes shop to get some clothes for Hannah which we had promised her) and left the wheelchair in the car. By the time we had got up the first aisle, albeit slowly, with cleo holding onto the trolley, and me pushing, we had nearly filled the trolley! We spent well over half an hour in the shop, with cleo on her feet all that time. That has to be the most walking she has done since her stroke. Another major milestone for her in her Road to Recovery, both in terms of the distance walked, and having the courage to do it without the chair. That was a big step.

So what of the physio you're thinking?

Well Melanie turned up at the appointed time with another photocopied sheet from Mohammed ( or was it an intergalactic fax?) with more totally impossible exercises to try. Having convinced Melanie that the answer was simple manipulation of cleos wrist and hand we agreed with her that she will come daily and do that for cleo rather than try to undertake things which physically are impossible for a stroke victim. When asked whether that would be OK with Mohammed she replied "Don't worry about him, I'll tell him what we're doing". Sort of says it all really.

So today we had two kinds of therapy: physio therapy, and retail therapy. Both were good for cleo, especially the shopping, because I know she felt closer to "normal" than she has for a long time while she was walking round the shop with me. After that we had to go food shopping to a supermarket, and I sensed a slight letdown when cleo had to get in the wheelchair for that; Sainsburys is too big for her to walk round, and she was tired by then of course. That will come in time, and I look forward to the day when we might be able to give that bloody wheelchair back, and we can walk round any shop together like we used to!

Castle in the Clouds

You can waste your time building barriers
spend your life trying to break them down again
like an island in a sea that breathes revenge
when we talk sometimes you're a looking glass
every word from the blueprint of your past
in the distance there's a castle in the clouds

And our love will make us strong together
we can be in love forever
just the two of us
when I get lonely, hold me
we will understand each other
you will be my friend and lover
when we're far apart
you're in my heart I'm in your dreams

So you call a friend up for company
drown your tears at a table set for three
there's a shoulder and a change of scenery
but when you wake tomorrow you're back again
and you wonder where it's all going to end
in the distance there's a castle in the clouds

And our love will make us strong together
we can be in love forever
just the two of us
when I get lonely, hold me
we will understand each other
you will be my friend and lover
when we're far apart
you're in my heart
I'm in your dreams

Beverly Craven