Days 190 to 198 - Run Rabbit Run

WE have not managed to post for a week, due to all kinds of reasons, but mainly that after the weekend our router at home failed and we had to wait to get a replacement. That in itself is a story, and for those of you who have had any dealings with BT (British Telecommunications) in the UK you will know just how frustrating that has been. Most of the time I have spent on the phone (several hours in total earlier this week) has been to some call centre in India, who have no idea about urgency, but then robots rarely do, do they? However, robots (in the good old Isaac Asimov ideals), don’t lie either, but these ones see no problem with that: “tell him whatever he wants to hear, and get him off the line” whether it’s true or not. Did you know that one of the world's largest telecommunications companies doesn't have any phone numbers that the public can contact them on save those damned call centre numbers? At least that's what I have been told! By a call centre robot of course.

Startled Rabbit's Gone

There is a marked improvement in cleo this week, in terms of her mental state. Suddenly she is beginning to think like the cleo before the stroke: by that I mean she is planning, not single things, but the multitude of stuff that a housewife does, knowing that certain shopping needs to be done, what laundry is clean or dirty, what ironing is required. Of course she still cannot physically undertake all these tasks, but the fact that she is beginning to get that “mental agenda” back is good news.

We were talking about that only today, and I remarked that after the stroke (and I have probably mentioned this before) cleo was very much like a startled rabbit, caught in bright headlights; frozen, unable to move or think clearly. That has, for the most part gone. She is far less (mentally) fragile now and that augurs well for the future. Hopefully the rabbit has been galvanised into action and hopped across the road out of the headlights, back to a more sane, safe and secure environment.

Of course we only have just under 2 weeks now till the handfasting, and mostly things seem to be well under control there. The venue is all paid for, cleo's new dress is in transit from the makers, the plans for the actual ceremony are near complete, and the finishing touches are presently being worked on. I am sure it will be a wonderful day, and we are looking forward to it very much.

Progress in Recovery

We move in fits and starts, one day with high hopes of good recovery, and others with less optimism, but overall cleo’s progress is remarkable. We now have to begin the building of the future, with as normal an outlook as we can.

James had to cancel physiotherapy this week as there is an infection within a couple of the wards which he visits. The Norovirus infection is one which while not fatal causes extremely unpleasant effects including upset stomach and vomiting, hence it’s name: “winter vomiting virus”. We are not seeing James till next week and hopefully by then the effects in the hospital will have died down a little.