Saturday nights... Thoughts and reflections

Yes, they were dedicated to going clubbing, dancing, drinking etc... That's a long time ago, even before encephalitis!!

Now, Saturday, day time, I have been doing some exercise, chilling, eating and spending time with Julie.

The winter has not been too harsh and we have been out in Harlow.
Coffee, snacks and a bit of shopping, now, evening, we are both at home, resting, drilnibk tea and spare nding some time with Rosie. Rosie has been feeling a little unwell today so we have been fussing over her and... She loves it!
She's now lying by my feet, fast asleep and relieving old races as she jerks and woods in her sleep.

All very un-rock 'n roll... But I love spending time at home. Tea, coffee, a few snacks and all good.

Excitement, I get excitement... I shaved off my moustache and beard today... A change of image, that is pretty cool isn't it?

It was a tiring day yesterday. I had an appointment so up early to get to Cambridge, Addenbrooks hospital for 10.00
We left home before 08.00 to get there in time because the M11 was snarled up due to an accident so.... The whole of the South-East were on the rat runs, including us. Like ants, following a line, the traffic swirls blocked all the roads... Not moving much as the time ticked!
Everyone was cross, focused on getting to their destinations, very little humanity or kindness... Added to this it was cold and grey.
Do you get the picture?

As Julie concentrated on the traffic, we saw a lady running, on foot, on the road side, heading towards Bishop Stortford, where we were heading too.. She was about our age and without meaning any insult to her, did not look as she was running for pleasure... And everyone was ignoring her.
Well not everyone, Julie wound her window down and called out "are you okay?"
The lady just said "thank you" and run across the lane of fast moving traffic to our side which was moving at maybe a few inches an hour. She just smiled, puffed out and said thanks again as she got into our car... Very trusting, we could have been dodgy? Thankfully we are fairly normal and more importantly "safe".
"so who are you guys " she enquired, to which we replied with our names and she said her name was "Sid". When she was running, she looked so anxious & out of place running on the road (no footpath)...... She was happy to join us & we had a great chat in the car & dropped her off at the hockerill lights in Bishop Stortford ... Her bus had failed to turn up, prompting her to take the plunge by running the few ( three hard) miles from Little Hallingbury!... She was anxious to open her café, she didn't want to let people down.... She told us about how she's raising funds to organise a trip for adults with disabilities, she's also running a social club at the cafe & does home cooking...... It's the 'Wiggly Willow Café'.
What a great person and such a chance encounter... Such dedication. Hats off to you Sid, others would have not bothered 
Here's the website
https://www.wigglywillow.org/

It turns out Julie's sister knows her... What a small world!

This is one of the many reasons I married my lovely Julie, she is a caring and helpful lady. A true good Samaritan. ❤️❤️❤️

Anyway, l was reading my last blog entry and my old childhood friend, Richard, replied... It's great to hear from you amigo ✌️
We keep in touch on Instagram and its really good to hear from you.
I am sure our paths will cross again.

In the meantime life goes on, thankfully.

Until the next instalment
Take care of each other and live life's every moment, be present...

Encephalitis and me...

Apologies for not posting much over the last 6 months.
The reason being, a stay in intensive care, unconsciousness, in an induced comma, waking up confused, dazed and scared, festooned with tubes everywhere and no recollection as to why.
Its been a  sereal journey. The time since has been hard.

One day I am Ram, the next moment, a shell of who I was... Gloomy yes but that's what it felt like.
From being free and able bodied to being dependent on many people, predominantly my wife Julie.
One day, I had influenza, next I'm waking up two weeks later in intensive care????
I'm slowly getting back to myself but there is still a way to go...

Life's been very busy with recovery and physio, memory issues and lots of tests, investigations and  reviews by all sorts of specialists. Then there has been all the exercise, 'strengthening my core' due to the vertebral fractures I have...

No idea when or how I got these but, they are there.

I don't think there's any orifice that's not been scoped or organ that has been radiologically checked out by xray or scan.... The barrage of blood tests I've had is also remarkable that I've not needed a unit or two of blood to replace the 'arm fulls' of claret extracted from my thrombosed veins!!

I've become a patient and it is truly eye opening to be in this position.
I'm in the process of chronicling it and maybe making an attempt at writing a true story about this all. The Encephalitis Society have been very helpful to Julie, my family and myself giving us support and direction. I am indebted to them all, especially Julie who has given me the love and support I have not always returned as well as the strength to carry on. Thank you xxx.
My boys and their wives as well as my sister in law Val and brother in law Tony, as well as my mother and father in law Claire and Henry, who have been there for me. Becks and Mo for their help as well as Ambe, for his help and guidance during the acute phase... My mum, dad, brother and sister who came over when I was ill and all my friends Alan and Helen, Douglas and Irene, Jim, Linda, Jill, Catriona..... The list goes on, Cheers!!
To all my fellow Dr's and nurses who got me over this rather unplanned and dark hump, I thank you all.

I know this may read like an acceptance speech at an award ceremony but in a way it is. It is in deed an award of thanks from me to you all.

As a family, all the help, encouragement and direction we have received from everyone has been humbling and fantastic. The hard work from community services, Louise and Magda as well as the GP services, Nuffield House and Debbs has been amazing to Julie and I. The NHS is a great institution and I have given so much for so many years to it but it has paid me back when I needed it. Thank you 😌 (I'm not very good at choosing the appropriate EMOGI).
Anyway, having this perspective of healthcare professional to patient may be worthwhile to undertake, especially for me!
I'm in a space I hope no one gets to experience... I appreciate the alternative is RIP but this is not a bed of roses either.
Despair, pain and anger need to be managed and I am not always good at it.
Society imposes on us to be strong as men and as professionals... This is not always easy but hayho, life goes on.

It's not been all bad: I got to see the world cup 2018 on TV even though the team I was backing came third... Though most important of all, I got to meet our fourth grandchild, the beautiful little lady Eliza, who joins Heath, Cass and Daisy as the new leaves in our ever expanding family tree.

I have been writing a little, reading even less but painting and drawing a lot... One of my friends helped me conjure up the word 'Encephalartist'... I don't think it's been used before and I'm going to take the bizzare honour of claiming it... 😁

In the meantime, I leave you with some of my art... And a promise to get some more posts in sooner than they have appeared lately.
In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the summer, reading and creating life.... I hope you consider reading one of the books available on Amazon
If you do, please leave a review and make sure you tell others that these books exist and are in the public domain to be read and enjoyed by everyone.

Peace and love 😘