The Blurred Line

Week 12 - going swimmingly

Basically I've been having far too much fun. Yesterday, two Wallys, an Incredible, a land girl, Audry Hepburn, a mad scientist, a semi-pirate and Tinkerbell and a couple of normal people rocked up to my garden transformed into a pirate ship/ Hawaiian beach. What a way to start a blog post! They had all travelled from Manchester/ Coventry/ Swindon/ down the road to celebrate my birthday (Ok so it was 2 weeks ago but whatevs!) in true Emily style.... Fancy dress of course!!!

I dressed up as a pirate of course – Pirate Peggy! I had looked for a blow up wooden leg to complete the look but couldn't find one. I also can't find the lacy eye patch I bought... oh well will just have to dress up like a pirate again! Inflatable palm trees and a treasure map completed the look.

I can't thank my parents enough for getting the garden looking lush, for preparing and cooking the food (Dad's job of the summer is the BBQ!), for putting up the decorations and for getting me out into the garden. If anyone has ever been to a party my mum has cooked for, they know that they never go hungry... for the next week. All of the food really did taste good and I even instructed mum in the art of cocktails which tasted fantastic too!

Thanks so much to my maties that can to see me – love all of them to bits and I hope they had as good a time as me! Got some lovely goodies too – some lush goodies from Lush (I am smelling beautiful today) from Katie, a Tea-Rex mug (which I'm drinking coffee out of now) and cocktail recipe book (watch out Manchester!) from Laura, The Sound of Music from Kim and loads of goodies from Kim's Auntie who I know reads my blog especially since her lovely card said "Keep bogging!". The cocoa butter is well nice and we've already eaten the sweeties! Also Tonje's cake!! Pecan and toffee and cinnamon and toffee goo!!! Tonje you're a cooking genius!!! It was so so so yummy!!!

I'm just sorry it was so cold, especially since today is quite ice. Oh well nothing cannot be solved by fleece faux wolf fur blankets! I am now spending the entire day in bed now so maybe I can actually get some writing done.

I feel especially inspired to write because I've got this movie 'Howl's Moving Castle', which I watched on Thursday when I finally met up with Melissa, going round and round in my head. I just really love the characters of Sophie and Howl and really recommend it to anyone who loves fantasy. I finally got to meet up with Melissa as I said and this time I wasn't having a terrifying time with PICC lines and panic attacks. I really had such a lovely time just chatting and watching this great movie that Melissa picked out for me – she knows me too well! Many happy returns for when you get married next week and look forward to seeing you soon!

And another exciting thing – I went swimming on Wednesday! They put me on a hoist which is just a plastic white chair that, like a crane, swings me very slowly over and then down into the swimming pool which is absolute agony when the water is so cold.

It was an odd sensation for my stump to have a new feeling all over it – a sensation I can't easily describe except that all over the sensitive points on my stump are suddenly immersed in water that touches them all at the same time.

I thought it would take me a long time to get back into swimming. I used to do a lot as a child – managed to do 2.5km once – but I've been so lazy recently, actually not even that recently but quite a long time. I thought that my leg would compound the fact I hadn't done much swimming and I would struggle but apparently not. After just a little bit of adjustment, I was doing lengths and a bit of acrobatics and having a wail of a time. As the saying goes like a duck to water, I must therefore be a duck. It really wouldn't surprise me.

What was funny though was before Susanna came to meet me, I was just waiting near the shop, quite settled with my paper, my sweeties, ice coffee – the works. I had already dropped my sweeties and a kind lady had picked them up for me as I st

Friday was an interesting day too. There was a lady about my age who was telling her physio about a form she had to fill out and the last question was, "Do you consider yourself disabled?" She broke down at the last word and I couldn't sit in front of her and let her cry. I stopped my arm bike, took her hand and told her the truth, "I know exactly how you feel. Up until March, I wouldn't have considered myself disabled or needing benefits but, if you tick the form where it says you're disabled, then you can get the support, the money and the random bits and bobs you need." I'm disabled – it's an odd word that I'm sure people will disagree with but I do have serious mobility issues that I do need help for but there's nothing wrong with it and the more disability is talked about, the more the stigma around it will dissipate. That doesn't just go for physical disability but also mental health too. The accident all seems like such a bad dream from a long time ago but it hangs on my every thought – like one of those weird stick men hanging off ladders. You can imagine hanging off my lip when I say I'm alright. Ah, I'm in this problem and it doesn't help to be all doom and gloom or bogged down in it. Pragmatism and adapting to the current situation is what is what I do. She laughed though when I talked about the money side and left, I hope, with a ray of hope through the gloom to think about... or munch on.

So that rounds up the week. I'm still in bed (although relatively dressed mine) and watching random snippets of anime and writing this. It's so good doing nothing for one day