MND can get in the sea

November drifted into December last week and significant anniversaries were observed. On November 27th 2007 I started working at Southampton General and on my very first day, I met a pretty nurse called Alice and 17 years later we celebrated by working on a jigsaw puzzle, and cleaning out Teddy's litter tray.  Teddy was 3 years old two days later and he celebrated by trying to eat the jigsaw pieces, or just sitting on the jigsaw itself so that we can't make any progress.  On December 6th we we observed the first anniversary of losing our lovely Frankie. He was a talented musician with a gentle soul, but unfortunately, he never got the breaks he needed. We miss him terribly.  Alice and I attended an engagement party for our friends Anna and Glen, and Kevin and Perry came second in the fancy dress competition, ahead of Freddie Mercury, but behind Adam Ant. They also took to the stage as Elton and Kiki to perform Don't Go Breakin...

Well it finally happened. Unfortunately, I had a fall this week. I knew it would happen one day, and I've been very lucky since my diagnosis in July 2023 that despite a few close calls and wobbles, I haven't actually fallen to the ground. It was quite a gentle fall while I was bending down to turn an electric socket on, so I was halfway down already and my legs just gave way. I fell backwards onto my bum and after a few moments, I managed to sit up, shuffle back against a sofa and pull myself up to a standing position again. Apart from a sore behind, I was OK, but it shook me up, and I was sad for the rest of the day. I told Alice, who was upstairs at the time, and we sat talking for a while about the situation, and after a few tears, we decided that I would use a stick inside, and I requested an occupational therapist to come to assess my needs around the house, as my legs and hands are now very weak.  It was such a shame, as the day before (my fall), I was feeling much more p...

How was your week? Unless you've had the high of winning the lottery, or the low of losing somebody dear to you, you have probably had the same kind of week as me and the majority of us all - a series of highs and lows that equal themselves out, but hopefully, if there is a winner, it's the former rather than the latter. Alice is still struggling to get over pneumonia so was not well enough to work and she spent most of the week either in bed, or on the sofa coughing and spluttering, poor thing. As such, this week was very quiet and restful. From Monday to Thursday, we didn't leave the house and the most interesting thing that happened was the delivery of a new dinner set and towels that we've bought with the voucher I was given on my retirement, which is nearly a year ago now! It was nice to have someone around the house during the day though. Teddy is great company, but he can't even meow let alone speak.  I wanted to try and look after Alice, as she does for me, ...