Tonight is my belated 40th part 1, a night at a pub quiz with friends who have known me for the majority of the 40 years. Going by past history and a horrid recollection of what we are like at past birthdays, this is going to get very messy.
The fact we have chosen a pub opposite the village ponds could be either a brilliant idea or complete hazard. Me, in the wisdom of previous knowledge has opted to alter medication so I can drink, so for the moment I am literally gritting my teeth with pain, but that's my choice and painkillers and drink don't mix. There is a back up plan, hubby is on driving duty even though the pub is a normal 5 minute walk, I know it will be too much to expect me to hop up a steep hill intoxicated.
There was an adult logic to this, by being a quiz we should in theory be concentrating on the answers, not the drinking. But I truly don't hold my breath on that one, especially as it is a double celebration, it is also the week of one of the husbands so I still am betting this is going to get messy. But as long as we stay off the shots it should be OK. That said if we win or even come in the top three all bets are off.
Having these gatherings are few and far between due to adult life getting in the way, but at least with these parties I know if someone ends up face down on the table at least we will be able to get them home . Although this time I am not walking people home they will get shoved in the back of the relevant car and driven back.
I have just got to remember that A - I can no longer dance on tables and B- we have the next generation with us and although they are old enough to drink etc we really should set a good example. How that goes? ..Well I will report back tomorrow, now where is the brandy, it is medical honest.
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Saturday, 13 October 2012
MRI day
After the endless weeks of waiting I finally got to the great scan day. I don't know who was more wound up mum or I. After much husband stupidity we made it to the hospital 20 minutes early.
Now who ever designed hospitals really didn't think. The floors are not the easiest on crutches, but its the rabbit warren of a maze to find anyway that gets me down. Still we made it there and I was ushered off to the MRI room at alarming speed. Unlike what my consultant had said I was neither in there for 2 hours nor forced to wear a hospital gown. Result or so I thought, bar from the fact both my GP and my consultant had advised me to take some diamazapam before hand, mainly to stop a muscle spasm during the scan. It didn't relieve the agonising pain I had woken up in, but it did send me into the world of the fairies. After much swearing I made it on to the trolley ( they brought that to me rather than me attempt to walk to the trolley with out my crutches), ear plugs in and off I was wheeled.
I have had a CT scan and bone density scan in the past so none of this is virgin territory to me, but I have heard so much about MRIs I was more than apprehensive, well for once there was no need. It was less noisy and certainly less claustrophobic than the CT scan. I am not sure how long I was in there but it was less than an hour. and I was free to go. Once I could get off the trolley which was a mission in itself as I had already taken me 45 mins to get out of bed early due to pain. I eventually rolled of the trolley into the awaiting crutches and greeted my mum with my all too familiar call "COFFEE". Now I was left with this weird taste of metal and certain muscles buzzing from the scan, so I seriously needed the boost of strong decent coffee, and from my many visits to said place I know it comes equipped with a Costa Coffee, and now for some reason a Subway. But will some one please example to me why these places decide that no one is in need of them till midday ? So it was hospital coffee and home.
All that is left now is the 16 day wait for the results. But for now I will focus on the 14 day wait till Top Gear Live. That is a far more enjoyable prospect, and more positive. We have found one weird fact out today. After I slept off the medication, we popped out for some bits and lets just say parking is not one of mums expertise's, so I crawled over and relieved her of that task, once I had finally got the car in a bay it could only just fit in outside our house. I got out of the car and for the first time all day I was slightly vertical. For some reason I find driving easy and it actually helps me walk after. So that means more driving for me, a major plus back in my life.
On that cheerful note I am going back to bed for the day.
Now who ever designed hospitals really didn't think. The floors are not the easiest on crutches, but its the rabbit warren of a maze to find anyway that gets me down. Still we made it there and I was ushered off to the MRI room at alarming speed. Unlike what my consultant had said I was neither in there for 2 hours nor forced to wear a hospital gown. Result or so I thought, bar from the fact both my GP and my consultant had advised me to take some diamazapam before hand, mainly to stop a muscle spasm during the scan. It didn't relieve the agonising pain I had woken up in, but it did send me into the world of the fairies. After much swearing I made it on to the trolley ( they brought that to me rather than me attempt to walk to the trolley with out my crutches), ear plugs in and off I was wheeled.
I have had a CT scan and bone density scan in the past so none of this is virgin territory to me, but I have heard so much about MRIs I was more than apprehensive, well for once there was no need. It was less noisy and certainly less claustrophobic than the CT scan. I am not sure how long I was in there but it was less than an hour. and I was free to go. Once I could get off the trolley which was a mission in itself as I had already taken me 45 mins to get out of bed early due to pain. I eventually rolled of the trolley into the awaiting crutches and greeted my mum with my all too familiar call "COFFEE". Now I was left with this weird taste of metal and certain muscles buzzing from the scan, so I seriously needed the boost of strong decent coffee, and from my many visits to said place I know it comes equipped with a Costa Coffee, and now for some reason a Subway. But will some one please example to me why these places decide that no one is in need of them till midday ? So it was hospital coffee and home.
All that is left now is the 16 day wait for the results. But for now I will focus on the 14 day wait till Top Gear Live. That is a far more enjoyable prospect, and more positive. We have found one weird fact out today. After I slept off the medication, we popped out for some bits and lets just say parking is not one of mums expertise's, so I crawled over and relieved her of that task, once I had finally got the car in a bay it could only just fit in outside our house. I got out of the car and for the first time all day I was slightly vertical. For some reason I find driving easy and it actually helps me walk after. So that means more driving for me, a major plus back in my life.
On that cheerful note I am going back to bed for the day.
Friday, 12 October 2012
Customer Service
Well it has been a day of extremes today one surprisingly good the other unfortunately predictable dire. Yes for once I am going to name and shame as I am as elated as I am annoyed.
On the bad side, Sky have crossed the line once to often and come the end of the month they will find they will be losing a customer of 5 + years, not to mention an ex employee. I have had it with their non performing Internet, that for 3 years was fault less but in the last 2+ years has been nothing but ridiculous despite 20+ engineer visits, rudeness and foul language from said engineers. Lies, and sheer incompetence, with some pittance of compensation. Now they incorrectly inform us of the bill and when the bank refuses the direct debit because it is higher than that, they demand full payment with no written proof for us to have our services back, and as we argue it was their mistake and we want written confirmation they cut the Internet as we are on the phone and say the phone will go in the next day unless we pay immediately and we would then have to pay 50p per minute to pay the full amount by calling on our mobiles. What was worse was the attitude of the operative was terrible and he threatened to hang up accusing me of treating me him like an idiot when I repeated a question when he wouldn't answer a simple yes or no. Never have I been so livid in my life, Sky has this don't touch me attitude and they are just money hungry ego mad, and because of that I will not only be changing supplier I will no longer advise people use them. If they have a problem with this I suggest some one approaches me with a hell of an apology and some serious compensation. If not, then I am with in my rights to tell people exactly what has happened to me and their customer service, or rather lack of it.
On the other side Asda today excelled, not only that they publicly apologised for the buggy breakdown on Tuesday. I wish to compliment them on their whole attitude towards the less mobile shoppers, helpers point us in the direction of the check outs widened for buggies, there is always some one around to help reach what I need off higher shelves, and so on. However it was the kindness of one assistant that I wish to highlight. He was a young man who had the most manual of jobs basket collecting. Before I could even start the hop from buggy to return the keys of it to security he was there, ready to take them for me and plug the buggy back into the mains for me. The boy whose name I never caught was polite and patient, two qualities often neglected. He was a lovely young man and next time I will make a point of going to customer services and relaying my thanks. This was a young man who has down syndrome, but Asda still employed and he has provided in return customer services most of us dream to receive. So well done the that young man and hats off to Asda for employing someone who actually enjoys the job he does and his work reflects this.
If more people took on the later paragraphs attitude and less of the former, the world would be a far nicer place.When I was in retail the saying was good customer service would equal the customer telling 1 person bad customer service and they would tell 10. I hope to tell more people of both and let you make up your own minds. I know not all branches of a supermarket will be the same, but after all the calls to the centralised call centre of Sky I can say 90% of their staff have the attitude I suffered today. So you can do the maths on whats wrong there. Next time some one says to me "You aren't listening to me" in a tone worthy of a politician, I have my answer ready, "you aren't listening to your customers, so I will no longer be one." I have enough stress in my life to worry about about poor customer service, so I will vote with my feet, if they can't provide basic manners, I won't provide custom.
On the bad side, Sky have crossed the line once to often and come the end of the month they will find they will be losing a customer of 5 + years, not to mention an ex employee. I have had it with their non performing Internet, that for 3 years was fault less but in the last 2+ years has been nothing but ridiculous despite 20+ engineer visits, rudeness and foul language from said engineers. Lies, and sheer incompetence, with some pittance of compensation. Now they incorrectly inform us of the bill and when the bank refuses the direct debit because it is higher than that, they demand full payment with no written proof for us to have our services back, and as we argue it was their mistake and we want written confirmation they cut the Internet as we are on the phone and say the phone will go in the next day unless we pay immediately and we would then have to pay 50p per minute to pay the full amount by calling on our mobiles. What was worse was the attitude of the operative was terrible and he threatened to hang up accusing me of treating me him like an idiot when I repeated a question when he wouldn't answer a simple yes or no. Never have I been so livid in my life, Sky has this don't touch me attitude and they are just money hungry ego mad, and because of that I will not only be changing supplier I will no longer advise people use them. If they have a problem with this I suggest some one approaches me with a hell of an apology and some serious compensation. If not, then I am with in my rights to tell people exactly what has happened to me and their customer service, or rather lack of it.
On the other side Asda today excelled, not only that they publicly apologised for the buggy breakdown on Tuesday. I wish to compliment them on their whole attitude towards the less mobile shoppers, helpers point us in the direction of the check outs widened for buggies, there is always some one around to help reach what I need off higher shelves, and so on. However it was the kindness of one assistant that I wish to highlight. He was a young man who had the most manual of jobs basket collecting. Before I could even start the hop from buggy to return the keys of it to security he was there, ready to take them for me and plug the buggy back into the mains for me. The boy whose name I never caught was polite and patient, two qualities often neglected. He was a lovely young man and next time I will make a point of going to customer services and relaying my thanks. This was a young man who has down syndrome, but Asda still employed and he has provided in return customer services most of us dream to receive. So well done the that young man and hats off to Asda for employing someone who actually enjoys the job he does and his work reflects this.
If more people took on the later paragraphs attitude and less of the former, the world would be a far nicer place.When I was in retail the saying was good customer service would equal the customer telling 1 person bad customer service and they would tell 10. I hope to tell more people of both and let you make up your own minds. I know not all branches of a supermarket will be the same, but after all the calls to the centralised call centre of Sky I can say 90% of their staff have the attitude I suffered today. So you can do the maths on whats wrong there. Next time some one says to me "You aren't listening to me" in a tone worthy of a politician, I have my answer ready, "you aren't listening to your customers, so I will no longer be one." I have enough stress in my life to worry about about poor customer service, so I will vote with my feet, if they can't provide basic manners, I won't provide custom.
Thursday, 11 October 2012
When boredom creates an obession
I will be the first person to admit I am the worse person to play Xbox or PS3 games. Unless they are quiz's I end up getting frustrated and annoyed. So I can only put it down to boredom that I have developed an obsession with the facebook games.
The trouble is these games are not as innocent as they seem. Sure you can play them for free and that's not a problem, unless you want to keep up with your neighbours or have a seasonal decor. Then you need farm cash. Now one game I played it was relatively cheap £3 a week would keep me happy, but the new Farmville game has just infuriated me as it cost £7 min to get some of this farm cash. Now that is a lot of money for me at the moment so I do without. But imagine the pester power of children playing this. Being realistic a child will need £13 a week to keep up. Any parent could easily be robbed of a tidy sum just to play a game.
I can see where these games have some educational benefit but if I was a parent I would be furious to find out after a week or so the only way to maintain the interest level I would abe to top up the funds. Not one of these games says before hand that purchase of extra funds would be advantageous to maintain the interest level. If I wasn't so bored I would boycott them based on just these con tactics. But I am an adult and can maintain self restraint .After all it is only a distraction from the pain so its not life changing.
Talking about pain for those who don't read my friends blog please take a lot at http://gettingtoknowmecrps.blogspot.co.uk/ as her update of her MRI scan with CRPS is enlightening if a little off putting for me. But she describes blatantly how bad the pain can be.
The trouble is these games are not as innocent as they seem. Sure you can play them for free and that's not a problem, unless you want to keep up with your neighbours or have a seasonal decor. Then you need farm cash. Now one game I played it was relatively cheap £3 a week would keep me happy, but the new Farmville game has just infuriated me as it cost £7 min to get some of this farm cash. Now that is a lot of money for me at the moment so I do without. But imagine the pester power of children playing this. Being realistic a child will need £13 a week to keep up. Any parent could easily be robbed of a tidy sum just to play a game.
I can see where these games have some educational benefit but if I was a parent I would be furious to find out after a week or so the only way to maintain the interest level I would abe to top up the funds. Not one of these games says before hand that purchase of extra funds would be advantageous to maintain the interest level. If I wasn't so bored I would boycott them based on just these con tactics. But I am an adult and can maintain self restraint .After all it is only a distraction from the pain so its not life changing.
Talking about pain for those who don't read my friends blog please take a lot at http://gettingtoknowmecrps.blogspot.co.uk/ as her update of her MRI scan with CRPS is enlightening if a little off putting for me. But she describes blatantly how bad the pain can be.
40 not out
It is sinking in that I am no longer a 30 something, that passing happened with no great fireworks or luxury. Instead a mist of pain did that. But rather than dwell of the lack of that date I have come up with a challenge.
I need to find a genius, someone who understands the law of physics particularly water. There is a current bane to my life, which I doubt I am suffering alone, and that is the sheer safety of using crutches in the wonderful autumnal weather. I mean how many others have gone skidding across a damp supermarket floor, or stacked it on a wet ramp. We can't help the weather, but the grips on the bottom of crutches are hopeless in these conditions.
If I want to go shopping I have to choose one with a mobility scooter so I can get round with out injury. One supermarket said I could use a wheel chair. Nice idea in principle, but I hardly expect my 70 year old mother to push me round in one and navigate a trolley at the same time. Yes I could stay at home and do it all on line. but that is hardly the solution, instead it makes me a second rate citizen. Sure that's what the government would like me to be. Some silent voice who begs for any small morsel of help. But that's not my style, I am an independent human being, who would nothing better than to be back at work rather than stuck at home. But if there are mobility issues that could be solved by some genius of invention than why doesn't it happen.
At the end of the day I am only 40 not 80 so there is a lot that I could give back and do , if the simple things are sorted.
I need to find a genius, someone who understands the law of physics particularly water. There is a current bane to my life, which I doubt I am suffering alone, and that is the sheer safety of using crutches in the wonderful autumnal weather. I mean how many others have gone skidding across a damp supermarket floor, or stacked it on a wet ramp. We can't help the weather, but the grips on the bottom of crutches are hopeless in these conditions.
If I want to go shopping I have to choose one with a mobility scooter so I can get round with out injury. One supermarket said I could use a wheel chair. Nice idea in principle, but I hardly expect my 70 year old mother to push me round in one and navigate a trolley at the same time. Yes I could stay at home and do it all on line. but that is hardly the solution, instead it makes me a second rate citizen. Sure that's what the government would like me to be. Some silent voice who begs for any small morsel of help. But that's not my style, I am an independent human being, who would nothing better than to be back at work rather than stuck at home. But if there are mobility issues that could be solved by some genius of invention than why doesn't it happen.
At the end of the day I am only 40 not 80 so there is a lot that I could give back and do , if the simple things are sorted.
The day after the disaster
I have been quiet on line, but not in real life. The last three days have been a mixture of such high pain the air went blue on plain unconsciousness. Hardly the way I planned to turn 40.
After yet another doctor discussion the verdict is the mixture of having to jabs and my back pain has been so volatile it has sent my CRPS into such a frenzy I have had a complete system overload. How nice, and no one thought of this before why? It is well known that I react badly to most jabs but to do one in both arms for different illnesses was that straw to many apparently and the doctor agreed I should have had them weeks apart. Now there is little anyone can do but double up one medicine and hope it blocks enough of the pain signals until my immune system calms down.
In the mean time I have actually taken some massive steps backwards. Instead of being near vertical whilst standing without my crutches I am back to being bent at a near 45 degree angle, like I was at the beginning of August, and I am sleeping till mid day and passing out by 5 for a couple of hours. I am so out of touch I actually woke up at 7pm not knowing what day I was in let alone what time. It is hard to describe the disorientation that creates, but I know there is an element of fear in there.
My bigger fear is that one of my birthday presents involves a drive to Birmingham on the 27th and back on the 28th. That gives me about two weeks to sort my medication and pain levels so I am back to the state I was a week ago. Quiet a frightening thought. The only advise I was given by the doctor was, to give myself a few days to let the jabs work through my system and take it from there. So in the mean time my neighbours have to put up with the screams in multiple languages, none of the pleasant.
I did receive a late birthday card today so it seems my birthday is going to come in dribbles rather than one special day, but when even your own parent says you really need to postpone it till January once you are stable and in established treatment, it is a little gutting. Especially when 10 years ago I was capable of having a week long party and often did.
This is the hidden effect of CRPS and how it can turn a situation from inconvenient to completely debilitating. It just a major downer it had to happen on my birthday. My birthday became a non milestone as it was dragged down by the millstone I live with.
After yet another doctor discussion the verdict is the mixture of having to jabs and my back pain has been so volatile it has sent my CRPS into such a frenzy I have had a complete system overload. How nice, and no one thought of this before why? It is well known that I react badly to most jabs but to do one in both arms for different illnesses was that straw to many apparently and the doctor agreed I should have had them weeks apart. Now there is little anyone can do but double up one medicine and hope it blocks enough of the pain signals until my immune system calms down.
In the mean time I have actually taken some massive steps backwards. Instead of being near vertical whilst standing without my crutches I am back to being bent at a near 45 degree angle, like I was at the beginning of August, and I am sleeping till mid day and passing out by 5 for a couple of hours. I am so out of touch I actually woke up at 7pm not knowing what day I was in let alone what time. It is hard to describe the disorientation that creates, but I know there is an element of fear in there.
My bigger fear is that one of my birthday presents involves a drive to Birmingham on the 27th and back on the 28th. That gives me about two weeks to sort my medication and pain levels so I am back to the state I was a week ago. Quiet a frightening thought. The only advise I was given by the doctor was, to give myself a few days to let the jabs work through my system and take it from there. So in the mean time my neighbours have to put up with the screams in multiple languages, none of the pleasant.
I did receive a late birthday card today so it seems my birthday is going to come in dribbles rather than one special day, but when even your own parent says you really need to postpone it till January once you are stable and in established treatment, it is a little gutting. Especially when 10 years ago I was capable of having a week long party and often did.
This is the hidden effect of CRPS and how it can turn a situation from inconvenient to completely debilitating. It just a major downer it had to happen on my birthday. My birthday became a non milestone as it was dragged down by the millstone I live with.
Tuesday, 9 October 2012
Just not my day
Today was meant to be my big 40, well for start to finish it has been the worst birthday I have ever had!
I should never have tried tried to do anything today and just made it a duvet day. But no after much swearing and four letter words I got up. The pain levels higher than ever and shooting pains even if I breathed wrong. By shooting pain I mean random muscle spasms that are so painful they almost make me pass out.
Anyway i went to ASDA so mum could get all the stuff that had mysteriously disappeared overnight like milk bread and sugar, along with what I wanted for her to make a birthday cake. We choose ASDA purely because they have the mobility scooters so can get about easily. All was going well, till we stopped at the in store Mc Donald's for coffee, then right by the tills I broke down, well not me personally my scooter! The thing is these stores take your sticks whilst you use their scooters so you don't drive the things home or something. So there am I blocking the tills unable to move till someone comes with my sticks from the other end of the shop and a trolley for my shopping. Leaving me to crawl out of the shop the long way on my sticks.
Got home and fond the post contained no cards or anything just a begging letter and adverts. Wonderful! Even my husband never got me a thing, only a two friends who had earlier given me presents and mum have remembered. I know I have one other parcel, but I have to wait till Sunday for that. But there are no cards saying happy birthday or anything, and that is depressing. Granted I have loads of Internet notices but it isn't quite the same if that makes sense.
But that was over ridden by the agonising pain that has now over taken my senses, And since then I have been bed ridden in agony and tears. So bad it has got we have had the doctor out who can only adjust my medicine, till the scan results at the end of the month. Because of this and the fact I have had no choice but to take the high pain relief I can't even drink my birthday in, and there isn't even a piece of chocolate to compensate.
So all in all it has not been my day, and by the sounds of it from the kitchen the birthday cake has just met its maker in a non good way. My poor mum is ill from her flu jab yesterday and she is trying to compensate for everything else, but her arm is swollen to twice its size and she has all the symptoms of reacting against the jab.
That's the sum total of my 40th, guess its just not my day.
I should never have tried tried to do anything today and just made it a duvet day. But no after much swearing and four letter words I got up. The pain levels higher than ever and shooting pains even if I breathed wrong. By shooting pain I mean random muscle spasms that are so painful they almost make me pass out.
Anyway i went to ASDA so mum could get all the stuff that had mysteriously disappeared overnight like milk bread and sugar, along with what I wanted for her to make a birthday cake. We choose ASDA purely because they have the mobility scooters so can get about easily. All was going well, till we stopped at the in store Mc Donald's for coffee, then right by the tills I broke down, well not me personally my scooter! The thing is these stores take your sticks whilst you use their scooters so you don't drive the things home or something. So there am I blocking the tills unable to move till someone comes with my sticks from the other end of the shop and a trolley for my shopping. Leaving me to crawl out of the shop the long way on my sticks.
Got home and fond the post contained no cards or anything just a begging letter and adverts. Wonderful! Even my husband never got me a thing, only a two friends who had earlier given me presents and mum have remembered. I know I have one other parcel, but I have to wait till Sunday for that. But there are no cards saying happy birthday or anything, and that is depressing. Granted I have loads of Internet notices but it isn't quite the same if that makes sense.
But that was over ridden by the agonising pain that has now over taken my senses, And since then I have been bed ridden in agony and tears. So bad it has got we have had the doctor out who can only adjust my medicine, till the scan results at the end of the month. Because of this and the fact I have had no choice but to take the high pain relief I can't even drink my birthday in, and there isn't even a piece of chocolate to compensate.
So all in all it has not been my day, and by the sounds of it from the kitchen the birthday cake has just met its maker in a non good way. My poor mum is ill from her flu jab yesterday and she is trying to compensate for everything else, but her arm is swollen to twice its size and she has all the symptoms of reacting against the jab.
That's the sum total of my 40th, guess its just not my day.
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