Back to my new normal

It is so easy with everything that is going on in the world to forget that other little ailments and illness can crop up. Like my back, for instance. All was going fine, I was handling my self-isolation like a ninja. I had a strategy, a routine (of sorts). I was doing my home workouts every day. Then mum got sick. She had a fall at home and had a suspected broken rib. They told us to give her painkillers they prescribed and keep an eye on her. She is supposed to be self-isolating as she is 81, so not sure how we were supposed to do that. Well we did what we could as safely as we could. Mum, however, went downhill within 24 hours and they then suspected that maybe she had punctured a lung. Meanwhile, my sister, who is at home in the same town, had to self-isolate because her partner was symptomatic so she couldn’t help mum. Mum is notoriously unable to take medication, her body rejects tablets and within moments of taking them tends to purge them from her body in something akin to a scene from the exorcist. By Friday morning she had barely eaten and hadn’t slept for 48 hours and was feeling dreadful. The doctor called the paramedics as they suspected she had punctured a lung. It looked like a trip to the A&E department about 40 miles away was inevitable. The idea of which really frightened me, as she would be all alone (no visitors allowed), far from home and possibly exposed to Coronavirus. They had recently closed the A&E in our local hospital to keep it as a ‘clean hospital’ with no Covid-19 cases. Poor mum. The paramedics came, one of whom, a tall handsome young man, she took a shine to (she couldn’t be all that unwell I thought!). They checked her over and were determined that they didn’t think she had punctured a lung, (thank goodness) and that she would be better off at home with pain killers (if she could keep them down). The relief of hearing that after 48 hours of stressing and worrying lead me to then put my back out quite badly and I have been incapacitated ever since!

I was given some really strong painkillers and muscle relaxants but they made me really sick so I had to stop taking them (like mother like son) . I was unable to walk or stand for four or five days. Thankfully I am now mobile after two weeks but still in some pain. I am getting there though.

I did at one point, when I was taking the strong painkillers, agree to appear on some fitness shows with the Bodyblade, which I did, as the painkillers and muscle relaxants took a lot of the pain away at first and it was great to interact via FaceTime with Simon Biagi on-air in the morning and Chloe in the evening.

However I had to stop taking the painkillers quite soon after that and I ended up flat on my back in bed again!

I will say that there is a great selection of fitness equipment currently on QVC to help us all stay fit, like the Bodyblade and the Cubii. As well as lots of others, so definitely worth checking those out (I don’t know about you but the boredom has me buying and eating lots of ‘treats’ at the moment and I definitely need to get moving again!). I was loving my little home gym before the old back went on me (it was not a workout-related incident, I simply bent down to pick something up! I have a weakness in my back anyway and getting old isn’t helping!) I have been out for a gentle walk around the block in the sunshine in the last few days and that has been glorious. It did my heart good. Only my fifth time outside in 29 days. That in itself is another story that I shall save for my next blog!

By the way, I have been using my Wedgie Pillow that was a Today’s Special Value or a Big Deal (I can’t actually remember) to support my back everywhere I have been sitting (I need the most support when I am on the sofa. Didn’t any of you get one when we had them?)

Speaking of pillows, we have a Big Deal at the moment on QVC, which is the Bell and Howell multi-support pillow and pillowcase, which I have my eye in as well. Great for back support, raising your legs or just giving you general support. Remember, everything is coming with a 60 day (or night, in this case) money back guarantee, so plenty of time to try this for yourself.

So right now there are no workout videos being posted on my Insta, but do please still check it out as I am still posting updates on the old back and just ranting about odd thoughts that pop into my head. Lol! Oh, and in case none of you have seen it, I’ve been cultivating a beard whilst I’m off work. It’s actually been getting a lot of positive feedback, which I am finding out because about two years ago I grew one and it got very mixed reviews! Let me know your thoughts on this latest effort.

I’ll let you into a secret, I’m not personally the greatest fan of beards if I’m being honest, but it’s something else to be doing and it saves me having to buy razor blades and shaving oil for a while. It’s all harmless fun, though it is incredibly tricky and scratchy on my own face, nobody really tells you that about growing a beard!

Anyway I must be off, I need to start doing some of my physio stretches (gently) for my back, otherwise I’ll never move properly again (or at least it feels like that some days.)

For those of you who were wondering, I was just off the phone from mum a few minutes before I sat down to type this and she is in great humour and doing well. She’s still in pain and particularly so this morning, because she had cut back on her painkillers yesterday, but she is back on them today and her appetite is back and she was full of the craic, as we said at home. We chatted merrily for 29 minutes until she finally told me to get off the phone (I’m guessing one of her quiz/ game shows was starting – she is addicted).

I’m looking out at my balcony and wishing I could get it sorted – it’s a mess, dead plants everywhere.

The day before my back went, I picked up a couple of big bags of general purpose compost at the local supermarket (another reason my back probably went) in the hope of getting started on planting it up. Well, I figure to save my back I’ll be ordering Thompson & Morgan’s compost from QVC and having it delivered to the door, as well as some gorgeous geraniums I saw on our website from Mont Rose as I have a very sunny exposed balcony and I’m terrible at remembering to water plants. Lol. There’s loads of gardening ideas on there from Michael Perry to Richard Jackson to George Clowes from de Jager to fabulous colourful planting from Hayloft Plants.

Hopefully by the next time we speak, my back will be better and I will be back with the fitness workouts and I’ll have made a start on the balcony clean-up (and used my Wet and Forget on my decking) and made a start on the planting too.

Anyone with any plant or planting tips for exposed balconies and containers please pass them along!

Until next time.

Stay safe, stay well,

Miceal