![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Message-Plaque.jpg\")
\nFirstly, can I just say a massive thank you to everyone who left lovely comments on last week\u2019s blog. I\u2019ve read them all and will eventually get around to answering you because your very kind words are exactly what has kept me feeling so positive throughout this unfamiliar period of feeling helpless!<\/p>\n
It\u2019s actually been quite a busy week for me with two trips into Chiswick to my physiotherapist, my first visit from a non-family member and the charity quiz last Saturday that I had promised our daughter Sophie we would attend.<\/p>\n
To be honest, I get pretty tired by the early evening so I was tempted to go back on my word, which I\u2019m sure she would have understood, but I wasn\u2019t going to let a broken arm and ankle stop me. I tried to make a bit of an effort by choosing to wear one of my favourite dresses and putting a little bit of make-up on, but asking Chris to put heated rollers in my hair was just one step too far for him. In the end we managed it together, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s an experience he is keen to repeat!<\/p>\n
So off I went in my wheelchair with the crutches also with us, just in case I needed the loo. Our team was called \u2018Quiztal Palace\u2019 and we followed on from the success of Crystal Palace who had won earlier in the day by coming first in the quiz. There was also a separate section where you had to give a lip-sync rendition of a song. We chose ‘My Heart Will Go On\u2019 from Titanic and thanks to some very clever choreography from Sophie, we made use of my crutches as giant flutes and my wheelchair. The quiz we won fair and square, but I have a feeling there may have been something of a sympathy vote as we won the lip sync too. I\u2019m not going to lie, I was shattered by the time we got home, but oh so glad we made the effort and helped to raise some money.<\/p>\n
Those of you who read my blog regularly will know that I\u2019m a fan of inspirational message plaques and have lots of them in our downstairs loo. I decided it was time for a new one and this one seems particularly appropriate at the moment.<\/p>\n\n
Obviously, I\u2019m taking the meaning literally with regard to my ankle, but it is also true metaphorically. This time five years ago, I had never had a novel published, despite having wanted to write one since I was ten years old. My first novel, Life\u2019s a Beach and Then, was published in June 2015 – I know some of you bought it from QVC and I thank you for that as I was able to make a sizeable donation to the blood cancer charity LLR, now known as Bloodwise. Today, less than five years later, my seventh novel, third in the DCI Rachel Hart series and entitled \u2018Why She Died\u2019, has gone on pre-order, before publication in May. As promised, here is the cover. As with the others in the series, it is a crime thriller for those of you who like that sort of thing.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Why-She-Died-cover-cropped.jpg\")
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I have actually needed to do a bit of work on one of the editing stages, which has been so difficult with my arm, but thankfully QVC gave me this pillow to try out, which is a Big Deal<\/a> next week. Not only has it been great for propping me up on the bed when I\u2019m resting my ankle during the day, it\u2019s also been a great base to rest my computer on for my one-handed typing\u2026 in fact, that is exactly what I\u2019m doing now! It\u2019s really clever actually, as it\u2019s customisable for lots of different scenarios, including sitting on it in the car or an office chair. Keep a look out for the Big Deal presentations next week.<\/p>\n As I mentioned above, I\u2019ve had a couple more physio sessions this week along with all the exercises she gives me to do at home. Monday was particularly challenging as she had me walking on a treadmill! I know what you are thinking, how can you walk on a treadmill if you are on crutches? Well, this is a special one. It\u2019s called the Alter G and is widely used by athletes and footballers when they are recovering from injury – it was also used by our very own Jackie Kabler when she had hurt her back. It was a bit tricky to get into with a broken wrist but once in and zipped up, it is pumped up with air to support a percentage of your body weight – quite incredible really, when you consider I only had my operation four weeks ago. Chris did take a video, but I think I\u2019ll be keeping it to myself!<\/p>\n However, I\u2019m happy to share this video he shot yesterday morning – we had a light dusting of snow! Well, it\u2019s better than all the rain and again my heart goes out to you if you\u2019ve been caught up in any of the floods.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Cushion-TSD-cropped-scaled.jpg\")
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