Let's get physical.

Whilst I can still do bits of cooking, unless I have some help, my cooking and the state of the kitchen would be enough to render Gordon Ramsey speechless. Every time I even attempt to get into the fridge, I am dicing with death. Precariously, the fridge perches on a ledge which, if my wheelchair gets next to it, there is about 3mm of space at the side before my wheelchair will fall. Therefore, I have to resort to standing on my good foot and hang over the fridge door to stop myself falling over. Dangerous and definitely not attractive.

Anyway, all this has resulted in our meals being quick ones, and definitely not calorie counted. Also, due to the fact that I am glued to the sofa or a chair, I am doing less exercise than ever and believe me, I did not think that this was possible! I needed a plan otherwise in 3 months time I would need my roof bulldozing in for the forklift truck to hoist me off the sofa. I mean, the sofa cushion is even beginning to look like me!(The bottom half) I reckon that if I die, scientists would be able to take the throw off the sofa and examine it for carbon dating and find a perfect imprint of my cheeks in it just like Turin's shroud.
The plan was to try to do some exercise. It sounds easy but firstly, I can not walk without both hands on crutches so that meant Zumba was not an option.(Imagine the tales if I did that). Secondly, I'm hardly a fitness freak. Exercise is a little bit alien.
Nick sorted me out with some weights to help my arms as most of the exercise I now do uses my very weak arms. He gave me the smallest weights and showed me what to do which resulted in me sitting, watching X-factor, huffing and puffing as I feebly attempted to raise the weights above my head and complaining that they hurt my arms.(You may have gathered by now that from living with me, Nick has developed the very useful tool of selective hearing. At this point, it was switched on!) Keeping on doing this actually must have helped because I progressed with further weights so much so that when my friend Michelle can round, she could hardly lift them off the floor.
All of this did not feel like enough. I needed more so research led me to discover an 'armchair fitness' dvd. Everyone I have said this to has cracked up laughing. Yes, I too had visions of a 90 year old sat in a Shackletons high seat attempting to move their arms above waist height with difficulty. However,this was not the case. It has been made my a very inspiring lady, younger than me, who lost one of her legs so this would be perfect. Sitting up ready to exercise, I have to admit that I felt like a total idiot doing this in my living room. Enthusiastically, I began and the warm up nearly killed me off. After nearly falling off the seat I was sitting on, my toes on my bad foot had swelled up so much after not being elevated that it felt that my foot was going to explode. The foot also seemed to be heating my entire body up so what with that and the warm-up, I felt like I was having some sort of heart attack. I had to go back to lay down. Not good. After about 10 minutes, I started again only to find that I needed massage balls (oh yes, they are funny!) and big piece of elastic. Damn it, I had to stop again because I did not have the goods! 2 days later, when my equipment arrived, I tried again and really enjoyed it. However, during the part that stretches your back, you need to lay on the floor. This was all well and good, but getting off the floor is another story. I had crawl across the floor to the sofa, throw my torso on to it and try to swing both legs onto it, all whilst trying not to fall off. That part is going to take some practice.
As it happens, I have only done this DVD a couple of times. Staring at it, from across the room, I just keep thinking about how difficult it is just get the DVD in the player.That is a whole exercise in itself for which exhausts me just thinking about it. I do worry that if I don't fall and smash my head on the T.V., I will end up having a very personal relationship with our massive Christmas tree that is right next to the T.V. Falling into that will not be a pretty sight.

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