Skip to main content

Over My Shoulder

Monday 11 February

Well, I’m not, as it happens. Over my frozen shoulder, that is. However, after five months of waiting I get to see a physio who turns out to be absolutely marvellous. So marvellous, in fact, that she picks up another ailment that worries her more than the shoulder. I had assumed that the pins and needles in the little finger of my left hand were a side effect of the shoulder but, no, it seems I have a trapped nerve in my elbow. The physio is concerned because I don’t notice when she jabs her brooch into my finger (nice!). There is a possibility, she suggests, that I could lean on a hot hob and set myself on fire. Not in our house, I think, where Tom does all the cooking, nevertheless I make I mental note to stay away from all ovens.

Friday 15 February

I take life a day at a time and try to get the most of the time I’ve got. I’ve seen enough now to know that the most unexpected things can rise up to bite you and, sometimes, tomorrow doesn’t come. However some forward planning is now required as I’ve just entered the Cardiff half-marathon. Yikes! Actually there’s nothing like the emotion of a race to make you feel alive; the sheer terror just before the race kicks off is only matched by the joy and exhilaration of crossing the finishing line.

Saturday 16 February

Tom has a tutorial in Cardiff for the OU course he is studying. I take the opportunity to catch up with Lily who’s been really ill with a very nasty bug. Lily feels up to a stroll round the city centre. Browsing in two of the bookshops becomes impossible because of the book signings taking place; in one the guy from Torchwood is attracting an eager crowd but the winner of the day is Jordan who has queues all round the block and bouncers galore. Lily and I resist both queues but for some reason I am reminded that I need to buy a new sports bra (Faith, please note!).

Sunday 17 February

There is a problem with my new ‘extra high impact’ sports bra; it’s not a ‘swing round’ job and my frozen shoulder means I can’t reach behind my back. Tom idly wonders if I can’t just pull it over my head until he sees that I will do myself a terrible mischief if I attempt such folly and helps strap me in.

Monday 18 February

And talking of shoulders, I don’t look over mine very often. The past, as they say, is another country and on the whole I don’t need to be reunited with friends because, hey, those people weren’t my friends or I’d still be in touch with them. The other night, however, I stayed up late reading the lovely, and wickedly funny, Judy Astley’s latest book, ‘Laying the Ghost’ which is about what Nell discovers when she decides to trace her old flame, Patrick. I always try to make Judy’s books last but can never quite manage to put them down. If you’ve ever been tempted to Google that ex or The One Who Got Away (and I’m admitting nothing!) this is a thoroughly enjoyable and brilliantly entertaining read. So, does anyone haunt you?



Hwyl fawr!

Comments

Pondside said…
I agree Chris - if it's a friend,I'd still be in touch! That said, I've had people from the past look me up - not good so far. One wanted to talk about her recently jailed son, another was on husband #4 and seemed to take a great interest in The Great Dane..... I hope the physion can help you with that shoulder.
Sorry to hear that your shoulder is still not right - sounds rather awkward where things like sports bras are concerned. Hope it's not proving too painful. Wonder what Jordan looked like close up - rather a lot of make-up I should imagine.

Book sounds fun - and totally agree with you about friends reunited. Although I can't say I haven't been tempted.

Best of luck with the race training - we're all behind you.
Best of luck with the half-marathon. I would feel energetic if I went to watch people running!

I did make contact with an old school friend a couple of years ago but it wasn't the best idea I've ever had. Both of us had changed rather too much and thankfully we've lost touch again.
Norma Murray said…
Your shoulder sounds very sore. Hmm! I think I'd better steer clear of that book..water under the bridge and all that.
Shoulder sounds so painful. I do hope the physio helps. I'm impressed with the running. I used to run quite a bit before we moved here but the combination of the being ill and the fact that you can't go anywhere here without hitting big hills has put me off.
Don't think I will be tempted by reuniting. I would quite like to know what has happened to one or two people but I just want to know- I don't want to be in touch!
Flowerpot said…
Hope your shoulder improves soon. I met Judy at a do in Falmouth last year and she was talking about taht very book - I must get it.
Lane Mathias said…
Half marathon! Cripes, I'm thinking twice about the Race for Life. Am supposed to be doing three miles but am tempted to downsize to one:-)

Sympathies with trapped nerve. I have a damaged nerve in elbow too and tingly fingers due to freak floor washing accident. I wish someone would tell me to stay away from ovens though:-(

I did once google 'someone' (I'm whispering very quietly here) but seeing the lack of hair and huge bloated face told me all I needed to know:-)

Good luck with your training!
Milla said…
this sentence is worrying: "I take life a day at a time and try to get the most of the time I’ve got."!! Shoulder sounds simply vile. A physio friend had this (the bra problem was a biggie, too - partic difficult as her husband travels a lot leaving her a bit stranded, lingerie-wise) she had an operation for it last November, where they knock you out and sort of crunch it. Healing is taking a long time but the range of movement increased massively. She's hoping to serve over-head soon. Pitiful ambition, really, but am sure you identify with it. I get cricked necks a lot and just hate any incapicity. Shoulders are the worst, apparently, when they go, because they are the most flexible joint, or something. Sounds like a job for a doctor to me.
Unknown said…
Ouch on the shoulder. reading Laying the Ghost now and loving it.

How's the rewrite?

lizx
Sally Townsend said…
Hmmm interesting ......... but you're not giving anything away are you ? don't blame you either !!
Chris Stovell said…
Sorry, Milla, - some clumsy phrasing on my part. Thought I should just make it clear that I have no plans to kick the bucket just yet. I did, however, have a 'Typhoid Mary' moment when there was death and serious illness all around me which has made me acutely aware of how precious life is.
Cait O'Connor said…
That's great, I bet we have all googled certain names on the quiet!
I do admire you doing the marathon, good luck with it and I hope your shoulder and elbow get sorted.
I will try that book on your recommendation.
Expat mum said…
A cautionary note re the shoulder. I had similar problems, (rotator cuff something or other) and ended up having a cortisone shot. It has been great for about 6 months now and I can even lift a gallon of milk from the fridge again, (or a litre of wine). However, I was careful not to appear to "pain-free" as it's been rather nice to have other people shovelling the snow and generally seeing to the heavy stuff. Besides, just because I can't feel any pain doesn't mean I can't still do some untold damage!
I went through Friendsreunited and hooked up with some old school friends - you will not be surprised to learn all the contact fizzled out . . .

Can the physio help you with the trapped nerve in your elbow . . .great excuse though - I can never cook again in case I go up in flames . . .

How is the frozen shoulder now!

Did she really stick her brooch in you . . . . eeeek.

Popular posts from this blog

Happy Endings, New Beginnings

Blended families come with conflicting loyalties and at Christmas time nearly everyone has somewhere else they feel they ought to be. Throw partners into the equation and it gets even more complicated. Since Tom and I aren’t especially hung up about Christmas we’re happy to let our children go with the strongest flow, but I have to say it was a great delight to have the girls and their partners staying with us this year. When such moments are few and far between they become very precious. My stepsons weren’t far from our thoughts either, not least because we had the very happy news on Christmas Day that my elder stepson and his girlfriend had become engaged. Congratulations Dan and Gill, here’s wishing you every happiness together. Tom and I end a year that has seen the fruition of many years work, both of us crossing important thresholds within weeks of each other. I’m really looking forwards to seeing Turning the Tide published next year and it’s been so satisfying, after al

Reconnecting

I hadn't realised it until now , but it’s probably no coincidence that my last post was about our trip to Norwich, a city I’ve loved since studying at UEA. I wrote, then, that coming home was a hard landing, a feeling that took me completely by surprise as it’s been such a privilege to live in this beautiful, remote spot on the very edge of the west Wales coast. A trip to Skye at the end of October - Tom’s choice - with Ma, was a truly lovely holiday. The weather was kind, the colours of those breathtaking seascapes will stay with me, as will all the happy memories we made that week. And, because our small cottage had been so beautifully modernised and worked so well for the three of us, it was easy to imagine what it might be like to live somewhere different. If travel doesn’t broaden the mind, it certainly brings a new perspective. By the end of the year, Tom and I had decided that it was time for a change, time to move closer to a town (we are neither of us, as they say, getting

Fly Free, Dottie Do

‘How many days to my birthday?’ Ma asks. I do a quick calculation. ‘Eighteen,’ I reply. ‘Eighteen days until your ninetieth birthday.’ Ma pulls a face and shakes her head. Every sentence is hard work for her now, when each breath is a struggle. ‘You’ll have to write a book about this, you know,’ she says, with one of her quick, mischievous smiles. ‘“Carry On Dying”. Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry.’ The smile fades. ‘Who knew,’ she adds wearily, ‘that dying would be such a palaver?’  It’s only eleven days since Ma was diagnosed with a high-grade, aggressive lymphoma, four days since she was overwhelmed with pain and breathing difficulties and was admitted as an emergency to hospital. Until a few weeks ago, she lived completely independently; shopping, cooking, cleaning and tending her much-loved garden. The deterioration in her health is shockingly rapid. The eight days preceding her death are a living hell, a constant battle with the ward staff to get Ma the pain relief she’s been presc