The 'Triumphs' thread

dreamdaisy

BettyMac, there is nothing like striking whilst the iron is hot (especially when one has been doing so with a lukewarm rising to tepid iron being the norm). I hope your stairs are giving you immense pleasure as you pass thinking 'I did that!'

Airwave!, I join you in the weight gain and I envy you the bike ride - shall we invest in a tandem? DD

Slosh

I decided it was time to address the poor eating habits I have got into for a whole host of reasons and also try to loose some weight so on Monday I joined Slimming W. A bonus is that it will also be a good way to get to know people in the village.

stickywicket

dreamdaisy wrote:

Airwave!, I join you in the weight gain and I envy you the bike ride - shall we invest in a tandem? DD

Don't do it, Airwave. You'll find you're the only one pedalling uphill

Slosh - welcome back and good luck with your resolution.

Slosh

Thanks Sticky. It's good to have the internet back.

dreamdaisy

I am on day three of Christmas tree dismantling and approaching the final hurdle: the top two layers are neatened and tied, ready to go back in the box, and I am halfway through the final layer, the biggest and bushiest of them all. On Friday I began at 11am and finished at 5pm, yesterday was 9.45 through to 4, today is underway. I ache from head to toe but at least the new pain is mostly muscular and for a good, physical reason: I have been bending and stretching so much I should end with a waist that is two thirds what it was. DD

Slosh

Well done DD. For the first year ever I didn't put up my tree , mainly because I hadn't found my decorations or the tree base!

dreamdaisy

Inspired by Betty Mac I have vacuumed both sofas and the armchair. DD

BettyMac

Inspired by Betty Mac I have vacuumed both sofas and the armchair. DD

Did you find anything interesting or valuable, DD?

I’m happy to say the urge to Clean Things has passed - though I’m bracing myself to deal with a mountain of laundry after the man’s been to fix the washing machine next Friday.

stickywicket

Phew! I'm glad it's past. You seem to have started an epidemic with DD affected too If it starts up again I'd see if the doc can give you something :animal_busy:

Slosh

Still got a way to go but as well as loosing 2lbs I'm also cooking more and eating better.

stickywicket

So far today I have showered, dressed, got and eaten breakfast, cleaned (bits of :oops: ) the bathroom, washed up,put laundry in machine and folded previous lot. Then brewed up again.

Not a huge achievement in daily life but, given that this time last week I was languishing in ITU (pneumonia and a collapsed lung) with a tube down my throat, able to neither eat nor talk for 4 days (oh how Mr SW loved the non-talking bit ) and given that I only got home on Tuesday afternoon, I'm actually feeling quite smugly satisfied.

[Deleted User]

Gosh stickywicket!!

That is shocking to hear, but what an amazing recovery you've made :shock:

Take it steady now.

Best wishes

Ellen

stickywicket

Thanks, Mod Ellen.

Just a footnote for anyone who might be anxious - the pneumonia and collapsed lung were in no way connected with my arthritis and I'm no more likely to get either again than the next man or woman I just got unlucky.

dreamdaisy

I have just completed my first unaided walk in ages. I executed around 2500 steps which was around 2499 too many but I have the mental satisfaction of having done it rather than the mental dis-satisfaction of sitting on the sofa making excuses not to do it. DD

stickywicket

Woo hoo! Well done, DD! Finding the motivation to get started (again :roll: ) is often the hardest bit. I suspect you did it on the road or pavement which is also much, much harder than on a flat, indoor floor. My family think I'm weird because (well, for many reasons ) I love hospital corridors. They are broad and flat and I can walk much further than on roads or pavements. I think yours is a true triumph and I hope Federer wins

dreamdaisy

I managed another walk today, just to the postbox and back (of course you all know where that is in relation to the house ) but it was harder work than the other day. I did about the same distance but was slower and more unsteady.

You know all that nonsense about OA being less of a nuisance in the warmer weather? What a load of MAF* that is. :roll: DD

*MAF = my Aunt Fanny

dreamdaisy

A rather twisted triumph this; a good friend is coming to lunch and she's bringing it. We will be sitting on the marital bed watching the tennis and doing a jigsaw (for any jigsaw afficionados it's Battle of Lights, Coney Island by Joseph Stella. It's a beautiful stinker.) DD

stickywicket

Congratulations on getting others to ensure you have a rather pleasant day Care to work on Mr SW? Please???

I did well yesterday. I planned a lasagne, which I love, but it requires a lot of time and a lot of breaks. I'd just decided I needed a rest when our daughter-in-law and grandson arrived. Fairly soon, grandson asked if he could have a sleepover. He's never any trouble so we agreed but then thought we should offer a meal too. Lasagne is easy to stretch. Then I thought maybe, as they wouldn't all be coming to us to eat today (Thursday) as they normally do, I should ask Mum & Dad too.

So, the lasagne was stretched out with more veg, more sauce and a much bigger dish, Mr SW was despatched for more garlic bread and my lovely dil prepped the salad. Luckily, I had a bought treacle tart and custard. My grandson loves treacle tart though prefers mine. Not today, my love :roll:

It was a good meal, great chat, everyone happy, especially me as it was my knee's biggest test yet since it threw a hissy fit some weeks ago.

stickywicket

This is an odd sort of 'triumph but, for me, an important one. Mr SW, ex-cricketer, ex-rugby player, ex-ice skater, ex-hiker, ex-golfer has a hip which, by the time he went to the doc and had it x-rayed, needed replacing. For years it's been dodgy but having to give up his beloved golf and walking, did it and sent him to the health centre.

The good thing is that finally, FINALLY he is listening to me about arthritis. At last I can put my years of it to good use and help him. Just little things – prunes for the cocos' constipation, a cushion on his dining chair, gaviscon and an extra pillow going to bed to stop him waking up bloated and out of breath from the hernia that the constipation gave him :roll:

Previously, he's never listened to me on medical matters as he's had so few. Mind you, I've yet to convince him it'd be a good idea to place a supermarket bag on his car seat so's he can slide in without groaning. He's not so bad yet - allegedly :roll:

crinkly1

It's a long time since I posted on this thread so the above has reminded me it's high time I came back - especially as, after two years, I have finally returned to cycling.

Shoulder issues put a stop to it but I've exchanged my rather basic bike for one with front suspension and, with considerable trepidation, gave it a go.

Four miles later my husband and I were back at the disused rail trail car park. I hadn't wobbled off the bike and, for the return half of the outing I actually managed to enjoy the countryside around.

My thanks to a great surgeon and physiotherapists as well as to an online auction site where I sourced the 'new' bike - not forgetting my long-suffering husband who ignored my dithering and loaded up our bikes.

Mike1

I got from my recliner to the kitchen by "furniture hopping" instead of using my crutches!

dibdab

I recently stopped various Disease modifiers totalling over 70 a week to be replaced with a single weekly injection of abatacept. My inflammation has, over 10 weeks, completely reduced, my disease activity score is below one, my rheumy announced that whilst I still have RA my symptoms are in remission!!
God bless the clever folks who develop new medications with such diligence, and the NHS who match us up with the best treatments and care for us over such long periods of time.

Deb xx

stickywicket

Deb, that's absolutely fantastic and I'm so pleased for you.

Thank you, Crinkly and Mike. I love the positivity.

stickywicket

Bumped up for Marcia.

dreamdaisy

I am in the process of aquiring a new personal trainer. Things have deteriorated after an appalling summer and my old one has moved on to pastures new. I had to go the gym yesterday to update my records, management set up the meeting then didn't appear. :roll: In the course of waiting for the non-appointment I chatted to a PT who was waiting for a client and she told me of a chap who specialises in injury recovery. Well, I'm injured with no chance of recovery so that will be a challenge for him! We meet for the first time next Tuesday, he asked for a list of medication and some general background which is a good sign.

I am not particularly enamoured by this course of action but my stamina has dropped markedly and my muscles need a challenge. I need the challenge of pushing myself through the pain and enjoying a different pain but it's the only path open to me for - and I hate this term - fighting back. It's not fighting, it's finding another way to cope. I also need to regain motivation and fixing appointments with someone brings the responsibility of turning up and working in between those meetings.

Roll on Tuesday. DD