Monthly Archives: November 2013

From my Dad…. Extraordinary!

Events

I wanted to talk to you today about one of my heroes, the man I consider to be the outstanding political figure of the 20th. century. Regrettably our time together was totally filled up with other topics.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt became US president at the age of 50. He served 4 terms and died in office at the age of 63. He first became President in 1932 at the height of the Great Depression. He steered America out of those terrible times was re elected in 1936 , again in 1940 and 1944  thus leading the US through the second world war.When he died America was the richest and most powerful country in history.
After his death the American Constitution was amended so that a president can only serve two terms. Roosevelt’s-record will ,therefore, never be equalled. When he died his body was transported by rail over huge tracts of America so that the nation as a whole could pay their respects to the most loved man in the history of the country.
At the age of 39 FDR developed poliomyelitis , one year later he was totally paralysed from the waist down. He served his whole presidency sitting in a wheelchair yet his achievements were remarkable. He was a very powerful man upper body wise, so much so that he was complimented by the then heavy weight champ of the world, Jack Dempsey.  He stood 6ft 2ins.and weighed 182lbs. He once landed a shark on the back of a boat, sitting in his wheelchair, that weighed around 250lbs. His physical prowess was of no consequence compared with the outcomes that his mental prowess benefited America.
In his first speech to the nation in 1932 he began by saying ” all we have to fear is fear itself “. I believe only a man in his situation could really understand what those words meant. He went from strength to strength and by the end of his life was basically the leader of the Western world– all this while sitting in a wheelchair.
I know how important your physical prowess has been and will always be, but when you feeling low think of FDR. There’s so much more out there waiting for inspirational people like you and him.
Much love, Dad

Sent from my iPad

Wednesday 13th November

Events

7.30 toilet and shave. 

8.30 getting dressed whilst in a wheelchair practice. Not easy as you feel at all times as though you’re about to fall out of the bloody thing. 
10.00 Physio, involving back strengthening and press up’s. My best was 20. That’s double it was when I first came here. 
11.00 ‘standing up’ in a frame… 
12.00 lunch with my Uni rugby mate, Nick Wilson. Great to see him. 
13.00 – 16.45 wheelchair skills with the Back Up charity guys. God, they’re good in their chairs. I’m better than I was but still mediocre. 
16.45 mum and dad arrive with homemade cottage pie. And wine 🙂
Was fun. 
19.30 Brother Stu ( no, not the friar ) and my Aunty Rose and Uncle Dennis arrive. 
Lovely to see them, Rose could barely disguise her upset. 
21.30 they leave for the long drive home to Wales. 
Yep, a full day. 
Tomorrow will be much the same. I don’t have time to be bored, or to be too reflective. I believe that sometimes that’s a good thing. 
Just get your head down and get on with it, Dawkins. 

Sushi?!

Events

Thanks to Bret, Rick and Paul for catching the train to SM station, from London, bringing Sushi ( exotic for a notherner, a Mancunian and a welsh boy 

Oh yes, it was the American who supplied the sushi ) and for smuggling in wine as well. 
I’m sure Saville committed far worse crimes than that, yet still was feted here…. 
I’m in a ward of 4. 
Only 2 of us speak. 
The other two do actually have the capacity to, but opt not to. 
One is a young guy, very sad. The other is around 60 and definitely is a little arrogant. And Christ can this fella snore. 
Last night it was like the rebirth of Concorde in here. 
Someone pressed the nurse button to get them to wake him. 
I broached the subject with him this morning as our wheels passed in the corridor. He looked shocked that I talked to him. I’m not entirely sure he recognised me, even tho he sleeps 10 feet from me. 
He said he wasn’t aware that he’d ever snored… I asked if he was married?
As he answered in the affirmative, I wondered if he’d ever actually spoken  to his wife….

Today.

Events

Thanks to Piran, my regular canoe partner, for his trek to see me today. 

We had so little time, squeezing a visit in between a full on day of SM stuff. 
I’m getting marginally better at things ( about time ) so can see an end point, dimly. 
I’ve thought a lot recently about how people in chairs are perceived. 
I’ve imagined friends of mine ‘incapacitated’ and then wondered if I’d think any differently of them. 
Funny enough, it’s generally my ‘heroes’ that I’ve thought about. I’ve never had heroes in perhaps the traditional ‘ boy’s ‘ sense, instead I’ve had people that I know as my inspirational figures. 
Dan, my brothers, my father, Larry, Billy F, Piran, Dickie I, James Randall,  James C, Rob, Ian Matthews  to name a few here, mostly (but not all ) sporting types admittedly, whom I’ve seen at first hand suffering in silence, perservering through adversity. 
Of course, envisaging any of them in chairs , in my mind’s eye, has not ‘lessened’ them at all, in fact in some way it’s elevated my hypothetical  mental opinion of them. 
When I try to apply that logic to myself it doesn’t seem to apply. Daft I know, but true. I can only see myself as less than before, in terms of presence, stature, relevance, importance, everything really. 
I’ve already said that that doesn’t make sense in my own mindset of logic, perhaps I need to ‘achieve’ something in my new incarnation first to be comfortable with it. 
There are guys, and girls here, far younger than me, whose future is far from guaranteed. I feel so much for them, single, devoid often of lower sensation or movement. 
Where does that leave their future?
To me, they’re all incredible, but what will become of them once they leave here?
Will they marry, be parents, work, be happy?
Statistically they’ll be ok, but they must wonder how?
I hope they make it through this. 

Today.

Events

Thanks to Piran, my regular canoe partner, for his trek to see me today. 

We had so little time, squeezing a visit in between a full on day of SM stuff. 
I’m getting marginally better at things ( about time ) so can see an end point, dimly. 
I’ve thought a lot recently about how people in chairs are perceived. 
I’ve imagined friends of mine ‘incapacitated’ and then wondered if I’d think any differently of them. 
Funny enough, it’s generally my ‘heroes’ that I’ve thought about. I’ve never had heroes in perhaps the traditional ‘ boy’s ‘ sense, instead I’ve had people that I know as my inspirational figures. 
Dan, my brothers, my father, Larry, Billy F, Piran, Dickie I, James C, Rob,  to name a few here, mostly sporting types admittedly, whom I’ve seen at first hand suffering in silence, perservering through adversity. 
Of course, envisaging any of them in chairs , in my mind’s eye, has not ‘lessened’ them at all, in fact in some way it’s elevated my hypothetical  mental opinion of them. 
When I try to apply that logic to myself it doesn’t seem to apply. Daft I know, but true. I can only see myself as less than before, in terms of presence, stature, relevance, importance, everything really. 
I’ve already said that that doesn’t make sense in my own mindset of logic, perhaps I need to ‘achieve’ something in my new incarnation first to be comfortable with it. 
There are guys, and girls here, far younger than me, whose future is far from guaranteed. I feel so much for them, single, devoid often of lower sensation or movement. 
Where does that leave their future?
To me, they’re all incredible, but what will become of them once they leave here?
Will they marry, be parents, work, be happy?
Statistically they’ll be ok, but they must wonder how?
I hope they make it through this.