Pretty good given it was 150 in Toulon 3 months ago…
Yearly Archives: 2013
When I dared to moan to Monique that I wasn’t that happy, on bed rest..she replied. Never stuck for words is Monique!.
Reasons why you should smile?
Shall I list them to remind you? I believe I shall:
1) you have two gorgeous amazing daughters who love their father dearly
2) you have an amazing and lovely wife who loves her husband dearly
3) you have friends that would drop bloody everything for you anywhere and at anytime
4) you are a very successful optometrist with a solid business and staff that cannot wait until you are back in the office
5) you have a family and siblings who clearly hold you in very high regard and are so relieved you are still here
6) you were given a second chance and some great challenges to pursue as a result (you are always one in need of challenges)
7) looks like others will continue to benefit from the Russ Dawkins Foundation just getting off the ground
8) you are a stellar athlete across multiple sports. That doesn’t just leave you because your legs no longer work.
9) you are not 80 not even 50- so you have a whole life in front of you.
10) you are not an idiot and believe me- there are a lot of idiots out there.
Ok- so you are stuck in a bed for 1-2 wks. You are not 6 feet under. Read, write, study, eat, sleep, listen to music, buy something nice for Dani. Plan a surprise of some sort for your girls. Your head works even if your ass doesn’t 🙂
I know it sucks and it’s hard and it’s two steps forward and one step back. But you really are doing great and you are just plain special. Don’t forget that.
Massive hugs.
Ps- did Dan run his 50 miler ?
On 2013-10-07, at 9:13 AM, “Russ” <rdawkins2@sky.com> wrote:
Hmmm yeah. There must be a reason to be 😉 x
Sent from my iPhone 7 prototype.
On 7 Oct 2013, at 16:06, Monique Dube wrote:
Be happy 🙂 xx
On 2013-10-07, at 9:00 AM, “Russ”
I’m sure you’re right xx
Weekend at home.
So…. A mixed success really.
Whilst it’s lovely to go home, I haven’t seemed to have cracked the looking after myself while I’m away part.
I’ve picked up another potential problem on my ass and knocked both ankles.
Whilst I’m trying to get better at independence, there seems to be a fine line between achieving it and ‘self harming’.
We get a bigger car this week. The faithful Yaris struggles with me, a wheelchair, Dani, 2 daughters and their handbags. An old Audi A4 is the choice- bigger, and an estate so much more boot space.
Anyone wanna buy a low’ish mileage w reg Toyota Yaris? ( approx 75000 miles I think )
Email me. 😕 rdawkins2@sky.com
Great lil car, never goes wrong. Toyota reliability, see.
It was lovely to be invited to Lisa and Andrew’s for Sunday lunch.
It was Lisa’s birthday and she selflessly cooked for ten plus invited us lot, her brother, Simon ( a fellow Specsavers optometrist ) plus his wife, Sarah, and her fab sister, Jane ( whose toes I once sucked at a wedding, in fact Lisa and Andrew’s wedding, but that’s another story. It was probably about the time that Fergie ( not Alex ) made toe sucking popular, though it was the same day as Diana’s funeral, so maybe I should’ve shown more decorum )
Christ, did any of you follow that?!
Well done if you did.
So I’m currently back on bed confinement. Not great news, but safety first.
They take pictures of the injured areas here. God that’s not a great job. Imagine if you’ve done a photography course and envisaged modelling shoots, catwalks, panoramic views and sunsets over the Caribbean.. And you end up taking pictures of my arse.
I mean it’s a job, but surely not someone’s dream outcome.
Hydrotherapy.
As expected, not my pursuit of choice.
Far from being a relaxing source of therapy and weightless, it was 30 minutes of near drowning.
My lack of buoyancy has not diminished, in fact my legs now dragging down, adds to it.
How on earth I’m expected to swim is laughably unlikely. Lurking at the bottom of the pool however, holding my breath, is possible.
With my lung capacity, I’m sure I could manage a massive ten seconds.
My lovely neighbour, Neelam , who is also my dentist, came to view my front tooth today. It came a cropper either in my crash or in the aftermath, what with various life saving tubes shoved into my mouth. She took pictures etc and will make me a new one, to be fitted in due course.. Great home visit service!
Thanks, Neelam. X
Dinner tonight was cooked by wonder cook Sophia Teasdale – hand delivered this afternoon! ‘7 hour slow cooked lamb’ it’s called. It certainly smells absolutely delicious.
Thanks Sophia. Top Welsh girl, see.
X
Latymer U13’s. And me.
Saturday.
The kitchen bed was a little full last night.
A bloke with very limited mobility, Dani plus a 9 year old with a temperature.
Poor Dani in the middle must have felt trapped, as well as having to look after the sick flanking her.
Needless to say she came through it smiling.
I’ll be up and dressed soon and en route to watch Lily play hockey for her school A team. She’s a pretty prolific goal scorer so hopefully I’ll be cheering on more of the same in an hour’s time.
3 hours later: hockey over. Lost 8-2. No Lily goals. Lost to a better team. That’s life, that’s sport. They’ll get better I have no doubt.
The girls in her team all came to chat to me later, very nice of them.
One asked me if it’s great fun being in a wheelchair ? I’d like to say that it is.
The innocence of youth.
Just playing with my new iOS 7 camera !
Monique’s g2g race summing up!
Hi Russ and Rob!
So 273 km in 7 days. They say the second toughest self supported stage race in the world (Marathon De Sable is first). What to say now that it’s over? A marathon or more a day except stage 3 which was an 87 km day/night and over 20 hrs. Temp fluctuations were extreme from 35+ C in exhausting desert heat to below freezing at night. God, the dirt was an endurance test. Extreme winds at times and terrain that was everything from unrelenting soft sand to steep inclines, canyon descents, to sand dunes 30+ feet. The dunes took raw to tears determination as I went over each one with my friend Lishe at 3 am laughing like idiots at the difficulty of it. I lost a fair bit of weight and yes Rob those were my feet in the pictures. The photographers and media crew seemed to love to film the pain which at times was overwhelming. You were pretty much on your own for care and repair. Nutrition was solid thank God. I loved the landscape. My tent mates were exceptional; 4 men and 3 other women from the UK, Ireland, Canada and the US. Very talented adventure racers and just plain good and supportive. The camaraderie was a definite factor to success; sharing food and assisting the one hurting the most each night. The emails sent from family and friends including you two was a highlight each night. Thank you. The event was organized pretty well although some improvements are required. I was satisfied with my performance. Not one sore muscle. Running with a 20 lb pack is hard. If my feet hadn’t been so bad I could have pushed harder. That said, a lot of the course was not runnable beyond a trot. Tarantula, cacti and snakes were a reality.
I asked myself repeatedly why I chose to do this. I guess we all push ourselves to see what is possible; to remind us who we are at our core. This one was different. Todd was waiting at the finish which kept me going (although he didn’t see me finish as the organizers made him move his car before I crossed the line- really????- how bloody short sighted and insensitive). I also found myself thinking of you Russ along each stage. Before and after the accident; how life can shift under you with no notice; how everything now will be an adventure and test of endurance for you; at least for awhile. I would examine the terrain and think ” Russ could kick this part; how could he navigate this stretch, etc”. The thoughts just made me even more determined to do everything I can to support you and get you back in the game. People overcame horrendous odds to enter and finish this race. Everyone had a story. You will too Russ. Will send photos! Lots of love- Monique.
Crazy bloody foreigner – Russ xxxx
My day.
Home tomorrow , after hydrotherapy.
My cherished daughter, Amber, is unwell.
She has a high temperature and has been sick a few times.
God I wish I could be there for her, to hold her tight and comfort her. It makes me feel so helpless and absent.
More gym today. Went on a different machine to give me an aerobic arm and trunk workout. She said do 15 minutes so I did 40 minutes. Breathing heavily doesn’t really work as I don’t currently have the lung capacity, so it was a kinda controlled breathing workout, avoiding gasping in effect. Then I moved on to lateral pull downs. I was managing about 10 kg more than on Monday, which is a pretty bloody big change in only 3 days.
That makes me think that really I’m going through a ‘ muscle reawakening ‘ process, as I surely can’t have put on significant muscle mass in that short a time. Anyway, either way it’s good news!
I got a new wheelchair too today, as the other was a bit buggered really.
It seems a bit easier to control and they’ve lowered the back rest making me more able to sit up without resting my arms so much on my thighs. I’m not sure how much better I’ll get at moves like that, as it may be that my nerve connections just don’t allow it. We’ll see anyway.
Roxanne came today. We did Devizes to Westminster canoe race about 6 yrs ago together, and despite only ONE pre race paddle together in the same boat, finished the race about 7th overall and 1st in the mixed crew division. At one point mid race in a portage over a lock near Reading, I got dazzled by a torch light and ran straight into the deep Thames. I remember that for the next hour or so I shook with cold, padding hard in the boat to try to generate body heat. It worked and we finished strongly some 10 hours later, just after Big Ben and near the Millenium Wheel.
My old cycling partner, Jonny, pedalled from Chiswick to see me too, arriving in full Lycra. I’ll have to get one of those arm powered bikes before long and give him a run for his money, just like old times.
They’re very low down and you pretty much lie horizontal in the thing. They seem to come with a flag pole attached to the back seat so that you’re visible to traffic too ( probably for the best, given my recent form )
Other than the obvious Welsh dragon, all flag suggestions welcome..
I have to say that I feel for cyclists’ safety so much more now. It’s sic a vulnerable way to travel, on today’s roads.
When I think of the unnecessary risks I used to take quite regularly to get to places a little quicker, it makes me feel so idiotic. Any of you cyclists out there could befall my fate ( or worse ) so very easily.
Please learn from my accident – if in doubt slow down and err on the side of caution. Unless you’re in a serious race and superstardom is the prize, is the risk really worth it?
On a lighter note, the party plans gather pace and the guest list is swelling day by day. Please don’t all try to buy me a drink ,or I’ll die.
I had alcoholic poisoning when I was a student, and it’s not great. Dani looked after me that night!
Having it a wheelchair would be a lot worse, and Dani’s probably not keen on the idea, understandably.
I’m now gonna watch a bit of Thursday night TV. Not being a TV watcher before really, it’s not a transformation I intend going through now, so I’ll coincide it with another ‘iron arms’ bedtime workout.
Ok, here goes..
Wednesday.
Lunch in the hot October sun today at The Woolpack down the road with Dani, Jenni, Cress, Jenni and also Helen and Sel.
I’m not sure how many days of warmth we’ll get this year but glad I got to see one this year!
Now waiting for a rush of work colleagues , all nine of them, to arrive . My room mate, Jimmy, alias Kamp Commandant, is not happy at the prospect. He’s not willing to flex his routine for a night and just stay in the TV room a bit longer. Ah well….
Trying to learn to balance, seated, on the edge of a plinth today. Falling over repeatedly was the actuality. It seems hard to imagine being ever able to do it at the moment, but initially K1 race kayaking was the same, and I mastered that ok…. So, stay positive Dawkins!
Steve and Pete were also very welcome visitors from Chiswick. I’m always amazed by the number of people who give a f%^*+ about me.
Home in 2 days, holding onto that thought. I’ve got hydrotherapy on fri morning, arse scab permitting.
I have always been OFFICIALLY negatively buoyant, in other words I sink like a stone, even in salt water. When I go Scuba diving I use no weightbelt, which makes me freaky. Therefore swimming has always very hard for me. I hope they’ve got a full lifeboat service in the pool, or my blog entries may suddenly cease. Arm bands will further add to my loss of street credibility.
On the plus side my arms are stronger than 2 days ago, but I’d say only 50% there. I need a lot more power to throw myself around and be self sufficient. Daily gym visits are the answer, supplemented by a new nightly routine using the iron arms device…. Which I’m better with already on day two..
Happy birthdays to my niece, Olivia, and my God daughter, Emily, both an absolute credit to me and their parents.
Enjoy, girls :).
Uncle Russ xxx