The suicide stats for spinally cord injured people are 8 times higher than in the General population.
That may be a US statistic but I imagine it’s similar elsewhere.

The most common method is gun shot.
The readily available gun in a huge number of American homes makes it easier to select this as the way out.
After all, climbing up a high building/ bridge/cliff whilst sitting in a wheelchair isn’t really an option.

My daughter, Lily, had awful news this week. Her rowing coach went missing on Tuesday night, whilst on the river near Putney.
His upturned boat was found, but he is missing and presumed dead.
As someone that spent so very many hours on the same river, I feel closer to this tragedy than many would.
Although I didn’t know Michael Hill, I feel so very upset by his loss.

My partner Sel had his brain tumour removed last Tuesday.
Today he heard that the op was not a complete success in that it has not rid him of the tumour, and he will need radiotherapy next.
My heart goes out to him, and to all those that love him dearly.

Today I spoke to the father of a young guy that I saw in the gym, his paralysed legs strapped to an FES bike.
Like so many here, he’d injured himself diving into water.
I asked how long it had been.

June 13th was the reply. Chillingly the same date as my own catastrophe.

I’ve taken the advice of several people and ventured out of my hotel, all by myself.

I head for Wild Eggs. It takes me a while to get there.
When I do it’s closed.
As it is every day after 2.30, the sign says.

I turn around and head back, then pass Jimmy John’s sandwich place.
It’s empty.
They open the door for me and in I go and order a coffee at the counter.

They don’t do coffee.
Or any hot drinks.

Do you have wifi I ask.

No.

So, as I’m here I buy a small bottle of water, then look up at the menu, above me.
Under ‘sides’ it has chips.

As I feel a bit silly just here drinking water, I order and pay for some chips.
I ask how long they take.
He looks at me oddly.

They’re just there, he says, pointing at bags of crisps.

I decide not to clarify my error and just take the crisps over to the corner table, where I am now eating them, with my water.

Crazy fast times in America.

Today at 9 am ( I was awake yet again, tired, at 5 ) they lay me down and put a full spaceman helmet on my head, with plastic sheeting attached to it that covered my shoulders, effectively sealing all my breath in, and the room air out.

Then Professor Daniela ( quite cute ) told me not to move ( at all ) for about 45 minutes, and just to breathe.
Imagine my dismay when she said on no account could I fall asleep ( given the above ).
I just about managed it, though I struggled numerous times to stay conscious.

I’d been instructed not to eat anything today, before the test, and to only drink water, if anything.

She recorded the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled by me, and in doing so established that the amount of calories I need to consume daily, on the basis that I do absolutely nothing, without losing or gaining weight, is 1600kcal.
Obviously if I do anything physical at all, then the calories I need to consume increase accordingly.

I’ve never counted calories in my life, but do know that 1600 isn’t that much food, certainly compared to how much I ate pre injury.

It is just as well then that I have the post injury appetite of a mouse, really only eating out of logic, in that food is an obvious requirement for existence.

Finding myself in America, where 1600 kcal is the breakfast of the average 9 year old, they must find me quite a curiosity.

As I intend using the adapted gym 5 days a week, and will self push along in my chair, I will burn more calories than 1600, so may have to eat more than I have been.

Or drink more alcohol?

Well I did watch one 20 years ago in the Hogarth Club in Chiswick, but I was so pissed by the time it started, I may as well have not been there.

So.. Last night at the McCarthy’s – I saw the whole thing ( and sober ).
It lasts a few hours, the crowd goes crazy, the players are big mofu’s for sure, the food was plentiful, the company was lovely.

I can’t see the game catching on, outside America.
Not enough space, not enough free running.
They’ve got the right shaped ball but they need to make it a bit bigger, lose the helmets and pads, and get 15 players on each side.

Then it might start to get exciting.

6 Nations starts on Friday, and John’s found me a friend and found an Irish bar that’s showing Wales vs England.

Now that’ll be more like it!

So one of the tests that I have to do involves collecting my pee for a period of 24 hours.
Not the first one of the day, after waking, but then all of it after that.

So, I’ve just had the first one. I inserted the tube/ catheter into ‘myself’and it slowly flows out, down the tube, into the bag on the end. I can feel nothing, just watch it coming out.

900 ml later ( that’s almost a bag full ) it stops.
I pull out the catheter.

I’ve got the red container at the ready, in the basin, lid off.

I tear open the edge of the bag and try to get it pouring into the container.

Obviously… It doesn’t go smoothly , going everywhere except for the bloody container.

After a bit I get the flow into the right place, then it takes about 3 minutes.

The bag is empty and the flask has most of the pee in it.

I screw the top onto the flask.

All good then.

There’s a fair bit of spillage into the basin too.

I knock my toothbrush into the basin.