Rollator,s are made for walking.

But Unfortunately my Muscles are not, I have certainly overdone it the last Three days so need to re-assess my trips out with the rollator.
Anyway it is now.........................

So at least time to have a rest and to let my aches and pains subside a little bit before Sunday comes around and I go shopping with Gervase. anyway I thought I would write today about my last three days of overdoing it. The one thing I have realized is that although the brain is telling me that I am ready to rely less on the wheelchair and Taxis my body has different ideas.

Since I have had my rollator I have found that it has given me more freedom to walk further than I could with a walking cane, primarily because it gives me more control over my balance. However I think that walking further around the block to get my paper in the morning, and walking 2 to 3 miles to Asda or the Health centre are two entirely different cases. 

Anyway although I am finding that my leg and thigh muscles are aching today I am sure that with rest over the next couple of days that they will settle down suffice to say that Lessons have been learnt, all be it the hard way so in future it will be walk one way and Taxi the other. so enough said, but at least I did it.

So let me tell you about the two meetings that I attended this week as I have decide that I need to be more involved in the community through the Portsmouth Disability Forum (PDF) which is based at the Frank Sorrell Centre in Prince Albert Road, Southsea.

Frank Sorrell Centre, Prince Albert Road, Southsea 

The meeting on Tuesday was the Health and Social Overview Group (HASCOG) this group meets one a month. HASCOG, is a group of Health and social care users who meet to discuss the issues that affect our lives as we use these services, it covers concerns about Health Services, Social care services, Well being and Independent living, we discuss the issues with these services, invite guest speakers and work with similar groups.

HASCOG Logo

It was a very interesting introduction for me and I did enjoy it and also the dedication of the other members there. The Guest Speaker was from the "Healthwatch Project" Portsmouth, which is a local branch of a national  organisation in Portsmouth that helps to improve health and social care service,s in Portsmouth.

Healthwatch Portsmouth Logo.

We also discussed other aspects of health care and then the meeting ended and I made my way back home, so a very interesting 2+ hours.

Portsmouth Disability Forum Logo 

Thursdays meeting was also at the Frank Sorrell Centre, this time it was a meeting of the 

PDF Open Access Forum. This forum focuses on issues relating to Physical Access to services and transport for all disabled people and how well or not they are working for disabled people. This was attended by a larger number of people than Tuesdays meeting and there was also another new comer like me so that was good. 

This meeting looked at any problems relating to physical access for all disabled people in Portsmouth, an example was the problem of taxi,s and vans parking in designated bus stops which prevented wheelchair users being able to board a bus as the bus had to stop outside the designated area where the kerb,s were higher, also the access to the museum in Southsea for wheelchair user,s and then looking at the proposed plans for the Hot Walls Development and liaising with the planning department to make suggestions for access for disabled persons.

Architects plans for hot walls development.

This was a very interesting meeting with lots of discussion on a variety of issues from writing to the local council about the amount of advertising A Boards on narrow pavements, to illegal parking on pavements or across dropped kerb,s, to the person who was assessed as being "To Blind" to have a Guide dog !!!!!!!!. so looking forward to the next meeting in october.

so there we are that was my busy three days, two days of Meetings and then a day of shopping on Wednesday down the city centre with Pauline, no wonder my poor old muscles are going on strike, but if there is one positive in all this exercise and movement it has woken my bowels up so have not had to rely so much on Fybogel and Laxido.

Fybogel is good for you

It makes you big and strong

it helps to make your motions soft

and to emit a healthy pong

So on that note I think I will make quick retreat and get ready for getting my dinner prepared for tonight and then it will be time for the dreaded Methotrexate. so I will get this Journal posted and say.

and hopefully the next journal will be a little bit more interesting for you,