I had to share this with you all and ask you if you can do better. Today I visited the doctor's surgery and as usual had a look at the old magazines and the first one I picked up was dated June/July 1995!  Is this the oldest magazine found in a doctor's surgery around the world of Wheellife?

Fifi

Just two more weeks before we go back to England.  I am nervous and excited at the same time.  Mark asked me descibe what I meant in terms of previous experiences and I could only come up with how I used to feel when I was a kid and we were going to go on holiday.  Dad would always say he wasn't coming and would wind us up, and then at the last minute he would say "where's my suit case?"  It used to drive my mum mad but it caused me huge anxiety but great excitement too.  Sometimes he would only stay for  few days and then he would go home, coming back for us at the end of the holiday.  And you thought being a work-a-holic was a new thing.

Well two more weeks to go as I said and I sent out the change of address stuff today, and I got the post code wrong  (zip code for our American cousins).  Brilliant!!  Got to do them all again!  But I suspect it will takes years before all my friends get it right!!

I tried to do some packing today, but it is hopeless.  I don't know where to start, can't reach most things and can't get Mark focused on the job at all.  I managed to pack one box and empty a cupboard, and pack up one box of wine (I'm going to miss the prices) and three cases  of catheters.  I have been trying to work out just how many I need to keep back with me till the rest arrive on the truck.  Right now I have a wee infection and I am going a bit frequently.  On todays usage I will need about 8 boxes but it is bound to reduce as this thing settles down.  My washing machine has been on double time today as well cos I peed my pants again.  Darn!

Now I have written it down it does appear that I have done a bit of work.  Maybe tomorrow I can get some more stuff put into boxes or into special packing sacks for blankets and stuff like that.  I am really worried that there wont be enough room in the truck now for all our things and I will have to make choices about what I leave behind.  Mark says I am too precious about my possessions and he is probably right but it is hard to just give away something that you have treasured and polished for years.  I have an arts and craft linen cupboard which I bought as a wreck and the amount of bees wax and elbow grease that has gone into it makes it really special to me, so I can't let it go.  I have agreed to give away my art deco bedroom furniture, single beds, table and chairs and a whole load of other stuff.  But it is sooooo hard to make the choice.  I'm not sure if it isn't something like a security blanket.

On that subject, anyone else suffer from cold legs?  I think I may have found the solution in the form of an electric throw, looks a bit like a fleecy blanket but heats up to a pre programmed temp and then holds it there on a thermostat.  Looks good.  If anyone has any experience of these I would be glad to hear it.  Might be a bit of a worry with my dodgy bladder, I could fry myself!!!

fifi

So going back to this 10 hour lunch.......  Because I am sure you will want to know what we planned.

This business of the inaccessible or the non-existent accessible accommodation made us think that there must be a business there.  A directory of accessible accommodation and then I remember I used quite a few of them in my search and also when I used to let my house in France and although they are good they just don't have every place on them. 

So we decided that perhaps there was a TV show going round to look for disabled accessible accommodation, but that is not going to get great viewing figures and it would be cool to make some money or just to get a bit famous!!!  So we hit on a plan to get a great team together, Ben Fogle because he is a bit of an adventurer (and very delicious eye candy) (Yes I know I am old enough to be his mother but I can dream!!), Monty Don because he seems to know some good places, Stannah Stair lifts because they could lift me up the difficult bits, Tramper to give me a good all terrain buggy and Andrex and the makers of Imodium to help with the trick problems of delly belly and Montazuma's revenge.  We would go around the world to see the big sites like the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, Ularoo (Ayres Rock), Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower and maybe even Blackpool tower, all done from the wheelchair view.  To spice it up we we do it all by Tuctuc and do a bit of cooking along the way.  Personnally I think it has legs (no pun intended).

I though the idea was good but I prefered the one that we did it all on First Class air line seats and five star hotels and Michelin recommended restaurants.  It will be called "Fat Fiona's First Class Adventure...on Wheels"  Keep your eyes on the TV Schedules.  And if you are reading this Larry, I am available anytime you like!!!!

So here's the thing. I got invited to a party in Devon, well Teignmouth to be more acurate and it is in August this year. Big planners my friends but then I suppose you know when you are going to be 50!! So this is great and of course I want to go. They have a big house but you know a 50th birthday means you have got to invite all you living and half dead realtives (after all you could be next!) so they have no room at their house but send me the link to the tourist info place in town. So I search their site for some accessible accommodation. I search everything on their site and come up with nothing. So I think I will use other searches to find something, "disabled accessible accommodation"....nothing..."wheelchair accessible hotels"....zero...."Accessible hotels"...da nada..."Accessatlast""Ineedaholidaytoo" "disabled direct"  You think of it I tried it. I found places fifty miles away, I found Holiday Inn for £109 per night and Travel Lodge for £75 but all are miles away. So I ring the tourist office and a cheery voice answers "Teignmouth Tourist Office, this is Gary speaking can I help you?" Well I hoped he would and I explain the simple request of wheelchair accessible accommodation with an accessible shower, "Nah we haven't got anything like that" Now I am surprised after all they are the tourist people who represent their town and they have nothing. So I asked are you sure and he said "No there's nothing like that round here". Now I am curious and "I say I want to come to your town and spend money there and you are telling me that there is nowhere for me to stay" and he just answers "Yes" Now thinking out of the box, I say perhaps there is somewhere nearby that he can recommend but you have guessed it the answer is NO. Okay think wider, what about the county tourist office and he says that it is in County Hall but they wont be able to help because they don't deal with accommodation. So I ask about the next town and of course he doesn't deal with them either but my goodness he does actually have their number which he graciously supplies and I say I would like to thank him but he has been completely and utterly useless!

So I call Torquay, the next town (9 miles away) and the very pleasant Leanne answers with the usual shpeeel and "Can I help you?" So I say I hope so because the lot in Teignmouth are useless and she is upset and tells me not to call her useless which so far I have resisted. I explain my little problem, wheels not legs, and she immediately tells me of an 80 bedroomed hotel 5 miles from Teighmouth that has ten (yes that is 10!) wheelchair accessible rooms which they inspected just two weeks ago. I click on the website and low and behold there it is beautiful and totally accessible. I would like to say a big "THANK YOU LEANNE" now I just have to book it which will be my job tomorrow morning.

We had to rush out to lunch so I didn't have time earlier. Anyway we just got back and it is 11 pm so I think booking up just now would not be a good idea best wait till tomorrow.

And as to lunch which was at 12.30 it was great. I was the driver so have been on the tea or coke (a cola type) since about 2.00 pm but Mark has been on the pop and as I am writing this in the study he is now snoring his head off in the bed. Light on door open in case he wakes up and starts call for Ruth and Hewey. Please don't let him be sick on the white wall paper!!!!!

This moving away business is good for your larder, everyone wants to cook for you and have farewell dinners and push loads of booze down your neck. I will be amazed if in the next 21 days we don't double in size!!

Anyway the drunker the others all got the wilder the ideas became.  No accessible accommodation?  Well there must be some so lets go and find it and gather it all together in a website and charge a load of money to advertise on the site and become dotcom millionaires.  Well I explain this has already been tried and obviously there isn't anywhere in Teignmouth.  So we then decided that we would write to Ben Fogle and Monty Don, Stannah Stairlifts and Tramper buggies and do a world tour of accommodation on a fabulous telly programme and we would be seen staying in tents along the way, with huge winibago hiding behind the scenes and at the end of the final programme I could jump out of my chair and run around.  Well this was far fetched so we then decided that we could do a round the world trip cooking roast dinners along the way, you know duck in Peking, Lamb in New Zealand, Kangaroo in Oz, Alligator in Louisianna.  We fantisized about travelling by Tuctuc across America but finally I thought it would be best to do a trip that involved First class travel and 5 star hotels, after all they have got to have some accessible space haven't they!!!

Watch out for the show "Fat Fiona's Fabulous First Class Adventure on Wheels", Ann and Ivan have promised to have at least one arguement on each show for the abled bodied interest!!

CAN ANYONE HELP ME?

I am having the most awful spasms. For the last two days (I know it isn't a life time but when you can't slee it seems like forever) I have had neurogenic pain +++ in my legs and very painful spasming in my left leg. No toes nails, no sores, no constipation or urinary problems, nothing to see or feel. The spasms are really bad turning my ankle into inversion so bad it looks like a break is inevitable.

I take baclofen and dantrium, both twice daily and clomazepam normally 10 drops at night, plus amitryptiline 15 drops at night for pain. I have increase the baclofen to three daily and the clomazepam to 15 drops but the spasms are back. I don't fancy spending another night awake and over dosed with drugs so that when I eventually do fall asleep I don't wake up till noon the following day.

My consultant gave me the clomazepam because the spasming worried him so much, his comment was that a break would happen eventually as I mentioned above. I am not sure how much I can safely increase the dose to. It is in liquid form 2.5 mg in 1 ml so any suggestions on how to cope with this would be greatly received. Are you out there Rob? Perhaps as a nurse (like me) you might be able to make some suggestions or know a man who can.

I would love to hear some responses..

Fifi