Yesterday was tough and I have to admit I had a blip in the afternoon. We had been out for a drive over the Black Mountains, which were stunning, but the weather was not great for photography. We went by some reservoirs looking for places to stop and get some photos and the more we went on the more frustrated I got. The problem is I can’t just stop the car and walk about to get a shot or climb over a fence to get a view over a hedge or tree line. I have to try and find a place to park, get the wheelchair out, make sure I can push the wheelchair where I want to go etc. etc. We did stop at a parking place but the wheelchair was no use there so I tried using crutches with the small camera but I wasn’t happy with the shots. All the best pull in places were on the other side of the road and then it rained. It felt like a total waste of a day to be honest but the day just got worse.
When we got back to the Hotel my Dad was on at me about going for a walk with my prosthetic leg on. I had very little sleep the night before I ached from the wheelchair pushing from the day before and yesterday and the driving. I tried to get it on but it wasn’t right the first time so I tried again which was better. I walked out the Hotel and off to the right a little way, turned around past the Hotel and up the road to the left where was trying to fight back the tears until I could fight them no more. Finally we went back to the Hotel where my Dad said that he was not trying to pressure me about the leg. This is the same person who ask me at dinner the night before “when are you putting your leg on tomorrow?”, then at breakfast asked “when are you putting your leg on today?”, then when we got back to the hotel “are you going to put your leg on and go for a walk?”, trust me that felt like pressure. When they left I just sat in my room and cried, my thumb, wrists, arms, back and shoulders hurt from using the wheelchair and my ankle, knee, stump and groin hurt from the walking and I felt so tired and run down, this is a holiday? I had not been looking forward to coming away at all as I knew I was going to find it really hard going and not a nice relaxing holiday.
I still didn’t get a great sleep last night but I felt a bit better in myself this morning. I could hardly move my arms as they ache along with my shoulders and wrists. We went to the National Waterfront Museum in Swansea which was really interesting and then on to Bracelet Bay, Mumbles. I managed to get a few good photos today which made me feel a bit better and we went into Swansea where I managed to get some quality wrist supports. I will try the supports tomorrow but I am hoping they will make a big difference and ease the pain a little. What we do tomorrow depends entirely on the weather but we are hoping to go to a mining museum in a location close to where my ancestors lived and worked. Fingers crossed for some nice weather and plenty of photo opportunities.
