I enjoyed noting the progress I was making.
- I could walk upstairs properly using both feet together, one and then the other.
- I now had to to concentrate on doing the same downstairs instead of coming down one step at a time. This was harder as it takes more bending of the knee using muscles that I hadn’t used for a long time.
- I was able to walk along a path by the river to go blackberrying one evening.
- I had a bath. We went to stay with my brother for the weekend, (complete with giant bag of peas for iceing my knee. )The bath had handles each side and a shelf at the end so I could manoeuvre myself in and out.
Months before when I had no idea of the date of my operation , I had booked to go and see the private garden of Malverleys through the National Garden Scheme. I was still determined to go on the hour’s guided tour.
I managed it by taking one crutch and leaning on it at each time the group stopped, and by finding benches to sit on whenever I could. It was doing these outings that made me feel as if life was progressing and stopped me going stir crazy because I was stuck at home.
Who else would have a sculpture by Anthony Gormley in their back garden?