A new life - irving reborn after near fatal accident

[Chas]

I can only half appreciate how important a precious home visit would mean to you, please don't feel the need to waste one on supervising a rag tag bunch of rogue's, vagabonds & Ne'er do well'rs, who've descended from the four corners of the kingdom to ransack & pillage your workshop.

It's not like all your tools will be on eBay before the day has ended .

Then again, I reckon I'd want to be there if a bunch of semi-tame, experiMENTAList CNC enthusiasts were to descend on my workshop & proceed to rip it apart.

It would be nice to meet you, but not totally necessary. We only need to know what needs moving & where to.

[Rogue]

...please don't feel the need to waste one on supervising a rag tag bunch of rogue's...

Hey, who's calling me a waste of time!?!

Irving, it's a bit of shocking news to come back and find, I'm very glad that you came through the initial accident alive and it's good to hear that things are progressing steadily for you.

Just remember, when all else fails, ask yourself - WWTSD? What Would Tony Stark Do? If your answer doesn't involve giant robots and a goatee then you're not setting your goals high enough!

[irving2008]

went out for the whole day yesterday. first visited the accessible flat i'm going to be renting til house done. its in Islington. Its ok if a bit clinical, more hotel room than home. Then into the office to say hi to the guys and let my OT advise on changes, mainly auto-door openers on loo doors and a height adjustable desk. finally home for supper before coming back to RNOH about 11pm.

Planning dept have advised that lift shaft would not be approved as it rises above the hipped roof even tho it wont be visible from the road and want the shaft more internal to the building which wastes huge amounts of floor space

[irving2008]

Went for a driving assessment yesterday at QEF in Carshalton. Had a full physical assessment of arm mobility and an eye test. then went outside to try an adapted 'drive from wheelchair' Kia Sedora.

Push-pull lever for accelerator/brake took a little getting used to, but after 10min had got the hang of it. initially tried an electronic mini-steering wheel which drives a motor geared to the steering column 2:1 but found that too much spinning and tiring (and at £20k stupidly expensive) so tried using the normal steering wheel with a tetragrip -a 3-pronged thing you put your hand/wrist into. that worked fine and i was driving round the test track easily. great confidence booster!

[WandrinAndy]

It's nice to hear how you're progressing Irving..... I can only imagine how much of a confidence booster it must have been. Here's hoping there are plenty of these positive moments into the future!

Btw, for what it's worth I can only empathise with the issue you seem to be having with the planners.... I really think they have waaaaay too much say in our lives!

Keep Well,
Andy

[wilfy]

wow i've obviously missed something here and will go back and do some reading... to think that you can drive when i think back to the first few posts you made is amazing. nice to see things looking up for you fella

[irving2008]

Sometimes we go backwards....

Woke up Wednesday with pressure sores on left heel and right ankle due to leg muscle spasms during night (something you have to live with as a side effect of spinal cord injury). Meant I couldn't put shoes on and therefore couldn't practice bed to chair transfers so had to settle for 30min on weights machine.

However, after some debate was allowed go swimming and managed 14 lengths in 45 minutes, 3 more than last time.

Now have discharge date of 16 April, will be moving to accessible flat in Islington which I'm having to rent for a few months while house is being adapted, that's if the planning authority ever get to agree with anything remotely sensible - their current obsession with the rear roof line (which is invisible from road) means my lift has to be in the middle of the living room

[GEOFFREY]

Irving, that test drive sounds fantastic. I am so pleased that you are beginning to find solutions to a problem that at one time seemed impossible. I have also noticed that you have resumed your helpline service on the forum. Keep it up. G.