Hi, I’m Louise, this is my first post for Plattitude …. as you can imagine, after Neil and Oscar, there’s not much of my time left to sit down and write!
As Neil is explaining all the physical effects of MND, I thought I would concentrate on the emotional side. Rather than catching you up to this point, I want to share one of my strongest ‘outpores’ that happened one morning. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of a better place to send my ‘outpore’ than the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2, where it was thereupon ignored. I promise to think of a better forum next time! Please read on… Continue reading ‘I hate Jeremy Vine!’
Just to let you know that in addition to the bed rail, the raised loo seat, the grab rails and the bath lift, we now have a full-on hoist thingy to help get me in and out of chairs/bed/sofa!! We are being accessorised to the nines here!
The introduction of the walking stick was the first major step change. Whilst it obviously added a somewhat dapper air to my character, it very soon became a pain in the arse! My manly gait was reduced to a waddle in about two months as the muscles around my hips and legs weakened, definitely more Penguin than my former Batman at this point! Continue reading ‘The stick stage’
Hi everyone. So now we’re sitting comfortably, I’ll give you an abridged version of our tale to date. Louise and I married in 2004, spent a few years getting drunk before having Oscar in August 2007. What a milestone that was, and as we were duly warned our lives changed overnight, for the better I might add! The following months were blissful as we got to know our little boy. The enjoyment was made all the keener by the fact that Oscar had to be delivered by emergency cesarean section at the end of a traumatic night in labour.
Then on a work visit to Manchester at the end of October 2007, I noticed that my right foot was slapping on the floor when I walked. I thought maybe a new pair of shoes was in order so didn’t pay it much attention. A few days later though, sitting barefoot at home and flexing my toes, I realised that the toes on my right foot couldn’t move as much. At the same time, the thought of MND entered my mind.
I had been mentally preparing for that moment since my Dad died of it in 1996. Still, it was only in February when the diagnosis was confirmed that we began to actually process what it meant. We are still processing what it means as each day we are forced to review how we perform simple daily tasks. I’m happy to discuss the details of the disease progression so feel free to ask but in my next post I intend to pick on a couple of major points which we felt most significant.
Thank you to all of you who have posted comments already…they’re very much appreciated. Back soon…N
This is a quick note to say a huge thank you to everyone, family and friends alike, for the brilliant cards and presents you gave me for my birthday last weekend. But most of all I’d like to say thanks for the laughter filled time we had, it was really special and meant the world to both of us.
Hello to all visitors to our new blog and welcome to The Plattitude. For those who don’t know us, The Plattitude has been created to help us tell our story, a tale of fun and laughs with a smattering of upset and devastation.
I’m Neil, proud husband of Louise and dad to 10 month old Oscar. In February of this year I had the untimely misfortune of being diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease at the age of 33. As you can imagine, quite a lot has changed since then and I felt the need to try and write some of it down. So, if you can bear with me long enough, I’ll tell you our story and feel free to interupt with as many questions and comments as you like. Are you sitting comfortably……..?
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