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MND Life

35. Plugging The Leak

Another month confined at home by Covid restrictions.  We do miss seeing friends and family but the US Presidential Election, and all the post-election shenanigans, have been enormously amusing and entertaining.  The return of international Rugby Union to our TV screens also helped, as did US Masters golf and, as the month comes to an […]

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MND Life

34. Hitting the Bottle

Early this month I had a rare venture out into the world to visit my GP for a flu vaccination. Since my last trip out, 2-3 months ago, our daughter, Fiona, had bought me a bright new face mask, in Gordon tartan (my father was a Gordon Highlander) to rival Doreen’s dinosaur mask! As we […]

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MND Life

33. The Haggis Bermuda Triangle

Another month has gone by without me passing beyond the front door.  Fortunately, though, we have regular visits from friends and family.  We also had some entertainment watching our conservatory roof and windows being replaced.  I’d planned to have the wooden frames painted this year but wood-rot was worse than anticipated so we opted for […]

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MND Life

32. Caught With My Trousers Down

As August comes to an end, I sit looking out of the window at the rain and mourning the loss of yet another televised cricket game.  It is, though, in sharp contrast to the very hot weather (by UK standards) earlier this month. I find such hot conditions difficult to cope with, particularly sleeping. Being […]

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MND Life

31. Hoist with my own petard

Early this month, I had my second post-lockdown outing.  We had been summoned by our GP to have pneumonia vaccinations.  We’d never had them before, but according to the NHS website, they are recommended for young children, the over-65s, and welders (yes, seriously!).  June’s visit to the City Hospital only required me to venture out […]

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MND Life

30. The ‘joys’ of being helped to dress

A period of glorious, sunny weather, combined with relaxation of Covid-19 lockdown rules, allowed us to entertain family members in our garden this month.  It was lovely to see them, unconfined by a Zoom window on our iPad.  Also this month, live golf and football has returned to our TV screens.  I even watched a […]

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MND Life

29. Covid-19 lockdown: home deliveries & a virtual clinic

With Covid-19 lockdown keeping people at home, there have been sightings of wild animals in our deserted cities.  We had our own encounter when, early one morning, I spotted a beautiful pair of wild mallard ducks floating in our pond.  They seemed happy, and stayed for about 20 minutes.  They returned next morning but the […]

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MND Life

28. Trying out the home hoist

April: Our first full month in lock-down courtesy of Covid-19. Like everyone, we are missing seeing friends and family, and learning how to make video calls using Zoom. My MND puts me firmly in the high risk category for the coronavirus but, on the plus side, I already have my own home ventilator!  To protect […]

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MND Life

27. Water skiing at Notts Hospice

This month brought with it a number of anniversaries.  It is a whole year since I said farewell to Sussex and moved full time to Nottingham.  It is two years since my MND diagnosis was confirmed, and over 3½ years since the onset of symptoms.  My MND ‘bible’ tells me the survival rate after this […]

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MND Life

26. Fighting the carpet!

Former Scotland rugby player, Doddie Weir, has been in the news again this month.  He was interviewed on BBC Breakfast TV alongside Rugby League star, Rob Burrow, and pro footballer, Stephen Darby, both of whom have recently been diagnosed with MND.  Tragically, both men are even younger than Doddie (49). Rob is just 37, while […]