Seven months have passed and generally things are the same.
I am not sure if the implant pain is lessening or I am
getting used to it. It is a bit ouchy today, with the pain seemly traveling
down to my knee. But this could be because for the long weekend I spent in a
hotel with over 800 people at a Convention for the Discworld series of books by
Terry Pratchett. There was a fair amount of walking, standing around, sitting
in uncomfortable chairs and drinking. In between there were interesting talks
and what not.
The last time I was at one of these was four years ago. I
had a blue dot on my name card, an indication that I could queue jump and not
have to stand to queue. I was grudging about taking one but in the end it was
very needful. I was on a stick intermittently and found the standing in queues
exhausting. By the time I finished the four days of Con I was tired and broken.
This time I went without my blue dot, I knew they were there
but honestly didn’t think that I needed one. I did have my sensible hat on and was ready to
get a blue dot if needed. I figured the first day would be a good test. It is
almost a half day and would give me an idea how much effort and energy I would
need. The venue was compact with some stairs but there was also a lift if I
needed it. The first day was not too bad at all. There were places to sit and
the general feeling was grand. The queues were long and friendly. (In the end I didn’t really queue because the
front chairs of the big venue were uncomfortable and frankly the view was
pretty rubbish in most places.) I was pretty much sold that I could handle the
experience as a normal person.
It was a really good test for the leg because I tend to love
these events and drink too much and tire myself out a lot. I think over the
three evening I managed about 10 to 12 hours sleep. I jammed in as many talks
as I could and lined up on tarmac for long periods and trundled my camera bag
(which is not light) around with me. I even walked 40 minutes to the venue one
day!
All in all it was good, I felt I was tired because I was
burning the candle at both ends and not because I was being slowed down by the
leg. This is all very good.
I think the next step now I pretty much back to post op six
years ago is to try and drop some weight and get a bit more fit. Then I think
tackle my walk, that is going to take some emotional space and I have a trip
home lined up which is approaching, which as always stressful. These trips are
generally not really a holiday and not matter how often I say I am not going
run all over the shop I end up doing that anyway!
