Over 3 months since nearly dying in a car accident, I’m just about back on my feet.
I think that they reckon one loses about 2% muscle mass for every week in bed so you can imagine that I’m now rather a weakling!
Each day is a struggle to master a new exercise, re-build lost muscles, get some better balance and achieve more independence.
It was thrilling to have a shower while laid out on the special trolley that has flip up sides to become a mini-bath 
But even better to be able to sit and then stand for a real shower – though still hanging on for grim death.
I don’t have to be hoisted out of bed anymore in the big bag but can now do it by myself.
I’ve progressed and can now stand up by myself, walk with just one hand on the parallel bars and even do a fairly quick dash down the corridor with a “walker” machine. Every day includes over four hours physiotherapy so there’s a real risk that I’ll be fitter than before the accident!
The electric wheelchair is still my main mode of travel to the gym etc but they don’t let me drive it myself: I think that having some sight is really fairly essential as it can go pretty fast!
E-mails and phone calls, a bevy of Easter eggs, other delicious and thoughtful gifts from back home, lots of visits and great staff all make the rehabilitation process bearable – and there are lots of opportunities to share laughs with other patients as we struggle along. I’ve been outside to enjoy that tiny bit of sunshine that managed to penetrate a very cold and wet Spring season. My top ambition is to get back to all my Baking Blind activities in the next few weeks – even though I’ve managed a simple fruit salad, I can’t wait to be cooking again. I’m making a list of everything I want to cook as soon as I’m able. The food here is not so hot and is rather monotonous: never to see another piece of mini-pasta would be wonderful!
My thanks to San Francisco’s Lighthouse organisation for their patience while I make good my recovery to complete the rest of my Holman prize project: I’m sure that all the future videos and recipes will be worth the wait.
Penny