Reality Hits Home......MOAS II -16 days

The last few weeks have been very busy.Preparation for me leaving at work has been going well and I have been handing over to a colleague who will look after my role for me whilst I'm away. We have had to cram a lot into a very short space of time but I think we are pretty much there now.Last week was particularly busy as we held a Customer Relationship Management week where the business focussed on engaging the staff with CRM related ideas. It was a roaring success and finished with a catered BBQ on Friday in the glorious sunshine. Lots of effort but all thoroughly worth it.
 Yesterday we made the most of the break in what's been a very wet summer so far and spent the day at Brean near Weston Super Mare. We parked the car on the beach had a pic-nic and stayed there all day playing games with the kids. We met Tina and Paul (the in-laws) and their two boys Danny and Jamie and had a great time. All things that have kept the mind busy and help keep the PMP demons at bay.

 However, today I've come back to earth with a bump.My upcoming stay at Basingstoke now looms large on the horizon and a quieter day has meant that I have had more time to think. We have become very good at putting on a brave face and getting on with things however there is no escaping it now. We have to start preparing and planning and we now have to "take the bull by the horns". It's time to get focussed on the job at hand.

Those old thoughts from my first MOAS are slipping back into my mind. As I do odd jobs I find myself thinking "well that's the last time I'll do that for a while" and I am doing some jobs now that I wont be able to do when I return home. I'm also trying to plan for my stay in hospital. Working out what I learnt the first time around and where I may be able do things better or make things easier this time around. For example I was unable to shave for quite some time the last time around as I was bed ridden for a number of days. When I finally could get out of bed I tried to shave and had to give up after twenty minutes as I just didn't have the strength to sit on a chair in front of the bathroom mirror and do a wet shave and went back to bed with a half shaven face! This time around I plan to get an electric shaver as this will make things much easier and quicker. Small things but all that would have an impact on my stay.

 Just to add insult to injury I have also managed to hurt my back. I ended up in a MRI scanner recently which showed that I have a large disc bulge in the lower back which is pressing on the sciatic nerve and sending pain down my right leg. The usual treatment for this is nerve blocking injections into the spine but as I have the surgery at Basingstoke just around the corner they have decided to leave things until I come back. This has been a real blow as it has meant that I haven't been able to exercise or go running at all and I was determined to stay as fit as possible right up until the last minute. I also find my running very therapeutic.

I was given a lovely gift from a collegue and friend-Sue last week who brought in a hand crafted "guardian Angel". She was away on holiday and saw it and thought of me and the family "it can watch over you,Tracey and the girls" she said. It hangs pride of place in our kitchen.

 So its time to take deep breath, raise the head and march forward into the unknown.........these next two weeks will be hard.