Tuesday 3rd March, 2015                   1340

Yesterday saw the return of the horde next door in the early evening, although so far I have only seen Ollivier. Not surprising considering I am a bit of a stay at home lately. Mulan was going to dinner with her roommates or classmates and understandably didn’t want to cook for me so I asked her if she could just make me a luncheon meat baguette. There are always huge problems when asking a Chinese person to prepare even a simple western-style item of food and this was no exception. She cut the luncheon meat so thick it was almost an inch! I like the stuff but not that much!

Last night’s sleep was less than satisfactory. I woke up maybe four hours after getting off and then was completely unable to find a position I could lie in which was free from discomfort. I fidgeted for about an hour but finally gave up and got out of bed just after eight. I sincerely hope there isn’t a repeat tonight.

Ollivier went to town shopping, he has his car back, and he is going to hopefully get me a few things. With the amount of items out of stock in the various shops and supermarket I have developed a theory that for the spring festival week there are no fresh deliveries. If this is true then that would go some way towards explaining exactly why the Chinese do bulk buying for new year even though the shops are still open.

Mulan never came back last night so I was left to fend for myself although Ollivier, Joan and Anna all visited. Now, tomorrow is a fortnight since the accident and yet when I get out of bed in the morning, still I am still unable to sit comfortably. That state is only achieved after six or more hours so I delayed cleaning myself up until almost noon. This will sound odd but believe it or not, sitting on the toilet is actually more comfortable than in the armchair.

I have been a little more mobile today, fetching my own beers (carrier bag draped over the armrest of a crutch), unlocking the front door, taking pet meat out of the freezer etc and I have to say I am dreading tomorrow morning. The plan is to get up at seven and leave on the bike at about nine. Hopefully I won’t come a cropper (when I stop I always use my left leg to keep the bike upright so I need to be careful) and that will give me over an hour to climb to the fourth floor.

I am having serious doubts about my ability to do it. In fact I am now worried as to whether the good leg can handle it. At least I won’t have my bag, Caroline will take it to my first class and until I am better I will be leaving it in classrooms. I also have a novel to while away the lonely hour and a half lunch break.  

Wednesday 4th                D Day                 1615

When I went to bed last night not only did I take strong painkillers to try and ensure a reasonable night’s sleep but it was with trepidation over being able to get to class at all this morning.

I did indeed get a decent rest but on waking the hip did not bode well for what I was about to embark upon. Visions of getting part of the way there and having to admit defeat loomed large. As I left my home for the first time in two weeks my mind alternated between doubt and determination. By this time I had decided that as a last resort I would go up and down the stairs on my arse and to hell with how dirty my trousers got. Personal and professional pride were at stake here and believe it or not “Quit Ye Like Men Be Strong” resonated in the far recesses of my brain.

As I locked the door a young teacher came down the stairs and asked what was wrong. I told him and suggested he got downstairs first as I would be some time. “Doesn’t matter”, said he. At the top of the stairs I weighed up my preferred option for descending (other than a lift!) which was to use the crutches under both arms. Having tentatively tried one step, I had misgivings and envisaged me tumbling head first down them so changed tactic. The young lad grabbed me and said “Let me help you”. well that was surely only going to make matters worse, so I (rather understandingly I thought) declined his offer and told him so but thanked him for his kind offer. Two crutches under one arm and the other on the banister and I was in business. At the bottom I wondered how the hell I was going to get through the rest of it once I got to the teaching block.

I almost had an uneventful e-bike ride down there, not a student in sight just after nine and all was going swimmingly until I got under the building  and, when riding between two pillars, caught the crutches (which were laid athwartships on the floorpan) and very nearly came a cropper. Making a mental note to remember that when I left in the afternoon, provided I actually got there, I parked up and took a deep breath.

Here goes.

The steps are bigger than in our accommodation so with a crutch either side I started my long and lonely ascent, stopping every few steps - not because of the bad side but the good, which was feeling the strain. It took twenty-five minutes to reach the 4th floor and by the time I got there, had I have eaten breakfast I would have brought it up again. But I had made it.

I was 45 minutes early for my class. I have never been that early! Rather annoyingly there was (I think) a Korean lesson taking place so I couldn’t go in but I did cadge a small stool from the supervisor on which I could sit and have a smoke whilst waiting for ten o’clock.

One thing that had worried me was how much discomfort I would be in when I was sitting in the small office chair provided for teachers. I shouldn’t have worried because in fact my hip was, for the first time, completely and utterly devoid of pain! It was actually perfect and suddenly the thought of spending the entire day in it, far from being unpleasant, was now going to be a delight.

And that’s the way it went, I had taken a bottle of juice and there was a novel in my bag so now the lonely lunch break seemed positively a pleasure. Joan, bless her golden heart, turned up at 1245 - three quarters of an hour before her class started. She can only have left her previous class, grabbed a quick bite and then returned to keep me company. Not that she did, mind, because I immediately gave her my bank card, PIN and sent her on my bike to go and get me some cash from the ATM. I had given Mulan my last 10y last night to go and get us some egg fried rice for dinner so I was penniless. One really good thing to come from all this besides the fact the school has no comeback on me for taking time off, is that I was able to mention to my classes that perhaps they will think twice in future before asking for classes off because they have a headache, stomach ache, cold or fever. I could almost see some of their brains ticking over wondering what excuses they can now give instead of telling the truth.

If I am honest, although coming down took five minutes less than going up, it was in fact worse on my good hip. Now though I know I can do it and how long it takes, so although I shall still leave plenty of time I won’t be kicking my heels (as if I could) for as long in future. And who knows, this may well just hasten the recovery process.

Onwards and upwards!