A Long Overdue Update

Brains on Wheels has always been something that I have wanted to keep going since I started it back in 2016, but recently that has been difficult for me to stick to because I just haven't had any inspiration to write, whether that is because there hasn't been anything happening for me to write about, or I haven't been in the right frame of mind because of mental health struggles, I'm not sure. What I do know is that it has been far, far too long.

For as long as I can remember, I have always had problems with my eyes. Not because I'm visually impaired, but because the muscles don't work properly, the same as with all my muscles, and my eyes tire easily or flick randomly, meaning that I skip some text without meaning to. So, because I use my computer a lot, I decided that I wanted to try having a bigger monitor so that I could have the display larger without having to keep decreasing the scaling when something doesn't fit. This works really well for me. I started off with a 24 inch TV screen to make sure I liked having the bigger screen, and I did, so I bought a 24 inch monitor. With the TV screen, I found it really difficult to get the display settings right for me because for some reason, it kept resetting itself, which was quite irritating as I had to ask someone for help to put it right again. In the end, I just decided to buy myself a proper monitor.

Secondly, ever since I was introduced to environmental controls, I have just used infra-red equipment like TVs and my fan because that were the only things I knew would work for me, but now I have discovered something else that works well for me... I've got plugs that come with a radio-frequency remote (called DEWENWILS Remote Control Socket); I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to press the buttons, so I bought one to try out. My dad and I initially thought that they might have been controlled through an infra-red signal, so we thought that we could program them to work with the infra-red signal on my tablet. When it arrived, we realised that they didn't work with infra-red, however, I can use my foot to operate it! It works really well for me, so I bought a few more. You can either get single ones or a pack of three on Amazon. I personally bought the single ones because I thought I might struggle with having lots of small buttons on one remote due to my co-ordination problems. The small single ones also have a keyring attached to them, so I've attached a large yellow emoji clip keyring to them; this has two purposes, it makes it easy to get hold of, and it makes it easier to locate because it's bright. I have also numbered and colour-coded them, so that I know which remote is for which plug.

Overall, I'm glad that my dad found these because they have worked really well for me.

On Monday, 25 April, I finally went to a wheelchair clinic appointment which I had been waiting for since October or November last year! They gave me proper waterfall armrests, sorted the drifting problem with my control (I would take my foot off the control, but the chair would keep moving in a circle until I wiggled the control a bit), and adjusted my seat. Don't ask me why, but when I got my chair, I don't think the seat was adjusted correctly, so my legs were always over-hanging the seat a bit. I must have grown quite a bit since I got the chair because my legs weren't on the seat much at all, so I asked them to adjust it. I also had the backrest adjusted because it has always felt as if I was leaning forward in this chair. They said that I would get used to it, but I never did. I was constantly having to push my upper body upright because the angle and gravity was pulling my body forward, and if I tilted my chair back any more than what it was, a tortoise would appear and my chair would go very slowly. It is much more comfortable now that I had the seat adjusted! However, I still get backache when I sit in it for long periods of time.

In June, last year, a new addition to the family came along. Rani was 8 weeks old when she came to live with us, and I am so glad that we found her because she is gorgeous inside and out! Ever since we got her, she has been incredible! She's so bright as well, although it is taking a bit of time to train her, but she is definitely getting there! It was her first birthday on Tuesday, 3 May, and she was spoilt something chronic! 😁

I took the photo on the right on 01, July 2021, the day after she got here, and the photo on the left was taken on 05 May, 2022. To put it into perspective, that cushion of mine she was laying on is about 60cm square, so you can imagine how tiny Rani was... We knew right from the moment we saw her on video (we got her from Nottingham) that she was going to be a character, and oh boy, we were right! She has this thing about yawning and squeaking at the same time, and it seems to be when we talk to her, so I'm pretty sure that it is her way of communicating with us. We call it a yeek!

Just in case anyone is wondering, she has a pad on in the photo on the left because she's in season.

On 16 July 2021, she decided to go mental and dig at my red square beanbag, it was so funny! I had a laughing fit, especially when she walked away from the beanbag, sniffed around for a few moments, and then ran at full speed to jump on it again, nose first! Her tail is always up and wagging... It's strange that her hair has changed colour from a golden colour to cream.

It pains me to say that we said goodbye to my Granny in January. Although we knew it was coming, and I went through this when Granddad passed away back in 2018, it was still devastating. In one way, it was slightly easier to deal with because I have been through it before, but to think that they are both gone now is still difficult. I'm very glad that I got the chance to say goodbye.

RIP Roselle Nicol Bolton - Dec, 1932 - Jan, 2022 xx

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I am hoping to write another post about the current social care (or lack of for some) system soon. Would you be interested in this? I will try not to leave my blog redundant for so long this time, so I hope to see you very soon. Bye for now!