Back and fourth like a fiddlers elbow.

[Matt2584]

Hello all :),

I started to write this post out yesterday but hit the wrong button and lost it all, very annoying.

Anyway, on Thursdays I travel to my nearest Headway which is a few miles away from me and the journey usually consists of a bus ride from my house to the bus station, a ferry trip which is right next to the bus station across Portsmouth harbour and then another bus trip to get to the centre.

Twas a little different yesterday because once I got over to Portsmouth via ferry, I then found the bus station in Portsmouth was fenced in!

This threw me off of my usual routine and I had to go around it a different way. I got to my stop only to find the bus I wanted was not running at that stop no more! So, this is where the 'fiddlers elbow' remark comes in, I had to walk one direction to find out where my bus would turn up, then another direction to get to it.

A little tiring it was but I found out where and got there and home with no qualms.

When I found the bus was not running at my usual stop, I was thinking "Do I need to contact Headway?" But I didn't. I found out how to get there myself so I am proud of that.

If it was a few years back, I wouldn't have had the confidence to do what I acheived.

Like someone once told me, every little thing you acheive is a stepping stone into the right direction :).

Once I got home, I contacted the bus company and asked them if they could notify me if there are any changes at all with the buses in the Portsmouth area.

It would be of great help if they could support me otherwise I could end up doing half a trip over to Portsmouth and find there were no buses running at all for some reason or it was chock a block.

There was one time a few weeks back when the America's cup was in Portsmouth and apparently it was like sardines. Thankfully I was noted the evening before about the America's cup and it would be very busy. I do not like crowds much.

[razyheath43]

yeah i hate it when bus companies do that! and well done for coping

[SteveHartnett]

Hi. I had to travel form here in Birmingham to Portsmouth a few years ago now for some HBO Treatment. It was my 2nd home for Mon -Friday,I used to take the ferry from the bus / train station each time. My treatment only lasted 1hr so I spent the r St off the day sightseeing. I had a great time as I used to stay in a B + B the whole 5 Days . Have they finished the new hospital??

Steve.

[Matt2584 in reply to SteveHartnett]

Hi Steve,

I am guessing by 'new hospital' you are talking about QA hospital and yes, they have finished it.

My Nan was in one of the wards there briefly. It is a very big place, like a labyrinth! Well, it is a super hospital after all now.

Personally I don't know why hospitals have to be ao big, you can get lost so easily in them.

The hospital where I had my ops was at Southampton general hospital and over the years me, my mum and dad have seen how that hospital has geown and grown into a super hospital.

Take care,

MJ

[SteveHartnett in reply to Matt2584]

Hi. Thanks for your info, it was around 2005/2006 since I was there. We have got a big new hospital here in Birmingham, you can get lost easy in it that's for sure. It is all glass + huge!! Mind you its time they had on to replace the two older ones.

Thanks

Steve.

[cat3]

Yes matt it would've been so easy to go into meltdown, so well done for staying in control and getting to where you'd intended.

For most people that would've been merely inconvenient but I know what a challenge such changes can present. And these are all accomplishments you can 'bank' and add to others, to build even more confidence.

You're doing great !! x

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

Thanks cat :).

When I got to Headway I told the staff of my experience and they were also proud of me and said that I could look back on that situation.

I could just imagine if I were in my anti-social days, I would've not been able to cope then.

Then again though, in my anti-social days I also had very low confidence and did not get out a lot so the situation of me being on my own a few miles away from my house would have been next to impossible back then :).

Take care,

MJ

[cat3]

You've come a long way this last 12 months ; I guess Headway has played a large part in your metamorphosis ! xx

[iforget]

That would have thrown me into a tailspin for sure...Well done you for figuring it out and getting where you needed to go.

[cat3 in reply to iforget]

What a nice surprise iforget seeing your name come up ! xx

[MXman]

Hi Matt, Yes its fantastic when we achieve a little through our thinking, I always always can pause when I get a bit tense or when something really bothers me and start the day again. Well done for sticking at it and not as said going into melt down. N

[malalatete]

Hey Matt, bravo. Being thrown off course like that can sometimes make me lose the plot entirely, so I think you did fantastically well. I am prone to go into a bit of a mind blank...will stand there with no Plan B until I work out I need to ask someone, usually my husband, what on earth I am supposed to do now. Mind you, there is no way I wouldwant to be sent on a detour like that either. All my journeys are based like you on going from this point to the next, changing transport, and maybe a little walking in between. If I have to walk around to compensate for buses not turning up it soon starts to crumble.

So hats off to ya!

[Matt2584 in reply to malalatete]

Thanks Mal :).

When I saw the station was fenced in I was like "huh" and then I just started following the rest of the heard at that point.

That meant, to get to my stop I had to walk around this obstacle to get to it.

Once I was at the stop I found that the bus I usually get was not there and that is when I had to walk to where I had come from to get some information and then walk back to where I was and a little further to get to my stop.

Back and fourth and I wee bit muddled but I held it together :).

Once I was on the bus, I suddenly thought to myself "I wonder if the route of this bus has now changed?". But it didn't which was really good.

This is why I got in contact with the bus company when I got home and asked them if they could notify me if something like this ever happened again cos I could easily get put off track and I may have wasted a journey.

[Matt2584 in reply to malalatete]

And by the way Mal. I have not forgotten about drawing from one of your photos, it's just I am a little busy right now and other folk, offline, are starting to be more aware of my talent.

One person at my other disabled group called me a dark horse :).

Some folk at my nearest Headway would like me to do drawings for them and a person at my mum's work and my auntie's colleague as well. My name is starting to get out there :).

[cat3 in reply to Matt2584]

About time too Matt ; I'm so pleased to hear you're being recognised for your talent at last !! xx

[Matt2584 in reply to cat3]

Thank you cat :).

It takes a little time but it is time well deserved :).

[angelite]

Hi Matt,

Well done for 'keeping calm and carrying on ' ! : )

Sudden disruption to our routines/plans can be difficult to think around.

I'm with you on the crowds thing too - when you have balance/strength issues and need more space for your wider style of gait it is horrible to be jostled and hemmed in ! 'Normal' people assume you can manage the narrowest of gaps.

Had a bit of trouble exiting a theatre recently as everyone was leaving at the same time -nothing quite like a surging throng to literally 'cramp my style' ! I was so relieved to make it outside where I could fling my limbs about in space again ! : ) x

[Matt2584 in reply to angelite]

Thanks Angela :).

And yes, with my balance issues I also have a wider gait. If I were to narrow the gap between each leg, balance gets a little difficult.

My balance has never really been 100%, I could never ride a bike but that would be because I had an unaware brain tumour growing inside of me.

But I remember in the 90s in my junior school, I was in a P.E. Lesson and I was walking the balnce beam. Everyone had someone walk next to them as aid and I definitely needed aid.

I was paired up with someone I did not like so much so when I would walk along the beam, he would move away and that put me off and I fell and the beam struck me right in the 'mummy, daddy button' haha.

[randomphantoms]

Hi Matt

Sorry for being a bit late but really well done you.

I hope you had a really great night's sleep after all the extra exercise and the pride of such a great achievement.

Knowing that you've done it and remembering how you managed it will be very useful in the future.

Great work

Lovenhugs

Xoxo

[RogerCMerriman]

Well done remeber folks without brain injury can have trouble with finding their way when things get closed/diverted.

Oddly I'm there or here now, in the ship leopard pub/hotel overlooking HMS warrior in Portsmouth, having a sit and a coffee.

I have maps in my head so when I came out of the train station I groaned At the fence but could see in my head the way round, plus I'm tall(ish) so can see over the fence.

Unlike my wife who finds navigating difficult. One of the folks who came to my London (ish) meeting had lost that ability which she was finding hard.

[Matt2584 in reply to RogerCMerriman]

Thanks :). And yes, people without BI can have trouble in similar situations, my mum would probably be one example of that :).

[RogerCMerriman in reply to Matt2584]

I used oddly enough have a lot of problems, entirely due to the fact I couldn't remeber addresses, this is pre the brain injury. I solved it evenly with mobile phones and tablets.