Start spreading the news..Marks leaving today...you really had to be apart of it!!

Have you ever met one of those people that when they walk into a room the energy shifts and you just feel up lifted, Mark is one of those people. The lift was broken for over a week, if you were lucky it might work once per day. Last week when I thought i was going for a procedure they cancelled it due to the lift not working. So we were stuck on the third floor. My physio therapist came up to my room so i didn't miss out. My room is probably 4 metres by 3 meters in size. So I lay on the bed to begin my exercises and Mark decided he'd tidy out the wardrobe. He opened one sliding door and rummaged through the plastic bags, folding clothes and rearranging shoes, then slid open the other side and moved a few things, pulled out the plastic bags, discovered a kilo bag filled with sugar packets and then another filled with Nescafe packets, he began sorting them neatly, then slid open the other side again, this went on for a few more minutes and my physio and I couldn't stop laughing, I had to ask him to either sit or leave, even though the room had become very tidy! In the afternoon Shavni (the therapist) came back up to my room so I could practise my walking and Mark was right beside me, speaking encouraging words and being very positive, for what ever reason I just kept laughing so I had to send him to sit back down again, I haven't been able to coordinate walking, breathing, laughing, shifting the weight and moving the frame just yet!!
Seventeen of us went descended on Spaghetti's restaurant on Saturday night to celebrate Mark's and Laura's (she is a patient from Argentina) time in Delhi. It was great to see everyone in a relaxed setting. The next day we went to a local hotel and paid to sit by the pool. We were in 7th heaven, capturing a small piece of normality. I have some great photos that I'll down load in my next blog entry. It was such a good feeling being in the water, walking up and down the side of the pool. Mark flew out Sunday night, he will be greatly missed by many here, especially me.
Sylvia flew in Sunday night like a breath of fresh air, full of energy. I was worried about her coming in alone at night so one of the patients here John went in the Taxi to meet her, which made me feel so much better. We curled up in out beds, Sylvia on the mattress on the floor and had lots to chat about. I slept the deepest sleep since I've been here, mixture of swimming and emotionally drained.
Monday morning I finally went for my procedure. Sylvia woke up early, had a cold shower and started to motivate me. I went to my physio session first, my body felt a little weak and for the first time in weeks i had some pain in my right shoulder, I'm not sure what I did to it but i wasn't as strong in my exercises.
Sylvia was so excited during the taxi ride, taking lots of photos. We arrived at the other hospital wide eyed and ready. I once again signed paper work and headed into the left with the wire door. In my room the nurse took my blood pressure, i changed into a theatre gown and a drip was put into my arm with fluids and antibiotics. Dr Geeta and Dr Ashish came to see me which was great, it always relaxes me when I see them. I was wheeled into theatre, rolled onto my side and curled up into a foetal position. Dr Ashish came in and explained to me that he would firstly numb the area with local anaesthetic then he'd insert the epidural catheter. He proceeded to press around my spine to find the right place, this took about 10 minutes. The anaesthetic stung at first, but i was grateful for the area to be numb. I didn't feel the tube going in and when the stem cells were injected the pain was minimal, the solution went up my spine and then seemed to fan outwards. I think the whole process took about 30 minutes, then i was wheeled back to my room, transferred onto my bed and as before the bottom legs of my bed were raised with bricks. I had to lay there for four and a half hours, then i could roll on my side, then sit up. While i was laying there Sylvia very lovingly rubbed my feet to help me relax and then i encouraged her to go for a walk with one of the other carers. When she returned she had a big bunch of flowers for me, they were beautiful. I slept on and off and Sylvia read to me, which was sweet of her. Six pm came and i was grateful to move. The pain wasn't to bad, as long as I didn't want to breath too deeply, sneeze or transfer!!! Our taxi was called and they brought our dinner on a tray to carry back with us, I was imagining wearing it during the taxi ride. As we were leaving I spotted two Indian men who live in the UK and one guy was here for treatment for his diabetes, I'd met them first with Nicki, then with Mark and now Sylvia. They commented on all the friends i have with me and i responded that i was very luck to be surrounded by good people, but Sylvia announced....'no way its because she's got great boobs!!' We laughed and the men commented, 'yes we've noticed that' White women are very popular in India.
I was glad to be back on familiar territory and laying flat in bed, a couple of neurophen later and i was off to sleep.
I felt great today at physio, no pain. (woohoo!!) Well no rest for the wicked, I have physio again in 5 minutes where I'll be putting on my foot supports and practicing my walking, so i need to get organised......until next time......x