Sitting

When I was first allowed out of bed I was only allowed out for a few hours at a time.  I’d have to build up sitting tolerance and ensure that my skin didn’t develop any pressure sores.  Early on it had been pointed out that there was a high risk of this as there’d be a lot of pressure due to weight etc. 

I’d be allowed up for an 11.00 session with OT, have lunch, go to physio at 13.15 and be back in bed for 14.30.  This was on a good day.  Sometimes I’d be thrown back into bed for lunch and sometimes I wasn’t even allowed out of bed at all. 

As time progressed I’d get to stretch the length of time out.  After a number of weeks I was allowed out of bed in the evenings for a few hours. 

After lying in bed for 9 months each hour in bed felt like a lifetime.  I was eager to push things.  To move on.  I wasn’t feeling any of the sickness I’d originally felt when sitting up so mentally I wanted up and out as much as possible.  But there were restrictions and this led to frustration. 

A few times I’d been sent back to bed for a week or more at a time and although I’d managed 9 months previously these days dragged in.  Each day felt like the entire 9 months all over again.  But I knew the reasons for it and had to accept it.  It was just frustrating however.

But we did finally get to a point where there were no restrictions.  That I could sit up for longer periods and although I suppose it didn’t take very long in the grand scheme of things to get to this point, it did feel much, much longer.