Taking up the reading

Well there is no reall change to the immobility factor in my life apart from the fact i so much enjoy the spring in Mechelen and the feeling of doing fun stuff with the kids and friends, seated in a wheel chair ...

in light of my immobility i decided that instead of always writing e-mails or planning presentations it was about time to start reading again. Helpend and in a way pushed by my old neighboors i started reading the novel based on the life of Oswaldo Barreto Miliani.

i was so completely abosorbed by it that i forgot all notion of time and started reading friday night and finished the 476 pages long novel just now.

one always says the book picks the reader, and although that this book came to me recommended; my god did it pick the right reader.

Half a life story and half history lesson of the radical left-wing movements of the second half of the 20th century. From Ben Bella to Fidel Castro, from Che Guevara to Salvador Allende, many of the leading revolutionaries of our time put in an appearance.

The book is all about the search for belief in a cause, the recognition of the efforts done to put them in reality and desire to find a love to share it with. This put against the struggle to achieve the goals since one changes as a person and the wrong doings one causes by  letting his ideals and ideas take a too signigicant place in ones life ...

some quotes that maybe can also make you wanne read the book:

"What I cannot tell, is whether the people I left behind, the women I left, the love I spoiled and the pain I caused them was justified. More and more, I fear it was not."

"I didn't achieve much good -- I spent a long time getting nowhere."

http://www.amazon.com/Swallowing-Stones-Lisa-Aubin-Teran/dp/0060781041

For now: Happy Travels

 

T.

Rear window

i feel a bit like James Stewart int he Hitchcock movie "Rear Window", or at least that is what a friend compared me with. And indeed it is amazing what one can observe from his window looking out on one of the center streets of Mechelen.

From strawling people to a guy in a suit who is running like mad and finally trips and falls on his face. From the shop keepster in front of the house who smokes too much to the couple on the 4th floor who seem to be arguiing constantly ... it is something very nice to observe people and absorb the vibe of a city and life in that way.

For the rest life is going its own way here. I have the impression i work even harder than before despite being immobile and the requests from the office do not seem to stop leaving me hardly time to do all the things i had in mind during this "calmer period" ...

i might not be running in reality, my minds is doing all the fast legwork and of course also my fingers on the keyboard. But aside of that i have been able to put a bit of order in my pictures (not a good idea because it makes you rather melancholic) , have created some playlists for my son his drum practice and we were out shopping on Saturday. Father in the wheelchair being pushed by Riens and Lauran.

The shopping was clothing for Lauran and i must say we did go for some very nice things. Green will be the color of the summer and she got two green t-shirts , a white one and a lovely white skirt. Was fun for me too to see how they start having their own idea and preference, but still open to suggestions ... next week-end Riens will be the lucky one to get some clothes.

But my god are they growing up .... I never had the habbit of talking to them in a childish way, but now with them growing up it amazes me how mature they are capable of talking to me and of sharing what they feel and think. Sometimes very comfronting and rather difficult to answer .... especially if it refers to recent wounds in the heart and mind .....

for now i know they will join me in my travels and hope they will be there always

 

Happy travels

 

T.

The reality check

well have been to the hopsital today. I got in with 3 questions in my mind and about 15 stiches in my leg. (the proof below in this post : not for the weak at heart :-) )

Question 1: when i will be able to rest on my right leg.

Stupid me was going in with the idea that i will be able to rest on my leg in the coming one or two weeks. Well reality check: not before the next check-up on May 16th and he was very firm about it.

Question 2: when will i be able to start flying and travelling:

well, my US trip of April 26th is down the drain although i did not have high hopes for that one; but D-day is now set to 22nd of May.

Question 3: when can i start full fysio for the lower leg given the condition and the difference between left and right

well also here a bummer, not before i can have my foot in a 90% angle. but i can remove my brace from time to time to at least air the leg a bit :-) and start little excercise the foot and upper leg.

but for now it is back to the sofa with the laptop on my lap and working through all the mails and conference calls. On top of it i need to sort out the medical insurrance. Advice for everybody: check your insurrances and make sure you get the right coverage :-)

 

Happy mind travels

 

Toon

if you want to see the stiches clikc here

Are you being served

being immobile has its advantages. Lauran is this week-end here (Riens is as said on week-end with the Scouts). So yesterday i have been stuffed with a wownderful chocolate cake ...

and this sunday morning , i have been served pancackes, better than anywhere i have eaten (yes, even better than the International house of Pancackes in the US).

wonder what she will cook up for me for lunch :-) ...

Happy travels

 

T.

Some observations after 2 weeks of immobility

well, it is now two weeks since my little accident that got me here. in my sofa and like one should do ever so on: a status report:

 

Health: is going well. Last Tuesday i went on a medical check in the the hopsital and the doctor is happy when he saw my "raostbeef". I call my surgery the "roastbeef" because with the stiches i looks like a roastbeef before it goes into the oven :-) .

They have changed the cask for a fixed brace, which make my life not easier. I admit: i feel less safe in the brace than the cask. The weight is a problem and just the feeling of tripping is higher. Also sleeping is less easy ....

my physical condition is ok, but amazing to see i have lost alround muscle in my right leg. evn with the suggested daily excercise it is melting like snow for the sun, so rehad : here i come and i will be there for a while :-)

Family: i haven't lived with my mum since i was 12, which is now 28 years ago, but now she is back . She helped tremendeous on everything and so has the rest of my family. if i look around myself and hear sometimes friends talk about their family i can only say: I'm one lucky bastard. We just love each other and they just spoil me.

Friends: if the saying " in the hour of need one knows his friends" is a sign i'm blessed. Thanks to all of you who have offered me help i one shape or form, sent me messages to keep up the spirit, making me laugh and taking care of all.

Horror: strange caption, but it needs to be said. i have an injury, but last friday i went out in my wheel chair to go out and have some fresh air, and suddenly i felt like a wincher or complainer. why ? because all the stories i had to hear from my people i came acros: oh my god that is bad, but you know my uncles brother in law his kid's best friend once had torn of his achilles tendon and by the force of the snap cut open his leg. whilst he was lying there a dog passed by and started chewing on it , he chased the dog away and started stiching himself like a real rambo. (this story is not true of course, but is just a flavour of the stories people seem to have the urge to tell to me; as if they want to comfort me by telling stories that are worse than mine.

Time: more time: FORGET IT. first of all everything you do takes a lot more time. Think about normal things i live as taking a shower; have your breakfast. (try to get a bottle of milk out of the fridge on one leg with crutches) .... and suddenly 1/3 of your day is gone. you try to do your excercises to adhere to the fysio's instruction .. and then the office: a lot of people consider this not an illness. Yep but Toon you are sitting in the sofa: you will be bored to death if we do not keep you busy. Conclusion: feels sometimes i read and answer more e-mails than when i was actually working and not on sick leave.

 

well but it is week-end now, my mum went home for the week-end, but Lauran is coming so we are going to have some nice relaxing time together. Riens just leaft a scouts week-end and father and daughter will do some cooking and baking i guess ...

happy travels

T.

 

 

accessibility

My office : try it yourself

Maybe not the best quality picture, but this is how my office looks like for the moment. A table to rest my pc on when i need to change position, my leg higher up and so getting through the day.

Somtimes i just need to take a rest becaus emy back startst to hurt and the position is not that comfrotable .. I sometimes wonder what the definition is of sick leave, but that is also a bit my own fault i guess ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy travels

 

Toon

Some generations of motorcycle fanatics

 

If there is one man in my motorcycle history I admire and love to spend time with it has to be Jeremy Ferguson. I met Jeremy when I started working at Dunlop and have had since a very good contact with him. Jeremy is Manager International Motorsport for Dunlop and the largest portion of his time travelling with the MotoGP circus around the world.

I love to listen to him about how the world has changed (not that he believes that everything was better before, it was just different; he is a very positive person with a tremendous energy. We enjoy the same simple things in life (although he is now convinced that I do too dangerous things after my ski accident): good food, nice wine and watching good racing.

This week-end he paid me a visit after my surgery along with Isabel and Florian (Florian is an ex colleague from Goodyear Dunlop) and although we covered everything in our discussion: from American politics, to travelling, living abroad, food to of course Motorcycle racing. Even Ines who visited as well - although not a motorcycle freak- was amused by way we could about these things so passionate.

Now i need to start working on trying to convince him to join one of my projects that is still under development. A little secret for now, but one of those pet projects that keeps me smiling and thrilled having a passion that could be combined with my knowledge in digital.

Stay tuned, but for now: happy travels

Toon

an uncomfrotable truth

 

well that is the least i can say.  The hospital was not that fun, That's me still with high hopes on a speedy recovery. seemed they had to work a bit longer on my lang than planned. Normally they can easilly attach the tendon again without a problem. For teh people with a lack of imagination or a very high  degree of curiosity hereby a link on what they actually did:

information about achilles

There was a large gap between the ends of the tendon because it snapped rather high close to the muscle. . The gap needed to be bridged in some manner so they removed some tissue from my foot as well to bridge the gap.

The hardest part is to keep a position that does not hurt too much and does not make the leg go completely numb. I tried to work last night, but this morning i had to give up since the postion in which i have to lay down combined with the position in can hold teh computer are not optimal.

Suddenly you realize how difficult life can be when you are immobile. Everything takes a lot more time, from basic things like taking something to drink, to going to the toilet: count the quadrupple of the normal time.

Anyhow the decision was foreced on me today not to work till beginning of next week, something which was not appreciated by all colleagues. Althiough i must say that the majority has been very supportive and understand that although not sick, going under total narcosis and having surgery has an effect on the concentration levels of people.

Also my mum is here to help me out a bit. It is funny on how we sometimes can work on each others nerves in such situations, but bless her for the willingness to help me out.

For the rest i'm missing out on the fun at work (i cannot be involved in sme very very interesting projects in my area and there is of course my former bosses leaving party that i will have to miss)

but at the end of the day: i will be travelling soon

happy travels

T;