1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,760
Hello, I hope everyone's doing okay and you've had a decent week. Today I am literally just

2
00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:15,560
going to jump straight in, two feet first and I'm going to talk about the meeting that

3
00:00:15,560 --> 00:00:26,140
I had at the Sheffield Teaching Hospital at the specialist rehab unit. As I already said,

4
00:00:26,140 --> 00:00:34,400
I had that meeting coming up and I was going to be assessed for the FES, the FES machine.

5
00:00:34,400 --> 00:00:37,840
The meeting was absolutely fantastic, I'm going to be honest with you, it went really,

6
00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:48,640
really well. Basically we started out the meeting having a conversation, talking about

7
00:00:48,640 --> 00:00:56,480
effectively the sort of things that I have going on, the issues that the MS calls is

8
00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:04,120
and to be fair they just sat, listened, I explained the sort of things that I have got

9
00:01:04,120 --> 00:01:12,480
in terms of issues, it was all written down. We had a conversation about when I had tried

10
00:01:12,480 --> 00:01:23,340
the FES at my local hospital with my physio and how well it went. When I was explaining

11
00:01:23,340 --> 00:01:33,320
my foot drop, because physio came out to collect me from the waiting room and it was very much

12
00:01:33,320 --> 00:01:43,120
a case of naturally she walked behind me to monitor and see how I was walking. And yeah,

13
00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:48,720
my foot was dragging, as bad as it always does, it was really quite bad. And when we

14
00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:57,760
got in there, as I say, we had this conversation and to me it felt like maybe they were thinking

15
00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:06,800
that actually the FES probably wouldn't do a job. Well, I explained that when I had tried

16
00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:15,360
it at my local hospital, it was incredible and I hadn't walked in that manner for, well,

17
00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:21,720
I can't explain how long, it was such a long time, unbelievable. But I explained it to

18
00:02:21,720 --> 00:02:32,120
them and they said, well, we'll put it on, let's have a look and see how it goes. That's

19
00:02:32,120 --> 00:02:44,380
what happened. The FES, the FES was put on and I stood up, did a couple of walks with

20
00:02:44,380 --> 00:02:56,680
it turned off and then it got turned on. And when it got turned on, again, the walking

21
00:02:56,680 --> 00:03:04,960
was incredible. It was just so different. I mean, you could say it was night and day,

22
00:03:04,960 --> 00:03:15,240
that doesn't do it the justice that it needs because the change is so significant that

23
00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:22,280
it's almost like it's a different person actually walking, it's a different pair of legs because

24
00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:29,080
normally my foot drop, my right foot will drag so badly that at times it's probably

25
00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:39,200
about three counties behind me before we actually get anywhere. But with the machine on, my

26
00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:50,480
walking was very comfortable. The foot drop, when the machine was turned up to a certain

27
00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:59,360
level, we got it to level 50. When it got to that level, there was no foot drop. And

28
00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:06,720
I mean there was none. Don't get me wrong, the one thing that will never happen is a

29
00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:16,360
cure for the foot drop. But as I'm walking, it was very much a case of actually I was

30
00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:26,400
walking quite comfortably, still using both my sticks. But I was slashing my times because

31
00:04:26,400 --> 00:04:32,760
obviously I was being timed initially before it was turned on to see how I did that walking

32
00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:42,080
distance. It's only a very short distance. But I slashing my times by using the machine

33
00:04:42,080 --> 00:04:52,080
and I felt so much more comfortable. It was ridiculous how comfortable I actually felt

34
00:04:52,080 --> 00:05:03,560
using it. But it was also very much surprising. They asked if they could video me walking

35
00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:11,520
and I've signed a release to give permission should they want to use that footage of me

36
00:05:11,520 --> 00:05:17,840
walking with and without the machine. And apparently it could be sent anywhere in the

37
00:05:17,840 --> 00:05:28,080
NHS, potentially even medical journals or things like that. I signed it in a heartbeat.

38
00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:34,080
Honestly I had no interest in saying no to that. So it was always going to be a yes.

39
00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:39,160
Because let's be honest, everything's out there in the world anyway, on my social media

40
00:05:39,160 --> 00:05:46,920
accounts, this podcast, it's there for everyone to see. There's nothing to hide. If it's going

41
00:05:46,920 --> 00:05:53,640
to help, let's get it out there for people to have a look at. It just makes sense. But

42
00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:59,520
yeah, I mean, in terms of the actual meeting itself, the assessment, it was brilliant.

43
00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:09,040
Just have been in there for over an hour and a half. And again, I mean, there was no pressure

44
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:14,440
to be quick with the things I'm talking about. There was no pressure from them to get me

45
00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:18,960
in and out. It was very much a case of it takes as long as it takes. The conversations

46
00:06:18,960 --> 00:06:27,160
are what they are. There was, I mean, it was just, it was good. It was really genuinely

47
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:34,400
very good. I can't compliment them higher. I'll be honest with you, I really can't. They

48
00:06:34,400 --> 00:06:45,360
were fantastic with me. They're very patient. Obviously trained me how to use the FES, which

49
00:06:45,360 --> 00:06:51,800
is a good thing. It's very much a good thing. So I knew I was doing the following morning

50
00:06:51,800 --> 00:07:01,600
when I was putting it on. Or did I? Yeah, this is me. I forget stuff. I can't help that.

51
00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:07,080
But actually, no, I did okay. It takes me a little bit longer, but we'll come to that.

52
00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:14,320
We'll get there. But yeah, they're very much a case of they explained how it all works.

53
00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:23,640
They explained what the purpose of the assessment meeting, whatever you want to call it, was.

54
00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:30,200
And said to me that in two weeks time, I can go back. Well, I've got an appointment to

55
00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:41,060
go back so they can see how I'm coping with the FES. They can speak to me and see how

56
00:07:41,060 --> 00:07:47,260
I think things are going. We are going to get to that because that's actually, from

57
00:07:47,260 --> 00:07:52,040
my point of view, quite an exciting conversation. But yeah, I mean, so that's booked in two

58
00:07:52,040 --> 00:08:02,960
weeks time, go back to Sheffield, have this meeting and then it should be a good thing.

59
00:08:02,960 --> 00:08:08,920
Now we're going to explain how things have been and what's likely to happen at this next

60
00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:25,160
meeting. Because let's be honest, I have been using the FES, the FES. And to say it's incredible

61
00:08:25,160 --> 00:08:31,880
would be a humongous understatement. I mean, it was it wouldn't do it justice. I mean,

62
00:08:31,880 --> 00:08:40,720
it literally is a case of I feel so confident using it. I feel confident walking. Now the

63
00:08:40,720 --> 00:08:50,680
one thing I've got to make clear. Using the FES does not mean I'm ever going to walk further

64
00:08:50,680 --> 00:08:56,720
than I'm currently capable when I'm not using it. That's not what it's there for. It's

65
00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:04,640
not what it's designed to do. That's not not even a consideration. It's it's never going

66
00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:13,040
to cure the foot drop. But when I'm wearing the machine, when it's turned on, at that

67
00:09:13,040 --> 00:09:19,720
point, it reminds the nerves in my leg what they're supposed to be doing. And it pulls

68
00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:28,240
the front of me foot up. So I'm walking comfortably and safely. Because I've said it previously,

69
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:33,920
my walking was getting to the point actually was kind of dangerous. It wasn't it wasn't

70
00:09:33,920 --> 00:09:42,680
nice. It must have been quite difficult for people to see, as well as for me to actually

71
00:09:42,680 --> 00:09:53,880
cope with. Now, what I have to point out is the first outing I had with it, I had a meeting

72
00:09:53,880 --> 00:09:59,940
to go to, went to that meeting. And then I went into town. I needed to go and grab some

73
00:09:59,940 --> 00:10:07,200
bits from the supermarket. Took my mobility scooter, went to the meeting, went to the

74
00:10:07,200 --> 00:10:18,840
supermarket, parked up my scooter and turned me a fierce on and took one stick with me

75
00:10:18,840 --> 00:10:22,320
because I needed to carry a basket. I couldn't take two sticks. That's just not going to

76
00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:31,520
happen while I'm carrying a basket. Let's be fair. But it was really quite, I'm going

77
00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:40,600
to say comfortable. And it was very much a case of I felt confident walking. And while

78
00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:45,880
I was grabbing a bits and pieces, I bumped into a couple of friends from from work when

79
00:10:45,880 --> 00:10:56,400
I was working. And I had a chat with them. And we started walking to the till together.

80
00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:01,720
And one thing I've not been able to do for quite a long time is actually keep up with

81
00:11:01,720 --> 00:11:09,560
people. I was keeping up with them absolutely perfectly, step for step. And I'm going to

82
00:11:09,560 --> 00:11:16,280
be honest with you, the level of pride that I actually felt that the contentment all sorts

83
00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:26,040
was just, it was different class. It was genuinely different class. I mean, I can't explain how,

84
00:11:26,040 --> 00:11:35,280
actually, it made me feel because the emotions were just all over the place. I mean, it was,

85
00:11:35,280 --> 00:11:40,360
I'm going to say surprising as probably the only word that comes to mind that I can use.

86
00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:50,480
But yeah, it was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. We took a family trip just yesterday on Saturday

87
00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:56,080
to Norwich to have a little look, a little look around to see if maybe that's a better

88
00:11:56,080 --> 00:12:06,920
prospect for our potential move than Plymouth. Now, I did use my wheelchair quite a bit.

89
00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:14,360
And the one thing I'm trying to do when I'm using a wheelchair, I'm really trying to hand

90
00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:18,240
wheel it myself. You know, I want to be sat down. I've bought myself some some fingerless

91
00:12:18,240 --> 00:12:24,520
gloves that's got the padding on the hands and all sorts to try and make it a bit more

92
00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,760
comfortable. So I did quite a bit of that. I'm going to be honest with you, there was

93
00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:34,360
quite a bit of me hand wheeling. But when I was getting up to walk around again, I'm

94
00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:45,360
using the FES. It was just so good. It really was. I mean, again, I did overdo it. I'm going

95
00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:50,680
to say that while I was there, I did overdo it. I was walking around way too much. And

96
00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:56,800
yeah, it hurt me quite a bit. I couldn't stop myself. It was so exciting to be able to just

97
00:12:56,800 --> 00:13:02,900
walk around and not have to think, right, am I going to trip over in five minutes? Right,

98
00:13:02,900 --> 00:13:09,480
how do I need to adjust my walking? Because for the longest time now I've had to adjust

99
00:13:09,480 --> 00:13:21,800
my walking to make sure I don't fall over. I've had to adjust it so that I'm comfortable

100
00:13:21,800 --> 00:13:33,280
and feel safe. Not with this thing, not with this FES on, not at all. It is such a... I'm

101
00:13:33,280 --> 00:13:40,120
going to use the term going forward. This could be a bit of a life changer. It really

102
00:13:40,120 --> 00:13:46,680
could be a bit of a life changer. Because one, the confidence it's given me to get up

103
00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:53,200
and walk. Yes, again, I will say I can't walk any further than I previously did. That's

104
00:13:53,200 --> 00:14:03,720
fine. Not a problem. But the confidence just in myself to think my foot's not dragging.

105
00:14:03,720 --> 00:14:10,040
I don't feel like I'm going to fall over. Do you know what? I feel like me. I feel like

106
00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:19,040
the person I was. And again, that's a personal experience for myself. Other people may feel

107
00:14:19,040 --> 00:14:24,760
something slightly different. But for me, the way this thing makes me feel when I'm

108
00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:33,000
using it, it's just incredible. It really, really is. And when I'm walking around, yeah,

109
00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:36,920
there's been a couple of occasions actually I've had to turn it up a little bit because

110
00:14:36,920 --> 00:14:46,160
I walked too much and the tiredness is kicked back in in my leg. And I'm thinking, foot's

111
00:14:46,160 --> 00:14:56,840
starting to feel a bit draggy, turn it up. And voila, it works. So yeah, that that's

112
00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:06,200
very much where I've been as regards. And when I go back for this, this meeting in two

113
00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:15,160
weeks, my personal choice is very much welcome to my life. FES. It's a pleasure to know

114
00:15:15,160 --> 00:15:26,480
you're going to become my best friend. Because genuinely, it's just such a different animal.

115
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:34,100
It really is. It's everything I hoped it was going to be. And yeah, that I know that probably

116
00:15:34,100 --> 00:15:41,640
sounds like I'm sort of getting overexcited maybe. Well, I am and I make no apologies

117
00:15:41,640 --> 00:15:52,720
for it. I am overexcited. I'm confident. I'm happy. And I feel like I'm capable of

118
00:15:52,720 --> 00:16:01,720
just being me. So that's where FES is. I'm just going to do a very, very quick breakdown

119
00:16:01,720 --> 00:16:11,480
on how the FES is actually used itself. Because I was asked this question on social media.

120
00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:18,680
And I did as part of that that video actually showed the machine and whatever else. Now,

121
00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:26,120
it is a small little box. And I do mean it is only small, it's not huge. You have two

122
00:16:26,120 --> 00:16:36,120
wires that go in. Those wires, one of them attaches to a foot switch, which is in the

123
00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:49,120
heel of my right shoe, my right trainer. And the other one attaches to two, I'm going to

124
00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:56,240
call them probes, sensors, just like little sticky bits that go onto my leg. And they've

125
00:16:56,240 --> 00:17:01,040
got wires coming out. So you attach the wires to it. There's a red wire that goes into the

126
00:17:01,040 --> 00:17:11,560
bottom one, a black wire that goes into the top one. That's the part that sends the stimulation

127
00:17:11,560 --> 00:17:19,560
to your leg to get your leg to do what it's supposed to do. And that really is the basics

128
00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:25,640
of the machine. I'm going to be honest, it really is that simple. Little box, I click

129
00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:35,320
the box onto me, my jeans, me, me pocket, a couple of wires that I take to my leg. Because

130
00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:45,320
I just might as well save having wires flapping about in my jeans. And foot switch. That's

131
00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:55,560
it. That is genuinely it. I can't explain any easier how it actually does its job.

132
00:17:55,560 --> 00:18:03,840
Because that foot switch is what tells the machine that it's time to send the stimulation

133
00:18:03,840 --> 00:18:09,720
to your leg to wake your foot up and say, Oh, hang on. Yep, we're walking here. Stand

134
00:18:09,720 --> 00:18:19,420
up. And that's it. That is genuinely, genuinely it. I could go into massive long conversations

135
00:18:19,420 --> 00:18:27,920
about other bits and pieces about your nerves and whatever else. But honestly, at this point,

136
00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:34,080
I don't really need to. There is one of the sort of patches that goes onto your leg that

137
00:18:34,080 --> 00:18:41,320
actually, and I will say it goes onto a part of your leg where a nerve sort of splits off

138
00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:47,680
and goes at different places. So you put this one patch just before the nerves start splitting

139
00:18:47,680 --> 00:18:54,760
off. I've kind of figured out already where they go. They were brilliant. As I say, the

140
00:18:54,760 --> 00:19:00,920
people at the Sheffield teaching hospital were absolutely fantastic. Made sure I knew

141
00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:10,760
exactly where they went. But that's it. That's how the machine works. It's not, it's not

142
00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:22,040
any more difficult than that. In terms of me and myself, I've yeah, I've not been too

143
00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:27,300
bad. I'm going to be honest. I've not been too bad. I'm still hugely fatigued. I'm going

144
00:19:27,300 --> 00:19:33,000
to be honest. It doesn't matter what I do. I just want to go to sleep. In terms of pain,

145
00:19:33,000 --> 00:19:41,680
yeah, there's an awful lot. I'm going to be totally fair on that. There's no end of pain.

146
00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:50,000
But again, it's, it's all stuff that I think stemming from me overdoing things. And I know

147
00:19:50,000 --> 00:19:58,160
I've said a million times, I've got to start understanding when I'm overdoing and stop.

148
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,640
It's not easy. I'll be honest, it's not easy to get to that point. But I'm trying. I'm

149
00:20:02,640 --> 00:20:13,960
really am trying. I mean, just today, I went out in the garden, and I had many, many seeds

150
00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:22,320
to plant. And, you know, little bits of digging and all the rest of it. I planted all the

151
00:20:22,320 --> 00:20:28,840
seeds, I'm going to tell a funny story. I'm going to tell a funny story. While I was actually

152
00:20:28,840 --> 00:20:34,840
planting some of the seeds, I've got my music on. You know, I'm sitting out, I'm rocking

153
00:20:34,840 --> 00:20:44,560
out. And something didn't feel right. So I felt like somebody was staring at me. So I

154
00:20:44,560 --> 00:20:56,560
thought that's a bit strange. I'm out in the garden. I turned around and stood there, stood

155
00:20:56,560 --> 00:21:07,280
there, was my dad looking at me. He was only a couple of feet away from me. And I screamed.

156
00:21:07,280 --> 00:21:17,320
I absolutely screamed. I ended up sat down anyway, but I ended up flat on my back laughing.

157
00:21:17,320 --> 00:21:24,800
My dad blessing was absolutely wetting himself. And quite rightly so because it was hilarious.

158
00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:33,080
I absolutely jumped out of my skin. I'm kind of worried about the people on the International

159
00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:38,440
Space Station, to be honest. They probably saw me fly past. I jumped that way. But yeah,

160
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:46,760
yeah, it was absolutely superb, genuinely fantastic. And I promise I didn't swear at

161
00:21:46,760 --> 00:21:57,000
him. I promise. Honest. Anyway, but yeah, I mean, that happened. And to say I'll give

162
00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:07,600
that a flat 100 out of 10 for skills is yeah, definite. He got me. He got me good. Dad quality,

163
00:22:07,600 --> 00:22:15,640
absolute quality. But yeah, I mean, that's the sort of thing. I mean, today, it knackered

164
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:21,640
me out. I'll be honest with you, I was absolutely out of it. Once I'd put all those seeds in,

165
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:29,600
in all, there was over 3000 seeds. And that probably isn't a lot, in all fairness, loads

166
00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:33,600
of different plants. I'm not going to start naming them all because just not worth it.

167
00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:38,920
We'd be sat here for the next three, four, five hours with me trying to remember the

168
00:22:38,920 --> 00:22:46,480
names and things. Nope. Nobody wants to listen to me for that long. But yeah, very, very

169
00:22:46,480 --> 00:22:50,920
much a case of thoroughly enjoyed it. As we all know, I love me gardening. But yeah, I

170
00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:58,120
mean, I was, I was completely out of it after. And again, that comes down to, to me overdoing

171
00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:06,840
things. I knew I'd done too much. Didn't want to stop. I carried on. I kept going.

172
00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:15,480
And I finished the job. And now I'm suffering for it. I think I've finally come back down

173
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:22,600
to earth after jumping out of my skin, I think. Don't quote me, but I think that's possible.

174
00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:30,840
But yeah, I mean, that's it. That's the sort of thing. Other than that, my week has been,

175
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:36,600
it's been pretty good. I'm going to be honest, I've had quite a good week. On Sunday of last

176
00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:49,520
week, we did our first Boots Owl. Yeah. Other than that, it's really been quite a chilled

177
00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:57,560
week, which I've enjoyed. Well, I think I've probably kept you all long enough for today.

178
00:23:57,560 --> 00:24:05,760
What I will say is, listener numbers are creeping up quite a bit. So anyone that is new to this

179
00:24:05,760 --> 00:24:12,480
podcast, thank you very much for joining us. I do thoroughly enjoy talking to you. I really

180
00:24:12,480 --> 00:24:19,600
do. I try and be as fun as I can. But you know, you can't guarantee you're going to

181
00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:28,120
be fun all the time, can you? But I'll try. Right. Have a fantastic week. And I will speak

182
00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:36,280
to you all really soon. Bye bye.