Hello and welcome back. I hope everyone's doing okay and has had a good week.
I'm going to do a real bit of talking today about the kind of things I'm doing
and I'm going to start doing in terms of trying to get myself in a bit of a better place fitness wise.
Don't get me wrong, I know that's not going to be easy, but I'm having a go.
But first off today, there's only one place to start and that was Saturday in London with my dad and my brother
for the MS Society's walk. What a day. I mean genuinely what an absolutely superb day.
Yeah okay it was a real early wake up. Six o'clock in the morning. Six a.m. yep wake up.
Six o'clock in the shower. Sort myself out and then I had the fun task of trying to sort the
fez machine out at that time in the morning. Let's be honest that hasn't been going particularly
well just lately the old fez. I'm gonna be honest. So it wasn't great but I managed it and do you know
what I'm gonna say it the fez actually on Saturday worked the best for me. It's worked for such a long
time. The last couple of weeks I'll be straight it's not been brilliant but the one day I needed it
to come through it came through brilliantly. I'm gonna be honest to say it was it was an early wake
up but it was well and truly worthwhile. It really was. Jumped on the train down, got into London.
It's only an hour on the train from from where we are just over sometimes but so we got down there
jumped on the underground and what I'm gonna say traveling with a wheelchair.
My experience actually is very very positive. Very positive. Obviously we traveled down last year
with the wheelchair and this year I don't remember a single issue. I really don't remember a single
issue. Not anything notable. It's actually been very very positive which I'm gonna be honest.
My wheelchair is not exactly the smallest in the world but it's okay. It does a really good job and
yeah I'll be honest I was really pleased. Really pleased. But yeah I mean once we got down there
we got down there quite early. So when we come out of the station near where the start point of the
walk was jumped into the shop. I don't know if I'm supposed to name the shop but you know what
I'm gonna anyway. We went into a Costa and grabbed a drink went and sat outside it and
sat outside it. Loads of orange shirts absolutely everywhere. It was really lovely to see I'm gonna
be honest. It was brilliant. It was absolutely fantastic I'm gonna say it. Everywhere you looked
it was just a sea of orange and sat there outside. Nice drink and just soaking up a bit of sun. It
was it was beautiful even at early time in the morning. Gorgeous out there. Really lovely.
Fully enjoyed it. We went around to the actual where the walk starts. Music was playing brilliant.
Absolutely fantastic. Atmosphere was great. Went and booked in. Got a nice little a nice little
badge to put on our shirts to celebrate the 10 years of the MS walk. And yeah I'll be honest
with you it was just it was a really good atmosphere. Everyone was down there for the
same reason to make money for an incredible charity the MS Society. And yeah it was just
I don't know what else to say apart from it was just a great atmosphere. It really really was.
Don't get me wrong I mean we didn't really pay much heed to the exercise before the walk.
Not really that kind of thing I'm gonna be honest. He says until he goes into what he's been doing.
Anyway but yeah no it was absolutely fantastic at the start. Brilliant.
Getting everyone pumped up and ready to go and when it was our turn to go off.
You know the music was playing and everybody's ready.
Again I've said it before and I will say again it was my thing where I guaranteed myself
no matter what happens I will start the walk on my feet and I will finish the walk on my feet.
Well there's a distinct sense of pride in me right now. I'm gonna be honest.
I did start on my feet. I did finish on my feet. On top of that and I'm gonna be straight on top
of that at different times it wasn't all in one hit at different times I easily walked about
one and a half kilometers of the five kilometer walk.
Absolutely over the moon with it. Really really over the moon with it.
Part of the walk was down the mall outside Buckingham Palace and I walked probably halfway
down the mall. Absolutely brilliant. Before that I'd done a little bit of walking in St James's Park
a bit of walking outside Buckingham Palace and I walked about a mile.
A bit of walking outside Buckingham Palace. A bit further down the line I'd walked down Westminster.
It was just absolutely fantastic. Really good. I felt good in myself to be able to
to sort of fight through a little bit because don't get me wrong.
Did it hurt? Yeah of course it did. Did it feel incredibly comfortable?
That would be a no. But was I capable? Yeah yeah I was I was capable and because I was capable
I think it would have been really really rude not to go ahead and actually just use my legs
while they were while they were playing ball a little bit it was wrong not to.
It was wrong not to. But I've got to say again I mean for me personally I think the route that
was chosen for the walk this year I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think there was lots of really good
things to look at. As I've just said Buckingham Palace. It don't really get much more touristy
than Buckingham Palace does it? It just doesn't. It really really doesn't.
And don't get me wrong I've seen it no end of times in the past. It don't make it any less
any I'm gonna say the word fun and any any less entertaining
to look at the place where our now king resides. Now the royal standard wasn't up so obviously
he wasn't at Buckingham Palace currently. That's fine don't make it any less entertaining to look
at the place. I took some great pictures I'll be honest with you. Yes I did the real touristy thing
and I was taking pictures. Lots and lots and lots of pictures. I've put them up on my social medias
so they are there for anyone to watch if they want to. It's done in video format so that
it's a bit more interesting because just looking at pictures with no music
not quite as much fun these days is it? Let's be honest. But yeah honestly absolutely fantastic.
So I mean coming away from that saw the Winston Churchill statue.
Had a nice picture taken with my brother. Again I'll be honest with you I don't think I've ever
actually seen Sir Winston Churchill's statue before. Racking my brains I don't think I ever have.
So again that was quite a nice one. I'll be fair that was a new one on me and I
yeah I've got the picture to show that I was there. To show I've seen it. So yeah no I'll
be honest with you again that's a new one on me because I genuinely don't remember ever seeing it.
But yeah again I mean walking down the Mall itself.
I've never seen it with no traffic. The traffic had been stopped there. Don't get me wrong there
was one point we tried to cross a road and no end of bicycles come past and I do mean no end of them.
But apart from that we was actually able to walk down it not on the footpath actually
the footpath actually on the road itself. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Thoroughly thoroughly
enjoyed it. It was great just to say that I have actually walked down it. But again I mean we went
into St James's Park. It's beautiful absolutely gorgeous little park. Really do like a little
park. It ain't that little. But yeah really really nice and again the sun was shining. We were so
so lucky when it came to the weather I'm going to be fair. For the time of year it could easily
very very easily have been a bit ropey. Give me a second I'm just going to have some water.
But yeah I mean it could have been it could have been such a bad day for the weather but no it's
brilliant. Same as last year. Last year's was October the walk actually went ahead.
This year September the weather was perfect. Literally perfect. The sun was out. Yeah it was
just just fantastic. We did go a little bit off map a little bit towards the end of the walk.
We probably extended the walk actually to slightly low over five kilometers for us.
Because seeing as we was in the area it was rude not to go and have a look at Downing Street.
It just would have been wrong. I'm sorry it just would have been wrong. So we sort of went a little
bit off grid. Went down had a look at Downing Street. Again I took a nice picture. Really good
again it's a part of London I don't remember ever seeing. I genuinely don't think I've ever
seen Downing Street before. So it's another one to tick off the list isn't it. Tick.
But yeah no it again I don't really know how much more I can compliment it. It was just
a brilliant day. A thoroughly good day. Again the event itself was put on fantastically.
There's two we've done now and I'm gonna say they they go out of their way to make sure that
everyone's having a good time.
Because again I'm gonna sort of go a little bit a little bit off the cheerful here. Not everyone
there is there with a smile on their face and rightly so.
There are some people there that are walking on their own for different reasons.
But on the whole we're all there for one reason and one reason only. And I will say on my website
I still have the just giving little buttons on there for this walk. If you're able to donate
it is still able to be put into. At the moment we've raised the price of the event.
Which I'm happy with. I'd set my personal goal for the team at 250.
So yeah I was really chuffed. Really chuffed with what we've actually raised.
On the website is actually still the just giving links a separate link for the skydive.
That's the next one. I can't wait. But yeah I think that's probably where I'll call it a day
on talking about the the walk itself. Because again I mean I could sit here honestly I could sit here
for hours and just go on about how great it was and how much I enjoyed it. And all the different
landmarks that we've actually seen. Let's be fair the first proper landmark was Big Ben.
And Big Ben every time I look at Big Ben I just think that's awesome. But I've got a feeling it
might be the first time I've seen it since it's been cleaned. It's gorgeous. It's just such an
impressive sight it really is. But anyway like I say I could sit here and just go on and on and on
about all the different landmarks and everything else that we've seen. But that would probably
bore everyone except me. Because I saw them. I enjoyed seeing them. And I'll enjoy seeing them
again next year. Because yes there's very little chance I won't be doing it next year. I am
desperate for them to open the reservations and I will be there. Because why not. But anyway
just very briefly I say briefly. One of the things I've actually started doing a little bit now
is exercising. Because I want to keep myself in a position where one for the skydive I'm under the
weight limit that you have to be to actually do the dive. And two do you know what having started
doing some basic exercising I'm really enjoying it. I'm going to be honest I'm really really enjoying
it. It's very much a case of I'm just doing basics real real basics. I'm trying to learn to do the
plank. Yeah yeah I'm trying. I kind of got it wrong at the start. I'm going to be honest with
you. I think my bum was a little bit high in the air. You live and learn. You live and learn.
I'm doing press ups which is something I've been absolutely awful at my entire life. I'll be honest
with you my press ups are kind of embarrassing. I'm going to be honest. They're not great.
They're really not great at all. But I'm having a go. Sit ups. Sit ups. When I was younger and I'm
talking a lot younger I could do limitless amount of sit ups. At the moment because I'm trying to be
a bit sensible because let's be honest I need to learn what my body is capable of these days.
There's not many things it's capable of but we're going to get there. We're going to get there with
it. So I'm only doing currently five press ups, 10 sit ups, a plank and I'm going to do things
if I'm able things like lunges and whatever else. I just need to figure out how to do that safely
so I don't fall over and bang my head. Because let's be honest that would be really really silly
if I was to do something like that and I was to bump my head. It just wouldn't be smart. Come on
it wouldn't be smart. There's no way we can think of that and go well that was a good idea wasn't it?
It wouldn't be. It just wouldn't be. Unless I filmed it and put it online for everyone to look
at and go look at what you just did. Because I'm the kind of person who's going to be like
what you just did because I'm the kind of person I don't mind people laughing at me for that sort
of stuff. I really don't. It's just a bit of fun. But anyway that's the kind of thing I'm looking
at doing and I'm going to be honest going to the gym. I know I've mentioned it previously.
Yeah it's going to happen. I am really chomping at the bit to get signed up to the gym because
so much I can do at home. Like I've just said and I've even been out and I've bought a yoga mat so
that I can do this stuff comfortably. I know a yoga mat. Should I start doing yoga?
I don't know the answer to that one to be fair but you know should I give it a go? I'm told it's
pretty good. Time will tell. Time will definitely tell on that one. But yeah I mean I can do these
basic bits at home. But there's other bits and pieces like other cardio work that I can do
on say maybe a rowing machine. Certain types of bike machines. I just can't do at home.
And that may well help a little bit more. I totally understand. I really do get that any kind of
exercise for me is tiring. It really does. It completely destroys me. It wipes me out.
It's worth it. It's genuinely genuinely worth it. If it makes me feel better in myself
and it makes me feel like I'm doing something to try and keep myself
where I want to be. Because when I got my diagnosis. When I started this podcast. When I
started the social medias. I made a real big deal out of MS isn't going to change me.
That's wrong. That was the wrong thing to say. Absolutely the wrong thing to say.
And I can see that now having that little bit of experience with what's been going on.
MS has changed me and it's changed me to a point where
I now need to understand what I can actually do and how I can do it.
Because I'm not saying this is a negative. Don't take this as a negative. It absolutely isn't.
This is actually me being really really positive.
Because I just need to know how to live with the condition and then make the condition live
alongside me. Rather than me giving into it and me saying oh I'm going to ignore everything to do
with it. It's not going to change a thing. That's rubbish. It can't happen. It has changed me. It's
changed what I've been through. It's changed me. It's changed me. It's changed me. It's changed
what I can do. It's changed what I'm capable of. But not in a bad way. Really not in a bad way at all.
It's made me learn new things about myself and I'm proud to have learned those things.
I'm proud to be learning those things. And that for me is where things are going to start turning
in my favour a bit. Because yeah that just is what's going to happen. 100%.
Now to finish the show this week I suppose really I should talk about what happened earlier part of
each. I had my first full bag of the ocrevas treatment and do you know what it might have
been long. It took six hours but it went well. It really did go well. I had one little reaction
towards the start. The machine got turned up. The drip got turned up and my body reacted. I got
quite a rash on the top of my head. It was quite itchy and whatever else. So nurse turned the drip
down a little bit and just sort of got my body back into a decent little flow. Turned it back up.
Perfectly fine. Not a problem at all. Flew through it after that and yeah okay six hours. It's a long
it's a long time. Let's be totally straight six hours is a very long time. But I had my laptop. I
had my phone and actually I had good company. The nurse that was with me absolutely brilliant.
Fantastic. Really chatty. Very friendly. Absolutely brilliant. I had other people that was in with
different MS medication that was being done. So I had three others to have conversations with.
All of them great. Really nice people. Brilliant conversations. And to be fair okay yeah again I'm
gonna say it took six hours. But the time went really quite fast. It did go quite fast and
a couple of days after very very tired. I'll be straight very very tired.
But that really was it. There was no negatives to it. No bad side effects or nothing like that.
I took my antihistamines like you're supposed to for the three days after.
Well here we are on Sunday. I'm sat now having a chat with you and I don't feel bad at all. Apart
from the obvious aching and pains and whatever else from my uh should we say the effort that
I put in yesterday. Other than that absolutely feel okay. The bog standard. The hugs there.
It's been a week and a half and I can still feel my right foot.
I'm sorry I'm quite excited about that because it's been a very very long time since I've been
able to feel that right foot. So absolutely over the moon. But yeah apart from that. So the numb
legs are still there. Whatever. Whatever. It's the bog standard. It's the bog standard.
I'm used to it. Not a problem at all. But yeah I think that's probably where we'll finish up for today.
I like to think this has actually come across as a really quite cheerful episode. I'm gonna be fair
because I do feel really cheerful.
Cheerful? Cheerful? Cheerful? Yeah cheerful. A little bit like. Cheers. Yay!
Anyway.
Sorry I made myself laugh then. Anyway I hope you all have a really really good week.
From my point of view this week I want to get myself booked into the gym. I want to start
getting up to the gym. I don't want to start getting myself. I'm not gonna say fit because
I'm never gonna be fit but I want to start getting myself a bit more comfortable with things.
I hope you all have a great week. Thank you very much for listening. Speak soon. Bye bye.