Last week I mentioned reading Can’t Stand Up For Falling Down: Rock 'n' Roll War Stories by Allan Jones which got me thinking about rebellion and I thought then a bit randomly how I went from the Tufty Club which was started in 1953 by Elsie Mills MBE to introduce clear and simple safety messages to children, to teenage rebel.
The success of the character led to the creation in 1961 of the Tufty Club for children under five years of age and told us:
1 THINK! Find the safest place to cross, then stop.
2 STOP! Stand on the pavement near the kerb.
3 USE YOUR EYES AND EARS! Look all around for traffic, and listen.
4 WAIT UNTIL IT'S SAFE TO CROSS! If traffic is coming, let it pass.
5 LOOK AND LISTEN! When it's safe, walk straight across the road.
6 ARRIVE ALIVE! Keep looking and listening
Maybe the Tufty directives were enough for anyone to want to rebel against. At the time I was so pleased with my Tufty badge! But now those shouty instructions make me want to run into the road screaming. And when I was younger I metaphorically did something just like that, but that’s another story that may (or may never!) get told, apart from this blog of course which came about due to the smoking part of the story.
I think rebellion is about being angry and I have been feeling angry a lot of the time. I think I’m too old to rebel - and anyway have no other direction to go in. How do you rebel against COPD? I was angry because I’d started out following the exercises from the respiratory physiotherapist and got into a bit of a routine, until bam - I got out of bed one morning and could barely walk as my Achilles was so painful. And I am certain it wasn't connected to my 'gentle exercises'.
Apparently Achilles injuries are mainly sustained by long distance runners, so no obvious relationship. I asked my COPD Facebook group if anyone had anything similar and there are certain antibiotics that can cause spontaneous Achilles tendon rupture and tendonitis. No direct association with the antibiotic I’ve been prescribed (Azithromycin) but too much of a coincidence and no other explanation. I asked the GP, who didn’t know - assuming I’d be the 1 in 100,000 with that rare side-effect, not surprising - but he said he would contact Papworth who initiated the prescription for prophylaxis against chest infections. I called Papworth too and was told to keep taking the Azithromycin. I also got other more common side-effects including losing my sense of taste which is pretty miserable. Without a great deal of appetite anyway, and when all your food tastes of cardboard mealtimes are not happy.
As I need to put on weight and muscle that felt like a massive set back. Having wallowed in that misery for over a month I have now been told (by Papworth via GP surgery receptionist who couldn’t tell me if it was because of the Achilles issue) to stop the Azithromycin but I haven’t yet seen the GP so I’m still not sure why. I had an ultrasound on my heel yesterday and that has confirmed tendonitis. No idea what the treatment is if any, but I really need to do some exercise. Physiotherapy may be the thing to have but for some reason I’m not confident of getting any of that soon ; back to the GP next week.
Easy to be angry about everything ! So thinking about good things: this week I am thinking about decorating the new house and what colours to use. Martin is cautious as I have mentioned pink; I had one pink wall in my bedroom in London that was a lovely slightly dirty pink called Reverie (sorry to get all Farrow and Ball about it ) that I’d like to use again. I know there are people who mock F & B colours (Elephant's Breath, Mouse's Back and suchlike) but that’s a hatred-of-posh-people thing.
I hope I can spend more time thinking of paint colours than of tendonitis this week....