Health Update

If you have read any of my posts you will be aware I have had my fair share of hospital visits. One of the things I found helped me recovering was not only the excellent medical treatment, but the wealth of information posted on the internet by normal people giving their story, so if you are reading this while sitting in hospital and wondering what the future holds I hope it helps.

In March 2010 I was involved in a motorcycle accident which resulted in my ankle being fractured in three places. You can read about my progress in earlier posts. So, what is life like two years on?  I have full movement in it and do everything I could do before. However, I do suffer with a far bit of pain and stiffness. This seems to be mainly in the morning or after long periods sitting. It is also affected by changes in the weather or should I say changes in pressure. There is a large amount of metal still supporting the leg so that of course may be causing some discomfort.

December 2011 was probably the worst point of mine and my family's  life, when after an ear infection I became extremely ill with Viral Meningitis. This illness does everything it says on the tin, and more, it was the actions of my Wife and our Doctor that saved my life. I and my family knew nothing about it, so the information on the Meningitis UK and Meningitis Trust web sites was a real comfort. So how am I getting on after six months? This illness has really left it's mark on both me and my wife. We both look at life in a different light and realise you really do not know what tomorrow brings. The medical effects at present are headaches, which have reduced over time, stiff neck and tiredness. These of course could just be down to my age. The most worrying aspect though is memory problems. This shows as short term memory loss and lack of concentration. Again both these could be down to other factors. However, not withstanding these the main thing is that I survived and am leading a pretty normal life.

Conversations

One of the things you need as a Bus Driver, is to be a people person. I typically come in to contact with over 100 people a day, from all walks of life. Some are happy, some are sad, some are drunk and some have obviously taken more than prescription drunks. And some are just going from A to B. But as a driver we have to  interact will all these. You have about three seconds to decide what type they are as they board the bus. I always start with Morning, Afternoon or just Hi. This can then transform into a short conversation on any topic. The level of these can make it seem you know these people, but of course you may never see them again Then again you see them the next time you do that particular duty and the conversation continues from where it left off. All these are carried out with a smile and appearance you understand everything they are saying.

Shifts

One of the things about Bus driving is that you work shifts. That is not working a fixed 9-5. Some weeks you may be working 0500-1400 the next 1400-0000. I have always worked in jobs that have shifts in some way so have got used to it. In fact it can be very handy having time off in the week as I hate shopping or driving on a Saturday. I currently work on a 'Long Duty' which is around the 50 hours a week or 10 hour day. These do not have any real early starts, so suit me. However, there have been some duty changes recently which mean I am stuck on the same duty for two weeks. Apart from the Park and Ride work I did last year in Bristol I cannot remember working the same hours for this length of time. Also it is a 0919-2002 duty which is a real pain as it leaves no time for much else apart from work and sleep. Still it will come to an end and I have a job and you never know I might get to like it and change to a fixed duty.. Eh. don't think so.