Car loans, medicals and poorly hamsters

Hope you had a reasonable weekend, because I certainly did (with the exception of terrible stomach pains, but I guess it comes with the territory at the moment). Some of the friends I was talking about in an earlier blog, Clare and Rob, have loaned me their car until the end of October! Isn't that wonderfully kind of them?! It was their youngest child's - Ammi - birthday in the week, but I wasn't able to get over until the weekend to deliver her card and present. She is adorable, and so is Daniel her big brother. They were on fine form and I spent a lovely afternoon with them. We'd just been watching the olympics and they both wanted to show me their version out of the grass, which involved a small child's slide, a space hopper (they were so cool when we were kids, sadly now they burst quite easily) and running from next door's garden through the hedge!

Today was the first time I'd driven their car and I found I enjoyed it as much as driving Mum's at the end of last week. It's difficult to imagine for those of you with healthy bodies and working limbs to understand the importance of a car for someone like myself. It really is quite liberating, because I can't walk far at all with my sticks, and my wheelchair - with me in it obviously - is too heavy for Mum to push, and I can't self-propel (I sound like a pencil). With the car, I have some measure of independence, because until now, Mum has mostly been my chauffeur. She's been absolutely wonderful about it too. I can't thank her enough for what she's done for me, and keeps doing, but to be able to take some of the strain from her weekly outings with me is a real boon. She's ferried me to the doctor's, shopping, LL, the gym, the pet shop, the vets, Beeston - where at least I can take advantage of the marvellous Shopmobility Scheme - and anywhere else that I've needed to go. What a hero!

I must say that in the past I have been really blessed by others a couple of times in the past with regard to cars especially. Some friends of mine from church, Gary and Joan, kindly donated their old car when I was working for the Church Pastoral Aid Society, and what I would have done without Xerxes I just don't know. He was a Ford Cortina Mark IV, and I remember one occasion when I'd had to stop in a lay-by because the engine overheated. I'd gone to someone for help and advice there but locked myself out of the car! Something I haven't repeated since, fortunately! It turns out (as you are probably already aware!) that most Ford keys open Cortina's, so I was back in mine in a jiffy! The good samaritan also got my car sorted so that I could continue my journey.

In fact members of my church and the sister church at Christ Church have been pretty marvellous especially during that period: many of them financially contributing to a very low paid job, for which I had to raise half my own finance. Needless to say because of the generosity of my friends and family, I was able to achieve the sum for my "salary" both my years of working there :) Keith and Lesley (mentioned in earlier dispatches) enabled me to rent a room in their sons' house from them at that time too. Such gifts are difficult to repay, but always deeply appreciated. I don't think I ever thanked all those that helped me enough, but then how do you?

I had my second medical today. LL will only allow you to continue you if you have monthly health checks to ensure that you're able to carry on. Mine was fine, but I think I'm going to keep a note of my pulse on here. Today it was 56. I have been feeling light-headed lately, but put it down to ear, nose & throat stuff due to hayfever. I'm just going to keep an eye on it though.

When I got home after visiting Mum, walking out to see her back garden all in bloom and help pick some soft fruit (which I couldn't eat!), I found Bibby in a bit of a poor state. It looks like her back end is going as it very thin and she's not very steady on her feet. It grieves me to know that she's old and ill, and I just hope and pray that she's not in pain and that God takes her before she suffers much more. Sob.