An Unexpected Turn to the Easter Weekend
I had been quietly looking forward to the Easter weekend. Nothing too busy or demanding — just a simple family get-together planned, hosting a roast lamb dinner for my partner’s grandson, son and daughter-in-law. The kind of weekend that feels easy, familiar, and comforting. We were looking forward to seeing the baby, who is just about walking now!
Unfortunately, things didn’t quite go to plan.
On Thursday morning, I was heading out to take part in an organised litter pick (one that I had, somewhat ironically, organised myself) when I tripped and fell forward in my hallway. It all happened in a split second, but the outcome was rather dramatic — I managed to headbutt the front door, whacking my forehead and wrenching my neck backwards.
Let’s just say… the front door remains structurally sound.
Or at least, it came off better than I did. Thankfully, my skull seems to be made of fairly sturdy stuff too, but I was left with immediate pain in my neck and concern about what damage I might have done. Given the nature of the fall, an ambulance was called — the right decision, even if it all felt a little surreal at the time.
The mechanism of the fall itself isn’t unusual for me. About three years ago, while on holiday in Mallorca, I experienced something very similar. I tripped outside our hotel and fell forward, my head taking the impact, followed by that inevitable snapping back motion of my neck. Without arms to break a fall, my head and neck take the full force — not ideal, but very much my reality. Thankfully, this time the paramedics and A&E staff were on the case – and spoke English, which made such a difference to my treatment.
What made a difficult situation so much more bearable, though, was the care and kindness of the people around me. Sam, who was with me when I fell, and my partner both did a truly sterling job of keeping me as warm and comfortable as possible while we waited — a rather lengthy 2.5 hours — for the ambulance to arrive. It’s in those moments, when you’re at your most vulnerable, that calm, capable company makes all the difference. I was shivering, cold and very, very uncomfortable.
A&E was, as you might expect, very busy. I needed to be assessed and scanned before they’d take me off the spinal board and remove the neck blocks. Thankfully, it was deemed that there had been no serious damage to my spine and, after another four hours in a noisy and rather traumatic environment, I was discharged home with instructions to take regular painkillers and return if anything changed.
Not content with that, my body decided to add a few extra flourishes over the following days. My eyes gradually turned a rather impressive combination of purple and black — not quite the pastel tones one usually associates with Easter, but striking in their own way. It also looks as though my forehead is attempting to produce the only Easter egg I received this year… slightly larger than your average chocolate variety and considerably less welcome.
As if that wasn’t enough, I also seem to have irritated the main nerve pathway running from my spine into my arms — the brachial plexus. As I fell, my neck was wrenched backwards, which has resulted in a rather unwelcome mix of numbness, pins and needles, loss of feeling, weakness, and a burning sensation in both arms.
It’s a very odd experience — not quite pain as such, but certainly not comfortable either. The sort of thing that makes you very aware of just how much you rely on your arms doing exactly what they’re told.
The good news is that it is slowly improving day by day. The less good news (based on previous experience) is that nerves take their own sweet time to recover, so this is likely to be more of a marathon than a sprint.
It’s a sobering reminder of how quickly things can change. One moment you’re heading out the door with good intentions, and the next you’re horizontal, taking stock of your injuries and your weekend plans.
Needless to say, Easter has taken on a rather different shape than I had imagined. Plans have been paused, swapped instead for rest, recovery, and a slightly closer relationship with my bed — where I remained for two days.
On the plus side, I was allowed some respite from the kitchen and food preparation… though I suspect that may be short-lived!
There’s always a temptation in moments like this to feel frustrated — at the disruption, the disappointment, the inconvenience, the change of plans. But I’m also reminded of how important it is to listen to my body, to take injuries seriously, and to allow time to heal.
The litter pick can wait. Easter can be… rebranded.
For now, slowing down feels like exactly the right thing to do.
Weight this week: 54.8kg (about 8st 8½lb)
Last week: 55.2kg (about 8st 9½lb)
Weekly loss/gain: -0.45kg (about 1lb)
100% -(1 month, 23 days) in weight maintenance range (54-56kg or 8st 7½lb – 8st 13½lb)
A Quiet Week… With a Few Thoughts Along the Way
A few weeks ago, I found myself watching some very old VHS footage from 1991 — my honeymoon in the Seychelles.
It all feels a little odd at the moment — in the nicest possible way.
Food at home this week has included a particularly successful new dish: a “Marry Me” chicken with added cannellini beans in a creamy tomato, paprika, chipotle, garlic and mushroom sauce. It was absolutely delicious. I’m very grateful that I log my recipes and calories, because it means I can easily find and recreate dishes that work well. I also made two hot cross buns in the air fryer with self-raising flour, Greek yoghurt, cinnamon and sultanas. Ready in 10 minutes and perfect eaten still warm with a little butter.
