288.
I took the doctor's advice and decided to go for a walk today. I thought that I ought to keep it short and not too challenging, so I went to the retail park. That was my first mistake. I got no further than 500 yards than I had to stop and lean against a wall. The pain was practically unbearable. I was not going to let this beat me, so after a short pause, I set off again. After almost one hour I made it to the retail park (it usually only takes 15 minutes) in absolute agony. I went into the supermarket and sat down for an hour while reading the paper and drinking coffee, just trying to pluck up the courage for the walk home. I made my way, initially feeling not too bad, but no sooner was I in the car park than the excruciating pains began to shoot down my left leg and around my calf and shins. The small of my back and thighs were faring no better. I soldiered on to the petrol station, and decided that this could not possibly be doing me any good at all, so I hailed a taxi. I got back into the house, took the valium and diclofenac that the doctor prescribed, then went and lay down on the living room floor waiting for the drugs to kick in and take the pain away. Linda, who was a registered nurse in a previous existence, told me that I should keep movements to a minimum until the pain is under control, which won't be for a couple of days. Only then, she said, should I be thinking about going out for walks or doing the stretching exercises. So, day one of the recovery programme was a complete failure. Fingers crossed that tomorrow is a little better. In the meantime, I did manage to get out and take some photos. In response to requests from a couple of my regular readers (Coleen and Laine), and since I haven't quite got the mono trip out of my system yet, I have decided to create a new gallery: Colours of Scotland. You are more than welcome to head over there and leave comments. In the meantime, I return to my agony as the drugs begin to wear off.