Service is interrupted due to the heatwave

I feel a bit like the train people who announce that the heat has warped the railway lines and you can't get to where you want to go.

In my case, my blogging has completely tailed off because I'm finding it difficult to focus on writing. 

I'm afraid I'm really suffering with the heatwaves and seem to be entirely focused at present on 

• how to stay cool indoors - I'm living in semi darkness most of the time.
• how to be able to get some exercise outside when it's so very hot.
• how to eat without using any heat!
• changing what I'm wearing about three times a day!
• buying more hats with wide brims
• sleeping with my feet up on a wedge to reduce the swelling in my ankles!

Me at Knole last Monday. 
We spent most of the time trying to find shade....

Part of the explanation is that I have no thyroid - which is what regulates your body temperature - due to it being surgically removed back in 2005 after hot soup made my throat close up so much I couldn't breathe properly! I had a goitre which was growing fast.

• I now take medication to regulate instead - but that can get out of whack. 
• So making sure that my body is responding appropriately to the excess heat feels a bit like a full time job at the moment. 

I went for my blood test for my annual thyroid check-up this morning and hopefully we'll know soon whether an adjustment needs to be made.

I'm hoping to get back to normal blogging - just as soon as this heat retreats!

SHOULDER REPLACEMENT: Half Way

It's now been three weeks since surgery ie HALF WAY through the official recovery period of sling wearing!  Pain has reduced and arm mobility is getting better. My one hand one finger typing is also getting faster! I can manage a left hand index finger on the Shift Key!

Last week was a big week for me as I went out five times on my own:

• Tuesday: Two week checkup with the clinical team at the Royal London:
• x-ray was done - which revealed nothing of concern
• silicon dressing came off, wound was inspected - looked very neat and nicely glued!
• bruises are now reducing and at the yellow stage
• my next appointment in six weeks time was booked
• Walked 2 miles back home from the hospital - along the quiet roads - photographing plants in season as I do most days on my walks

Laburnum tree in the Cemetery Park - as seen on my walk back from the hospital on Monday.
Probably Scottish Laburnum (Laburnum alpinum)

• Wednesday: In the afternoon I visited the extended Private View for the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. 
• Very civilised! Spreading the PV over several hours means there's more space to see the artwork on the walls. 
• Managed nearly three hours and took some photos.

Not quite time for the formal opening of the exhibition, speeches and awards ceremony
- but filling up

• Thursday: Visit to the Royal London again - this time to see the Physio
• reviewed the situation with me and how I was coping 
• added four more exercises to the my daily seven.
• Walked 2 miles back home from the hospital - along the quiet roads - taking more photos plants in season.  This habit started during Covid when I developed my Plants in Isolation series.
  

Iris foetidissima (Stinking Iris) in one of the parks I walk through

• Friday: Attended the May Meeting / AGM of the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society - at the Physic Garden which comprised:
• a wonderful talk about the strategic aims and future development of the garden within the context of a huge number of regulatory practices for a botanic garden by Emily Hazell, Head of Plant Collections
• send off for our Chair and Plant List Organiser
• AGM - at which I presented my Treasurer's report

The CPGFS Committee at the AGM 2026
My seat as Treasurer is on extreme left - but here I'm in unofficial archivist photographer mode

• Sunday: I returned to the Mall Galleries to take more photos of the RSPP Annual Exhibition and to see the exhibition with fewer people around.
• Bumped into Gail Reid, one of the past PAOTY Heat Winners - see Review: Episode 2 Portrait Artist of the Year (Series 10)
• who I've highlighted on this blog for her very useful posts about preparing for PAOTY - READ my blog post about her blog post about Preparing for Portrait Artist of the Year - Gail Reid shares her experience and tips.

A selfie with Gail Reid, Gail operating my phone!

This week is a much quieter week and I'll hopefully get some blogging done.

Next week, on Friday morning, me and my sling will be stewarding at the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society Stand in the Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. 

My visit to the RSPP Annual Exhibition was by way of a test to see if I could cope!

More travels with my sling (my official “don’t bump into me” sign!) to come....

SHOULDER REPLACEMENT: Two Weeks Later

It feels a bit odd to think two weeks ago, I'd been awake for four hours after completely out for the count for five hours, due to my shoulder replacement surgery having a major hiccup.

Tomorrow I go to see my Consultant at the Royal London who is part of a Barts NHS Trust team which focuses solely on trauma, elective shoulder, elbow, and hand surgery.  It's always nice to know they do these all the time!

What's changed?

• Pain is not quite so bad. I still take painkillers last thing at night - with the hope of a decent night's sleep plus when I need them during the day - but have stopped the routine four times a day.
• The alarming bruising is disappearing fast - from black to dark crimson to light crimson to hardly there
• I don't feel quite so post anaesthetic tired as I did for the first two weeks
• Actual sleep is still very variable but if active I don't get wiped out in the afternoon quite so much.
• The dressing is trying to come off - and my allergic itch is raring to go.
• Bought a second sling so that I can wash the first one. (Both by Willcom). this blue one is better for colder days. The first one I got is better when you need a more lightweight breathable sling for warm/hot days - experienced last week.
• the correct way to wear the sling remains a bit of a mystery after reading the diagrams and watching the videos. 
• Trying this new one with a different set-up.

my new second sling - which has a back strap (like my white one) which distributes weight better. 

• Developed a new wheeze this morning so I could wash my hair. 
• Took the sling off
• Tied my arm to my side using a belt - so I wouldn't make any "brain programmed to do this" movements - and it worked really well
• JR did squeezing shampoo into my hand and the big final rinse plus towelling dry my hair and then shaping a towel turban - and I was able to do everything else.

The Shampoo Belt! 

• Doing exercises pays dividends re movement and pain levels.  I'm not very good at the three times a day regular as clockwork - but I do more twice a day as I get changed to make up. 
• Doing regular walks is also helping - not least because it gets me outside! Not walking as far as normal - only did 15 miles last week - but this was an increase on the previous week! 
• I still cannot centre my bun - but at least it's up.

I walked 15 miles in week 2

This week I'm doing a lot of outings!

• Tuesday - see my consultant at Royal London - plus (I'm guessing I also get an x-ray to check what it looks like inside; plus they take the dressing off to take a look at the wound. I'm pretty sure I've got dissolving hypoallergenic stitches)
• Wednesday - go to Private View of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition at the Mall Galleries
• Thursday - start seeing the therapists re recovery of functionality and yet more exercises to do
• Friday - delivering my Treasurer's report to the Chelsea Physic Garden Florilegium Society AGM

I'm hoping I've got the energy for all of this - but will be erring on the side of caution rather than being silly.

I reckon I'll have earned a treat after all that! ;)

SURGERY + 11 Days Summary aka "it's a bit of a struggle!"

LEFT SHOULDER REPLACEMENT SURGERY + 11 Days

SUMMARY

Bottom line - it's a struggle but getting easier to cope with as the days go by. However immobilised on one side is no "walk in the park"!

• pain under control, so long as I remember/take meds on time! (plus logged on my medication record on Apple Health - to avoid not remembering what I've taken. Surgery was complicated.  From "going under" to "waking up back in recovery" took five hours so my brain is not great on memory right now
• my large haematoma above elbow crease much improved - gone from dense black to pale crimson. Icing works!
• discovered that the whole of the back of arm plus half left under boob is yet another big bruise - which oddly does not hurt! 
• doing my 7 exercises every day
• walking locally once a day.
• I am still getting/am VERY tired most of the time - and getting used to operating at about half normal speed
• took a week for me to get a decent night’s sleep - in my riser recliner so I’m immobilised (can’t roll on surgery arm) plus much much easier to get into sleep position and get up
• am managing - at a stretch - to get my hair up each day, but it involves neck contortions, head between my knees and one handed grip application. I now specialise in the slightly off centre bun!
• getting better at getting dressed and undressed - but it’s very, very, very slow (and tedious). no point in rushing. 
• Tank tops with built in boob support are a godsend! 
• Only very thin layers fit inside the immobilisation sling.
• Do NOT need/do shoulder surgery in winter - because you cannot get a coat on!

not the most flattering selfie I've ever taken!
just finished getting dressed / doing hair - hence grumpy face after long struggle
this is about as thick as the clothing layers can get
note the hair!

• No idea what I’m going to do if it rains (dump the stick so I can hold umbrella? Dump immobiliser so I can get in raincoat? Buy a waterproof poncho? Get very wet?). At the moment, any indication of rain means I cannot go out.
• getting better at cooking one handed - helped by fact left hand works (but doesn’t move so everything needs to be brought to it). Food has to be “eating with a fork or spoon” standard. Other than microwave (pasta / curries), my hot food is limited to frying two fried eggs with two buttermilk pancakes in film of butter - both of which I can cut up (sort of). When JR cooks for me, my plate arrives with all food cut up to fork sized pieces. 

four minute lunch

Next week I'll be back at art exhibitions - starting with the Royal Society of Portrait Painters Annual Exhibition 2026 at the Mall Galleries.  

• I'll be at the PV on Wednesday
• although earlier in the day and will be avoiding crowds at speeches/awards ceremony.

I can just about use a computer one handed - so I'll be trying to do some posts. Probably short.

my first tube ride - one stop only!

Life Events: It's been a while.

It's a long time since I've posted, caused by a variety of things. There are three very good reasons why I'm being quiet at the moment.

I needed a break. 

I'm in agony with pain in my lumbar spine at the moment. I sort of know what it is (osteoarthritis attacks for the third time) but that doesn't make it any easier, especially when it translates to sciatica.

Despite the pain I also have two major events to deal with. 

Major upheavals in the kitchen

First, my 1845 1.5" thick plaster ceiling in my kitchen has had to be replaced / replastered / repainted due to a flood from above. The flood was easy to deal with compared to what has had to happen because of it.

The whole process has been extremely unpleasant experience - you would not believe how far tiny particles of very old plaster can travel - or how many times you have to clean to remove them. Moving stuff (ie everything out) is a breeze compared to the cleaning up afterwards.

The ceiling is being repainted tomorrow morning - after which I can move everything back in.

I have to wait for the paint to dry to before I can then finish the cleaning (of the bottom cupboards which I can't reach because of the back and need help to do this!).

Shoulder replacement surgery

I'm still prepping for my shoulder replacement surgery. I need to be at the hospital by 7am on Monday morning.

Major Amazon order for aids went in - and kit arrived this week and I now have a way of getting into and out of bed with only one arm working. In theory I have a way of sitting up in bed to sleep - but that's not working too well.

I've also worked out what I forgot with the first order.

I did a trial walk in my sling yesterday - which is not easy to get on and causes problems when wearing. I cannot get a coat on over it or under it!!! I hope the hospital has a hypoallergenic LARGER version - I need a longer strap to keep it from slipping.

PS If you want to know what I'm faced with try dressing and doing ablutions with one arm/hand only!

I expect I'll start posting again in about a week's time.

A loss of humerus

This is all by way of explanation for why this blog might have big gaps in posting from time to time in the next few months.

As I get older (70 last birthday!) I seem to spend more and more of my time engaged in:

• dealing with current health issues - which is mostly about bone rubbing on bone
• managing future health appointments
• attending such appointments
• having surgery to correct the bone-on-bone
• recovering from surgery

My other half has decided to join in the fun as well. After his recent medical emergency, he now also has a set of appointments etc he wants me to attend as well.

Over and above this I still need to do my exercise every day to keep my osteoarthritis at bay. That's as in "not deteriorating any faster than it is already".

Anatomical Studies of the Shoulder - by Leonardo da Vinci

Last week I had surgery as a preliminary to my reverse shoulder replacement - hopefully in the next few months. I have bone-on-bone arthritis in my shoulder with "significant glenoid retroversion of 20 degrees"

Unlike my ankle fusion (just two titanium pins), my new shoulder will have quite a lot of kit inside AND wants to be kept rested for something like six weeks post surgery. So I'm already practising doing everything with one arm.

a lot of kit for a reverse shoulder replacement

Plus my knees have suddenly started hurting a LOT in the last 6 weeks or so - and I suspect I've probably lost a big chunk of cartilage in my right knee (given I'm now very experienced in how osteoarthritis progresses)

So in top of everything else, I now have 

• shoulder exercises to do before the surgery; 
• plus I'll be in a sling for several weeks afterwards and then doing yet more exercises to get my range of movement back (it's very limited at the moment).
• Plus I need to do my new knees exercises to stop me falling over while I've only got one operational arm!

Last week I did rather a lot at the beginning of the week - surgery on Monday, followed by two major exhibitions on Tuesday - after which I could barely walk and flaked out for most of the rest of the week.

I obviously also need to work more on my expenditure of energy and remembering to rest!

At the moment, I'm late on

• my review of the RI Annual Exhibition
• my review of the LAOTY Series
• other stuff I have on my list of things to write about

and I will get round to them as quickly as I can - commensurate with getting all my exercise done and not getting too tired.

So please bear with me. I'm not giving up this blog - but from time to time my body is giving up on me - and needs my attention!

I do find it easier to post "quickies" on my Making A Mark Facebook Page - so if you do want contact and to see what I've noticed, do please follow me there at https://www.facebook.com/makingamark2/

Think about the small girls

This morning, I had to take myself off to the shops to do some routine shopping to stop me thinking about all the ramifications for the US, the UK and Europe of what happened last night. I've been up half the night and can't look at or listen to the television, radio or read the newspapers right now as I am so very depressed.

However as I was walking home, I started to think about the messages the result will convey for lots of young girls in the US - especially black children - and then got in, opened my macbook and saw this.

The Problem We All Live With (1963) by Norman Rockwell

oil on canvas, oil on canvas, 36 x 58 inches

Illustration for LOOK, January 14, 1964. 

Norman Rockwell Museum Collections. ©NRELC, Niles, IL.

(do click the title to read about the artwork and the story behind it)

...and I thought again of 

• all those little girls whose hopes will have been dashed, 
• all those young girls who might now become very ambivalent about the risks of becoming pregnant and child-bearing in the future; and 
• all those mothers and grandmothers who are feeling very, very let down - again!

It was good to stop and think about what it's like for others.

I know it's a LOT more complicated than that - and that there are LOTS of other very valid perspectives on different issues across the country and between different groups - and that people tend to vote for what's best for them and their families

.....but please just spare a minute to think about what it's like today for the small girls growing up in the current prevailing culture in the US

Plus how artwork is a way of highlighting contemporary issues.

So - having written this - I'm now going to spend the rest of the day assessing grant applications and trying not to think of all things that might now worry me - if I let them....

P.S. Ruby Bridges was born the same year as me. We're 70 this year.

She created the Ruby Bridges Foundation to promote “the values, tolerance, respect, and appreciation of all differences.”

My message is really that racism has no place in the hearts and minds of our children.
Ruby Bridges

14th November is "Walk to School Day". 

Reference

• The Problem We All Live With | Wikipedia
• The Norman Rockwell Museum
• Norman Rockwell | Google Arts and Culture
• Norman Rockwell + The Problem We All Live With | Learn why a controversial painting became a symbol of the American civil rights movement | Kennedy Center

Drawing people in very long queues to vote

Fancy improving your skills in drawing people in a natural stance? 

Back in 2008, I stayed up to watch the results of the American Election - which Obama won. One of those moments in history. Next day I published Another kind of surge which started....

The following comment was reported on a New York Times blog.

Overheard in a North Carolina polling place line:
“How long have you been waiting?”
“About 200 years…”

It also noted that I drew people waiting in queues to vote while waiting for the results to land - and it also included this image (BELOW - which I've made bigger for this post). 

I highlighted the image again in 2016, while waiting up for the predicted winner in Sketching the Vote in 2008

The thing I remember that was so remarkable then were the huge long queues of people waiting to vote.

There were so many images of them in the press and online that I decided to start my very own queue and sat adding sketches images of individuals from the various images online until I'd created my very own queue led by an elderly African American lady with a flag.

Another kind of surge
(or what I did while waiting for the results)
11.5" x 8.5", pencil
copyright Katherine Tyrrell

Drawing queues to vote in 2024

In 2024, what has struck me very forcibly is the length of the queues to get into rallies and the length of queues for early voting opportunities.

This time I'm thinking of drawing all women in the queues.

If you are watching the results too and want to draw your own queues too I'd love to see the results! Comment on my FB post today to watch out for you. Or message me on FB or via sites highlighted on my linktr.ee

TIPS:

• I added individuals from many different sources. Reference many media images of people in queues for sources of people to include. Stopping videos is good. 
• Focus on stance/posture and clothing and NOT on people's faces. A suggestion of eyes is often all you need
• The zigzag enables you to get more people on the page! Plus cater for different angles....
• Try and tell a story
• You might want to try a few people before you get started. 
• You'll be amazed how your drawing improves as you build your queue!

This time I'll be waiting up again - tomorrow night into Wednesday morning - with all my fingers crossed that the "gold standard" pollster Ann Selzer has got it right - after doing her Iowa Poll "the right way" (i.e. proven sound methodology + track record over time). She has an absolutely exceptional track record - check the tabulation of her poll predictions over the years on Wikipedia. Also listen to Rachel Meddows.

Prior to the 2024 United States presidential election, Selzer & Co. released their final Iowa poll that had Kamala Harris leading Trump 47% to 44% in the state, markedly different from other polls that showed Trump with a significant lead.[18] Trump criticized the accuracy of the poll. Selzer responded by saying the poll used the same methodology as in 2016 and 2020, and that, "It would not be in my best interest, or that of my clients—The Des Moines Register and Mediacom—to conjure fake numbers."[19] Wikipedia

References:

• 10 Tips for How to Sketch People (2008
• Drawing people (2018)
• Which are the best books about Portraiture? (2013)
• Van Gogh: Drawing media and techniques (2007)

and

• Another kind of surge (2008)
• Sketching the Vote in 2008 (2016)

PS Yes, there is a red vertical line. I hadn't quite given up on my old malfunctioning Canon Printer/Scanner at that time!

PPS Do not underestimate the effect that allowing people to bet on elections in the USA has had on the incentive to keep other polls looking very close.  I don't think it's close at all. I think it's going to be comfortable heading towards landslide. This is because too many male commentators have totally missed the commitment of women to voting and getting the vote out.

I'm back - but slowing down and walking more!

Summer break is over, health matters are in hand and moving and I'm about to resume blogging again - and I'm very nearly 70!

Study of bodily proportions by Albrecht Durer
British Library Treasures Exhibition

I've made a lot of progress with my health issues which were causing concern....

• I've had my hips x-rayed and endless blood tests
• I've had my pre-treatment chat with the physio and start early October
• Plus I've also got an appointment in early October to see the Orthopeadic people at the Surgery Centre about the hip - and then we'll work out whether it's going to shoulder replacement and then hip replacement or hip and then shoulder. (The shoulder replacement got 'bumped' in 2020 when I chose to do the ankle fusion first!)
• plus a couple of lengthy chats with my GP about the results of various tests and we're getting other issues sorted as well
• and I'm on new medication!

So steady progress and fewer worries on the health front. (see I need to take a break - before my hip does!)

I'm also very, very committed to my long walk every day - as it's the only time I feel normal (as per NICE recommendations for those with osteoarthritis).This might sound very odd for somebody with severe osteoarthritis. However, exercise helps enormously with both functionality and mobility and keeps my musculature etc in good nick for the next time I'll be relearning how to walk. No matter how much your skeleton falls apart, the bits that actually keep you walking are the tendons and ligaments!

I'm now averaging over 6,000 steps a day - which can take a long time depending on the route I take and what I stop to see en route

Average steps from my daily walk

One day this week my walk comprised walking 

• from the David Hockney Auction Exhibition at Phillips in Berkeley Square (the auction was held yesterday) 
• down to the Green and Stone Gallery on the Fulham Road in Chelsea for a PV for the Amicus Botanicus Exhibition (which is on until Saturday) 
• through Mayfair, Hyde Park, along and through Knightsbridge and into Chelsea.

The key thing is to keep finding places to walk to with interesting things to look at!

However I'm still as STIFF as a board in the evening and extremely unsteady on my feet after about 8pm - which continues to be very worrying. I'm thinking about installing grab rails at key points....

So, in terms of going forward....

• #1 priority is getting health matters sorted - so I can continue to enjoy life. 
• #2 priority is a steady unrelenting focus on keeping mobile - to keep me safe and avoid becoming even more decrepit
• #3 priority is I'm 70 next month - and I've decided I'm going to become more choosy as to how I spend my time
• #4 priority is writing about art - but more selectively.  Some posts might become more picture oriented which can be quicker to do.... I'll certainly still be writing about
• annual exhibitions of national art societies
• major art competitions - including those on television!
• #5 priority - is to mine what I've written in the past and make it available one way or another. This blog heas nearly 20 years of archives!! I'm thinking about 
• resurrecting past posts via Facebook - as I've been doing recently (and maybe Instagram) and 
• maybe writing ebooks - based on past projects and talks.
• maybe doing more Zoom talks.

How about you - how are you prioritising matters as your life progresses?

I need to take a break - before my hip does!

I'm currently trying to deal with and sort out some health issues which have cropped up recently and which I need to understand better and also get addressed.

So I'm having a bit of a break - while you're all on your summer holidays and/or watching the Olympics! :)

It's essentially a progression of my Osteoarthritis - which to date has been defined as:

• severe OA: bone on bone in ankle - sorted via the Ankle Fusion Surgery
• severe OA: bone on bone in shoulder - I need a shoulder replacement
• pain in right hip - back at the end of 2021, both hips were x-rayed before the ankle surgery and it was determined I had osteoarthritis in my hips too. Essentially this meant "do nothing but keep under review"

bilateral degenerative changes in the hip joints with lateral osteophyte formation and reduction in joint space.

Image courtesy of OrthoInfo

However, something changed radically and very suddenly recently.  Maybe a big chunk of cartilage has broken off? My right hip is now making me very stiff at night, tries really hard to collapse and generally inhibits/prevents me from walking at night or early morning. I sometimes cannot move. It's rather like walking on glass. I'm now very concerned about falling at night.

I think maybe the amount of time I was on my feet standing during a couple of exhibitions / private views in June and July has maybe triggered it - so I now need to be VERY careful.

The odd thing is I'm more or less OK if I'm walking during the day - which I do every day for my ankle and hip (as per NICE recommendations for those with osteoarthritis). In fact, the fact I'm mobilising during the day is entirely due to NOT sitting down and mobilising during the day. 

• doing regular and consistent exercise, even though this may initially cause pain or discomfort, will be beneficial for their joints
• long-term adherence to an exercise plan increases its benefits by reducing pain and increasing functioning and quality of life

However the walking  and getting up and down and doing things (e.g. housework) on an hourly basis takes up a LOT of time and makes finding time for writing a tad more difficult!

BUT I'm now finding it very, very difficult to walk at night or early morning after sitting or lying down - as in I'm incredibly stiff, can barely move at times and can only walk with difficulty, hanging on to stuff! The prospect of falling and maybe fracturing my hip is a very real concern. 

I'm slapping on the Voltarol, have started taking painkillers again and am also doing specific exercises. Plus we're thinking about installing proper rails and me using a frame at night.

Bottom line I need to get my hip scanned again - I suspect I've moved to bone on bone - and work out with the doctors what's the best way forward. Which I very much suspect will probably be injections while I wait for a hip replacement.

Plus I've got some other issues which need sorting which are also complicating matters.

I'll be back by September - maybe sooner.

An Update

This is by way of an explanation of why my blogging is now more infrequent. It follows on from my earlier posts (see end) about my severe osteoarthritis, ankle fusion surgery and the death this summer of my mother.

Bottom line, I'm now a LOT older than I was when I first started this blog. 

Earlier this month I celebrated my 68th birthday - and I can no longer kid myself that I'm a spring chicken even if my face and chin(!) have gone back to looking like they did many years ago!

An outing for a birthday treat at Kew for my birthday

I'm also having to work very hard at both:

• exercise for recovery from my surgery
• keeping fit to prevent (hopefully) the osteoarthritis in both my hips from getting worse.

Consequently I'm now fully committed to daily exercise including a walk which takes quite a bit of time out of the day and makes me feel rather tired when I get back home. 

For the uninitiated:

• recovery from my surgery takes at least 12 months before I get to the best place I can be - but ONLY if I work at my exercise!
• PLUS appropriate exercise and weight management are now very much recommended by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for self-management of the symptoms of osteoarthritis – advice which is strongly backed up by research evidence. SEE:
• Healthier lifestyle can help to ease osteoarthritis symptoms says NICE | NICE News
• Osteoarthritis: care and management | National Institute of Care Excellence Guidelines
• New Draft NICE Guidelines Advise Exercise for Managing Osteoarthritis | Arthritis Action

My regular daily exercise now means that:

• I can now carry my stick rather than use it all the time. 
• PLUS walk further than I've been able to do for a very long time - so long as I have regular sit down breaks!
• AND I can now walk up and down slopes which I couldn't do at all for a very considerable length of time after surgery. I still have to avoid sideways slopes which are impossible with a rigid ankle!

But I still need a stick for uneven surfaces and for getting up and down stairs.

Walking down a steep slope - slowly - at Kew!

HOWEVER I still suffer from being VERY stiff at times and experience major balance issues when at home. It's very odd - walking now makes me feel normal, whereas I sometimes struggle to walk at home after getting up from a seat!

Sometimes I can combine exercise with visiting art exhibitions - and I expect to be doing more of this over the winter as the weather gets worse. The nice thing about art galleries is they have seats!

Bottom line though - I've got much less time for blogging.

It's a good discipline though as it makes me think which is also good exercise for the brain - so I won't be giving up. 

However the reduced rate of blogging is likely to continue for the foreseeable future. 

Mainly because there's no chance of my severe osteoarthritis going away. But also because I need to get fit for and then recover from my next surgery - which is a shoulder replacement (which I've needed for the last 2 years!)

I now need to work out how I'm going to blog while I spend six weeks with my arm in a sling and then a have whole bunch of new exercises to learn and do during recovery! 

I'm wondering whether I should start doing videos or podcasts and speaking the words rather than writing them! Anybody with any tips - I'd love to hear from you. (see contact me)

Osteoarthritis / Surgery: Previous Posts

• Get ready for surgery: Update #1
• SURGERY UPDATE #2: Still prepping with a steep hill to climb
• SURGERY UPDATE #3: I've finally got a date!
• Surgery postponed - my list of exhibitions in London to visit
• Just a few problems
• The Good News
• The Good News #2: Getting better!
• Life Events

Life Events

Yesterday afternoon, my mother passed away peacefully at home in her sleep age 93. It was not unexpected 

I need a break. So I've decided there won't be any blog posts on Making A Mark for a short while.

The Good News #2: Getting better!

Another brief update on my recovery from surgery and its impact on my blogging.

It's been 19 weeks since my ankle fusion surgery and I've been out of my walker boot for 6 weeks. During that time I've started to walk again - with aids - and quite slowly for the most part.  I've used my carbon fibre rollator, my stick and walking poles so far!

Below is me about five weeks ago - on my first outing with my rollator! (The background is the old graveyard which is now a nature reserve where I now walk most days). It was so nice to be outside and in the fresh air - and actually moving on my own, albeit with the help of the rollator!

For those who've not seen me for a while
I lost 7 stone before surgery!
(and didn't put any back on afterwards!)

I'd had some inkling that ankle fusion surgery was a lot more challenging than a hip or knee  replacement - mainly because of not being able to walk for so long. 

What I hadn't quite realised is recovery takes up to 12 months! 

I managed to extract some exercises from the physio people and they helped a lot with getting ready to do more walking outside

However, walking after being in bed or sat in a chair for a while is very slow and painful. I can only approach normal walking after a 5 minute warm-up! Plus I've learned that sitting at my desk is still a total non-starter - my foot just ballooned for two days!

So, it looks like I'm going to be having to:

• allocate constant and consistent time for recovery for the next 6-8 months
• do regular physio exercises for my foot for quite a while and 
• undertake daily / regular exercise to 
• try and contain the contraction of the soft tissue structures and associated swelling.
• learn how to walk with a better gait - and stop "hip hiking"
• do lots of elevation and apply ice packs when the swelling starts because I've done too much.
• PLUS start physio exercises for a hip replacement - as my dodgy hip is not at all happy about all the extra exercise!

I do videos of how I'm getting of for myself so I can see the progress.

a still from the latest video where I'm actually managing to
walk at a respectable speed in a more or less straight line

The good news is I've actually made it to one exhibition - at Kew Gardens. By far the furthest I've walked so far - and, of course, I couldn't move much the next day. However I was elevating my foot on the seat of my rollator all the way back on the tube!

I think I'm going to be OK for getting to the Mall Galleries and intend to be at the Preview of the Plantae exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists at the Mall Galleries in mid June.

HOWEVER finding time for the physio and the exercise is time-consuming. 

Plus all the effort employed is also rather tiring 

- which is why blogging has become very sporadic.

I'm trying to get back into a routine but it's slow going.....

But I have done two Zoom Talks for clients - which actually seem to be an easier way to communicate oddly enough!

I'm thinking about maybe doing more.... 

Previous posts

• Get ready for surgery: Update #1
• SURGERY UPDATE #2: Still prepping with a steep hill to climb
• SURGERY UPDATE #3: I've finally got a date!
• Surgery postponed - my list of exhibitions in London to visit
• Just a few problems
• The Good News

The Good News

After 12 weeks of not a lot of blogging - and living on one leg and a knee scooter - my tibia and talus are fusing nicely (courtesy of two titanium screws in my right ankle).

As a result, I'm out of the abominable boot and my right foot is now allowed to touch the ground properly and go back into shoes. 

This means I can now start relearning how to walk normally with a calf which is seriously atrophied and an ankle which does not move!

The tibia (leg bone) is fusing with the talus (ankle bone)
which means my ankle is now permanently at a right angle and won't flex

I've now had two days now of walking very short distances around my home very slowly. It's not without pain and it's not easy. It does get slightly easier once I get going and hanging on to a rollator also helps.

HOWEVER I think it's going to be a few weeks more before I'm walking normally again and/or any distance.

Next week we're going to try taking my normal rollator outside to see how far I can walk comfortably.

Then it's going to be a question of doing the physio exercises, pacing myself and very gradually extending the distance I walk.

I'm hopeful that I will make good progress - but there's no way of knowing when I'm going to be back in town and looking at exhibitions

The whole process is completely exhausting and consequently blogging is going to have to continue to be completely sporadic.

PS. For those thinking this is like a hip replacement or a knee replacement, those two operations are akin to "a walk in the park" compared to my ankle fusion. Essentially because with hip/knee replacements you get given a brand new joint while I have to "grow my own bone replacement" for a joint - and this carries on for the next 9 months or so....

PPS THANK YOU to all those of you who have written to me - on Facebook or via email - sending your good wishes . It's much appreciated.

Just a few problems

My apologies. I'm having a few problems right now with my continuing recovery from surgery. Hence the blogging hiatus.

For the last week or so (weeks 11 and 12 post surgery) I've been making a determined effort to walk using my crutches - while partially weight bearing (up to 50% of my weight) on my right ankle - which is (hopefully) now fused! I'm having an x-Ray next tuesday to find out if I've grown the bone....

However walking is easier said than done.

What's happening is I'm mobilising on my feet using my forearm crutches (because I also need a shoulder replacement!) and it's very difficult. 

• I'm using muscles in my lower back I haven't used much for weeks and weeks. (I'm now in the 12th week post surgery. )
• As a result, my back is screaming with pain!
• My lower back is also incredibly stiff as well as excruciatingly painful - which is very distracting in relation to everything I'm doing - never mind walking.

So I'm not doing much beyond trying to find a resolution for the problem - whether it's medication, trying to get a physio appointment, sacroiliac stretches, new shoes which will help me walk or an indoor rollator to replace the crutches! 

Bottom line, I'm not much fun right now - and am not very good at blogging.
Hence the big gaps between blog posts.

My smart forearm crutches after a "walk"
- with my walker boot undone to show the many layers required for me to
not experience my severe allergic reaction to the liner
and stop my foot sliding around inside the boot
I have 5 socks on!

Today I've switched to an indoor rollator to see if that works better. Initial indications are that it hurts my back less - but the acid test will come when I try to get out of bed tomorrow morning!

PS The good news is that my foot when "rolled" across the floor in my walker boot is not painful. A few twinges - but I'm hopeful the walker boot comes off next Tuesday and I can switch to full weight bearing - in normal (for me) shoes i.e. my Brooks Beast trainers which are very stable!

Ukraine Support Pledge - how artists can participate

The Ukraine Support Pledge - for Artists and Art Lovers - has been launched by

• Artist Support Pledge founder Matthew Burrows and
•  artist curator Zavier Ellis of Ellis Smith Projects 
• see https://www.instagram.com/ukrainesupportpledge/
• see https://artistsupportpledge.com/#jp-carousel-1767

It follows similar principles as the Artist Support Pledge which Matthew initiated during the pandemic - but this time ALL the money raised will be DONATIONS to a charity supporting people affected by the war.

How to participate in the Ukraine Support Pledge

You can make art or buy art - or both!

• You can make work for the campaign or just your regular work. 
• Your aim should be to raise donations to support the charity helping people affected by the invasion of and war in Ukraine
• Artist Support Pledge will keep you updated on progress.

To participate and support the people of Ukraine, please follow the guidelines below. 

🔵   Post images of your artwork on Instagram to sell for a suggested DONATION of £200 ($200, €200, A$300, C$300, ¥20000) each.

🟡   Add the USP, text and QR code tiles. This tells people what it is and how to take part (use a repost app, screen shot or copy from the website www.artistsupportpledge.com).

🔵   Include the hashtags #ukrainesupportpledge and #artistsupportpledge.

🟡   Ask buyers to DM (message) you to purchase the work.

🔵   Payments should be made 

• DIRECTLY to Global Giving Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund 
• via our Just Giving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/UkraineSupportPledge (you can add this to your bio).

🟡   Request that the donor message or email you a screenshot for proof of donation as well as their shipping address.

🔵   Ship artwork to the donor.

That's it!

For more information on your donations, please go to: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-crisis-relief-fund/

#ukraine #standforukraine #stopwar
@ukrainesupportpledge @artistsupportpledge @matthewburrowsstudio @zavierellisstudio @ellissmithprojects
@globalgiving

About the Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund 

What's been different in 2021 for me

This last year has been VERY different for me when it comes to blogging about art.

• Firstly because of all the obvious constraints on getting around and going to art exhibitions during the first part of the year.
• Secondly because walking became so much more difficult - and painful - for me (due to bone on bone osteoarthritis in my right ankle)
• Thirdly because, by the summer, I'd become increasingly preoccupied with getting ready for ankle fusion surgery - in terms of the need to think about 
• all the things that needed to be done to be able to live on one leg for three months 
• from doing the research and getting kit to be able to get around on one leg after surgery - for up to 12 weeks (and maybe more)
• making my home more disabled friendly 
• plus some hard graft in decluttering!

See

• Get ready for surgery: Update #1
• SURGERY UPDATE #2: Still prepping with a steep hill to climb
• SURGERY UPDATE #3: I've finally got a date!
• Surgery postponed - my list of exhibitions in London to visit

Of course, no sooner had I written the last post then Omicron turned up - so I've been much less keen to mingle!

Plus I got the results on my NHS App from a lateral X-Ray of both hips at the end of last month. The bad news is and I've got osteoarthritis in both hips too - with the right one being the worst. Which explains the pain in my right hip and extremely distracting collapsing movement it exhibits from time to time - with absolutely no notice! Think leg suddenly gives way beneath you....

It resulted in fewer blog posts this year compared to earlier years as in 

• fewer exhibitions to visit - for external reasons
• fewer exhibitions to visit for personal reasons
• some were just completely inaccessible to people like me - too many stairs and no lifts
• others I was less able to walk around exhibitions which take a lot of walking round - and a lot of walking to get to them (as in I can't walk for two days afterwards if I walk too much!)
• less time for blog posts!
• very distracted by other matters.
• and very, very tired - because movement is very tiring and pain is tiring - and it's difficult to sleep when you're in pain.....  It's also not easy to acknowledge that one if getting older and less able and less energetic.

Me at the Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society on 14 July 2021 

But I did get a rollator - and the rollator has been to quite a few exhibitions. Mainly those which don't involve lots of walking just to get there. 

My very light carbon fibre rollator which now goes to every exhibition (minus stick)
- on its first outing back in June at the NEAC Annual Exhibition

Plus I've now lost 43.2kg / 6.8 stones / 95+ lbs since June 2020 - which has helped to reduce the pain and make me more mobile - and better able to cope with the one-legged post surgery challenge in future.

HOWEVER, the net result has been:

• fewer posts about exhibitions I've seen
• more posts about exhibitions posted late - because I'm now very tired after an exhibition outing
• more posts about the art which transferred to television / video / Zoom
• more time spent watching Zoom and webinars and talks
• more time spent doing other stuff!

Later this week I'm going to highlight some of the more popular blog posts in 2021

Mobility issues for those interested in art

In the meantime I've been considering writing more, in future, about disabled friendly - and less friendly - places for others who are interested in art and viewing art but also have mobility problems / accessibility issues.

I'd be interested to know whether other people would find this useful.

SURGERY UPDATE #3: I've finally got a date!

I think it's partly because I used to be a senior manager in the NHS that I'm actually quite patient when waiting for dates for surgery. 

Up to a point.

The point was reached when I got to two years from when I was first told I needed surgery.

I'm also one of the six million waiting for routine elective operations - except I'm waiting for two...

So yesterday I emailed a letter into something called the Access Issues Resolution Service (AIRS) at Barts and pointed out:

• November 2019: the need for surgery was identified (i.e. I had broken shards of bone floating around in my ankle)
• 2nd April 2020: the outpatient appointment which should have started the journey to surgery should was cancelled due to Covid. At that point going into hospital was not high on my agenda!
• October 2020: got fed up waiting for any sort of communication about a rescheduled appointment and found the right button to press (AIRS) and duly pressed it
• As a result I got two appointments for my ankle and shoulder in the next two weeks
• End of October 2020: 3 x-rays plus a nice man in the Foot and Ankle Clinic told me I was bone on bone and had no cartilage left in my right ankle. It wasn't a question of taking out broken bone shards, more a question of giving me an ankle fusion which would eliminate movement and pain - which sounded like manna from heaven to me. But I'd need to be non-weight bearing for up to three months i.e. live life on one leg. Agree continued weight loss would be a good idea.
• Early November 2020: nice man in the Upper Limb Clinic confirmed I have no cartilage in my left shoulder and am bone on bone. Confirms the wisdom of me stopping driving due to my very limited movement/pain - and tells me I need a shoulder replacement - but it's a long recovery! I decide this might be better after ankle is fixed. Promptly sell car and start thinking electric for when I finally get to drive again...
• March 2021: Finally get a steroid injection in my ankle after the lockdown end 2020/early 2021 - end of pain for a bit....
• June 2021: finally get to see consultant who lists me for surgery
• September 2021: do pre-assessment for surgery
• and then nothing.

Two years later I want my operation!

I've also lost 6.5 stone / 41.3kg with a view to coping better on one leg for three months

As a result of the email I sent yesterday to the right people I'm going to be getting my ankle fusion operation on Monday 6th December.

So that's 2 weeks to get everything finally finished off and ready for not moving fast or far for three months. Not that different from lockdown really - except I won't be going out.

This is the post-it note I've had fixed on my iMac for the last 12 months.

• Back slab plaster = plaster which does not completely encircle limb and allows for swelling. I'll be on my back with my foot elevated to heart level for two weeks to keep the swelling to a minimum!
• Non weight bearing plaster = exactly what it says. I won't be able to my foot down at all. It holds the bone in place and allows it to grow
• Protective boot goes on after my ankle has grown new bone and fused and it just needs to be looked after. Hopefully end of January.
• BUT weight bearing then needs to be managed on a progressive basis and as any pain allows

Meet my Strideon knee scooter - or how to get about when you can't put one foot on the ground!

This was me in August when I'd just got it and assembled it (i.e one of the things I was doing during my timeoff in August!) I still needed to adjust it further to get everything to the right height.

However this is very heavy and I don't think there's any chance of me getting on the tube until I'm walking properly again - and can walk some distance. 

Bottom line - no exhibitions until at least next June I think 

i.e. I can start walking again after three months - but first I have to relearn to walk and then I won't be able to go far to start with.

So the plan is 

• I'm going to work my way through my bookshelves (and bookshelves) of art books and write book reviews. 
• Plus keep up with art available online and on the television and write periodically about that.  

Then when I've recovered - I'll be getting my shoulder replacement done - which will mean one hand typing!

Then, when I've recovered from that and got my mobility back in my shoulder, I hope I get to buy an electric car and go travelling at long last.....

So quite a lot of change in the next 18 months - 2 years or so.....

I have my fingers crossed my hip is not trying to go the same way.....