Recovering in Spain: Wrapping up

I can’t believe it’s almost time to go home! My original return date was December 8^th but I had to change that because more treatment was needed and I was hoping to start work so I could do a bit of work and continue treatment at the same time. I extended my stay here with 2 weeks but unfortunately Occupational Health still hasn’t given me the OK to start going back to work remotely. I have my laptop and access to the network so that’s not the problem.

I’m still doing physio and training in the gym 5 days a week, 2 to 3 hours a day. My physiotherapist is a long distance and trail runner so he understands that I am very eager to continue with all my outdoor activities and I want to start running again. He has given me some specific exercises for that. I’m actually back on the treadmill since last week, now that he thinks my neck is strong enough. I started with just 3 minutes but adding a minute every day.

The weekends I usually spend with my Dad and his friends in Albir. It’s too cold to swim now and unfortunately there hasn’t been much of an opportunity to ho hiking or biking. Every weekend there has been one lame excuse after another such as going to the market, wine tastings, Mediterranean lunches (they take at least 5 hours) in the mountains and a weekend trip to Brussels. One weekend we spent in front of the fireplace hidden under blankets, drinking mulled wine because it was too cold and wet to do anything else.

The receptionist of the clinica where I go for my treatment took me out for Belgian lunch (eel, it was delicious!) one day and told me she has a young dog that she needs to find a new home for. I knew my Dad would love to have a dog and he was already thinking of buying a big expensive pedigree of some sort. But first he had to go on a four-week trip to the UK. Now that he is a free man, he decided that he needs to go visit some old friends. I made sure that Dad and dog got introduced to each other before he left for the UK and they immediately decided they like each other. In January when he comes back he will have a new dog so something to look forward too. Much better than a nasty girlfriend!

After saying goodbye to my Dad I went off-roading with my friend and her husband in their SUV. They do this almost every weekend and invited me along. It was a 65-kilometer trip and a good test to see how my neck would do. I discussed it with my physiotherapist and he was OK with it, as long as I would bring a neck brace in case I got tired. I thought I would be OK because I am training my neck every day in the gym and at home. After only 15 K of bouncing up and down on the back seat I was starting to feel very tired so I spent the rest of the day with a brace around my neck. More practice needed! Other than that the trip was awesome and I might go again next weekend.

Colin decided that he would like to spend a few more days here before I leave. It should be much more relaxed than his previous visit - no more houses to clean and Dads who don’t know what to do with themselves when not being bossed around by angry girlfriends. I will be spending much less time doing therapy as it’s Christmas and also this week is officially my last week – next week is just bonus. If the weather cooperates we’ll have quite a bit of time for some good hikes. We’ll certainly do one on Christmas day – best way to spend Christmas!