Paphos, Cyprus to Guisely, UK (air & train)
22,366 Fit Bit steps but no progress eastward!
Guisely is a small town on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales. When we walked out of the rain with our backpacks into the local tea shop, we knew that the proprietor was asking herself, who are these people and why are they here? After tea and scones we described our journey, but did not go into the medical reasons for the visit! We had come, by way of a 5 1/2 hour flight from Paphos and 4 trains from London, so that Paul could be seen by a shoulder specialist who happens to have his clinic here. While the spinal symptoms following the accident in May are gradually resolving, Paul is still bothered by persistent shoulder pain. We decided it would be sensible to have another consultation before heading off to Asia and beyond. We were fortunate to be able to get an appointment with Dr. Martin Spreight, a physician/chiropractor, recommended by an old friend of Paul’s from medical school, Chris Parsons.
Paul received a thorough and expert consultation from Martyn Spreight. Adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder) was the diagnosis, likely a result of the accident. As this condition has a natural course of about 18 months, it was good to have a definitive diagnosis but, even better, he was able to offer immediate treatment aimed at reducing symptoms and enabling rehabilitation. While Martyn was injecting fluid and steroids into Paul’s shoulder joint to “expand” the capsule, they had a delightful conversation about cycling, motorcycling, skiing and health care. Like our friend Chris, Martyn has worked within and alongside the UK National Health Service complementing what the NHS should, but may not offer.
We are spending the remainder of our time in the UK catching up with family and friends, before taking the EuroStar to France in a few days to enjoy Christmas with Chris, Shinyoung, Alice and Eliot.
We will blog again when our travels resume on New Years Eve. In the meantime, we wish all our family and friends a joyous and peaceful holiday season.
How lovely to hear from you again!! What a fortunate misfortune having to spend some time in Cyprus! So steeped in history, I was mesmerized by your descriptions and your wonderful photos!! No coincidence that the two of you ended up in the birthplace of Aphrodite!!
Glad to hear now that you are safely in the United Kingdom and that Paul is benefiting from professional advice and treatment!!
Enjoy your visits. Keep us posted. Enjoy your magical family Christmas!! Love Lorraine
Thank you, dear sister! Merry Christmas to you all!
xoxox
Your blogs are absolutely fascinating and informative.
I am so glad that you are able to enjoy some “time off” with family and get ready for the next adventure.
Hope Paul’s shoulder and other old injuries are continuing to heal and be less bothersome. I admire you both so much for doing this but keep you both in my mind and heart and prayers for continued safety and positive experiences. Lots of hugs, B