Wow! Firstly, I’d like to apologise for the lack of posts recently. In all honestly I’ve written a few, and just not been up to posting them. Since coming home my head has been a bit up and down, and I’ve not fancied the interaction involved with posting. So sorry about that, but I’m here now, and this is a good one; I’ve had a great week and packed a lot in.

Let’s begin last wednesday, which saw Sarah and I, along with our friends Lucie and Aaron, take Amelia to the sea life centre in scarbrough! What a great place that is, full of amazing, weird and wonderful creatures. And then theres the fish! We saw penguins, turtles, sharks and so much more. Amelia absolutely loved it, and I think the rest of us did too! Well, up until the spider crabs scared the bejeesus out of us. If I was a fish, I’d definitely be a ray of some kind. Everyone loves them guys! After we had finished learning all about urchins and seals, we decided it was a good idea to head down to the promenade for a walk, and possibly an ice cream (definitely only for lucie). Spoiler alert, it was not a good idea at all. It was cold, wet and windy. We still made the most of it though, playing the penny arcades and browing the most brilliant shop ever, ancient warrior. Sarah didn’t agree that an Assassin’s Creed sword would be good home decor, so unfortunately I left empty handed. We headed home after just over an hour, all soaked and freezing but happy non the less. It was decided on the way that instead of a pub tea, we would just grab a takeaway. Much better.

The next few days were pretty boring after that, as we were saving ourselves for Saturday night. Yes, finally, we had something to look forward to; our engagement party! Friday saw us setting up the room; moving chairs and tables to be slightly more accessible, arranging balloons and table decorations… having not thrown a party like this before we felt a bit out of our depth, but oh well. If it comes to it, we could all just drink enough to forget it. Thankfully, we did everything right, or at least I think we did.

So, the big event – our engagement party – was on saturday night. I started my day by staying in bed till around 2ish. Now that might sound lazy, which it probably is, but there’s a good reason for it; I still have to build up my tolerance to being in my chair, in order to avoid pressure sores etc. By staying in bed till later, I wasnt going to push my luck and be in my chair for, say, 15 hours. So I got up and headed down to the venue, and set up the last of the balloons. Some of my family were there already cracking on putting out nibbles etc… eventually we got all the balloons inflated, obviously using helium tanks and we were just about ready. We had a good look at our incredible cake, which was half beauty and the beast and half star wars! Thank you to Katie for that, your work is incredible. We also recieved a lovely gift from my adoptive auntie Kimmy, a lovely huge balloon in the form of an engagement ring.

After a mad dash home to shower and change, Sarah Amelia and I found ourselves sat in a big empty room with Sophie and the DJ for company. Whilst at that point it seemed as though nobody was coming, the music got louder, the lights got dimmer and the room got fuller by the minute. In all honesty looking back it feels like a complete blur. It was an absolutely fantastic night; all of our friends and family in one room, all coming together to celebrate with us. Almost as quickly as it started it was time for the food to be dished out, and then onto the part i wanted out of the way quickly; the dreaded speech. It was a nice opportunity to thank everyone for making the effort to come, especially a few individuals who have helped us so much over the past months. Thankfully it was over quickly, and the band took to the stage. My step brother, Chester, is the drummer for the band ‘The Poker Club’ and they very kindly offered to play for the party for us, so cheers again for that lads. They were on top form as always, and everyone seemed to enjoy their performance. I honestly don’t really remember the order of much else that happened; I was chatting, laughing and drinking the night away then before I knew it, we were getting ready to head home. Overall it was a fantastic night, and a brilliant opportunity to let our hair down after so many tense long months. And yes, I still say that despite the hangover. Another huge thank you to everyone who managed to come along and make the experience so special for us; we truly appreciate it. Although I didn’t get anywhere near enough time to spend with everyone, I am so glad you all came. The same thanks goes to the people who tried but couldn’t make it; we understand, and thank you for trying. It means a lot!

The following day saw Sarah and I spend the majority of our time sat in bed feeling very sorry for ourselves. That was alleviated however by opening the numerous cards and gifts we received. We are extremely lucky to have received what we did, and we are very grateful to everyone for their kindness. We got some wonderful gifts including far too much alcohol, some stunning gin glasses and even a new knife block, something I’ve wanted for years! We also received some lovely cards and messages from people who unfortunately couldn’t join us on the night but were there in spirit, so that was especially lovely.

Now that it is all over, I honestly feel a little deflated, although i suppose that is to be expected. Next up is my birthday tomorrow, and I have a wheelchair skills course booked to make the day super fun (sarcasm). At least the day will be spent with Sarah, and I’m hoping a few of our friends will pop round for drinks on the evening.

That pretty much summarises this week! It has been such a whirlwind, but I have enjoyed every minute of it. My aim for this week is to start sorting out my assessment for a more suitable wheelchair, so I’ll let you know how that goes. I hope this week is as good as the last, as I am really starting to enjoy this whole life at home malarkey.