Surgery updates, day 1 & 2

Day 1: Traveling to Barcelona

We made it and all things considered it went well! So many incredibly generous people have helped us get to this point, so we are going to do our best to update the blog frequently and keep everyone updated.

With the help of my lovely mother-in-law and father-in-law we got to the airport and got our bags checked in smoothly.

As it was a bank holiday weekend the airport was rammed, there were half an hour que's for most restaurants, which meant I had to stay in the hard plastic wheelchair the entire time. (Which lead to a sleepless night of Coccyx disslocations. Ouch.)

The plane journery was better than expected, if you need to fly on a cheaper airline, Vueling is far more comfortable than Ryanair! The flight attendants were very nice and gave me lots of ice. As when I put ice on my face and arms it keeps me from going into an autonomic seizure or brings me out of one. It was difficult being upright and I was a little confused but Oscar was incredible and kept us organised.

My second time in Barcelona and I have only seen the sea from the airplane. I am hoping I can recover well enough to have a day or two out to see the coast!

The accessibility in Barcelona is awesome. In the UK I had to walk up the stairs to the plane, there were a few wobbles and my knees are fairly swollen now. In Barcelona this bus, which is also a lift, came up to the plane level for the passengers with limited mobility and our travel companions.

Got a peak of my little shaved head all prepped for some good wound healing.

And then a super friendly staff member wheeled me to the baggage claim and then got us into a taxi.

Despite some slightly dodgy driving on the way to the apartment we made it, very tired but we are here!

Day 2: wheelchair delivery and rest.

On the advice of most ambulatory wheelchair users who have travelled we have hired a wheelchair instead of bringing mine, as they so often get broken in transit. This one arrived to the apartment this morning and we have it until the surgery. We will reassess my mobility needs when I am out of hospital.

Now it's time to rest some more before a busy few days of hospital appointments Monday- Wednesday before surgery on Thursday.

Thank you again to everyone who has helped us get here in anyway big or small, all your actions have led to this and we could not be more grateful.

I will check in with some updates on Tuesday before handing the website updates over to Oscar, mum and Gordon.

Love Charlie xx