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What an amazing day! I went into Nyköping to meet with Paula, a Finnish foot specialist and she changed my life. Obviously, she couldn’t do anything about fixing the non-functioning nerves in my legs but she managed the next best thing. She fitted me with a pair of braces that mechanically force my feet to lift. She made me feel like a normal person.
Of course, when I first put my shoes on and walked around her consulting room, it felt extremely weird, but it didn’t take long for me to get used to the strange but natural feeling. Honestly, I could have hugged and kissed her for hours.
I left the building like I was walking on air. I decided to celebrate with a burger and beer from Brödernas. I wanted to tell everyone that I could walk again but figured they’d think I was extremely odd in doing so. I kept my happy mood to myself.
My mood was improved, believe it or not, by the young chap who served me in Clas Ohlsen. I didn’t say very much but he smiled and rattled off a few Swedish sentences that I had no hope of understanding then, when I said I had no idea what he was talking about, he looked surprised and said, “Sorry, I thought you were Swedish.” Okay, it’s not the first time that’s happened, but it’s still very pleasant to hear.
The only downside to my morning was missing the train back to Vagnhärad by about a minute. I watched it leave as my new legs tried their hardest to reach the platform. Sadly, Paula didn’t fit me with jetpacks as well.
Still, although I had to wait an hour for the next one, I did get to chat to a fellow who told me about how he had a stroke while in Thailand a few months ago and was a bit stymied when he couldn’t really talk properly. The problem was compounded by the fact that he could only speak Swedish and English and everyone that helped him couldn’t. Eventually, his son flew out to help.
He’s a lot better now but he wants to fly to Perth to visit his best friend but can’t because his insurance company won’t let him in case he has another stroke and they have to pay out. He wasn’t that bitter and, he assured me, he only had a few more months before another medical check up and was doing everything he could to be able to travel again.
And can I just say, there was no evidence that there was anything wrong with him at all. Well, apart from a certain amount of sadness at not being able to see his mate.
Eventually, though, I left all of that behind and reached home with a spring in my step.
In the meanwhilst, at home, Mirinda welcomed our new guests, Sally and Kate, and took them on a tour of Trosa, which, of course, they thought was lovely. We spent a delightful night chatting. The last time we saw Sally was back in Oz in 2022. Kate, on the other hand, I don’t think I’ve seen since 2017 at the big Dural barbi.
Tomorrow we might just go boating.
Before I finish this wonderful post, I think I might know why the trains are often delayed. I reckon it might just be the construction work at Nyköping station. I’ve never been there before, but the place is a big old mess.
That’s where the old second line of tracks used to be. Now the trains have to sit and wait in both directions before heading into the station. It’ll all look very nice when it’s finished, but that’s certainly a long way off.
