I had sold the business and had no clue what I was going to do next. It was very strange to have finished a job and have nothing lined up to do next. I had always worked and not been out of work for years.
We were living in a dream villa at the time and decided to use the money from the sale of the business to remain there for at least another year. Hales was still working so we could manage OK on just her wages and the business sale money.
I was struggling to accept that I had deteriorated as much as I had, I wanted to just carry on working as I always had. I was feeling down quite a bit for a few months and could not get used to just sitting around doing nothing. I started going down to Pete’s and helping him out a bit on cars and I also helped Charlie out on a few of his fencing/pergola jobs.
My balance was getting bad and my legs ached a lot of the time. I was still constantly rushing off to find a bush or wall I could have a pee behind! There were a few times when I contemplated giving up Cyprus and going back to the UK. I knew there would be better financial help and support back in the UK, but was that enough to make me want to go?
In the end I realised it wasn’t just about me, Hales was loving living in Cyprus and really didn’t want to go back to the UK. She would have done it if I had really wanted to go, but I wasn’t really sure if I was ready to anyway. I finally figured out that I would rather be short of money in Cyprus than short of money in the UK! We had realised that there wasn’t much good happening in the UK so even back there things would not be great.
At the end of the year we moved to a smaller, cheaper villa. I had managed to get a couple of part time jobs, 1 working in a tour operators and the other helping out in a dive shop. I was still continuing my diving, but purely for my own pleasure and not really helping anyone. I knew I was starting to struggle more getting into and out of the water, and I got tired when I had to do long swims.
I was offered a part time job by Andy, who I sold the business, to in his pool cleaning supplies and chemicals shop he was opening. It would work out good for both of us as he would have someone in the shop who knew pools and could help people out. Good for me as not too much physical work!
At the end of the year I decided to sell my diving equipment as I knew I would not be doing much if any more diving. I had been having to get help with carrying my equipment to and from the water, and I knew there were several friends who were happy to do this. I had decided that I was starting to struggle a bit too much for my liking, and didn’t want to be a burden on anyone. I know they didn’t mind but it was my choice that I was ready to call it a day.
So I have been working in the pool shop for the last year and enjoying it, helping people is the best part of the job for me. We have moved into a really nice bungalow which is very close to the shop, so the days I am not feeling too bad I still walk to work. I use a stick now, mostly for balance but I am having to lean on it more recently.
Anyway, enough for now. I have condensed a lot of stuff to try not to bore people too much, so I might embellish some parts of the story in future blogs. If you have anything you would like to know please ask, and leave comments if you wish.
Rob :o)
My Life and My MS 