I’m flippin’ tired this evening. Since my last progress update, I have accomplished a lot, when it comes to my rehabilitation.
I believe that I told of how pleased I was, having managed to transfer from the bed, to the nearby wheelchair and back again.
Today was my busiest day yet, and I am proud to report that I can now…
- Walk approximately ten feet, from bedroom to landing, and sit on a parked wheelchair.
- Transfer from wheelchair to stair lift, at the top of the stairs.
- Transfer from stair lift to wheelchair, at the bottom of the stairs.
- Move from sofa, walk alongside coffee table and onto wheelchair – my pre-accident means of transferring.
I still find myself getting a little out of puff while performing these moves. It also isn’t uncommon for my back and arms to ache a few hours later.
This will be because I have spent the majority of the past four months in bed. I am very much deconditioned. Luckily, everything is getting easier – presumably, as my fitness improves.
I can also take assurances from a recent visit to hospital, where I was given a clean bill of health.
Returning to work is still a while off – in that it won’t be within the next fortnight! – but I can finally see a slight glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel I found myself in.
I read this touching story on the BBC website, about a man who recently died of lung cancer. He was taken far too early, aged just 66.
The reason that this story has become world news is because prior to his death, he wrote his own obituary, warning others of the dangers of smoking.
What a nice, selfless thing to do. The man, knowing he only had weeks to live, put pen to paper, writing his tale in the hope he may save others.
So kind.
RIP, good sir.
66-year-old man in New York state took it upon himself to write his own obituary as a cautionary tale warning others against smoking.
Geoffrey Turner died of lung cancer on 13 February after decades of smoking.
“I was an idiot who made the same stupid decision, day-after-day,” Mr Turner wrote. “If you’re a smoker – quit – now – your life depends on it.”
His daughter, Sarah, told the BBC she was extremely proud of her father’s last “selfless” act.
“I was a smoker and even though I knew it may eventually kill me, I chose to deny the truth to myself,” Mr Turner’s obituary in the Albany Times Union reads.
Mr Turner was diagnosed in November with stage four lung cancer that his doctor said was a direct result of his years of smoking.
“The pain and suffering I caused my family was not worth the perceived ‘satisfaction’ that really did nothing more than waste money, separate me from my family, and eventually destroyed my body.
“I lived a decent life, but there are so many events and milestones I will not be able to share with my loved ones,” he wrote. “The moral of this story – don’t be an idiot.
“Remember, life is good – don’t let it go up in smoke.”
Daughter Sarah Huiest told the BBC she was shocked when her father showed her the obituary.
“I told him that it was incredibly self-deprecating,” Mrs Huiest says. “He shrugged his shoulders and said, ‘it’s all true’.”
The response to the honest obituary has been very positive, according to his daughter.
“Friends and strangers have reached out to me to say how his words were what they wished they had heard from their own loved one,” Mrs Huiest says.
She told the BBC her grandmother first caught Mr Turner smoking cigarettes when he was just two-years-old – and her father himself remembered picking up the habit at age four.
Mr Turner initially stopped smoking after marrying Mrs Huiest’s mother, but once he picked it up again in the mid-90s during a business trip to London, he did not quit until his cancer diagnosis last year.
But he never smoked in front of his children, his daughter says.
“All while we grew up in the 80s and early 90s, he would speak out against smoking and urge us to never start.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US say that cigarette smoking is the top cause of preventable disease and death in the country, with around half a million people dying from smoking-related conditions each year.
Mrs Huiest describes her father’s obituary as “by far the most significant thing he did in his life”.
“He always wanted ‘to do something big.’ I am extremely proud of the selfless act of this obituary. This is what he will be most widely known for and it is a great thing.”
Mr Turner is survived by his wife, five children and four grandchildren.
I have been putting off blogging about this subject for a while, as it’s not very nice.
A few weeks ago, I posted how the Leeds United goalkeeper, Kiko Casilla, had been accused of racism, pending an investigation.
The outcome of this investigation, carried out by the Football Association, found Casilla guilty of racially abusing Charlton Athletic forward Jonathan Leko.
As Casilla has denied the charge, the verdict was made on the basis of probability, once all the evidence and witness statements had been taken into account.
I have provided links to ‘further reading’ at the end of this post, but the crime Casilla was found guilty of, was calling Leko a “fucking n***er”. Even typing that word with asterisk symbols makes me feel uncomfortable.
Casilla has been banned for eight games, fined £60,000 and forced to attend racial education sessions.
The verdict was announced just over a week ago. Given the serious nature of the charge, my hatred of anything racist, yet love for Leeds United, I wanted the time to form a firm, fair opinion on the matter, before I took to the keyboard.
So, here are my thoughts on the extremely unpleasant situation…
- There remains a section of Leeds fans, who refuse to accept that Casilla is guilty. People are entitled to their opinions, but I would hope that to make such a judgement, they have studied all the evidence and ensure that their loyalty to Leeds United and the players is not clouding their judgement.
- Leeds fans have rightly criticised other clubs this season, for their crimes and controversial behaviour. Most notably, Derby County, over the drink driving fiasco. Those supporters must accept that there will now be many people, justifiably condemning Casilla
- If a black Leeds player was found to have been racially abused by a white member of the opposition, all supporters would naturally (and rightly), jump to their own player’s defence and condemn the individual shown to be guilty. The fact Leko played for Charlton at the time of the incident, should be irrelevant. Racism is racism, regardless of who the abuse is made by and who it is directed towards.
- Leeds fans who defend Casilla need to remember – it doesn’t make you any less of a supporter to condemn Casilla’s actions. Being openly critical of one of your own players, found guilty of racism, is not the same as moaning about an underfire striker who is unable to score goals.
- Remarkably Casilla claims to have not heard of the N-word at the time of the incident. If that was the case, why use a word he didn’t know. Secondly, if he didn’t know the meaning of the word, who subsequently taught it to him?
- Casilla is 33-years-old. Despite speaking Spanish, I cannot believe that he hadn’t heard of the word until recently. Regardless of which language you speak, the horrible word can often be found in music and movies.
- Is the 8 match ban long enough? It is certainly not consistent with other punishments. Former-Liverpool striker, Daniel Sturridge, was recently suspended from football for four months. This was because his family gambled on which club he would sign for next. Sturridge didn’t even place the bet! Despite being guilty, I cannot see how Sturridge’s crime warrants a longer ban than that of one for abhorrent racism.
- While I am not defending Casilla, he was fined £60,000 for his use of racist language. Last season, Millwall were fined just £10,000 when sections of their crowd were found guilty of directing racist abuse to black opposition players. In my opinion, Millwall should have been fined a lot more and possibly been forced to play a number of games behind closed doors.
- The FA, who found Casilla guilty, are far from blameless themselves. It took them five months to come to an outcome. That is far too long and is unfair on all involved, most notably Leko. If any black players are racially abused in the future, will they choose to report incidents, if they think that they’ll be as long and drawn out as this one?
- I am not happy with the way in which Leeds United, as a club, have behaved. Since the verdict, they have defended Casilla. How is it possible to defend the indefensible? I remember when Liverpool players embarras⁰
- singly defended their then team mate, Luis Suarez, for using racist language towards Manchester United defender, Patrice Evra. Liverpool legend, Jamie Carragher, who was part of the team who defended Suarez, has since apologised to Evra. It’s all very sad and disappointing. I hope that Leeds United retract their defence of Casilla very soon.
- In-house disciplinary action needs to be taken against Casilla. It may have occurred already and Leeds have decided to not reveal what has taken place. That is understandable and while I don’t expect the club to announce the nature of the punishment, it would be wise to make it clear that they have taken the matter seriously and the incident was unacceptable.
- Generally, I believe people deserve a second chance. There is no evidence to prove that Casilla is a racist, despite him using such disgusting language and behaving appallingly. He needs to apologise for his actions – something he is yet to do. Until then, I don’t feel that I am able to respect him.
- There are arguments for and against Casilla getting sacked. I don’t want to start a campaign to see anyone lose their job, but will say this – if somebody was to walk into my office at work and I called them a “fucking n***er”, I would be handed my P45. I would imagine employees in most lines of work would too. Why is football any different? A few years ago, John Terry called Anton Ferdinand a “black cunt”. Was one of the reasons that he kept his job because he was one of Chelsea’s best players and worth tens of millions. A little depressing if it was.
- Maybe it would be better for all involved if Casilla was sold. After his ban, there should only be three games left, unless Leeds fall into the playoffs. Divides within football clubs, even among fans, are never healthy. While there will be some supporters who will forever defend him, there will so be many like me, who will never be able to look at him in the same way again.
- Finally, I feel so sorry for Jonathan Leko. Not only was the racist abuse he received unacceptable, but the entire investigation must have been deeply upsetting and not something that anyone should have to go through.
Further material
Considering the serious and sensitive nature of today’s post, I have included links to various webpages and a podcast on the issue.
Reading the material in full and listening to the informative podcast, has allowed me to form what I feel to be a fair opinion.
If you feel strongly about the incident, I suggest you do the same.
I received a notification on my mobile phone from the Amazon app. It read…
We thought you would like a new TV.
I have a birthday coming up, so naturally thought the masters of tax avoidance were going to give me a generous present.
Considering that over the years, I have personally put thousands of pounds into their coffers, this kind of recognition has been long overdue.
FOR ME? YOU SHOULDN’T HAVE.
WELL, ACTUALLY YOU SHOULD.
It was therefore a big disappointment when I discovered that Amazon were not going to gift me a television. They wanted me to buy one from them!
How cruel. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Amazon’s owner, Jeff Bezos, searches the streets of New York, looking for poor, hungry homeless men and women.
Once he has spotted a particularly malnourished soul, he will approach them and in the most caring of tones, offer some words of comfort – “You poor lamb. You look like you could do with a hot meal”.
The starving individual will thank the good samaritan for the incredibly kind offer, wondering what gourmet feast this warm-hearted saint will provide.
Unfortunately, joy will turn to sadness, when Mr Bezos offers some words of advice – “There’s a Burger King two blocks away. You can buy a Bacon Cheeseburger meal for just over ten dollars!”.
My lawyers have advised me to point out that not one part of that story is true. Although, the bit about the television is completely factual and almost as outrageous as my fictional tale.
This coronavirus epidemic has well and truly started.
Leeds United have now put measures in place, ahead of this afternoons match against Huddersfield…
Following the advice from various governing bodies such as the EFL and NHS, Leeds United will be taking some precautionary measures at tomorrow’s game against Huddersfield Town as the numbers of reported cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in the UK.
– Information will be posted on the big screen, concourses and bathrooms to promote good hygiene
– We actively encourage supporters to reconsider physical contact such as high fives, hugs etc
– Pre-match handshakes between both teams and officials will not take place
– The team bus will pull up at a new location on the West Stand allowing the players to enter the dressing room area directly
– After the game we will ask the players to return to their vehicles and leave the group as quickly as possible
We appreciate that these actions will disappoint some supporters due to the reduced access to the players and staff, however we feel a duty of care to our community to prevent the spread of the virus and ensure everyone feels safe.
Good luck with that one, Leeds – you’ll need it…
If Leeds score against Huddersfield, try telling the supporters not to hug each other. By the way, has anyone ever seen one fan high five another?
LEEDS SUPPORTERS! WATCH OUT!
The easiest thing for Leeds United to do is not score a single goal and lose 5-0. I’m certain they are capable of achieving that!
Should coronavirus still be prevalent towards the end of the football season and (by a miracle) Leeds end up getting promoted, a few fans hugging will be the least of the club’s worries…
There will be grown men snogging in the stands and penetrating on the pitch.
Too far? Sorry. I’ll warn you, this post is about to get even worse…
As for Huddersfield Town. There is an old joke (although there’s no smoke without fire) that their supporters are rather partial to certain activities with dogs. One would therefore assume that the self-named ‘Terriers’ are more concerned by other diseases than coronavirus.
HUDDERSFIELD FANS! TAKE PRECAUTIONS!
About Me
So you stumbled across my blog. No doubt after searching for something bizarre on Google. Before you hit that 'Back Button', why not stay and have a read for a few minutes?
If you are after a website which gives advice on how to hack an iPhone X, download the latest Steven Seagal movie, or view nudy ladies, you've come to the wrong place and may now press 'Back'.
However, if you would like a lifestyle blog, written by a 30-something chap, living in Bath (England), feast your eyes on this.
You won't discover how to copy PlayStation 4 games. What you will find is a blog, covering life in the West Country, the highs and lows of supporting two unsuccessful football teams, while sharing a house with a wife and rabbit.
All written by a man, somewhere on the sanity-scale between normal and eccentric.
