Good from Bad

In the past month or so the pain in my ankle has taken a real step up. Causing me to lose even more sleep than usual which aint good for my epilepsy. I thought it was time to get put on the waiting list for the fusion operation so I duly called the hospital the other day and it looks like I'll be in around Christmas time for the op. In a way it's good to have these time pressures as I've been able to clearly set two major goals to train for and hopefully achieve before the op. One is obviously the E8 project and the other to eventually climb the Cathedral after so many years of trying. At the moment though I feel I'm starting from scratch after losing half a stone rapidly after the worst stomach upset I've ever had.

If I'm successful at climbing these I'm hoping to use the op as an opportunity to change the direction of my climbing from purely technical to more mountaineering as ,let's face it, I feel I have almost found the limits of what is possible with my disability, though I did say that at E3. Also if I can somewhat change direction to mountaineering I'm hoping it will help me maintain my decision to quit soloing. I've been playing that game for 10 years now and took my share of chances and had a few close calls so it's time to heed the warnings of my mentors and walk away while it's still my choice, if I can. Ironically in the months to come I'll need to be more dedicated than ever to my climbing if I'm to go for this operation feeling relaxed!!