Sylvia's Journal

I had so concentrated on getting to Afghanistan that the reality of living in Afghanistan for 4 weeks without my knee scooter and without Axel had escaped me. That really sunk in when I arrived at the guesthouse. With crutches you cannot carry anything, not even a water bottle from the kitchen to my bedroom. Luckily my colleague Judy, who had arrived a week earlier, was very solicitous. All I had to do was send her a text message and within seconds she was in my room, bringing and taking stuff as needed.

My bedroom and bathroom door were equipped with a tightly set automatic door closure gizmo at the top. This meant I had to push with all my weight to open the door and then manoeuver quickly through it with my crutches, to repeat the same to enter the bathroom. It was a rude awakening from having a commode next to my bed, dutifully emptied each morning by Axel.

But Judy came to the rescue with a knife and unscrewed the gizmo so doors would stay open or opened with a light push. The next challenge was the large bathroom with its slippery tiles, making moving across the wet floor with my crutches rather tricky. A plastic garden chair had been brought in but after the shower navigating the place was daunting. I put a towel on the floor that, even though soaking wet, would give me some grip. Taking a shower had become a complicated undertaking. There were a few moments of panic, how was I going to manage?

But after a good night sleep (on a rather uncomfortable mattress) and several successful trips to the (now dry) bathroom had given me more confidence that I could manage my domestic life. With my boot on I began to practice putting 50% weight on my left leg and discovered that I could walk with a cane in my left hand; no pain.

I had asked Judy to check out the mattresses in the other, still empty, guestrooms and do an exchange but decided I should test them myself. And so I discovered that I could easily ascend the stairs. One floor up, next to Judy, was a nicer, brighter and less garish bedroom with an en-suite bathroom so I decided to move up. The housekeeper and Judy repacked my stuff and moved me in no time, once again unscrewing the door closers.

My previous room has green lights recessed in a series of curved layers (like an upside down terrace) in the ceiling. My new room has green recessed light along the edges of the ceiling and four blue lit panels in the middle. The builder/architect/owner clearly likes colored lights. In the dining room we have a chandelier with lights around the base that constantly change color: from red to blue to purple to green and back.

For lunch we decided to venture out into Kabul to see how easy I could move around. I left the crutches at home and took the cane that Tessa had given me for Christmas. Although I walk slowly and deliberately, I was able to span the short distances from house into car and from car into restaurant without any trouble or pain. Having my right hand free to find support from walls and banisters or carry something, was liberating. I am making progress just in time!

We ate at a lovely French restaurant in Taimani that was new to me. The indoor restaurant encircles a large and lovely garden, now in deep winter sleep but the rose bushes are pruned and ready for spring. We have more plans for outings this week, to dine with friends, and reconnect with Kabul. The cook will have light duty for the coming week.