Hey everyone, hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the cooler weather — I know I am! Although, I’ll be honest, some days still feel way too hot for me.

Today, I wanted to talk about something that’s been a long time coming: my physical health and a recent physio appointment I had. I went in expecting the worst… and I walked out smiling.

Let me take you back a bit first.

Just before COVID, my partner and I finally got the chance to move back to our hometown. We were lucky enough to be offered a flat we really liked. But not long after moving in, things started going downhill. We were getting ready for our bedroom carpet to be fitted when we discovered our brand new bed was soaking wet — along with our clothes and other furniture. It was a disaster.

On top of that, my partner was struggling to breathe in the flat. She had to move in temporarily with a friend, as our dog couldn’t be around their dog (she’d been attacked in the past and didn’t get along with other dogs). That meant I ended up sleeping on the sofa… for the next six months.

That was the start of my hip problems.

Over the next few years — through COVID and after — I had a couple of phone calls with physios and even got some steroid injections. The first injection helped, but the second one didn’t do much. The pain never really went away, and things kept getting worse.

Fast-forward to 2025, and my hips had become unbearable. My doctor sent me for an X-ray, which showed the early stages of osteoarthritis — and that things had changed since my last scan. He told me to self-refer to physio.

I rang the physio department and told them clearly I wanted to be seen face-to-face. I wanted to ask questions, see the exercises, and understand what was going on with my body. The lady on the phone explained there’d be a waitlist, and I said that was fine — I could wait.

Eventually, I got a text saying if I still wanted my appointment, I could book using a link. I did. But something came up on the day, and I had to reschedule. When the new appointment was confirmed, I saw it wasn’t with the same person.

And that’s when the anxiety started creeping in.

The name I saw was foreign, and I’ll be honest — I struggle with accents sometimes, so I worried I wouldn’t get the help I needed or be able to understand the instructions. My head was going all over the place. But I went anyway.

When I arrived, I checked in and sat down. A few minutes later, I was called in. What made me laugh was the people in the waiting room tutting because I got called so quickly — guess I must’ve timed it just right!

As soon as I met Mohammed, my physio, I felt at ease. He was calm, welcoming, and made me feel safe straight away. We went through everything step by step. He pushed my leg into a position it’s never been in before — it hurt, and yes, it made me cry — but only because we were finally doing the exercises right.

And then he asked me something simple: “Are you happy with how the session went?”

That’s when I cried again — not from pain, but because I finally felt listened to.

So, here’s my advice to anyone feeling nervous about an appointment:
Go in with your eyes open.
You might just come out smiling like I did.

Thanks for sticking with me through this longer post — I really appreciate it. I hope the rest of your week is kind to you. Don’t forget, you can sign up to my newsletter if you want more updates like this.

See you in the next one!

— John

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