UK HSP Support Group AGM Preparations

I'm not quite clear how the end of the month has arrived so quickly! In the last couple of weeks I have been fairly busy getting the first batch of preparations ready for the AGM of the UK HSP Support Group.

This year has been a little different from recent years because of some role changes. I have had a much more hands on involvement with getting the documentation ready for our postal voters. There is a relatively small proportion of our members who do not have an e-mail address, and who have elected to vote at our AGM via post. One of my tasks has been printing, folding and sending these documents out, including the stamped addressed envelope allowing people to return their postal votes.

In the usual activities I've been editing and finalising our trustees report for the year, along with getting the other documentation together which our members vote on. These have been uploaded to our website, so anyone reading this ought be able to see them - here: https://hspgroup.org/annual-general-meeting/.

The last step in this process has been to write our covering e-mail, ask for these to be e-mailed our to all members with e-mail addresses, and advertise the details on our website and social media channels, here: https://hspgroup.org/agm-details-24th-august/. I might as well use this as another place to let people know - our AGM will be on Saturday 24th August at 10:30 (UK time) using the Zoom platform. 

Next on my AGM agenda is working out what I'm going to say during the AGM and talking with people who can share their knowledge or experience with our members in the late summer or early autumn. If any readers have things which they feel would be useful for the group to hear about, please drop me a line.

Symptoms Update - Posture and Balance

I realised (via some conversations) that my walking style has progressed to me looking down at my feet whilst I'm walking. This is not very good for my posture! I am now focussing on walking looking forward and trying to keep my posture more upright.

There are two consequences of this:

• I'm having to rely on my proprioception to ensure that my feet are picked up high enough so they clear obstacles and don't drag on the ground. I'm having to put a bit more conscious effort into walking so my legs are doing what I ask them. (instead of using visual feedback in a more automatic way)
• The change is making the muscles in my torso feel different, and I'm hoping that this is just a temporary thing whilst my body gets used to a new way of standing and walking.

On the balance front, I'm becoming more conscious that in addition to using banisters for going up and down stairs, I'm also using my hands on other things whilst walking on the level. It is likely that my balance is on the change a little, and my need to use other things for support is a reflection of this. 

A much more obvious example of changes in my balance is during Pilates. Each week I'm positioning a chair next to my mat so that I can steady myself when any standing activities require balance. This is principally whenever we're lifting one foot off the floor. My balance still seems reasonable when both feet are in contact with the ground. I'm not really needing to grab the back of the chair, its just a question of putting my hand to rest on the back of the chair.