The angel with 'warm hands'.

This afternoon there was an unexpected ring on the door bell – and as I had not been expecting anyone a quick peep from the window showed it to be one of the ladies from the village. So without more ado – I welcomed her and we sat for a while chatting about ‘this that and the price of fish’ as one does during unexpected visits.

But she kept looking at my hands – clearly she was curious - and she finally plucked up the courage to ask “Do you have problems with your hands? Are they painful?” Well it wouldn’t take a genius to realise this as my wrists are swollen and on the back of both hands between my index fingers and second fingers there has been a swelling for some time - that my GP puts down to ‘using the computer’….. The swellings aren’t painful, but a little unsightly, but I also have (and have had for a number of years) a stiff neck and shoulder. So much so that I do find it difficult to turn my head to the left without pain and if someone holds my shoulder at the top I will yelp from the pain.

This was caused, I believe, when I took my son (then aged about eight) on a fast carousel – a bit like this one here, but with the ‘buckets’ alternating with two-seater motorcycles, one of which my son 'just had to go on!

This went very fast and I had to hang on, not just to me, but to him too… long story short – I damaged the muscles in my arm and shoulder. Within an hour my shoulder was twice the normal size. Visit to the doctor told me I was right – torn shoulder muscles “Put this cream on it and it will get better…..” he said. So I did and it did seem to. But over the years it has continued to give me some pain.

Now the reason I’m telling you this is that this neighbour ‘told me’ that I had injured my shoulder (?????) and that though I did have some arthritis, a lot of my problems were with the nerves and tendons in my shoulder, arms and hands! There she is sitting on my pouffe next to me and holding one of my hands. That was when she started to ‘rub’ my forearm very hard with her fingers, which seemed very hot, and suddenly I felt a searing pain and literally ‘yelped’…. “Ah” she says “there’s ONE of the problems, now let’s find the others!”

She then explained that she would have to start at the top of the arm and she dug her fingers into my shoulder! Well I didn’t yelp this time – I damned nearly hit the ceiling!!! Geez – that really hurt… But she continued with this kind of massage and I could actually FEEL the pain easing. After nearly an hour of this she said it would be best to rest now and she would come back in a few days to continue working on the ‘inflammation’ that I had in my one shoulder and both arms. But in just that hour the swelling on my left hand has almost disappeared and I can now turn my head more that I have done for at least thirty years. She reckons that given a bit of time it will be back almost to normal. Both hands and fingers feel so much freer than for sometime and far less tender/painful to the touch……

Honest it was like a miracle. I have heard of people with these powers but have never believed, or disbelieved, in them. But after today I’m really not so sure. After the session we had, as we always do when she visits, a nice cup of English tea, and she refused me flat when I offered to pay her for what she had done. We arranged that she would come back on Tuesday afternoon – so, fingers crossed there might be some more improvement!

She did 'let slip in conversation that she had tasted some 'Grand Marnier' and liked it, so I think for starters, at the very least, a bottle of that next Tuesday will be in order.