Moon boot adjusted

Ok so now I am exactly 8 weeks post surgery. I have been wearing a boot for over a week and decided to get it adjusted so that my foot would be a little flatter. The stretches recommended by the physio has obviously done the trick because they adjusted my boot to 90 degrees.  I got a shock when I got up though. Suddenly I felt like I did 10 days ago when the boot was first fitted. Felt like I had very little strength in my foot (which is true) and it is definitely pulling.  After an hour or so I've been able to do a bit more, but I do feel vulnerable again. Still other than my physio appointment next week I don't need to go back until after Christmas now.

First viva

Still unfit for work at 7.5 weeks post surgery. Trying to do stretches 3-4 times a day. Yesterday was a PhD viva. I was the internal examiner. I decided not to cancel and to go in. Georgina dropped me off outside my building. I was surprised what a struggle everything was - I'm used to the environment at home. Still it was nice to get into my office. I sort of felt embarrassed about my situation - on crutches etc.

I had a good 10 minute walk to Engineering, this was harder than I expected. Meal with the examiner. Then viva. It took about 2.5 hours to complete. Quite tiring....but the candidate did well. It was the first time I have been the examiner of a PhD.

Afterwards my leg felt sore. Can't decide if it's the Scar tissue or tendon that's sore. So today I intend to rest at home. I want to get more mobility as soon as possible but not at the cost of coming close to injurying myself.

Monday morning- more rain

This weekend was fun. My school friends visited my village. We are all keen on board games and so I introduced Settlers of Catan to them.  It was a tough game and finally Paul won.  I should have had the edge, however, I certainly didn't have the killer instinct. You can teach a game and then wipe the floor with everyone - anyway that's what I am telling myself!!  We then went for curry and more beer. 

The next day we went to billy bobs for breakfast.  Excellent end to the boys weekend. Whilst we were doing that Isaac and Georgina were doing the Santa Fun run in Skipton. Afterwards we went to the swimming pool and the kids.  Finally we Skyped our ex au pair, Fenia, who was helping the children with German Christmas carols for school. For the weekend I had still been using crutches almost consistently. Walking in the boot feels unnatural and awkward. I've been able to do foot stretches 3 to 4 times a day using a towel around the balls of my foot. Flexibility feels like it is slowly returning. Today I felt stronger. Maybe some strength in my upper leg has returned, but this morning I spent also the entire morning without crutches and just hobbled instead.  I am hoping that I can break records in recovery and, without over doing it, get myself fit as soon as possible. I see the physio visit to being key to this.  I think I need some tall shoes so that I don't hobble quite to much. I want to avoid the limp as much as possible as I know this will be a challenge to loose later on.  For now though I rejoice in my ability to carry stuff around the house using my hands. It will be longer before I venture outdoors without crutches- I think I might get stuck somewhere!

Well I am the internal examiner for a PhD on Wednesday so better get ready for that. Georgina will be giving me a lift in.

In a Moon Boot

Yesterday the cast came off. Just short of 7 weeks. My upper body is strong and crutches almost feel like part of me when walking.  I was not sure what to expect. I had high hopes initially and then a few days ago I downgraded my expectations. The boot was fitted in the plaster room. Afterwards I headed back to see the consultant. My foot looked weird to me. The shape looked wrong. Walking felt not possible with the boot. Fear of pain, lack of strength, combination of the two? I was given another 6 weeks unfit for work note - this shocked me. I thought I'd be back to work.  I was given a physio card and I went straight to the physiotherapy department.  Very lucky for me there was a free appointment within 20 minutes of arriving. The physiotherapist was called Jess. She assessed me through questions but also a physical examination.  She commented that I had a decent amount of movement for somebody who has been in a non weight baring cast for 6 weeks.  She probably tells everyone this, but for now I'll accept it as the truth!  She gave me two exercises to do without the boot on.a) Using towel pull my foot towards me with my bottom on floor and a straight leg hold for 30s. b) Same but straight leg. I check with a friend and I should do this 3-4 times per day. Once I'm out of the boot she said we can do a lot more. My boot will be adjusted in the plaster room in two weeks (make it flatter). The aim is to have a flat foot within 4 weeks. I will also see the physio in 3 weeks. All of this seems conservative compared to what I have read on the Internet. However, I am not an athlete and at 36 maybe it takes longer to heal. Aim of this week is to get confident on my feet and get more movement in my foot.  Georgina photographed my legs. She was shocked. My muscles have wasted away in my left leg - maybe this is the reason walking is not yet possible!!!   Another suprise was that my wound had not fully healed and the pain I felt was the skin feeling tight rather than tendon (I think). So positives and negatives, I will be focusing on the positives.  Oh wow, ok so I walked (with a limp) using the boot without crutches - confidence perhaps??  Big step forward for me (literally!).

Long weekend

Georgina took Thursday and Friday off and the au pair was heading to Glasgow with her sister to meet their boyfriends. Still feeling tired after my epic couple of days of trying to improve my crutch walking skills. We decided to get out on the Thursday afternoon. The aim was to go to visit a panto with Georgina's uncle in Burnley and then travel over to my parents house.  We visited Queen Street Mill in Burnley in the afternoon. The museum looks fantastic. It's a textile mill with working looms. It has a steam engine in the upstairs. There was a mobility lift to the top which myself and Isaac travelled in. The museum was fantastic. Lots to see and do if you like this sort of thing. We have been to bancroft mill many times in the past. Bancroft is a different experience, and the focus is more on the engine - the Burnley museum is much more about the textiles and the working conditions and so on. It was two days before Halloween so they had witch school for the children. It was rather long, but thankfully the fun improved as time went on rather than the other way around.  When it ended we headed to Deno's restaurant and met Philips, his wife, and Heather. We nearly all had pizza, all good except Isaac's pizza had been forgotten. It turned out Philip ruptured his achillies 20 years ago.  He reckoned he was never put into a cast, but could not exercise for 10 months. After the meal we had coffees and headed to St. Stephens school to watch a panto. The panto was amateur in presentation but on the whole very funny. Perhaps a little long for our children. Afterwards we headed to my parents house.  We arrive just after 1030pm and got the children into bed within a short while. We slept in the campervan. Not a sound. We had a good sleep.  When we came back into the house dad was awake with the children watching TV.

We hatched a plan for the day. Swimming and then Rufford Old Hall. The kids love swimming and they must have spent nearly two hours in the pool. I had some time to talk to my mum. Dad seemed to enjoy playing with the kids. Afterwards we headed to Rufford, but stopped in Ormskirk for lunch. I got a baked potato from Morrisons. It was the smallest potato ever. 

A week of ups and downs

Last Friday I went in to outpatients to get my leg checked out. All was fine. It still looked bruised and sore as he'll when the consultant moved my foot. Overall he seemed happy with progress. A new cast went on. Fibreglass this time and I was back on crutches. Next appointment is the 27th November. The cast is lighter but feels strong, I feel more confident with this cast. I will be self injecting Fragmin until the cast comes off. I am basically off painkillers now. My wife bought me fitbit device so I have been monitoring my health over the last few days. I have been making a big effort to walk further on crutches. Yesterday I walked a total of 3.3 miles. I am proud of this, but today I ache so will be taking it easier so let my body catch up. Not sure it's a good idea to push too hard, I am meant to be allowing my achiellies tendon to heal. It is half-term so the kids are at home. For the last two days Isaac has been to an activity centre. Tilly has been swimming with the au pair, whilst I have been reviewing and sending feedback on articles.

I guess the downside is that I am still very limited in terms of mobility and have less interaction with people. Sure, people feel sorry for me etc and often offer help, but what I really need is the occasional conversation. Georgina is very busy at work and by the time she comes home and gets the children into bed she's basically done. I feel sorry about this, because it's my fault. I am they're putting the family through extra pressure. I am determined to increase my independence to help this. However, today I need to rest.

Day out

Well I was glad that the back seart had been fittted. We drove To Foot Fell in the Lakes so meet the Ridgeways and Dom and Jude. The idea was to canoe. Sadly I was in a cast so I was mainly in the van. Still getting out was better than being at home alone. The kids went into Sam's boat and Georgina went in her kayak. Beautiful scenery. After a while Dom and Jude arrive with their canoe. G convinced me to walk towards the water front, but it was a bit to far for my liking. I made it too a picnic bench where we had coffee and snacks. Afterwards Sam drove me and the little ones to the pub whilst everyone went by canoe. Couple of pints and a Sunday roast ticked all the boxes. Fully enjoyed the day. On Monday I did some reading and writing through the day. James travelled over for a game of snooker. Hopping around the snooker table was hard work. I won the first game and then James won the second with a break of 21. I was knackered. I woke this morning feeling I'd over done it. Needed pain killers at 3.30 am. Maybe that'll teach me to rest a bit more....

In cast at home

Getting around at home is not too bad. The banister annoyingly ends too soon near the half way point which makes climbing up the stairs slightly more scary than it should be.  Find myself mainly using the sofa and foot stool - most comfortable situation. The children are mostly helpful. Frustration comes when I can't stop bad behaviour or can't help with an activity which I think I should be able to do.

I can't carry cups or glasses of drinks. Need to solve this with a travel cup! The family and au pair have been great though. On Friday I went to the children's harvest service at Burnsall church with Heather. Lovely to get out, but wow it was tiring on crutches. I then went with them to the swimming pool.  They have lesson. Again, I'm not used to so much walking yet. I was knackered. Did too much. It's Sunday today and I'm still tired. I didn't know I was so unfit.

I have decided that I need to schedule out my days to include reading, writing, Uke practice, and exercise. I will start that program on Monday.

Today my family are going canoeing. I will join them ( in the van not boat!). I am looking forward to the trip out.

Final day in hospital

Ward 9 in Airedale has its routine and I had become part of it.  I had hoped that I would have been sent home a few hours after the operation, but in reality, I think the night in hospital was for the best. For one it delayed me needing to self inject fragmin (blood thinner). Breakfast was disappointing. Remember the previous day I had only eaten a pastry for breakfast then nil by mouth until maybe 8pm. The breakfast was porridge and toast with a choice of drinks.  Not particularly nice porridge either. Never mind. Painkillers where given at about 8 am.  After breakfast the consultant visited with an army of junior doctors.  Clear instruction to the staff was "Get him up." At around 9am the physio was on call.  They seemed keen to check that I will be able to manage at home.  The first task was to walk on crutches.  Given that I walked into the hospital on crutches this didn't seem too bad.  However, it was tiring. I was also feeling pain from my wound ( never had this before). Next task was to go up and down 3 steps.  I managed somewhat in clumsy fashion and the physio seemed happy that I would cope at home.  My bathroom is upstairs at home so climbing and descending stairs was important. He told me the nurse would see me.  The others in the room had various exercises to build them up to managing at home.  I felt proud of my fellow patients. They had nasty injuries and would potentially have a longer and more difficult road to recovery than I had. Time rolled by. It got to noon before the nurse told me they were waiting for medication from pharmacy to arrive before I could be discharged. That seemed fine. Lunch was chicken pie and chips with gravy.  It was ok. By 3pm I was getting fed up. I called the nurse. She said she'd get back to me. By 5pm Georgina had called the ward to find out what was happening.  At 6 pm I was finally discharged.  Heather came to pick me up.  I got wheeled to the front door by the porter. Unfortunately Heather went the wrong place and the porter had to go and find her.  Home at last!  The children drew on my cast and I could rest....

Sleeping was easy, the painkillers helped with that.  Only problem was that my dreams were nightmares induced by the strong painkillers.

Back seat

A little out of order but this was completed on the Saturday, the day of my Tendon injury....  

So at last I had a go at the back seat.  This required a red safety bar to be installed under the van.  To do this I had to remove the spare wheel and assembly.  It was easy to mark out the position of the bar.  I cut wood to size and wedged them in place to hold the bar up.  I marked out the four bolt holes and then got ready to drill.  Oh no. I don't have a big enough drill bit.  I needed a 10 mm.  That meant halting until midweek.  Georgina picked a bit up from Leeds during the week.  On the Wednesday in the pouring rain, I drilled out the holes and bolted in the red bar.  Once tight I was then able to drill upwards through the two holes in the bar, straight through the floor.  Two holes where made.  The rain was heavy and it was dark. I had a inspection light on and this helped position the seat frame over the holes in the van.  It looked snug, but the bolts went through.  Georgina was like, "It's not straight."  I was sad about that, but it was too late to do more now.  A weekend job it would be.

On Saturday morning I straightened out the seat (had a bit of play), marked out the remaining 5 holes from the top and drilled them out.  My drill bit went blunt by the 4th hole and G had to pick up another drill bit.  The nuts and usher plates were a nightmare to fit.  Took me hours to fit it.  I needed help from within the van to tighten the nuts and bolts up whilst I lay underneath in the dirt.  It took about 5 hours.

Eventually it was all on and fitted!!  Nat and Anna arrived just as I finished.  They seemed to like the seat.  Seems a bit funny because at 5'6 I cannot touch the floor with my feet.  I also think a tall person could not travel in the back!  But for us, it is perfect.  How exciting.  We now just need the units and the appliances.

Tendon back

I had a restless night, but thankfully no pain. Georgina took the day off to take me to the outpatients.  We waited no more than 15 minutes when Mr Ravindran  met me for a consultation. He explained that if the gap between the tendon and heel was small no surgery would be needed. A larger gap and it would need surgery. They arranged for the cast to come off in the plaster room. Whilst lying on my back the consultant had no doubt the gap was too big. Surgery required. I was in shock. I had still been hoping it was all a mistake.

 

I was booked into surgery that afternoon. They put a new cast on and wheeled me up to ward 14.  By 3pm I was going into theatre. Georgina said surgery was 2 hours. I remember being in the recovery room and being told I could have one pain relief pill, but another one would make me go loopy!

 

They wheeled me to ward 9 and shuffled me across to my ward bed. I was told surgery went OK. All I wanted was toast and a cup of tea.

It took a while, they wanted me to only have water, but eventually they were convinced I would not be sick. Blood samples, painkillers, and blood pressure tests where made throughout the rest of the evening.  Eventually I was allowed toast and a yogurt with a nice cup of tea. Last pain killers came at 11pm and then it was time to sleep.  I was tried but sleeping was not easy on a ward.

I spent a lot of the night listening to the radio using Georgina's phone- I tended to drop off during these shows.  I was surprised by how little pain I felt, but then I was on a cocktail of painkillers.  I refrained from getting up and used only bottles for passing water.

Tendon gone

Sam was short of players for his new Sunday league. I've never been a great footballer but enjoy a kick around. Went to Skipton to buy some boots, socks, shorts, and shim pads. Felt nervous but good. Sam collected me at 1725 ready for 1830 kick-off. The team had been named the half-time oranges. We had a good warm up, passing the ball around, occasion shot at goal. Once Tony arrived we were only short of one player. So one of the lads from the other team played for us. We were a primary school dad's team, they were a pub team. Both joined the league at the last minute.

I played on the right. It work quite well. I occasionally found space. I even had a shot but never really connected. By the end of the first half I was knackered. We had no subs. I think the score was 0-0 and we'd had the better chances.

We lost a goal right at the beginning of the 2nd half.  Maybe 10 minutes into the second half I found myself near the goal area withheld ball out wide. Suddenly I felt a pain in the back of my left leg. The ball must have been drilled into my leg, I thought. I fell and then picked myself up but then fell again.  I dragged myself to behind the goal line. I was in pain. I was still trying to get myself fit to go back on and help out.  I even walked back on and hoped I could help evening I could not run. It was too bad and I came off again. The game ended 3-3. I was in pain, but it was suggested that we go for a pint. That felt like a good idea.

When I got home my leg had swollen up. I had ice, then a cold bath, then a gin and tonic. The next day I had a course in Skipton. I worked out I could drive using my heal on the clutch. I phoned the doctors and got a call back. They suspected a ruptured tendon and that I should come in.  I headed over. The GP quickly identified it as a ruptured achiellies tendon and told me to go to casualty. I got a taxi and was a pound short for the fare.  Within 2 hours they had diagnosed my ruptured tendon and had put me in a cast. I had an appointment for the next day at 10am. Heather (mother-in-law) drove me home. I was on crutches and by now was feeling very sorry for myself.

Campervan (in the making) summer

Last May we bought a Vw T5 panel van. We had a crazy idea that we would get a van converted within a couple of weeks and spend our summer vacation luxury camping (well compared to camping in our tent it is). Bizarrely, since Fenia (our ex au pair) was visiting we were determined that we would have a campervan ready so that we could have weekends away.  The van was great albeit a panel van that had been previously a works van. But at only 3 years old, we felt it would have lots of life. We drove around many fitters and invested a lot of time figuring out how to go about the conversation. It soon became apparent that there was two problems. A) the waiting time for the fitters to fit our van and B) the cost was escalating beyond what we felt was sensible. We stopped and thought for quite some time. The van remained a panel van.....