Racing

The loose screw has been removed.

Yesterday morning I was rushing around trying to get a van to it's MOT (don't ask) but it wouldn't start, so dropped the mate who was helping to his place, where he offered tea and biccies. He was just making the brew, and I'd scoffed a Jaffa Cake, when I had a sudden "The Scream" moment and remembered my fast instructions - nothing after 8am. It was a little past 9am.

So, I went into the hospital at midday, and when the aneathetist came to see me I sheepishly explained about the errant Jaffa Cake. He checked his watch, pulled his chin, and then decided that while it almost certainly wouldn't be a problem, they'd bump me from first on the list to second, just to be safe. So, I went down to theatre about 3:15, and was back in my room watching Obama's inaugauration by 4:30. Got picked up about 7pm, home to an evening meal, watched TV til 11pm, then bed. No pain, no aches.

The following morning I felt amazingly chipper, and had no pain at all. In fact, I think I have less discomfort than before the op, perhaps showing that the offending screw was having more effect that I thought.

Modern medical science is pretty good, innit.

I know I signed off with my last post, but this addendum was too good to let go.

At my appointment in December, the consultant noted that the lower of the two screws that are holding the femoral nail in place had unwound itself a turn or two. He said this was unlikely to get worse, but if it did it would require intervention. A couple of weeks ago I started getting a very sharp pain when straightening the leg quickly, and there was a noticeable bump on the side of my knee, so I brought my next appointment forward by a few weeks, and, sure enough, the screw is continuing to try and get out. This is what it looks like:

The head of the screw should be flush with the bone, apparently. So, tomorrow I'm back under the knife to have the screw removed. I asked if it could be done under a local, to which the consultant replied "I tried that once - it wasn't very pleasant for the patient". So, it's another general anaesthetic for me, although this time it's such a small procedure that I'll only be under for a short period, and not even kept in overnight - in at midday, home at 8pm.

The good news is that the femur is continuing to grow new bone in the gaps. Here's the latest xray from last Tuesday:

The new bone growth above the nail has increased, and now there's some below the nail too. Which is all good news, and is why the offending screw can be removed, as it's not required any more.

So - over the years it's occasionally been suggested that I might have a screw loose, and now it's official! But at least I'm having it removed.

Today was a big day

Regular readers will know that in my last update I'd got so I could walk across a room without a stick, and was thinking about fishing my motorcycle out of the garage. In fact, I went so far as to see whether it would start on Thursday, but the battery was flat, so I put it on charge.

In the few days since my last physio, my right leg has been gaining more strength - this morning I managed to walk up a flight of stairs without use of stick or banister - so I decided today was the day.

With a freshly charged battery the bike burst into life and settled down to an even tickover. I'd put leathers trews and my winter jacket on to counter the cold, so was slightly ungainly, and it wasn't the easiest thing to swing my leg over the saddle, but once done I could easily put my right foot on the peg, and also balance the bike using my right leg.

Deep breath, clutch in, select gear, a few revs, clutch out - and I was riding my bike, 6 months and 28 days after the crash! The roads were wet, greasy and very cold (~4 deg C) so I was very cautious anyway, but it felt very natural, and after just a couple of minutes I felt right at home. I found a straight clear bit of road, and cracked it through 3rd to 5th gears, and attained a pleasingly stimulating speed. And there was also a point when the front wheel appeared to come off the ground too. I couldn't keep the grin off my face.

This blog has to end at some time, and this might be the best point. There's a bit more physio to do before my leg is fully functional, but hopefully this is just a matter of time and work. And I may have another operation on my hand next year to get full dexterity and movement back (although it's more than 95% functional now). But otherwise, I'm fairly close to being recovered.

So I just want to say that I really wouldn't have got here without the enormous amount of help and support that I've received. All the numerous messages, the visits in hospital and to home, the DVDs sent when I was stuck in a wheelchair - it all made a difference, guys. And, of course, my parents played a huge part when I was first out of hospital, initially looking after me, and then fetching shopping and ferrying me to appointments when I could't drive. And, of course lastly, I must pay tribute to my girlfriend Fiona, who has been by my side from the day after the accident, and provided such a huge amount of pratical and emotional support during the last 6+ months. Thanks, Fi. Love you.

And with that, our hero rode off into the sunset...

...means a happy patient.

I went to see my physio today, and she had me doing all sorts of things.

She assessed my progress by asking me to walk across the gym area without a stick at all. I can do this, for a shot distance, but it's pretty ugly - the muscles in my right leg just don't have the strength or control yet. So then I was set up between the parallel bars with an aerobics step, and did heel lifts, and step-ups (with a little support from my arms). It felt quite amazing to be doing 'real' exercise with my right leg.

Then I was stood on the wobble board, and had to balance - this develops fine sensitivity and motor control in the nerves and muscles, both of which will have deterioated due to inactivity. And while doing this, Louise made me catch and throw a ball. Apparently my balance is extremely good - better than some who've not broken their legs.

Reading back on this, it doesn't sound like much, but believe me, it felt great - it feels like I'll be walking normally really quite soon.

I might ride my motorbike round the block this afternoon...

Today was the day - 9 weeks and 5 days after the bone graft operation on my femur, today they took a new xray to see if the fracture is repairing.

And it is!

It's not completely there yet, but there's definitely new bone growth in the gaps - you can see a mass of shadow around the top, and bits of shadowy new bone elsewhere:

The consultant wants to see me again in 8 weeks, and told me that I was OK to put 100% of my weight on the leg. He also said that if I overdid it, any pain was likely to show up during the night (i.e. not at the time), so to be careful and take things gradually.

Another thing he noted was that I have a screw loose - the lower screw retaining the nail above the knee has worked out a bit. He's not bothered about it unless it gets worse and starts to cause me some pain

So then I hobbled down to physio, and practised walking with one stick. It seems that in the past 6 months my body has developed a distinct list to port to protect the right leg, and I actually found it hard to walk upright with even weight distribution. And, although the muscles in my leg look ok, they're very weak - after 15 mins of walking on the leg (still using one stick), the muscles were fatigued and threatening to fold up under me. But the muscle strength should come back quickly, especially as I'll be having physio twice a week between now and Christmas.

Anyway, I'm a bloody happy chap :-)