Ok, so it's 6 months, just over since my frame came off...  Have i made a full recovery?  In a lot of ways i have, but, i still can't jog for very long without excessive pain.  Having said that, it is getting better and i am sure this will eventually go away.

When the frame came off i was still limping due to pain etc...  This lead to a back ache which is still there today.  I have been to a Chiropractor and to be fair, she has really helped put me back in line.  I can walk without a limp now, so hopefully that will fade away too.

In terms of excercise, i use the cross trainer at the gym, swimming is no issue and walking long distance is fine.  I put on quite a bit of weight while i was laid up and so now i am working towards losing a stone or two and doing the above excercises is no problem.

The surgeon is confident i will make a full recovery and play football again, should i wish to do so...  When my frame was fitted, the surgeon took a peice of my fibular away.  This never healed and so is in two peices...  He says that it will not cause me any pain going forward.  However, i can confirm that it does...  It's hard to explain, but, it does.  I only hope that it fades with time too.

All in all, considering ther injury that i had and the fact that it wouldn't heal...  I think i have made a good recovery.  I only wish i had gone for the frame option when i first did it. 

I am in the process of updating this site and i have a couple of peoples cases and pics to upload...  If you would like to contribute to the site in any way, please email me and i will sort it out.

If you are reading this wearing a frame...  I wish you all the best and hope that you find this site useful.

Bye for now,

Dave :-)

Ok, its now approx 14 weeks since i had my frame put onto my lower left leg...  It feels like it was a lot longer than 14 weeks though...  However, yesterday, i had the frame removed!

I was at the hospital 7:30am and by 8:30am, i was on my way to theatre...  By 10.00 am, i was just waking up ith a cast on my leg...  This time i told the anesitist about my problems when the frame was put on...  They gave me less morphine and so the problem was solved.  However, the pay off was the fact that the leg did ache quite a bit.  To be honest, this was preferable to being sick, struggling to breath etc...  At 3.30pm, my father arrived to collect me and take me home.  It was all a bit of a blur really.

I had 6 large pins screwed well into my tibia and the consultant said that when he removed them, it was like they had been welded in!  I have a half cast on with bandages wrapped thickly around it.  The plaster is only on the back, side and underneath the foot, so, the bandages are soaking up all the blood.  Having said that, the blood was dripping out of my heal last night.  It has dried now though.  The cast and bandages will remain in place until a week tomorrow (10 days) and then, nothing!!!  Although, i may still need one crutch...  Not for long though.

During the last 14 weeks, i have gone from not walking, to a zimmer frame, crutches, then one crutch and finally walking without a crutch at all!  I have had three pin site infections, but, they didn't really cause any issues.  I took the antibiotics and all was fine...  My emotions have been a bit like a rollacoaster during this time, i can honestly say that i have found it hard.  However, i have made a point of getting out and about to pubs, restaurants, gigs and friends etc...  I also got on the National Express to visit family in Yorkshire, just before xmas.  I think it's really important to keep active.  In an ideal world, i would have gone back to work but they wouldn't make an adjustment to my role...  I have been getting paid though, so it's their loss....  ;-)

Now it's just over a week of rest while the holes in my leg heal and then on to the physio to get myself walking again!  Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

It feels like i am nearly there...  Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me over the lasy few weeks.

Happy New Year!

Wow doesn't time fly...  This entry will bring things upto date. 

The main reason for not blogging earlier is because not a hell of a lot happens unless you get an infection or something...  As you know i had an x-ray @ 4weeks which was good, but i wasn't due for another until week 9.  Another reason, is also because if i am honest, i was feeling a bit down.  I think it was finally getting to me...  I was diagnosed with a second infection at week 5 and only now have i just finished another couse of antibiotics for infection number 3.

And now for....  Great News!

The infections are clearing up, i can walk now without crutches...  Not too far and not without pain, but i can do a couple of hundred meters!  Now, one of my challenges is to remember to pick up at least one crutch before i leave the house! ;-)  Even better news than that...  I saw the consultant last week and he was pleased with progress and said he will take the frame off on 2nd Jan 2008!!!!!  Honestly, if i had won the lottery, i wouldn't have been as pleased as i was when i heard him say those words.  2nd Jan, what a start to the new year...  I will go into plaster for 2 weeks, but then thats it!  Back to physio to ensure i start walking properly and next stop...  Half marathon!  (i hope)

So, weeks 4-9 have been a bit like a rollercoaster, but, it has been worth it.  It's now actually week 10 and my leg is getting stronger all the time.  Also, the swelling is not as bad, so i can stay with my leg in a itting position etc for a lot longer...  It does evenyually swell, but not for about 4 hours...  Life is still a way of normal, but it feels like i can see the finish line.  By the time it comes off it will have been 15 weeks, but, that is better than 20!

What else?  Hmmmm, well mentally, i feel like me again.  A massive thank you to my friends out there who have stuck with me (u know who u r) and obviously my family who have been great too!  A word of warning though...  Don't go sailing with a frame on...  Boats are just not designed for it!  I had a hard time this weekend with my dad on his boat, although, it was a great change of scene.

Ok, so i don't see the surgaon until i go in for the op and i have my next dressing change tomorrow, that will give me a chance to get rid of any infections etc...  I will be blogging before xmas because something is bound to happen.  However, for now, a big thanks to everyone and anyone who is following my progress and also, if you are in a similar position...  I would like to wish you lots of luck!

Thanks again.

Following an infection detected last friday, i was called in to see the consultant today, to check up and have an x-ray.  The xray showed that no infection had got into the bone and he was happy that the antibiotics are working as the area around the pins are not as sensitive as they were last friday.  Further, the infection was just a standard one and not MRSA.  However, the really good news was that the bone is definately starting to heal.  In fact, it looks further along than 4 weeks, which is great news!! 

This probably the best news about my leg i have heard in over a year...  To celebrate, i think i will have the last peice of lemon tart in the fridge!!!  ;-)

It was only 2 days ago when i saw the surgeon, but, when i had my dressings changed this morning, it was clear that the three pin sites around the ankle were infected...  I had felt saw all week to be fair, but because i had been walking a little further at the weekend, it was put down to that.  It's like a stinging sensation around the pin sites and when we uncovered them today, the area was swollen and red.  It looked very angry and was tender to the touch. 

I have been prescribed Flucloxicilin (i think that's right)...  2 caps 4 x per day.  I hope that is enough to clear it up, because i have had a major infection in the past that meant i had to have it debrided.  Not nice trying to grow back the skin and it must have taken nearly 6 months to do it.

Needless to say, today is not the best day of the week.  But, hopefully i am going to be back on the mend soon.

Boooo....

Well, today started great as last night i did something i didn't think i eould be able to...  I went to see Starsailor play a gig in my local town Northampton.  I rang ahead to the venue to tell them  about my leg and they were really good!  They let me and 3 friends into the VIP area where we sat and i was even able to elevate my leg!  I left there feeling better than when i arrived!  I thought i might feel a bit awkward due to wearing a pair of sports shorts, but, i didn't at all...  It was a great gig too.

Anyway, this morning i awoke really early and then just tossed and turned for ages before getting up.  My leg has been a bit sore and i wanted to not take any pain killers so that i could explain the pain properly to the consultant.  When i saw him, he just asked me about how i had been getting along.  So, i told him...  Things had been getting better everyday until this week when it started to get painful.  He didn't seem overly concerned and is convinced that it is not infection, which is good.  Apparantly, it is the 6 and 10 week xrays that are the critical ones to decide whether it is healing properly or not.  So, today was more about finding out how i am coping with it etc...  And, to be honest, i think i have coped well and a lot of that is thanks to family and friends...  He is still happy for me to walk for 20-30 mins a day and said to be guided by my body, in terms of pain.  He has signed me off for another 3 weeks but i will be doing some work from home as of tomorrow...

I will go for a walk later and then get things set up so i can work more easily from home...  I am booked in for another dressing change on friday and hopefully the nurse will confirm that there seems to be no infection.

For three weeks down the road i think i have made great progress:

I can limp around the kitchen without a crutch, i can walk for 20-30 minutes on crutches no problem and i have even been out to see a band!  Things are definately better than i expected them to be after 3 weeks.

Thanks for keeping up with my progress... 

Today is the second time that i have had my pin sites redressed and cleaned etc...  This was absolutely painless and very quick.  In terms of progress, i can shuffle around my kitchen now without my crutches, so making food is not a real hardship.  Swelling is the issue...  Unless i am walking on crutches, my leg just swells.  So, if i do cook some food, i can't really spend more than an hour on my feet, otherwise it just gets painful.

I am walking for approximately 20 minutes daily now and luckily the weather has been really nice so i have really enjoyed it.  I think i am ready to step it up again now, but, i will do it week by week, so as not to push too hard, too soon.  In myself, i feel as strong as i need to be mentally.  I make a point of going out to the supermarket or even a pub for a quick drink, just to desensitize myself against people who stare at my leg.  I recently went to the local shop where a few teenagers were hanging out...  I know it sounds stupid, but, i felt really awkward as they clearly just couldn't take their eyes off the frame.  I didn't say anything, but, i think it is better when some one talks to me about the leg, rather than just stare at it, it's rude!

So in two weeks, i have gone from not walking, to walking 20 minutes a day on crutches...  I can get around on one crutch in the house and as i said, i am now shuffling around the kitchen without any crutches, So, i think or at least feel, like i am making great progress.  

My boss will be coming around on Tuesday and hopefully i can get some real direction in my life again by agreeing some kind of way that i can work from home on a full time basis.  Not sure when this will start from, as i don't see the consultant until Wednesday.  I hope he confirms how i'm feeling...  In terms of progress.

That's it for now...  Time is flying by, which is good....  Roll on Wednesday!

;-)

Just over a week since the operation and things are coming on nicely...  My mum is looking after me and i am getting around a lot more with my crutches...  Today was the first dressing change and at the same time, the nurse took out all the stitches from my knee and lower leg where the fibular was cut.  It was not very painful, i have to say...  It did sting a little when she took out the stitches (staples), but the actual cleaning of the pin sites etc was fine.  Within an hour, i was done and dusted and sent home again.

Over the last week, i have felt better each day and the pain is getting less.  Getting a full nights sleep is getting easier now.  In bed i have a quilt doubled over, which, i put my leg up on during the night.  It's not very high but it's obviously high enough because any swelling has always subsided by the morning.  Not sure what else has happened really...  To be fair, when you have someone doing everything for you, you don't really push yourself, so, it will be interesting next week as my mum won't be here, so, i will have to do everything myself.  I also want to start walking for a period of time on a daily basis.  I have a circuit that i think will take me about 20 minutes to complete, so, i think this will be a great place to start...

I guess that's it for now..

My operation was Wednesday and today is Saturday...  I have just been let home and my friends came and collected me. I couldn't wait to come home, but, now reality is setting in i think.  The last few days have been strange really...  Getting used to standing with the frame on, then taking a few steps with a zimmer frame to then getting onto crutches, so, i can get around at home.  When i first stood up, it felt so weird, i thought my leg might just collapse under me!  The zimmer didn't feel too safe either...  Anyway, by this morning, i was up and aout on crutches no problem.  I need pain killers, but, i have to say it's not as painful as i thought it might be...  I have been sent home with some tramadol (strong painkillers), which make me drowsy, so, i will try and only take them on a night to try and get a full nights sleep.  I have to say that while i have been in hospital, i don't seem to have slept much...  Luckily, i took a laptop with me and on it i had the first series of Hereos, so, no matter what time it was, i could watch an episode.  Reading was hard because for the first couple of days it felt like my eyes were just going around in circles!  Not in a good way, i might add.

I am glad to be home and i am also very lucky because my mum is currently on her way from Halifax in Yorkshire to come and look after me for a week.  It will be nice to have the company and especially nice not to have to worry about food etc..

Not much else i can say at this stage...

Well, yesterday was hard work...  All started well to be fair, i was picked up by the taxi at 06:30am to go into the hospital.  When i got there i was shown to my room and told to get settled in and the nurse/consultant will be in shortly.  To cut a long story short, all was well and i understood fully what was about to happen.  I had a walk around the room for one last time and then it was time to go to theatre.  Weird, because they made me walk there...  By 10:10am, i was under and the next time i looked at the clock it was 14:05pm.  So, i had been under for quite a while and it is all a bit of a blur really.  However, when i got back to the room i was struggling to get enough air in.  I was on oxygen and all the indications were saying that i was fine, but, i felt like i just could not get a breat in at all...  To make matters worse, the morphine made me want to sleep, but, one of the side affects of morphine is sleep apnea (won't be spelled correct).  This meant that when i tried to sleep, i woke up straight away because i stopped breathing...  This was a bit of a nightmare because at the time, i didn't really know what was going on.  In summary, the longer you are under, the worse you feel afterwards.  Even when it was all over, i didn't feel that amazing until i was eventually sick...  Once that happened, i felt great, considering.

My parents came to visit just as i was being sick...  Once i sorted myself out, i explained that the frame i had been fitted with was actually smaller than i was expecting.  The surgeon had told me he was putting 2 rings above and 2 rings below the fracture site.  There were also going to be wires that went all the way through the muscle and bones...  Basically, when i was on the operating table, they had flexed my leg and it was stronger than they expected.  For this reason, they opted for a smaller set up...  This consits of 3 screws per ring.  Whether this means i won't have to wear it as long is still a mystery and we will just have to see how things pan out.

In summary:  It's not nice having an operation but it's great when your family come by to cheer you up...

I am lucky i guess that i have had time to prepare for this operation...  Having said that, i am starting to feel a little nervous now.  Whilst i have been living a life of daily pain as i try to go about my business, right now it seems better that than spend 5 to 6 months in a TSF.  However, this will hopefully get me back to being able to walk properly and hopefully run again...  That would be fantastic!  When i could run, i never really appreciated it.  That meant i seldom did run, although i have completed the great north run twice a few years ago.  I think that would be a good target...  If i can eventually run a half marathon again, then, i will be able to say i made a full recovery.

Well, it's late now because my partner is away so i have been trying to get the house tidy and ready for when i get back on crutches...  I will sign off.

See you on the other side then.