Country by Camper

Good news, I’ve woken up feeling much better, more positive and the ache in my hamstring has lessened.  I am going to make sure I don’t do anything too quickly today.  Almost laughing at myself for being so down yesterday.  The wounds were not so bad this morning either.  So, onwards and upwards.   Let’s see what today brings.

Well it was a pretty non-event day.  I have been moving slowly, making sure I take proper steps and putting the weight through my knee, but very sloooowwwlllyyyyy.   Had just paracetamol today, no pain killers until bed time.  So all looking up.  Just got to get used to the pace.

Day 6 and my leg is constantly throbbing.   I can still walk on it, but it is tired and I am very AWARE of it.  I am not too frustrated yet, although I had a little kip today, and twitched.  It over-stretched my hamstring and the pain ripped right through it, damn twitches.   I’m going to be scared to sleep with no pain killers.  I admit to feeling a bit sorry for myself after that one, springing a few tears, not because of the pain but more the shock.  I think I will be back on my crutches for the rest of the afternoon.

Sometimes I feel like the lower part of my leg has been put back on slightly wonky.  I think it is just from the swelling. Bizarre feeling.  And early this morning I woke with my bed covers rubbing my wounds, so I had to pop a pain killer to get back to sleep.  Day 6 has been the worst day for me.  Crossing my fingers it doesn’t get any worse, although I can’t say that I am entirely uncomfortable or in constant pain, and when I hear other horror stories, like “I couldn’t stand for two weeks”, I think I am a lucky girl really.

I am getting better at the Phase 1 exercises.  The biggest difference I’ve noticed is with number 6 – Knee Bends Standing.  I can get my foot right up level with my knee now, but that does take a LOT of effort and the leg is tired afterwards.  The morning set I do is not as good as the midday one.  I think that is obvious.

However, after the ‘hamstring stretch’ this afternoon, my exercises tonight just hurt.  My foot barely lifting off the floor.  And will the dull ache of the last stretch, I had another little fit over spilling some boiling water.  I kind of ‘jumped’ out of the way of it pouring down my leg, and over stretched my hamstring again.  I have just got to learn to do things slowly.  I had a little hissy fit on my own in the kitchen, then gave up, took some pain killers, and went to bed early feeling deflated.

I am now able to slowly, and carefully, walk around the house without my crutches.  I am getting tired quickly but I am continuing my exercises, and my energy levels are increasing.

As the knee comes out of the final stages of numbness the stabbing pain of the wounds has increased slightly, but it is easily bearable.   My leg is still slightly swollen and it now feels like I have a tight bandaged wrapped around the knee area, which is uncomfortable.

I am still frequently taking the paracetamol, but have only been taking 3-4 pain killers a day, as oppose to 8 in the hospital.  I take 50mg of Doclofenac Sodium at night to reduce the swelling, and am injecting my stomache with fragmin to keep my blood thin.

Checking Wounds for Infection

The hospital gave me some dressings to change the wounds every 3 days, and the first was due today, so I did took off the old dressings and checked that it wasn’t infected.   Signs of a local infection would be redness, heat, soreness, pus or foul odour.  A small amount of redness on the edge of a wound is normal, whilst it is healing.  If you have any signs of infection you should go straight to your GP.

Taking the old dressings off was not as painful as I was expecting.   Mine are modern, thin, adhesive dressings and they come off fairly easily.  Even the parts that were stuck to my butterfly stitches were easy to remove and did not pull.

I think (I hope) I am clear of any infection – it was one of my main concerns.

Redressing the Wounds

When redressing the wounds make sure you wash your hands and dry them well beforehand, or wear gloves to avoid getting any germs in the wound. Do the re-dressing in a clean atmosphere, not out in the dust!  I was advised to clean AROUND the area and not to touch the butterfly stitches.  Make sure the area is dry before re-applying the dressing.  I have made sure there are no holes between my skin and the dressing, in which germs can enter.

You should not get these dressings directly wet but they will stop most water coming through.

I’ve booked my appointment to have my stitches out, which is about 11 days from surgery.

So apart from dreaming I can use my knee as normal, and having spasmodic attacks of running or jumping in my sleep, all is well . . .

I had a month until my surgery on NHS, and everything was organised.  I was to move out of my rented accommodation and back to my parents house in a small village in the Cotswolds, as post op you need to be with someone that can care for you.  In a way, even at 30 I was always happy to go back home and start saving for my travels anyway.  It ‘s a bit bizarre, but swallow your pride and get on with it.

As it happens the NHS phoned me and told me my op had been bought forward, and was in 2 days time.   Nice one.  So with two full days of work, plus two hours of fire drill (training) to fit in, I had a whole room to move 20 miles.  But I did it!  10pm, night before the operation I am settled back in my childhood home.

I was due in to the Nuffield Hospital, Oxford at 7.30am.  Traffic at that time is always bad and there was a blip of  ’Oh my god we’re gonna be late’ … but we arrived on time and I was told I would be in surgery first.

What to Take

I had bought two full bags of “stuff” with me.  Ridiculous. I am not particularly vain or precious, but I kept thinking – what if I need that?  I’m telling you now, you will be put into one of the hospital robes and you will not come out of it until you leave.

I hope I will help with a list of things to take (obviously this is a girls take on things, but it should help lads too).

• Slippers
• Dressing Gown
• Sweets
• A Sugary Drink
• A Lunch Pack
• Baby Wipes (a GOD send)
• Tissues (although my hospital supplied a lot)
• Dry Shampoo
• Knickers/Pants – (see below)
• Mirror
• Hair Brush (and a clip to keep your fringe back)
• Deodorant
• Something light to walk out of there with
• Books/Magazines

I obviously took things like moisturiser as well, but the above I really appreciated.

It was nil by mouth from 12 midnight and I was lucky as my operation was a 9am.  When I woke up I was hungry and the snack box I was given was not enough to fill up this active 6 foot bird, so the sandwiches and crisps I took were well appreciated.  You also feel a bit weak after the general anaesthetic, so feeding yourself up was key for me.

Going under General Anaesthetic

They popped me straight into a hospital robe, which awkwardly does up at the back, and gave me a DVT sock for my ‘good’ leg.  Put this on like you would a small child (roll it all up, pop it over your toes and then pull) and it’ll be easy.   Looking extremely attractive, I answered a series of questions, to check I was me and they were getting the correct leg, before being wheeled off in my bed, down long corridors and met by a team of anaesthetists.

Going under general was one of the things I was most worried about.  When it came to it, I was quite relaxed about the op, but I worried I was going to have a panic attack before they got me under and I’d flail around, knocking out an anaesthetist or two with my long gangly arms.  But the anaesthetists at the Nuffield were a dream.  The minute you’ve realised who they are, they’ve got you laughing and then you’re out of it, quicker than I could click my fingers.  I thought it would be like a cartoon where everything goes dreamy.  But no.  There’s just NOTHING.

Waking Up

I hardly remember waking up, but again, I was relaxed.  There was no pain, my leg was numb from the thigh down.  You are babied into coming back into the real world.   Somehow I knew where I was, and there were a number of post-op people in the same room as me, led in beds all around the outside of the room.  The room was totally white and being a bit spaced out it was extremely surreal.   I was there for a couple of hours, lack of beds, same old story, and I heard some complain about this.  But I was looked after, I was relaxed and I had nothing to moan about.  I couldn’t contact anyone, but hey, it was quite nice not to think for a while.

I didn’t feel sick from the general, although I know some do.

Bed Pans

My second biggest concern was the dreaded bed pan.  I had planned out my strategy, with a bit of warning from a friend.   Down here I had a triangle above my head on which I could lift my weight.   The bed pad is literally like a toilet seat, with a sloped front so they can slip it underneath you.  With my good leg I lifted myself up, and this is why you can wear nothing but the hospital robe, and the nurse slips the thing right underneath you, so you can’t be shy.  And to be honest, at this point, you gotta go.  Two pieces of advice: get on it properly before you start to go and get everything out of the way.  Secondly, don’t fill it too much.   My technique was to get the bed nice and low, low enough to get my good leg on the floor, then it was easy.  Have your tissue/baby wipes ready. No worries.

Magic Knickers

My mum sewed me the best knickers you can imagine.  I told her I would like some thing that I could just open up on one side, so I did not have to put them over my knee.  She cut down the left side of a couple of old, comfy pairs and then sewed in some velcro.  They were BRILLIANT!!

On the Ward

Up on the ward I was made comfortable.  My leg was not hurting and I thought I had just sailed through it.  Quite laughable really. They’d numbed the nerves in my leg.  Be warned those nerves WILL start to wake up.  So do take the pain killers when they tell you.  All in all, it wasn’t the bad experience I had planned in my head.   It was a gradual process.

Going Home

One night in hospital was enough for me.  I didn’t mind being there but I was deprived of sleep with constant beeps, toilet stops and some snoring; I was knackered.  So I did all the exercises the physio’s had given to me properly and regularly, rested a lot and gradually got myself to sitting without feeling dizzy. You will be surprised how hard it is just standing after being led up that long.   I had to prove the following;

• I could do all Phase 1 exercises (see below)
• My knee would bend to an almost 90° angel
• I was able to walk safely with crutches
• I was safe to go up and down stairs on crutches
• My ‘carers’ were happy (luckily I have amazing parents)

Phase 1 Exercises

I plan to be really good in doing all the ‘phase 1′ exercises the physios  have given me to do.  I want to get back on my bike, board, running and kickboxing ASAP!  These are the exercises given to ME, yours may be very different.  Please consult your doctor/physio first, I do not want to responsible for making you worse off.

Phase 1 Exercises should be done on a hard surface, like a bed, and completed 3 times a day for 5-10 minutes 3 times day, rather than one long session.  Phase 1 Exercises include the following;

1. Calf Exercises.   With a straight leg, move the foot up and down from the ankle to maintain good circulation in the leg
2. Extension exercises.  Fully straighten your leg, and your knee.  To help the knee go straighter, tighten the front thigh muscle (quadriceps) in this position.  Pull your foot towards your face and at the same time brace your knee down to the floor. Hold for 5 – 10 seconds.  Do up to 5 times.
3. Knee Bends.  With feet bent up, slide foot up and down the surface, bending and straightening knee
4. Static Hamstring Exercises.  With knee bent to about 30° from fully straight push the heel into the floor.  Hold for 5-10 seconds.  Do up to 5 times.
5. Thigh Co-contraction Exercises.  Put a rolled up blanket or towel under your knees.  Push your heel down onto the floor and, now keeping that pressure, push your knee down on to the pillow.  No knee movement should occur.  Hold for 5 – 10 seconds.  Do up to 5 times.
6. Knee Bends Standing.  Stand upright, bend your operated knee bring your heel to your bottom.  Lower the foot slowly back to the floor.

I must admit, it is day 3 and I am finding 6 difficult.  I get my foot up to calf height.

Walking with Crutches

There are, would you believe, ways you should and shouldn’t do things.  These are things I have listened to, I want to look after my injury and the rest of my body, avoiding twisting incorrectly.

Walking:  This involves both crutches going first, then your bad foot, now your good foot.   Small steps.  And I have been advised to take some weight with the bad leg, so it starts to get used to being used.

Stairs:  The way to remember how to takel stairs is ‘Good leg to heaven, bad leg to hell’.  On the way up good leg goes first, then both crutches, then the bad leg.  On the way down bad leg goes first, then both crutches, then the good leg.  It is simple really, but took a day to become natural.

When getting up from sitting, use your crutches.  Put the handles together so they are doubled up and push down on them.    Never have your elbows in the elbow holders when getting up and down, as you will hurt your back.

Tired

So even on day 3 prepare to be able to get around, but tired.  I keep having to rest and usually I am up and around all day with a couple of hours of exercise and a full days work.

Hope I have helped.