I have a feeling that mine are quite long, even though I've been omitting various snippets of information, and a lot of the memories that swirl around my head! I guess as this is my blog I can make the posts as long as I like, so I'm going to include some of those memories here, in no particular order, as they come to me.
1. I had to wait a little while at Briancon hospital before my arm was set in plaster because a man had been caught in an avalanche and was being brought in, so they needed to keep staff available (from what I gathered, he didn't have any broken bones or serious injury when he arrived).
2. When I was having my arm set, there were 3 (or 4) nurses fussing around me, attaching monitors and putting the mask over my face, all babbling at a million miles an hour. I was fighting the oxygen as I was trying to understand what they were saying but eventually they faded away and I could hear something very rhythmic instead (possibly my own pulse?!). I was panicking a bit for some reason as I could feel my arm being moved about so I tried to count without much success! The next thing I remember was my arm feeling very warm as they put the plaster on, and then I came around just as one of the nurses said "Parfait!" before plonking my arm on my chest. Then they all went and left me on my own in the room for what felt like a long time. I do remember thinking it doesn't get much better than parfait though!
3. The hilarity of trying to convey the spelling of my name and address to the piste rescue man whilst still sitting on the piste - the pronunciation of I and E in particular! I'll scan in the resulting document so you can see and laugh. Oh how much easier it would have been if I could have written it myself!! I was also very concerned about where my gloves were for some reason (I've been told this was probably some kind of coping mechanism, trying to distract myself from what was really happening).
4. Trying to speak in French to the radiographer after my second visit to him when he asked how we were supposed to be getting home. I was still a bit drunk from the oxygen and in a lot of pain, so struggling to speak in English let alone French-I was trying to say 'par avion' and that we were supposed to be home 'aujourd'hui' but for some reason he thought I was on about going to Avingon!!!
5. The hospital staff referred to me as 'L'Anglaise' rather than Katy when they weren't talking directly to me. It would appear they don't get many English people in Briancon hospital!
I have loads more of these to write down but I've been sitting here for long enough and really ought to get dressed!!!!
Friday, 30 September 2011
Monday, 26 September 2011
A bit of sea air
A couple of days after the operation I headed down to one of my favourite places-Cornwall. I'm lucky enough to have family I can stay with down there, and we had a lovely few days taking in the sea air, soaking up the rays (yes there really were some!) and stuffing our faces.
It's a fair old journey, and I forgot a pillow to rest my arm on, so I ended up tying the big blue foam thing to the handle above the car door so my arm was sort of suspended. Got a few funny looks but along with some sweets and some codeine it did the trick!
We spent the Sunday at Sennen Cove with my Auntie and Uncle. I love it there so much - I spent my 21st birthday climbing and camping there, and had a BBQ on the beach to celebrate. Watching the sun set here is amazing!
The weather was good to us, so we had a bite to eat, before the obligatory stroll around the Capstan Gallery. Then we headed to Cape Cornwall where we met some very windswept cows!
The next day we headed to Watergate Bay for some lunch at Fifteen, and a stroll on the beach. We've been going to Fifteen for years now and I've not had a bad meal yet (nor have I bumped into Jamie, more's the pity!). Can't recommend the whole place (hotel, beach hut etc.) highly enough!
We then headed into Truro for a stroll around the shops, but unfortunately I wasn't feeling great so we didn't stay too long, although we did end up back in Truro for some food in the evening which was lovely (just don't try and get a Chinese takeaway on a Monday!!).
We headed home on Tuesday via another favourite place of mine - Bampton in Devon. We have family friends here who used to run a B&B, and we popped in for some lunch and a glass or two of wine. The view from Rows Farmhouse is amazing, I could spend days just staring at it. It's good for the soul!
The combination of sun, sea air, food and painkillers made me very snoozy the whole time but the trip definitely did me good. It took my mind off the pain and the anaesthetic after-effects, and I'm very grateful to those involved for looking after me so well!
It's a fair old journey, and I forgot a pillow to rest my arm on, so I ended up tying the big blue foam thing to the handle above the car door so my arm was sort of suspended. Got a few funny looks but along with some sweets and some codeine it did the trick!
We spent the Sunday at Sennen Cove with my Auntie and Uncle. I love it there so much - I spent my 21st birthday climbing and camping there, and had a BBQ on the beach to celebrate. Watching the sun set here is amazing!
The weather was good to us, so we had a bite to eat, before the obligatory stroll around the Capstan Gallery. Then we headed to Cape Cornwall where we met some very windswept cows!
The next day we headed to Watergate Bay for some lunch at Fifteen, and a stroll on the beach. We've been going to Fifteen for years now and I've not had a bad meal yet (nor have I bumped into Jamie, more's the pity!). Can't recommend the whole place (hotel, beach hut etc.) highly enough!
We then headed into Truro for a stroll around the shops, but unfortunately I wasn't feeling great so we didn't stay too long, although we did end up back in Truro for some food in the evening which was lovely (just don't try and get a Chinese takeaway on a Monday!!).
We headed home on Tuesday via another favourite place of mine - Bampton in Devon. We have family friends here who used to run a B&B, and we popped in for some lunch and a glass or two of wine. The view from Rows Farmhouse is amazing, I could spend days just staring at it. It's good for the soul!
The combination of sun, sea air, food and painkillers made me very snoozy the whole time but the trip definitely did me good. It took my mind off the pain and the anaesthetic after-effects, and I'm very grateful to those involved for looking after me so well!
Patience and Beyonce!
The two days after the operation were not great if I'm honest. When I woke up the morning after (very early) I felt like I had the mother of all hangovers, nauseous, hot and shaky. My wrist was also giving me a lot of pain. I knew the best thing would be to sleep, but my body just wouldn't let me, so I lay in bed feeling a little sorry for myself. I tried to listen to some music to take my mind off things but weirdly sound was distorting in my head, a bit like when you have a head cold and your head is all bunged up! I decided to admit defeat and moved to the sofa for a bit of daytime tv, and was almost brought to tears by the pain (sorry Dad your phone call came just at this moment!). I remembered in France the evening after the operation was also pure agony so I thought to myself, this won't last, the pain will be better tomorrow.
Now after 31 years, I think I know myself pretty well, and I know that I always feel better if I am dressed and made-up, so I set this as my target for the day. I didn't have the energy (nor the balance!) for a shower so I had a quick wash and by 3pm (yes, it took hours, you try getting ready using only your left hand!) I was back on the sofa eating a bagel and feeling relatively human :-)
The one symptom that seems to be hanging around like a bad smell is the nausea, and Friday was no exception. I had a shower and got dressed but barely ate all day. I was going for a girly Beyonce night round a friends house which had been planned since before I even knew about the op and I was determined I was going! So, I made some date bars one-handed (yes, I was quite proud of myself for this!) and off I went. Problem is my tummy did not really like the idea of wine! I pushed on through though and had a few glasses anyway, including some bubbles to celebrate some birthdays, and a fab night was had by all! We watched the Beyonce performance from Glastonbury and pretty much all wished we were her, and gossiped (is that even a word?!) the night away!
Now after 31 years, I think I know myself pretty well, and I know that I always feel better if I am dressed and made-up, so I set this as my target for the day. I didn't have the energy (nor the balance!) for a shower so I had a quick wash and by 3pm (yes, it took hours, you try getting ready using only your left hand!) I was back on the sofa eating a bagel and feeling relatively human :-)
The one symptom that seems to be hanging around like a bad smell is the nausea, and Friday was no exception. I had a shower and got dressed but barely ate all day. I was going for a girly Beyonce night round a friends house which had been planned since before I even knew about the op and I was determined I was going! So, I made some date bars one-handed (yes, I was quite proud of myself for this!) and off I went. Problem is my tummy did not really like the idea of wine! I pushed on through though and had a few glasses anyway, including some bubbles to celebrate some birthdays, and a fab night was had by all! We watched the Beyonce performance from Glastonbury and pretty much all wished we were her, and gossiped (is that even a word?!) the night away!
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Wrapped up in love
Yesterday was a big day for me. The start of putting things right and getting my wrist fixed once and for all. I know I'm likely to need at least one more operation some time down the line, but at least after this one I should get much less pain day-to-day which will be nice!
It has to be said, I was absolutely gutted to discover the problems with my wrist, and what it would take to fix them. Basically I have three problems;
1. My ulna is still broken and not healing so requires a permanent screw.
2. Where my radius was broken and pinned was not done very well, in that the alignment between the radius and ulna is out, which is why I can't rotate my wrist beyond 90 degrees. Basically when you twist your wrist around, your radius and ulna cross over one another, and mine no longer can. The only way to really fix this issue is to re-break and re-set the radius, so basically start again! This is a big operation and so not one that my surgeon is considering any time soon!
3. The mis-alignment of my radius and ulna has a secondary impact in that the ends of both bones are now a bit too close to the bones in my hand. This could mean in the future I will have more motion problems, this time with moving my hand up and down. If this does happen, another operation would be required.
So the operation yesterday was to fix the first issue and provide me with some permanent metalwork, and relief from the pain I've been in since I did this back in early April.
I was warned before the operation that this is unlikely to help much with rotation issues, and also there is a risk of nerve damage to the nerve running down the outside of my wrist, as this had to be moved aside during the procedure. I shall have to wait and see, although it wouldn't be the end of the world to lose sensation there-it's hardly a particularly sensitive area anyway!
I was sat in my room in my hospital gown, dressing gown, compression socks (very sexy!) and hospital slippers, with no make-up on-all in all not feeling particularly attractive as you can imagine, when to my horror I realised that in the room across from me was a colleague from work! I had to acknowledge him as I was taken along to theatre, and I just about managed a 'fancy seeing you here' whilst wishing the ground would open up! He wished me luck which was nice of him, I hope whatever he was in for went well. He wasn't there when I got back from theatre so I assume it did!
I had a general anaesthetic so thankfully know nothing about the operation itself. My first memory was waking up in recovery where they were asking me all sorts of questions about my job and what I do etc. I remember slurring some answers and thinking to myself, why are they trying to make me talk when my brain doesn't want to work, but obviously they were trying to wake me up! They gave me some codeine and took me back up to my room, where I was tucked under a big duvet as I was shivering really badly. I think that it was about 5pm, and the next couple of hours went really fast! I would close my eyes for what felt like 10 minutes and an hour had passed! I have to say, I felt pretty good-floaty and warm and so totally blissfully relaxed. I was semi-awake but I couldn't focus on anything-it felt like all the thoughts in my head were fluttering just out of my reach so I couldn't quite grab them. It's a nice feeling to be that totally and utterly relaxed!
Around 7pm I was sat up and given some food, which I did manage to eat. Unfortunately it made me have a bit of a funny turn-hot, shaky and very nauseous. I was laid back down and all my blankets removed, and soon felt well enough to try walking. I was assisted to the loo by two nurses (you aren't allowed to leave if you don't spend a penny!) and then I had some help to get dressed, before being released at around 8.30pm.
I had some pain during the rest of the evening as the anaesthetic wore off, however I was feeling so lovely and happy I didn't really mind. I had so many lovely messages from family and friends wishing me luck, and asking how I was doing afterwards, that I just felt so wrapped up in love, and full of appreciation for all the wonderful people I have in my life and I went to bed full of happy thoughts (ok, and maybe some drugs too!!).
It has to be said, I was absolutely gutted to discover the problems with my wrist, and what it would take to fix them. Basically I have three problems;
1. My ulna is still broken and not healing so requires a permanent screw.
2. Where my radius was broken and pinned was not done very well, in that the alignment between the radius and ulna is out, which is why I can't rotate my wrist beyond 90 degrees. Basically when you twist your wrist around, your radius and ulna cross over one another, and mine no longer can. The only way to really fix this issue is to re-break and re-set the radius, so basically start again! This is a big operation and so not one that my surgeon is considering any time soon!
3. The mis-alignment of my radius and ulna has a secondary impact in that the ends of both bones are now a bit too close to the bones in my hand. This could mean in the future I will have more motion problems, this time with moving my hand up and down. If this does happen, another operation would be required.
So the operation yesterday was to fix the first issue and provide me with some permanent metalwork, and relief from the pain I've been in since I did this back in early April.
I was warned before the operation that this is unlikely to help much with rotation issues, and also there is a risk of nerve damage to the nerve running down the outside of my wrist, as this had to be moved aside during the procedure. I shall have to wait and see, although it wouldn't be the end of the world to lose sensation there-it's hardly a particularly sensitive area anyway!
I was sat in my room in my hospital gown, dressing gown, compression socks (very sexy!) and hospital slippers, with no make-up on-all in all not feeling particularly attractive as you can imagine, when to my horror I realised that in the room across from me was a colleague from work! I had to acknowledge him as I was taken along to theatre, and I just about managed a 'fancy seeing you here' whilst wishing the ground would open up! He wished me luck which was nice of him, I hope whatever he was in for went well. He wasn't there when I got back from theatre so I assume it did!
I had a general anaesthetic so thankfully know nothing about the operation itself. My first memory was waking up in recovery where they were asking me all sorts of questions about my job and what I do etc. I remember slurring some answers and thinking to myself, why are they trying to make me talk when my brain doesn't want to work, but obviously they were trying to wake me up! They gave me some codeine and took me back up to my room, where I was tucked under a big duvet as I was shivering really badly. I think that it was about 5pm, and the next couple of hours went really fast! I would close my eyes for what felt like 10 minutes and an hour had passed! I have to say, I felt pretty good-floaty and warm and so totally blissfully relaxed. I was semi-awake but I couldn't focus on anything-it felt like all the thoughts in my head were fluttering just out of my reach so I couldn't quite grab them. It's a nice feeling to be that totally and utterly relaxed!
Around 7pm I was sat up and given some food, which I did manage to eat. Unfortunately it made me have a bit of a funny turn-hot, shaky and very nauseous. I was laid back down and all my blankets removed, and soon felt well enough to try walking. I was assisted to the loo by two nurses (you aren't allowed to leave if you don't spend a penny!) and then I had some help to get dressed, before being released at around 8.30pm.
I had some pain during the rest of the evening as the anaesthetic wore off, however I was feeling so lovely and happy I didn't really mind. I had so many lovely messages from family and friends wishing me luck, and asking how I was doing afterwards, that I just felt so wrapped up in love, and full of appreciation for all the wonderful people I have in my life and I went to bed full of happy thoughts (ok, and maybe some drugs too!!).
What's it all about?
Yesterday was the day of my third operation this year.
Let me give you some background to my story!
Back in March I went on two skiing holidays, and on literally the last run of the second holiday, almost in view of the bottom of the piste (where the medical centre is, I was shortly to learn!) I caught an edge in the slush and fell. I felt my right wrist jar, but didn't think too much of it at first. That was until I took a look at it, and realised all was not well!
My ski buddy Sarah was on her way down and couldn't hear me shout, so I managed to flag down some passers-by, who luckily included a piste rescue man. He called for assistance on his radio and I heard him use the word 'fracture' (you need to say it with a strong French accent!) at which point my heart sank. We were due on a flight in a matter of hours and I knew how keen Sarah was to get home to her daughter.
So I had my first (and hopefully last) ride in a blood wagon, followed shortly by the grim news that not only was it indeed a fracture (still with that accent!), but a bad one that needed an operation to put in three pins. Before the journey home. Arse!!
I had managed to keep it together until I heard Sarah's voice, but hearing her made me cry with both relief (I knew she would do whatever she could to make sure I was ok, she's one of those people you would call in any crisis) and guilt. For at this point I knew we weren't getting home that day, and possibly not even the day after.
So followed a night in Briancon hospital, with my arm set in plaster under oxygen, followed by operation number one to 'fix' my broken wrist. I realised pretty early on that I just had to take each thing as it happened and deal with it one thing at a time. So when I was woken at 6.30am (having been woken several times in the night too), stripped by a nurse and instructed to shower using iodine, I just got on with it. I was regularly asked to rate my pain out of ten, and was usually somewhere around 6-7. At this point I rated it an 8 and was promptly given a "piques de morphine". I was looking forward to this having only been given paracetamol up to this point, however I can say that whilst the morphine took the pain away, it also made me feel pretty bad, like that stage of being drunk where everything spins and you need to hold on to the floor! Gutted!
The operation itself involved a block being used to numb my arm, injected via my shoulder into each nerve down my arm. I hope never to experience that again! I was also heavily sedated so remember nothing after they doused my arm with iodine, until I woke up and asked "Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?"
Pins
View over Briancon from my bed
So there you have the background to my story. Operation number two was a non-eventful sedation and another arm block (using an injection and cuff this time, not the dreaded needle in the shoulder technique) and was simply to remove the pins 7 weeks after they were put in. I was chatting to the surgeon Mr Rahimtoola as he removed them, using literally a scalpel and some pliers!
At this point I thought I was all fixed, and full recovery would just involve physio. Unfortunately this has not been the case for me, as it transpired I had broken more than one bone and it was all misaligned and not healing properly. Following more x-rays and an MRI, it was determined that at least one more operation would be required, which brings us up to date!
Let me give you some background to my story!
Back in March I went on two skiing holidays, and on literally the last run of the second holiday, almost in view of the bottom of the piste (where the medical centre is, I was shortly to learn!) I caught an edge in the slush and fell. I felt my right wrist jar, but didn't think too much of it at first. That was until I took a look at it, and realised all was not well!
My ski buddy Sarah was on her way down and couldn't hear me shout, so I managed to flag down some passers-by, who luckily included a piste rescue man. He called for assistance on his radio and I heard him use the word 'fracture' (you need to say it with a strong French accent!) at which point my heart sank. We were due on a flight in a matter of hours and I knew how keen Sarah was to get home to her daughter.
So I had my first (and hopefully last) ride in a blood wagon, followed shortly by the grim news that not only was it indeed a fracture (still with that accent!), but a bad one that needed an operation to put in three pins. Before the journey home. Arse!!
I had managed to keep it together until I heard Sarah's voice, but hearing her made me cry with both relief (I knew she would do whatever she could to make sure I was ok, she's one of those people you would call in any crisis) and guilt. For at this point I knew we weren't getting home that day, and possibly not even the day after.
So followed a night in Briancon hospital, with my arm set in plaster under oxygen, followed by operation number one to 'fix' my broken wrist. I realised pretty early on that I just had to take each thing as it happened and deal with it one thing at a time. So when I was woken at 6.30am (having been woken several times in the night too), stripped by a nurse and instructed to shower using iodine, I just got on with it. I was regularly asked to rate my pain out of ten, and was usually somewhere around 6-7. At this point I rated it an 8 and was promptly given a "piques de morphine". I was looking forward to this having only been given paracetamol up to this point, however I can say that whilst the morphine took the pain away, it also made me feel pretty bad, like that stage of being drunk where everything spins and you need to hold on to the floor! Gutted!
The operation itself involved a block being used to numb my arm, injected via my shoulder into each nerve down my arm. I hope never to experience that again! I was also heavily sedated so remember nothing after they doused my arm with iodine, until I woke up and asked "Qu'est-ce qui s'est passé?"
Pins
View over Briancon from my bed
So there you have the background to my story. Operation number two was a non-eventful sedation and another arm block (using an injection and cuff this time, not the dreaded needle in the shoulder technique) and was simply to remove the pins 7 weeks after they were put in. I was chatting to the surgeon Mr Rahimtoola as he removed them, using literally a scalpel and some pliers!
At this point I thought I was all fixed, and full recovery would just involve physio. Unfortunately this has not been the case for me, as it transpired I had broken more than one bone and it was all misaligned and not healing properly. Following more x-rays and an MRI, it was determined that at least one more operation would be required, which brings us up to date!
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