Last night I headed down the works for the second time. The place was busy as per usual, and so there were plenty of people to watch. I don't think it will be an overly long time before I start really missing being able to climb. It was good to see people again. Ned was looking strong as per usual, hope that translates to a set of good performances in the upcoming comps.
Its become apparent over the last few feeks just how much time I do spend climbing or training for climbing, I'm still not sure what to do with the time, people keep hinting I could work really hard on my course but it's all group work from now on and the effort seems to be diluted within a group situation and in the end feels worthless.
I managed to crank out a couple of sets of pull ups and a few one armers although I felt significantly weaker. Hopefully this week I can join the gym or do something rather than just eat!
Wednesday 28 February 2007
Sunday 25 February 2007
Liquid Pain Relief...
Wednesday was Nat's birthday, and I wasn't sure a week ago whether or not I would make her party (thursday night), however my mobility had improved a lot since the previous weekend and (apart from my physio day) I've pretty much cut out my pain medication.
The night went well and I opted to take my pain relief in liquid form. It was a good turn out and a good night, some of the cocktails at that place are great. Now I just need to get back to sheaf for a pint of farmers blonde...
Wednesday 21 February 2007
Pimp My Crutch...
Some nice new squash racket grips to aid in my hobblings:
I didn't think i'd have much to write (More than one page of blogs), I guess I was wrong, sorry if this has bored anyone to tears, take it easy, Paul.
I didn't think i'd have much to write (More than one page of blogs), I guess I was wrong, sorry if this has bored anyone to tears, take it easy, Paul.Ps- Anyone know how to change the time settings?
Outpatient Physiotherapy
Right I'm about all caught up now...
Today was my first physiotherapy appointment since I left the hospital. I was told my leg was doing fantastically well and the range of motion in my foot, knee and ankle were all greater than was to be expected at this stage. I was also reassured that the lack of feeling across my lower shin and the top of my foot is completely normal with this amount of metal passing through your leg.
After the physiotherapist massaged the huge amounts of blood out of my hulk like foot she proceeded to perform some stretches on me, I made the mistake of telling her I could barely feel the calf stretches, she soon rectified that. After this she showed me how to walk with only one crutch which I happily managed across the gym and back, it puts a lot more weight on the broken leg but from what I gather these frames give back what you put in and ultimately the breaks will heal better and faster under loading. I'm keen to get off the crutches for that reason. I was told that it completely depends on the patient, some will be on crutches for the entire period, some people are off them in as little as four weeks. I intend to be the latter if at all possible and after tomorrow nights party I’ll only be using one crutch as much as possible.
After this I was put on a wobble board which stretched the ankle in every conceivable direction, and then I was put onto a trampoline (Yup!) and Nat was told to throw a basketball at me so they could asses my balance...
The final test was to see how much load I was actually putting through the frame, we did this just as some climbers have done, with a set of scales. The maximum load I exerted was equal to around 40kg, which I didn’t think was bad for a first try out of 55kg. That’s above 70% anyway. Just another 15kg to go and I can kiss the crutches good bye!
Next week i've got to go back in to have one of the wires removed, it doesn't sound like much fun to me...
Today was my first physiotherapy appointment since I left the hospital. I was told my leg was doing fantastically well and the range of motion in my foot, knee and ankle were all greater than was to be expected at this stage. I was also reassured that the lack of feeling across my lower shin and the top of my foot is completely normal with this amount of metal passing through your leg.
After the physiotherapist massaged the huge amounts of blood out of my hulk like foot she proceeded to perform some stretches on me, I made the mistake of telling her I could barely feel the calf stretches, she soon rectified that. After this she showed me how to walk with only one crutch which I happily managed across the gym and back, it puts a lot more weight on the broken leg but from what I gather these frames give back what you put in and ultimately the breaks will heal better and faster under loading. I'm keen to get off the crutches for that reason. I was told that it completely depends on the patient, some will be on crutches for the entire period, some people are off them in as little as four weeks. I intend to be the latter if at all possible and after tomorrow nights party I’ll only be using one crutch as much as possible.
After this I was put on a wobble board which stretched the ankle in every conceivable direction, and then I was put onto a trampoline (Yup!) and Nat was told to throw a basketball at me so they could asses my balance...
The final test was to see how much load I was actually putting through the frame, we did this just as some climbers have done, with a set of scales. The maximum load I exerted was equal to around 40kg, which I didn’t think was bad for a first try out of 55kg. That’s above 70% anyway. Just another 15kg to go and I can kiss the crutches good bye!
Next week i've got to go back in to have one of the wires removed, it doesn't sound like much fun to me...
Bath Day Cometh
Two weeks with only bed baths and anyone will start to get a little stinky. A man from occupational health came and fitted a bath/shower board which allows me to swing my leg into the bath without much trouble at all and finally I managed to get clean.
Now, due to the dressing around the pin sites, your only allowed to get your leg wet once a week, at this point the dressings have to be cleaned, this is done with 70% alcohol solution and once again isn't the best job for poor long suffering Natalie and its not my favourite activity either however it went off without a hitch and a great deal less pain then when the pin site nurse did it!
Now, due to the dressing around the pin sites, your only allowed to get your leg wet once a week, at this point the dressings have to be cleaned, this is done with 70% alcohol solution and once again isn't the best job for poor long suffering Natalie and its not my favourite activity either however it went off without a hitch and a great deal less pain then when the pin site nurse did it!
The Next Week
The next week passed by fairly uneventfully. It was good to see people that visited Jon, James and Ricky, and was amazing to see the support offered by people via email (an alarming amount of people seem to have been in a similar situation), the climbing community is so diverse that the wealth of information within it, is truly astounding.
After a week sat around watching bad TV and worse films (stay away from the new Rocky film) I got restless and convinced Natalie into driving me to the climbing works. My mobility had increased drastically since the previous week and it was good to get out of the flat and see some different faces.
I bumped into Dobbin and Harris (who seemed very concerned that I was weighting my broken leg so soon). After a good chat about the frame and people with metal left in their face I headed over to the pull up bar and managed a few sets. Its very odd doing pull ups with something hanging off your leg, it really does feel as if something is limpeting to your leg.
Afterwards I sat on the mat and watched the strongest looking bloke fail on some juggy problems repeatedly before taking the plunge from the exact position where I smashed my leg, It was pretty unnerving and I'm surprised more people haven't taken to spotting on the comp wall. Its pretty high.
After a week sat around watching bad TV and worse films (stay away from the new Rocky film) I got restless and convinced Natalie into driving me to the climbing works. My mobility had increased drastically since the previous week and it was good to get out of the flat and see some different faces.
I bumped into Dobbin and Harris (who seemed very concerned that I was weighting my broken leg so soon). After a good chat about the frame and people with metal left in their face I headed over to the pull up bar and managed a few sets. Its very odd doing pull ups with something hanging off your leg, it really does feel as if something is limpeting to your leg.
Afterwards I sat on the mat and watched the strongest looking bloke fail on some juggy problems repeatedly before taking the plunge from the exact position where I smashed my leg, It was pretty unnerving and I'm surprised more people haven't taken to spotting on the comp wall. Its pretty high.
Accident + 5
6 days was enough for me. It was Friday and the specialists had done their rounds and given me the all clear to go home, all that was remaining was for occupational health and the physio's to sign off on me, however both of the aforementioned departments don't work at the weekend.
I managed to coax the physio into showing me how to tackle stairs despite being shaky just walking in the morning, I was hell bent on getting out of there. She in turn managed to coax one of her friends in occupational health into showing me the necessary skills for getting in and out of a bath/shower and a car. They both signed off on me just before the end of the shift and I was free!
I currently have a 28" waist, the circumference of an Ilizarov ring is 24", none of my clothes fit and in typical Sheffield style it snowed. Wearing a mixture of Natalie's jumpers (she was surprised to see me being released so soon) and borrowed odds and sod's I managed to get to the car, and squeeze in (despite my leg not bending at all), and home we went.
I managed to coax the physio into showing me how to tackle stairs despite being shaky just walking in the morning, I was hell bent on getting out of there. She in turn managed to coax one of her friends in occupational health into showing me the necessary skills for getting in and out of a bath/shower and a car. They both signed off on me just before the end of the shift and I was free!
I currently have a 28" waist, the circumference of an Ilizarov ring is 24", none of my clothes fit and in typical Sheffield style it snowed. Wearing a mixture of Natalie's jumpers (she was surprised to see me being released so soon) and borrowed odds and sod's I managed to get to the car, and squeeze in (despite my leg not bending at all), and home we went.
First Steps
Needless to say, at this point in time I wasn't the most comfortable. I was physically unable to lift my own leg without resorting to picking it up (using the newly installed carry handles, what will I do when theyre gone?) and was equipped with a morphine machine. It was at this moment that the physio appeared, yes thats right, one day after the operation and its time to learn how to walk again. With a lot of fuss and help I managed to get from the bed to the chair by the bed, a whopping 1m or so.
A quick and painful hobble around aided by a zimmer frame and I was back in the comfort of my chair. My body didn't agree with the physio and protested about being moved so soon after the operation. Bile.
The physio returend once again the day after with crutches and we began the same procedure again. This time I managed to avoid any bile and managed to make it back to the chair unscathed despite my blood pressure dropping sharply.
A quick and painful hobble around aided by a zimmer frame and I was back in the comfort of my chair. My body didn't agree with the physio and protested about being moved so soon after the operation. Bile.
The physio returend once again the day after with crutches and we began the same procedure again. This time I managed to avoid any bile and managed to make it back to the chair unscathed despite my blood pressure dropping sharply.
The Ilizarov Frame
A few days after I was scheduled to be fitted with an Ilizarov external fixator.
After being told repeatedly by the anaesthesiologist that I was stupid for climbing without a rope he mercifully rendered me unconscious.
Once again I woke up with a confusing array of metal attached to my leg.
If you don't know what an Ilizarov frame looks like, it consists of metal rings that are joined by vertical columns, each of these rings have wires attached that pass through the bones and breaks and operate under tension, effectively pulling everything into position. The upper and lower rings must be seated in good bone and hence allow for any load (your bodyweight) to be passed through the affected leg (or other body part), quite a clever arrangement although they do seem to be a bit unnecessarily cumbersome (Current modernisations do exist: carbon fibre rings etc, but these are very stiff and cause a lot of pain around the pin sites, or so they have been told by people who have been unfortunate enough to sample more than one kind of frame! I hope I’m never in that situation or for that matter anyone else is).
After being told repeatedly by the anaesthesiologist that I was stupid for climbing without a rope he mercifully rendered me unconscious.
Once again I woke up with a confusing array of metal attached to my leg.
If you don't know what an Ilizarov frame looks like, it consists of metal rings that are joined by vertical columns, each of these rings have wires attached that pass through the bones and breaks and operate under tension, effectively pulling everything into position. The upper and lower rings must be seated in good bone and hence allow for any load (your bodyweight) to be passed through the affected leg (or other body part), quite a clever arrangement although they do seem to be a bit unnecessarily cumbersome (Current modernisations do exist: carbon fibre rings etc, but these are very stiff and cause a lot of pain around the pin sites, or so they have been told by people who have been unfortunate enough to sample more than one kind of frame! I hope I’m never in that situation or for that matter anyone else is).
The Temporary Fix
The day after I spoke to a specialist (Thankfully Sheffield is a world center for complicated breaks) who offered me:
1. pins with a high chance of knee pain
2. An Ilizarov frame with massive inconvenience.
I opted for number 2 and was scheduled for a temporary fixator later that day. When I woke I had what resembled like a mismatch of a GCSE chemistry lab stand bolted to a few holes in my leg...Nice.
1. pins with a high chance of knee pain
2. An Ilizarov frame with massive inconvenience.
I opted for number 2 and was scheduled for a temporary fixator later that day. When I woke I had what resembled like a mismatch of a GCSE chemistry lab stand bolted to a few holes in my leg...Nice.
In The Beginning...
I've never been a fan of blogs or really seen the need? However in light of my recent situation I thought it may be a good way to see how things are going (and fill in the masses of time I now don't spend training, its quite amazing I got anything at all done when I was training hard...) I aplogise now for the web address and the lack of title...It's no pear of joy.
It all began about two weeks ago now: After a month off, I finally managed to get back on form, ticking all of the problems I previously climbed at the school with the icing on the cake being Snot and Stuey in a session once again, I then took Natalie down to the climbing works for her first taste of climbing and again on the Saturday (whilst nursing a niggling finger). The idea was for her to climb and me to bimble about, the night was going well with only 30 mins left until closing, after dispatching a few problems on the comp wall I set about the two new black ones, making short work of the central crimpy line, I moved over to the roof section. I was feeling great, nice and strong and cruising until I got to the last move, the lefthand pocket had that "new and greasy" feeling but never the less I pulled and hit the top jug. Then every point of contact I had all slipped at once. I hit the mat with an almighty cracking sound (similar to someone stamping on a nice thick bit of 2" x 4"), and shouted...a lot. It didn't take long to realise what I'd done, my right leg was fairly messed up and definately broken, lucky for me at this point I didn't see the bone pertruding from my shin or I'm sure I would of blacked out or at least been sick. Natalie and others remained composed and an ambulance was called.
On arrival of the paramedic I was covered in what must have been every man and his dog's down jacket. Shortly afterwards the ambulance arrived and I was soon given a nice shot of Morphine or so. After this they proceeded to remove my boots, as we found out tight fitting dragons are NOT ideal in this situation, they cut them to ribbons but in the end just had to pull.
Next up it was time for air and gas, the way I'd positioned myself on the mat after the accident was with my broken leg underneath me and unfortunately that meant I had to be moved or "straightened" in order for the paramdics to move me (and to find a pulse in my foot, which they did, they drew a cross on my heal to mark its position). The next minute or so was the most painful of my life, the paramedics straightened my leg and placed it in an air splint (after straightening the cross on my heal had moved to just below my big toe!!!). Ouch. After this all that remained was to roll onto a stretcher and be lifted out to the ambulance. The paramedic ensured me the lady was a great driver, seconds later she stalled. Not the best start ever. On arrival in the hospital the ER doctors put my bone back in my leg, it was the first time in the evening anyone had been honest with me, they told me it was going to hurt. After that it was some more drugs for me and a half-cast was fitted and that was that...
It all began about two weeks ago now: After a month off, I finally managed to get back on form, ticking all of the problems I previously climbed at the school with the icing on the cake being Snot and Stuey in a session once again, I then took Natalie down to the climbing works for her first taste of climbing and again on the Saturday (whilst nursing a niggling finger). The idea was for her to climb and me to bimble about, the night was going well with only 30 mins left until closing, after dispatching a few problems on the comp wall I set about the two new black ones, making short work of the central crimpy line, I moved over to the roof section. I was feeling great, nice and strong and cruising until I got to the last move, the lefthand pocket had that "new and greasy" feeling but never the less I pulled and hit the top jug. Then every point of contact I had all slipped at once. I hit the mat with an almighty cracking sound (similar to someone stamping on a nice thick bit of 2" x 4"), and shouted...a lot. It didn't take long to realise what I'd done, my right leg was fairly messed up and definately broken, lucky for me at this point I didn't see the bone pertruding from my shin or I'm sure I would of blacked out or at least been sick. Natalie and others remained composed and an ambulance was called.
On arrival of the paramedic I was covered in what must have been every man and his dog's down jacket. Shortly afterwards the ambulance arrived and I was soon given a nice shot of Morphine or so. After this they proceeded to remove my boots, as we found out tight fitting dragons are NOT ideal in this situation, they cut them to ribbons but in the end just had to pull.
Next up it was time for air and gas, the way I'd positioned myself on the mat after the accident was with my broken leg underneath me and unfortunately that meant I had to be moved or "straightened" in order for the paramdics to move me (and to find a pulse in my foot, which they did, they drew a cross on my heal to mark its position). The next minute or so was the most painful of my life, the paramedics straightened my leg and placed it in an air splint (after straightening the cross on my heal had moved to just below my big toe!!!). Ouch. After this all that remained was to roll onto a stretcher and be lifted out to the ambulance. The paramedic ensured me the lady was a great driver, seconds later she stalled. Not the best start ever. On arrival in the hospital the ER doctors put my bone back in my leg, it was the first time in the evening anyone had been honest with me, they told me it was going to hurt. After that it was some more drugs for me and a half-cast was fitted and that was that...
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