Ouch (possible NSFW pictures of my rear to follow)
Discussion
Finally, some better news from Leggy McLegster.
Photo one is the X-ray of my femur in March. There is regenerate (“new” bone) there, which you can actually see. Just.
Photo two is the X-ray from today, hot off the presses, so to speak (it’s actually all digital, but hey-ho). Now you can DEFINITELY see actual, real, almost proper bone. It still needs to calcify properly around the edges, but there’s a lot more there than there was in March. It’s practically a bloody femur!
The consultant has decided (again) that I’m to stop taking the antibiotics and “we’ll see what happens”. So by this time next week, I could well be a feculent bag of oozing pus again, with yet another raging infection in my leg...
I next see the consultant in six weeks (assuming I’ve not died of sepsis in the meantime) and then she’ll tell me the date she has already planned for removal of the pins, blocks and rail. This is another change from “Plan A”, as originally, she was going to take the rail and blocks off and leave the pins in situ for a couple of weeks. Apparently the pins at the head of my femur are under so much pressure, once the rail is off, “they’ll practically ping out on their own, which is rather exciting” (the consultant’s words, not mine).
This projected date for rail removal is of course dependent on everything going to (the current) plan and we all know how that’s worked out to date... we will see. The consultant hasn’t told me the date and would not be drawn on it, which is fair enough.
For now, I’m treating myself to a couple of beers, a (huge) sigh of relief and a better outlook than a few weeks ago.
ps The NHS remains bloody brilliant. Flawed, yes, but brilliant.
Photo one is the X-ray of my femur in March. There is regenerate (“new” bone) there, which you can actually see. Just.
Photo two is the X-ray from today, hot off the presses, so to speak (it’s actually all digital, but hey-ho). Now you can DEFINITELY see actual, real, almost proper bone. It still needs to calcify properly around the edges, but there’s a lot more there than there was in March. It’s practically a bloody femur!
The consultant has decided (again) that I’m to stop taking the antibiotics and “we’ll see what happens”. So by this time next week, I could well be a feculent bag of oozing pus again, with yet another raging infection in my leg...
I next see the consultant in six weeks (assuming I’ve not died of sepsis in the meantime) and then she’ll tell me the date she has already planned for removal of the pins, blocks and rail. This is another change from “Plan A”, as originally, she was going to take the rail and blocks off and leave the pins in situ for a couple of weeks. Apparently the pins at the head of my femur are under so much pressure, once the rail is off, “they’ll practically ping out on their own, which is rather exciting” (the consultant’s words, not mine).
This projected date for rail removal is of course dependent on everything going to (the current) plan and we all know how that’s worked out to date... we will see. The consultant hasn’t told me the date and would not be drawn on it, which is fair enough.
For now, I’m treating myself to a couple of beers, a (huge) sigh of relief and a better outlook than a few weeks ago.
ps The NHS remains bloody brilliant. Flawed, yes, but brilliant.
RDMcG said:
Fantastic news Dibble. There are many on PH suffering from strained fingers from having them crossed for so long. You have been through so much and it is brilliant to see that thing are looking up, and looking up a lot. On to the future
Cheers. We are not quite there yet (a long way from it, in fact), but it finally feels like things are moving in the right direction.I even managed five steps with just one crutch at physio this week!
Good to hear that you are making progress, even if it is slow.
I can empathise as I did a pretty big number on my right leg in 1999 and I remember how anxious I was when they did the first set of x-rays after the reconstructive surgery (not sure how many weeks it was). Fortunately they were really pleased with how the bones were mending and the recovery went smoothly so I didn’t have to face any of your difficulties. Your trials sound a real ball ache (er...thanks for the pics of them...once seen never unseen....)
In terms of getting back on a bike I think it took me about three years before the itch got too much, although it was supposed to be a one-off, at the Ron Haslam race school. That turned into me doing occasional track days before finally returning to the road in 2014. I have since had five trouble free years (on the road at least as I crashed on track). I have had a great time over the past five years although I do worry occasionally as to whether I am doing the right thing (reading your and Remy’s threads doesn’t help!)
Only you can make the choice.
I can empathise as I did a pretty big number on my right leg in 1999 and I remember how anxious I was when they did the first set of x-rays after the reconstructive surgery (not sure how many weeks it was). Fortunately they were really pleased with how the bones were mending and the recovery went smoothly so I didn’t have to face any of your difficulties. Your trials sound a real ball ache (er...thanks for the pics of them...once seen never unseen....)
In terms of getting back on a bike I think it took me about three years before the itch got too much, although it was supposed to be a one-off, at the Ron Haslam race school. That turned into me doing occasional track days before finally returning to the road in 2014. I have since had five trouble free years (on the road at least as I crashed on track). I have had a great time over the past five years although I do worry occasionally as to whether I am doing the right thing (reading your and Remy’s threads doesn’t help!)
Only you can make the choice.
Dibble said:
Finally, some better news from Leggy McLegster.
Photo one is the X-ray of my femur in March. There is regenerate (“new” bone) there, which you can actually see. Just.
Photo two is the X-ray from today, hot off the presses, so to speak (it’s actually all digital, but hey-ho). Now you can DEFINITELY see actual, real, almost proper bone. It still needs to calcify properly around the edges, but there’s a lot more there than there was in March. It’s practically a bloody femur!
The consultant has decided (again) that I’m to stop taking the antibiotics and “we’ll see what happens”. So by this time next week, I could well be a feculent bag of oozing pus again, with yet another raging infection in my leg...
I next see the consultant in six weeks (assuming I’ve not died of sepsis in the meantime) and then she’ll tell me the date she has already planned for removal of the pins, blocks and rail. This is another change from “Plan A”, as originally, she was going to take the rail and blocks off and leave the pins in situ for a couple of weeks. Apparently the pins at the head of my femur are under so much pressure, once the rail is off, “they’ll practically ping out on their own, which is rather exciting” (the consultant’s words, not mine).
This projected date for rail removal is of course dependent on everything going to (the current) plan and we all know how that’s worked out to date... we will see. The consultant hasn’t told me the date and would not be drawn on it, which is fair enough.
For now, I’m treating myself to a couple of beers, a (huge) sigh of relief and a better outlook than a few weeks ago.
ps The NHS remains bloody brilliant. Flawed, yes, but brilliant.
Hey Dibs. Our X rays look pretty similar, I have a bar the length of my thigh and the 3 screws in my hip are there permanently.Photo one is the X-ray of my femur in March. There is regenerate (“new” bone) there, which you can actually see. Just.
Photo two is the X-ray from today, hot off the presses, so to speak (it’s actually all digital, but hey-ho). Now you can DEFINITELY see actual, real, almost proper bone. It still needs to calcify properly around the edges, but there’s a lot more there than there was in March. It’s practically a bloody femur!
The consultant has decided (again) that I’m to stop taking the antibiotics and “we’ll see what happens”. So by this time next week, I could well be a feculent bag of oozing pus again, with yet another raging infection in my leg...
I next see the consultant in six weeks (assuming I’ve not died of sepsis in the meantime) and then she’ll tell me the date she has already planned for removal of the pins, blocks and rail. This is another change from “Plan A”, as originally, she was going to take the rail and blocks off and leave the pins in situ for a couple of weeks. Apparently the pins at the head of my femur are under so much pressure, once the rail is off, “they’ll practically ping out on their own, which is rather exciting” (the consultant’s words, not mine).
This projected date for rail removal is of course dependent on everything going to (the current) plan and we all know how that’s worked out to date... we will see. The consultant hasn’t told me the date and would not be drawn on it, which is fair enough.
For now, I’m treating myself to a couple of beers, a (huge) sigh of relief and a better outlook than a few weeks ago.
ps The NHS remains bloody brilliant. Flawed, yes, but brilliant.
Pleased things are looking up for you.
P.S. My tadger looks bigger than yours.
Good news
Those pins don't look as straight as I'm sure they used to be... I'm not 100% sure "exciting" is a word I'd want hear from my consultant... I got "interesting" as I'd managed to break and dislocate a bone that normally does one or the other
I've got the house to myself tonight, so I will also be indulging in a beer or two (and a take away curry and a crime/gangster film of some sort) - I shall raise to your good health
Those pins don't look as straight as I'm sure they used to be... I'm not 100% sure "exciting" is a word I'd want hear from my consultant... I got "interesting" as I'd managed to break and dislocate a bone that normally does one or the other
I've got the house to myself tonight, so I will also be indulging in a beer or two (and a take away curry and a crime/gangster film of some sort) - I shall raise to your good health
Cheers again for all the good wishes, I really do appreciate them. I’m always a bit in two minds about whether or not to keep posting the updates, but it’s a bit of “therapy” for me to write them, so unless I get some sort of forum ban, I’ll keep them coming!
The pins at the top are more bent than they were. When I had the “slight alignment” back in April, the only way to get closer to a straight shaft (oo-er, Matron) was to bend the pins. Resiting them wasn’t really an option as there’s not really anywhere else to stick them in the head of the femur, other than where they already are and there wasn’t enough adjustment available in the external block and rail. They’re pretty much at the limit of where they need to be, hence the extra bend, which causes a fair bit of pressure on the pins - those three pins are basically a delaminated leaf spring! Additionally, it is apparently not good to keep drilling holes in bones... you can still actually see the “original” screw holes on some of my other X-ray images, so at the moment, parts of my femur more closely resemble a colander, rather than an actual bone.
36 hours in and so far, I haven’t started oozing anything unpleasant (outside my usual daily emissions). It’ll take a few more days yet for the existing antibiotics to get flushed out of my system - I’ve been on a cocktail of antibiotics for pretty much an uninterrupted twelve months now, with three months of that being a daily IV dose through a semi permanent line in my arm. The last time we tried coming off them over Christmas is when I last had an infection, so this is another “experiment” really.
Strength wise, I’m doing ok. I can go upstairs “normally” (one foot on alternate steps), although coming down is a bit trickier. I generally put my bad leg onto the “down” step, then the good leg alongside it, then rinse and repeat. I’m just beginning to be able to go down steps normally, the limiting factor is the bend in my knee, but it’s improving all the time. I’m even managing to do three or four steps with one crutch instead of two, but that’s quite difficult. That said, even three or four steps is a big achievement. I’ve not abandoned the second crutch, I just hold it up and don’t use it for those few steps.
Even bigger news is that the consultant is happy for me to shower! She says there’s no issue getting the pin sites wet just as long as I dry them throughly with a clean swab each when I get out. I went from 8 April last year to 7 May this year without showering and it was only because we were in a hotel with a walk in shower that I was able to shower back in May. At home, I was hanging various bits over the bath and using the shower head, then washing the less accessible parts with a shower scrub thing, then rinsing with a wet flannel. Now I can get into the bath by sitting on the edge, swinging my good leg in, standing up, then dragging the bad one in. It’s always a bit nerve wracking as I’m terrified of slipping, but so far, so good and I’m being pretty bloody careful with it all. Even the small thing of showering “normally” (even though in reality it’s still a bit of a faff and takes thinking about and extra care) feels like another huge step back towards normality. Plus, I don’t tend to repel quite as many people in crowded places...
Anyway, that’s enough blather from me for now. Thanks again for all the good wishes. I hope you’re all enjoying the good weather, racking up some miles and having fun.
ps I was never in any doubt you had the bigger target, BN. It’s a given.
The pins at the top are more bent than they were. When I had the “slight alignment” back in April, the only way to get closer to a straight shaft (oo-er, Matron) was to bend the pins. Resiting them wasn’t really an option as there’s not really anywhere else to stick them in the head of the femur, other than where they already are and there wasn’t enough adjustment available in the external block and rail. They’re pretty much at the limit of where they need to be, hence the extra bend, which causes a fair bit of pressure on the pins - those three pins are basically a delaminated leaf spring! Additionally, it is apparently not good to keep drilling holes in bones... you can still actually see the “original” screw holes on some of my other X-ray images, so at the moment, parts of my femur more closely resemble a colander, rather than an actual bone.
36 hours in and so far, I haven’t started oozing anything unpleasant (outside my usual daily emissions). It’ll take a few more days yet for the existing antibiotics to get flushed out of my system - I’ve been on a cocktail of antibiotics for pretty much an uninterrupted twelve months now, with three months of that being a daily IV dose through a semi permanent line in my arm. The last time we tried coming off them over Christmas is when I last had an infection, so this is another “experiment” really.
Strength wise, I’m doing ok. I can go upstairs “normally” (one foot on alternate steps), although coming down is a bit trickier. I generally put my bad leg onto the “down” step, then the good leg alongside it, then rinse and repeat. I’m just beginning to be able to go down steps normally, the limiting factor is the bend in my knee, but it’s improving all the time. I’m even managing to do three or four steps with one crutch instead of two, but that’s quite difficult. That said, even three or four steps is a big achievement. I’ve not abandoned the second crutch, I just hold it up and don’t use it for those few steps.
Even bigger news is that the consultant is happy for me to shower! She says there’s no issue getting the pin sites wet just as long as I dry them throughly with a clean swab each when I get out. I went from 8 April last year to 7 May this year without showering and it was only because we were in a hotel with a walk in shower that I was able to shower back in May. At home, I was hanging various bits over the bath and using the shower head, then washing the less accessible parts with a shower scrub thing, then rinsing with a wet flannel. Now I can get into the bath by sitting on the edge, swinging my good leg in, standing up, then dragging the bad one in. It’s always a bit nerve wracking as I’m terrified of slipping, but so far, so good and I’m being pretty bloody careful with it all. Even the small thing of showering “normally” (even though in reality it’s still a bit of a faff and takes thinking about and extra care) feels like another huge step back towards normality. Plus, I don’t tend to repel quite as many people in crowded places...
Anyway, that’s enough blather from me for now. Thanks again for all the good wishes. I hope you’re all enjoying the good weather, racking up some miles and having fun.
ps I was never in any doubt you had the bigger target, BN. It’s a given.
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