Having taken great delight in following my Granddaughter's blog I felt it was time to update mine - particularly since I have added zilch since 2012. Where has the time gone and what's happened over those last 2 years - too much to catch up on this new post!!
However since I am somewhat incapacitated due to breaking my leg 8 weeks ago I guess this is a good opportunity to get cracking again (no pun intended). I broke the leg whilst taking the dog out for a walk, early morning, nothing unusual just rather dewy grass and an uneven rise in the ground caused the break as I slipped on the damp grass. A split second moment that changed my life somewhat over these last few weeks.
I knew I had broken the leg from the moment I heard the fateful snap that seems to accompany any broken bones. Luckily for me it wasn't a compound fracture i.e. bones coming out of the skin. However I had broken both the tibula and fibula which I did not expect. The breaks were very clear from the x-rays, clean breaks slanting from right to left on both bones. A true reflection of what happened since my foot just went one way i.e. to the left whilst the rest of my body fell to the right hence the snap. Just an ordinary morning in some ways but obviously not from the rest of the day onwards.
I had to keep the leg raised no weight at all for 4 weeks. I had a heavier plaster fitted after the 1st week and then it was removed at just 5 weeks so I could begin to weight bear. I experienced more pain after the plaster was removed than at the actual break time. It's due to the continual swelling I have experienced ever since and that's all down to circulation and muscle collapse. After my 1st physio last week and doing painful exercises all which are meant to improve my leg, I am beginning to see a change but it is such hard work and so frustrating. I did not realise how incapacitating it is to lose the use of a limb even for a comparatively short time. However it has made me realise just how hard it is for people who are disabled in so many ways and how un-user friendly some places are for people. Even shopping with a disabled trolley that fits to a wheelchair. You cannot get a day's shopping in those ridiculously small trollies - let alone a weeks shop!!
At home my son and husband have both been bricks in helping me over the last few weeks and they have had to put up with much - fetching and carrying for me because I just cannot do stuff. The first few weeks were hard with all of us having to come to terms with this situation and it hasn't been easy for any of us. So tempers were somewhat frayed but I think it has settled down now but it is still hard for us all. For me it felt at times that the 4 walls were crowding in on me and I missed being out in the fresh air and just being able to do things as I am normally a very busy person. It's hard moving slowly around on crutches and very tiring. The left side of my body has had to pile on muscle to support the right side and uneven legs look odd to me. The pressure bruises on my hands are still there and now I'm developing callouses.
Yesterday was the first day I was able to have a full bath and it was blissful to get rid of my hard flaking dry skin and just enjoy the warm water. Such a simple chore but previously taken for granted. I can't wait to get properly mobile again but it will be a long time coming at least another 6 weeks so I have had to learn more patience and let nature take its course however hard that has become.
I have had close friends telephone me and take me out for lunch breaks to just relieve the boredom and for that I am truly grateful. Its at times like this you find out who is really there for you in times of need from both family and friends. Let's see now if I can keep this going at least for a while. Now on to some physio to push further pain barriers but I have to keep telling myself it is for my own good and things should get better - eventually!!
However since I am somewhat incapacitated due to breaking my leg 8 weeks ago I guess this is a good opportunity to get cracking again (no pun intended). I broke the leg whilst taking the dog out for a walk, early morning, nothing unusual just rather dewy grass and an uneven rise in the ground caused the break as I slipped on the damp grass. A split second moment that changed my life somewhat over these last few weeks.
I knew I had broken the leg from the moment I heard the fateful snap that seems to accompany any broken bones. Luckily for me it wasn't a compound fracture i.e. bones coming out of the skin. However I had broken both the tibula and fibula which I did not expect. The breaks were very clear from the x-rays, clean breaks slanting from right to left on both bones. A true reflection of what happened since my foot just went one way i.e. to the left whilst the rest of my body fell to the right hence the snap. Just an ordinary morning in some ways but obviously not from the rest of the day onwards.
I had to keep the leg raised no weight at all for 4 weeks. I had a heavier plaster fitted after the 1st week and then it was removed at just 5 weeks so I could begin to weight bear. I experienced more pain after the plaster was removed than at the actual break time. It's due to the continual swelling I have experienced ever since and that's all down to circulation and muscle collapse. After my 1st physio last week and doing painful exercises all which are meant to improve my leg, I am beginning to see a change but it is such hard work and so frustrating. I did not realise how incapacitating it is to lose the use of a limb even for a comparatively short time. However it has made me realise just how hard it is for people who are disabled in so many ways and how un-user friendly some places are for people. Even shopping with a disabled trolley that fits to a wheelchair. You cannot get a day's shopping in those ridiculously small trollies - let alone a weeks shop!!
At home my son and husband have both been bricks in helping me over the last few weeks and they have had to put up with much - fetching and carrying for me because I just cannot do stuff. The first few weeks were hard with all of us having to come to terms with this situation and it hasn't been easy for any of us. So tempers were somewhat frayed but I think it has settled down now but it is still hard for us all. For me it felt at times that the 4 walls were crowding in on me and I missed being out in the fresh air and just being able to do things as I am normally a very busy person. It's hard moving slowly around on crutches and very tiring. The left side of my body has had to pile on muscle to support the right side and uneven legs look odd to me. The pressure bruises on my hands are still there and now I'm developing callouses.
Yesterday was the first day I was able to have a full bath and it was blissful to get rid of my hard flaking dry skin and just enjoy the warm water. Such a simple chore but previously taken for granted. I can't wait to get properly mobile again but it will be a long time coming at least another 6 weeks so I have had to learn more patience and let nature take its course however hard that has become.
I have had close friends telephone me and take me out for lunch breaks to just relieve the boredom and for that I am truly grateful. Its at times like this you find out who is really there for you in times of need from both family and friends. Let's see now if I can keep this going at least for a while. Now on to some physio to push further pain barriers but I have to keep telling myself it is for my own good and things should get better - eventually!!
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