Just in case it wasn’t clear which leg needs operated on….

Dear Readers, so I’m back at home and trying to get my head around the past few days. So much has happened! But at least I’m on the mend. Last night I decided to sleep downstairs – our Victorian staircase felt like too big a mountain to climb when my leg was so sore. But I’m getting up and moving about as much as feels sensible, and I have watched endless episodes of ‘Bake Off – The Professionals’. Cherish Finden, one of the presenters, is my new style icon. Anyone else out there watching it?

I have had a few thoughts on the experiences of the past few days, so here are a few…

• Don’t wait until you absolutely have to have a bedpan to ask for a bedpan. Seriously.
• How exactly does one judge if one has 50% of one’s bodyweight on one leg? I’m currently using the pain threshold – if I can’t bear the pain, it’s too much
• Keep track of when you’ve taken your medication and stick a reminder in your phone for when you can have the next one. Although at the moment I know to the minute when I can have my next painkillers, and the minutes definitely slow own just before they’re due.
• I’m having to learn how to inject myself with an anti-coagulant for the next fourteen days. The nurse showed me how, and said ‘oh it’s only a little needle’. She’s right, it’s as thin as a hair, but it’s also about a centimetre long. I’ll master it, I’m sure, because it’s important. It makes me feel sorry for all those kitties that I’ve injected with fluids in the scruff of their necks over the years. Sorry kitties!
• When the original plaster cast was put on, it actually heated up on my leg! This is due to an exothermic reaction with the plaster, and it was as if I had an electric blanket wrapped around my leg, very pleasant.
• When I was sent home, I was so delighted to be getting back to my own house that I forgot to ask such basic questions as ‘how much should I be using this leg’ and ‘are there any specific exercises I should be doing?’ so I’m playing it by ear, though on second thoughts I might just ring and see if I can get a physio to have a word. I’m back in two weeks for a ‘wound inspection’ but I suspect that a lot of the good work can be done in the early days.

And that’s it for now! Tomorrow I’m having a wheelchair delivered, so that I can get out until I’m strong enough to use the crutches for a longer period, so I should at least be able to get to Coffee Bank (our local coffee shop on East Finchley High Road) and have a change of scene. Will keep you posted!