Day 62 - No Crutches No Brace, Yeeee!

As the title says, I've been walking around without crutches and without my brace on.  If I do this for too long it gets quite painful but for the first 15 minutes I can walk pretty much normally!

Stairs are still a problem but I just use the handrail.

Driving again next week!

Monday 10th May - Day 45 and Rehab Begins

Technically, rehab starts in a few weeks but I'm getting so bored with hobbling around on these bastard crutches that I've started early.  Putting weight on it isn't too painful and I can walk around pretty slowly without the brace or crutches.  Mum and Dad have also loaned me an exersize bike which I'll be using every morning.

I get a bit of pain to the right of the knee every now and again, I think it's the hematoma sorting itself out.  At least I hope it's that.

Also managed to pull a tendon in my shoulder last week after a slip on the crutches...  Bollocks!

Wednesday 28th April - Day 33

Only 1 month in...  So bored.  I'm able to work from home (or the pub next door) so during the day it's not too bad but evenings get pretty tedious.  I'm getting pretty awesome at Modern Warfare 2 though.   For those who know the game, I've Prestiged twice in 2 months!

I had another trip to the hospital yesterday and hoped my doctor would give me the ok to buy an automatic car and at least gain some freedom but sadly it was denied... No driving for at least another 2 months.

I've been told I can remove the brace and try bending the knee when I'm in a safe environment.  Currently I'm between 95 and 100 degrees motion.  I can almost straighten my knee completely but it is difficult (not painful) to lock out.

There are still a few hematomas around my knee but doc says these should disappear in time.

The most difficult part of all this is keeping weight off the leg.  Walking with crutches is tiring and navigating around the kitchen with a glass of water in one hand is actually pretty dangerous.

Here's my knee.  Virtually no muscle at all.  I have a hairy girls leg.

Wednesday 14th April - Day 19 : bend, straighten, bend, straighten

Hit my shoulders at the gym today.  Saying it was hard work is a huge understatement.  I had several dizzy spells but at least my leg didn't hurt!  Tomorrow, it's chest day.


The leg is healing well.  First thing in the morning when the swelling is to a minimum I am almost able to bend to 90 degrees.  See!

The new brace is good but sleeping in it is still tricky.  I'm due back at the Occupational Therapy Splint Workshop again tomorrow so I will let them know about the painful areas.  It will also need refitting because my muscles have atrophied even more!!  It will be stick thin at the end of the 2 months.

Thursday 8th April - Day 13 after surgery, fitting of new leg brace

I had my new, hinged leg brace fitted today.  It's far more difficult to fit and remove than the old one but this one seems more supportive.  I'm locked into only 90 degrees movement right now, of which I can probably do about 30.  Check this out...

Wednesday 7th April - Day 12 since surgery

Pretty boring day today, Mum came round to visit with the dogs which livened things up a load!

Tuesday 6th April - Transfer to British doctor

My appointment with the knee specialist at Nuffield hospital Derby was this morning.  He took a good look through my file and had a few xrays done.  It appears everything is ok and I'm on track to a full recovery.

Staples have also been removed... scar is looking much better and check out my hair regrowth!



The bruising is looking pretty nasty but pretty sure that's to be expected.  I've been trying to bend my knee as much as possible and I'm also being fitted for a brace with movable knee joint on Thursday.   This photo shows where I'm at with knee bending right now...






I can't believe how skinny my leg looks in this picture!  My muscles have atrophied already!

Monday 5th April - Strength is Back!

It took the whole weekend but finally I have my strength back.  It's amazing what 3 days without a good meal and any sleep can do to a person.  I found myself out of breath limping to the toilet!  However, with each passing day and each passing meal I found myself stronger.  Now, I'm fully able to cope on my own in my flat.

My Dad bought me a seat to mount in the bath so I can wash easily and I have my armchair setup in the firing line of the TV with laptop and table full of fruit and various goodies to one side... I'm ready for the next 2 months!

I'm on over-the-counter pain medication (Nurofen plus) every 4 to 6 hours.  When I'm seated with my leg horizontal there is little to no pain but when I stand up and all the blood rushes down my leg the pain can become quite severe.  The pain meds help with this.  I have found that this pain becomes less every day.

Thursday 1st April - Journey Home

Hardly slept, headache, stomach ache, leg ache... Just want to be home.

The journey home was ok at first, my own personal Ambulance with two lovely French nurses was fantastic but my Easyjet flight was delayed by 2 hours.  I had 3 seats on the plane eventually... nice.

Arrival in Luton was a whole different story.  I was greeted with a Mercedes Estate taxi!  Hardly equipped to deal with a fractured leg!  The 2 and a half hour journey up the M1 in bank holiday traffic and pouring rain was awful.  I spent the entire time holding onto my leg as the car stopped and started with the traffic.  By the time I arrived in Derby at 9pm I barely had the strength to stand.  It took 5 minutes to walk down the short corridor to my flat and once I arrived I could barely move!

Wednesday 31st March - one more night!

Slept very badly last night. My heart rate seems very high when I'm lying down trying to sleep. Could be something to do with the extensive surgery I guess. I think I had a total of 2 hours sleep, I feel terrible! Tonight, I'm going to try to pop a Nytol and get my head down early but I have no idea who my room mate will be as James is meant to leave today.



The pain in my leg was tolerable but I still have to lie on my back. Any movement onto either side results if pain. It feels like there are bruises all around my leg. To be expected I think.

I still haven't heard anything about journey times from my Insurance company. Hopefully this will come later today.

Here's a quick picture of my surgeon on his rounds this morning.



He's the one on the left pointing at his watch.

Had dressings changed again this morning, obviously I took pictures!



This is what came out of my tube holes...


The healed tube hole...



14:00 - Decided to have a power nap and just woke up. Think I managed about 3 hours so I'm feeling a little stronger than I did first thing. The fact that I'm not eating properly isn't helping, I can't wait to get home and eat a good meal!

18:00 - Refused to eat the dinner but James decided to give it a go. He managed to eat one of the errr... how can I describe it... mmmmm... brains?



It costs our insurance company 1103 Euros per night EACH for us to stay here and they can't afford better food than this shit. Unbelievable! Which is why, we're having Pizza tonight from the Pizzeria next door... Get in!

Tuesday 30th March - 2 days before home

7:30am - surgeon came round again with his minions. I asked a few questions, here's the deal:

* Staples come out 15 days after surgery, around the 8th/9th April but this will be at the discretion of my surgeon in England, whoever that may be
* I cannot put any weight on my leg for 2 months
* I must wear leg brace for 3 MONTHS!! How am I going to wear a suit with that thing?
* I can try bending my knee right now but only until it hurts. Which at the moment, is as soon as I try. It seems to crack the minute I start to bend, that causes quite a bit of pain when I straighten again. I will keep trying though. Eye of the tiger and all that bollocks!

But the worst part... and this is by far the worst part. I can't drive my beautiful car for 3 months!!!!!



11:00am - lunch time. Thought I'd share it with you today. Starter was this disgusting, smelly, inedible fish.



Main course was beef and veg but the beef was disgusting. I mean dry, too salty and tasteless (apart from the salt). I'm not usually a fussy eater but come on! (ate all the veg though)



I also caught a glimpse of the back of my leg in the mirror this morning. I had no idea the bruising was so bad.



My Dad has managed to find a consultant to take over my case on my return to the UK. He's very local, Nuffield hospital in Derby. Hopefully the surgeon, Dr. Zouaoui will file a complete report. Apparently there was no further damage to my knee other than the fracture.

James and I also met a Dutch girl called Ilaan who had a similar injury to me but her surgery was slightly more complex and was completed in the morning before mine.



I should get my CT scan results either today or tomorrow and will definitely post them on the Bleg.

Monday 29th March - Must be time to go home soon?

What a bloody awful nights sleep! I can't sleep on my side and my heart rate seems to be twice what it should be, even with some chemical help to sleep. On the plus side, I didn't feel much pain in my leg and even made it to the toilet at 5am with no help at all!

I turned down the stale bread breakfast and decided to eat some of the stuff Leah bought me... chocolate, breakfast of champions!

The surgeon and his gang of minions came round today. I've been told my gunk tubes will be removed today and I can go home on Thursday or Friday (nice and specific - helps me a lot!) He also said the surgery went well so I gave him a hearty hand shake and big thanks... Finally, I can't put any weight on it for 2 MONTHS!! That's 9 weeks! 62 days! Oh my God!!! I'm going to be pretty nifty on those crutches after 2 months!



10:00am and it's gunk tube removal time! Check these photos out...






Didn't really hurt when the tubes were pulled out but there was about 3 or 4 inches inside my leg. There are about 30 staples holding me together. Not really looking forward to those bad boys coming out!

15:15 - I got my new leg brace!  Way better than that scabby old, hospital provided thing that's been worn by hundreds of other skiers with injuries far less serious than mine (of course).  Check it out!

Here is James, my roommate doing his hourly exersize of blowing into a tube inserted into a tub of water several times.  Looks and sounds funny but needs to be done to get his lung back to strength again.

19:00 - James and I watch Hangover... "I didn't know they gave out rings in the holocaust!!"

Sunday 28th March - Day 4

Once again... food... seriously... yuch! Thank God Leah bought me a huge bag of goodies to munch on. Doubt I could survive without them.

I've actually been trying to eat as little as possible as I haven't been for a "number 2" since Wednesday morning. Because I have no idea how I'm going to do it! Peeing in a bottle is one thing but having someone help me hover over a toilet to do a crap is a whole other story!

I had my IV meds removed today so the only pipes left are those draining the gunk from my leg. Makes me a little more mobile so I sat in the chair for 20 minutes again. Pain is virtually non existent today!! Very happy!

Saturday 27th March - The long road to recovery

My God the food here is awful! Thankfully the good company from James, nurses and my friends makes up for it.

I had a very bad turn this morning. After trying to move from my bed to a chair and back I started feeling intense pain in my upper shin. This continued for over an hour despite administering oral morphine and more IV painkillers. Eventually the pain subsided but it felt like an eternity and usually I'm pretty good with pain.

In the afternoon the whole ski gang, Ben and Roisin Lester, Ben Fone, Dan Rhodes and my gorgeous girlfriend Leah came to visit before catching the Eurostar back to London. It was good seeing them all but I wished I was going back to the UK with them.





Throughout the day nurses continue to ask if I have any pain or discomfort and refill spent IV bottles. This does seem to be a well organised hospital. The only problem I find is the lack of information from doctors / the surgeon. I still don't know when I will be allowed home. I'm not even sure of the exact injury details or recovery procedures. Hopefully these will be given soon.

That night I had a good sleep (with sedative).

Friday 26th March - Surgery day

I have a new room mate and finally this one can speak English. It's James from Ireland. Seems like a nice bloke, he has a broken rib and punctured lung from a Snowboarding accident so although he can walk around he is confined to the hospital until Monday at least. He also requires daily x-rays and a supply of oxygen. Coughing, sneezing and laughing is also painful. Good job I'm not a funny fucker then isn't it?

I'm wheeled into surgery at about 11am. In the waiting room I meet a girl who's just finished her knee surgery, a similar procedure to mine. She's still pretty groggy from the sedative so conversation is tricky. I find out that I will be having an epidural and sedative... eek!

When I finally move to the operating theater my leg is shaved and I'm bent forward to administer the epidural. I don't remember much after this because I also had a sedative. During the procedure I drifted in and out of consciousness, I remember plenty of drilling and hammering but it didn't seem to bother me. Seriously, where can I get my hands on some more of that sedative... awesome stuff!

Once finished I was taken to a waiting area then to the x-ray room. The worst part of this was the itching. As the effects of the epidural wear off you itch like crazy and scratching your balls in front of nurses isn't particularly polite!

I had a look at the x-rays and I have quite a bit of metal work in my left leg!! On return to my room, my girlfriend Leah was waiting with James. Turns out I'd been gone almost 6 hours!! Poor girl was waiting for me all that time. Bless her, she's a diamond!

I had a few hours with Leah before she had to catch the bus back up to Saint Martin De Belleville then I tried to get some sleep. I'm now hooked up to 3 different drips and two drainage tubes from my knee. Those things are disgusting, full of blood and gunk that's been sucked out of the wound. There must be 3/4 of a pint in there!




Sleeping wasn't easy, even with the help of a sedative.

Thursday 25th March 2010 - Day 2, still no surgery

This day was mostly filled with painkillers and very little information.

The nurses, cleaning and catering staff are all lovely. A few of them pretty hot too! Brunette with the tattoo on her wrist... Hello! My room mate is a Polish guy who managed to fracture his wrist on a snow park. I'd put him at late 40's and not particularly in shape so I've no idea what he was doing trying to ride in a park! He also doesn't speak a word of English or French so conversation is non existent!
So glad I have my Macbook and iPhone!




I was told my surgery would be that day so I went without food for a full 24 hours. At about 6pm a nurse came in with a plate of food and told me my surgery would now be tomorrow because there were too many emergencies to take care of first.

The food was very bad. The best way to describe the dessert is, "beige". Seriously, I doubt a hungry dog would eat this crap.

Throughout the day the most embarrassing thing is having to pee into a bottle. I'm not sure if it's just me but I pretty much fill the thing each time. A few more glasses of water and I'd have been overflowing! These gowns don't leave much to the imagination, moving around the bed I've revealed James Westfall and Doctor Kenneth Noisewater to a few nurses so far!

That night I slept ok with the help of a sedative, right now I just want the surgery to be over with. It's not nice thinking that sharp pieces of bone are mushing around inside my knee!

Wednesday 24th March 2010 - Day of the Broken Leg

I'm holiday in the Trois Vallees with my closest friends and my girlfriend Leah, it's day 5 and conditions aren't great. We decide to head high and ski Val Thorens and maybe the 4th valley La Masse. The sun is out but the snow is very hard and icy in places. I'm pelting along on my brand new Kung Fujas at a fair rate on a wide, open blue run with very few people around when I realise it's time to put on the breaks as I'm approaching dangerous velocity. I swing into a parallel stop but don't see a hard chunk of snow in my path which causes me to take flight and land on another hard chunk of snow. I don't know if it was the impact of my left ski to the hard snow or some twisting movement during the fall but the result was a Tibial Plateau Fracture under my left knee. This photo shows the exact location of my crash... on a blue run!!! 25 years of skiing and my first big accident is cruising a bastard blue run!!  It's marked with a red "X".

The pain was bloody excruciating and my friends were very fast acting and called a blood wagon straight away. Within 20 minutes I was in Val Thorens medical center waiting for diagnosis.







For the first 30 to 40 minutes I lay on a gurney while various people moved around the corridor. The most interesting of which was a woman who sounded American. A nurse would usher her into a waiting room and minutes later she would walk out again looking completely lost. On several occasions she asked me the way to the exit, I didn't know but she kept asking. Turns out she hit her head in a collision with a snowboarder and her short term memory was affected... Always wear a helmet

When my turn came I was wheeled straight into x-ray and after a shot of morphine they removed my ski boot and ski pants. I heard a few comments, "c'est tres mal", "beaucoup de mal" so I knew it wouldn't be a quick fix.

An ambulance was called and I was taken to Moutiers hospital, on the journey I called BUPA, my travel insurance company and made sure I had my E111 card handy. (this is very important - don't go traveling without one!) BUPA were brilliant, they said whatever costs are required, all I need to do is give them a fax number so they could send proof of payment. They would also provide door to door transport if I am unable to use my original tickets.

On arrival at Moutiers I waited in emergency for about an hour, the woman next to me was the forgetful American with a load of her friends. During that hour she must have asked the time, the location of her kids and had she taken anything for her headache about 20 times! Poor girl, I hope she's ok.

I was wheeled in to have a CT scan at about 4pm after which I was told I would be require surgery and recovery would take several months.... Gutted!

Originally I was told surgery would take place today but it seems the surgeon prefers to wait until swelling has reduced.

I'm now hooked up to numerous drips with painkillers and anti-inflamatories and attempt to get some sleep with my leg resting in a splint. Not the most comfortable night.

18" Long Three Panel Knee & Leg Immobilizer / Knee Splint / Knee Brace