Recovery update
Things are moving so fast that when I think I should make a post I'm usually too knackered to actually do it.
I had the standing x-ray on my back as soon as physio allowed it. The next day someone from the spinal unit came round and said that my vertebrae were healing well and as such they were discharging me. This means I no longer need the brace that I had to wear if I wanted to sit up at a greater than 30 degree angle and which I needed if I was to move myself in the bed. It also means that I can get out of bed without the use of a lifting device (an Ar-Jo walker) which could be quite painful to use. I now get out of bed by sitting on the edge and pushing up into a Zimmer frame. From this I can transfer to a chair, commode or, as we discovered today, walk to the toilet/washroom.
I still haven't been cleared to put any weight on my left leg. The pelvis and knee can be quite painful at times and the foot feels constantly swollen. Fortunately I am allowed extra painkiller if this gets too bad although I try to keep this to a minimum.
I have just about got through a bladder/kidney infection, once it was discovered that I was in the small percentage that the regular antibiotic did not work for. Only now I have a mild cold as well. This latter, along with not having the support of the brace for my upper body, means that all the muscles of my abdomen and chest ache constantly.
Minor grumbles, the ward staff keep leaving things, the light, TV unit, table with drink and tissues, just out of reach. Secondly, my fingernails need cutting but the nurses are not allowed to do it. They can give someone a shave but not cut nails. Hopefully Dawn will be able to do them when she can next come in.
So on the whole, I'm on the mend but with no real idea as to when I shall be going home.
I had the standing x-ray on my back as soon as physio allowed it. The next day someone from the spinal unit came round and said that my vertebrae were healing well and as such they were discharging me. This means I no longer need the brace that I had to wear if I wanted to sit up at a greater than 30 degree angle and which I needed if I was to move myself in the bed. It also means that I can get out of bed without the use of a lifting device (an Ar-Jo walker) which could be quite painful to use. I now get out of bed by sitting on the edge and pushing up into a Zimmer frame. From this I can transfer to a chair, commode or, as we discovered today, walk to the toilet/washroom.
I still haven't been cleared to put any weight on my left leg. The pelvis and knee can be quite painful at times and the foot feels constantly swollen. Fortunately I am allowed extra painkiller if this gets too bad although I try to keep this to a minimum.
I have just about got through a bladder/kidney infection, once it was discovered that I was in the small percentage that the regular antibiotic did not work for. Only now I have a mild cold as well. This latter, along with not having the support of the brace for my upper body, means that all the muscles of my abdomen and chest ache constantly.
Minor grumbles, the ward staff keep leaving things, the light, TV unit, table with drink and tissues, just out of reach. Secondly, my fingernails need cutting but the nurses are not allowed to do it. They can give someone a shave but not cut nails. Hopefully Dawn will be able to do them when she can next come in.
So on the whole, I'm on the mend but with no real idea as to when I shall be going home.
