Reply With QuoteOuch. Hope you mend fully soon mate. All the best
Throw in a few hundred quid “spare” I’ve got in a “Slater’s Menswear” account and we are in dangerous territory! I pay in the huge sum of £40 a month to my Slater’s account, to keep me in suits and shirts for work. I don’t wear uniform at work any more and there is no longer a “plain clothes allowance”. The Slater’s stuff is perfectly adequate for work (as DI Jack Frost said, “Never wear a suit to work you wouldn’t be happy having a drunk being sick over...”) and I’ve also bought one or two better quality bits for “off duty” attire!
I broke my leg (femur), pelvis and wrist at the end of May last year in a motorbike accident and although initially things went ok, I was off work for 4 months, then went back, then the plate in my leg broke and I ended up being referred for limb reconstruction surgery. This is fairly “full on” and involved them cutting a chunk of dead/infected femur out, attaching an external fixator, surgically breaking my femur up near my hip and now “extending” that break so new bone grows there. The plan is that I “wind” a couple of screws on the fixator, which moves the “floating” bit of femur back towards my knee, where eventually it will join up again. Apart from a couple of minor hiccups, it’s all going to plan so far.
I’ve been off work again since the beginning of March this year. As a result, I’ve not even worn work suits for over 12 months, so I’ve built up a bit of credit in the account. Hopefully I’ll be able to do some working from home and even get back in to be office based before too much longer. I spend my days watching Netflix and surfing the Internet, hence this thread! I’ve bought a few bits recently from Sales Corner, including a nice retro (1969) Bulova and a Maranez Kata. Only a couple of hundred quid a pop, but in my head at least, I’ve spent loads more! Today, the boredom finally got the better of me, and I ordered a Dan Henry 1970 diver in orange, at 44mmI did think about getting the grey, but the orange isn’t too OTT I don’t think. Now, I’m just waiting for it to arrive - I’m like a kid on a long car journey, “Are we nearly there yet?” The website says 6-10 business days, so at least I have something to look forward to.
My other guilty pleasure is Lego and again, I’ve bought a few bits recently, even though I can’t sit up long enough to do any proper building. Again, once I’m a bit more recuperated, I’ll have something to do in the evenings! Worst case scenario is that in a few years, I’ll have some BNIB/LNIB sets I can sell...
I know there have been a couple for sale here recently, but I fancied spoiling myself for a change and it’s not the most expensive watch in the world. It’s based aro7 d a Seiko NH35 movement, which while hardly exotic, will at least be reliable and a known quantity.
I can’t for the life of me work out how to attach/insert photos (I’m on my iPad, I’ve managed to resize a screen grab down to the right pixel width/height, but can’t seem to reduce the file size). This is a shame, because I’d also show you the X-rays as well!
Ouch. Hope you mend fully soon mate. All the best
Good luck with the convalescence, if you are using you're Ipad download Tapatalk, very easy to add photos using this.
Cheers, I’ll have a look.Originally Posted by TBKBABAB
It was very ouch indeed! Still have the odd “ouch” moment, but finally on the mend now. My new consultant is utterly bonkers, but I do have every confidence in her.
Trying to add photos from the Tapatalk app. Let’s see how this goes...
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It works! May as well go crazy with an X-ray or two then...
I'm wincing at your injury.
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Rock and roll baby, rock and roll
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
I know! Not allowed beer at the moment, due to some fairly hefty pain relief meds.
The Lego is actually awesome though! Well, I think so. Some of the bigger kits aren’t cheap, either. £300 for the new Roller Coaster that has just been released...
To be honest mate, i think it went all downhill after they introduced rooftilesI know! Not allowed beer at the moment, due to some fairly hefty pain relief meds.
The Lego is actually awesome though! Well, I think so. Some of the bigger kits aren’t cheap, either. £300 for the new Roller Coaster that has just been released...
Good luck everybody. Have a good one.
Fair point - some of the set specific pieces are VERY specific, which I think actually takes away some of the creativity. I do like the modular buildings though, they usually have a few “hidden” features, which are pretty amusing and/or clever.
Lego is the best thing in the world. I bought loads of it when my kids were younger in the hope they'd make unusual and amazing things. Ended up with me making everything and now they're teenagers I can see why as both are aiming for well paid careers instead of engineering. Obviously they're smarter than their dad, who just likes building stuff!
Painful break and sounds like an equally long and painful recovery. I broke a femur and hips a couple of years ago. Knee to hip metal rod down the middle of it, a million or so nuts and bolts and one leg a good inch shorter than the other. First question everyone asks is, 'do you set metal detectors off'. Leg is still broken, so will also be having replacement bones in due course. Will make sure the consultant gets the length right this time.
The Dan Henry is seriously nice. I'd go orange as it's a real 1970's colour that the watch pulls off niceley.
My right elbow says hi
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Ouch, ouch, ouch. Some horrific looking injuries dibble and number2. I hope you both make goodecisions recoveries.
ATB
Jon
For once in my life I suggested to the driver he take it nice and gentle in the boat rather than the standard 'throttles as wide open as possible'. Good thing about crutches though is you have a couple of 4 foot sticks in your hands. Got mugged in this amazonian city a couple of months ago and before I'd even thought about it, one 4 foot stick had firmly knobbled the chap in the goolies. Stupid thing to do really.
https://marinechronometer.co.uk/index.php/news
Just don't stand an a piece of lego when you get mobile again, you don't want another 4 months off work, then again......
Love the orange Dan Henry
Good Luck with the recovery's all who have posted graphic X rays.
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+1 ; that's a lot of metalwork you both have in you now, far more than me with a fractured hip that just required a plate and three screws in it.. Hope your recovery goes well OP; the Leggo looks fun if expensive !
question for dibble & number2, or others with added metalwork; do you set off the metal detectors at airports?
TBH I haven't travelled by air since the accident which was last July, hopefully that should change soon though.
"Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it's enemy action."
'Populism, the last refuge of a Tory scoundrel'.
Hi there dibble.... sorry to hear you’re still in the wars.. we used to converse a bit over on PH, but I had a different user name so you may not remember me... I’ll PM it to you...
Regarding the chap asking about metal and airports, the answer is yes it always sets off the detectors.. I have a titanium and ceramic knee joint and I’ve never been through and it not been detected...
Really feel for You take care My Friend.
I’m not sure whereabouts you are based, but I’m having my reconstruction surgery done at Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool. It’s a bit of a trek, but they’re the regional centre of excellence for limb reconstruction and they really know their stuff. As well as the actual surgical team, they have a specialist orthopaedic ward, wound dressing staff (really important with multiple “pin sites” where the metal goes through the skin), dedicated physios who all have “extra” qualifications/skills for the department... it’s a really “joined up” way of doing stuff. I go for physio at least once a week and the extra treatment I get is well worth the journey.
It sounds like they are going to fix your femur with an IM (intramedullary) nail. This wasn’t an option for me, because there wasn’t enough viable bone to attach it to/around.
I’ve gone for the orange because to me, it just looks “right”. I do like the grey and wouldn’t normally pick anything remotely “blingy”, but for this watch I think it’s definitely the way to go. I’m not sure I’d ever pull off a “full Doxa”, but then I really like the “banana” SeaMaster and some of the yellow faced Crepas watches I really like as well.
Good luck with your leg. If you’ve any questions, fire away, either here or by pm if you want it kept “private”.
Ow! Now that looks like a massive ball acher! Luckily, all my breaks were “just” bones and none of the joints themselves were damaged. The fracture to my wrist was a stable hairline fracture of the head of both the ulna and radius. It wasn’t picked up until I’d been in hospital about 6 weeks and by then it had already healed itself. I’d been flat on my back all that time, so hadn’t really had to use my wrist. It was painful (actually bruised from fingertips to elbow) but I just put that down to general scrapes. It was only when I mentioned it to one of the physios it was actually X-rayed and detected. To be fair, the medics were more focussed on the potentially life threatening injuries. As well as the fractures, I also had a rather nasty infection, requiring 6 months of antibiotics, then blood clots in both lungs (now THAT was painful!) and hospital acquired pneumonia...My right elbow says hi
I certainly ticked a lot of the “possible side effects” boxes!
Cheers Jon, I really appreciate the good wishes.
You’d be surprised to know what a boost it is hearing from unknown, random people on the internet. I think it shows the inherent, generally “good”, nature of most people. It really does help, lots.
I should also say that the NHS staff all along have been nothing short of absolute super heroes. Not just the surgeons and consultants, but everyone. And I do mean absolutely everyone - nurses, maintenance staff, domestics, students, cleaners... you name them.
It might be the surgeons who do the “fixing”, but I truly believe it’s the other staff who get you “well” again. They’re the ones who see you every day and they will very quickly know if something isn’t right. They will put a hand on your shoulder, give you a smile, get you a brew, tell you you’ll be ok, know when to leave you alone to “stew”, know when NOT to leave you alone... and it’s those apparently tiny gestures/actions, which actually have a huge impact on your overall wellbeing. Whatever they’re getting paid, it’s nowhere near enough.
You’re in good hands, had my surgery done there back in 2003. They really do go the extra mile.
Cheers! I’m going to try and avoid any injuries if I possibly can. Although I’m not so sure getting another bike, once I’m repaired, will be the most logical decision...
I’m actually itching to get back to work and not just because I’m now on half pay. I’m probably the laziest person I know, but being practically bed bound on my own is fairly dull. I’ve got my dog for company during the day and my very lovely, patient girlfriend also comes every day as well (although I think that’s more to do with seeing the mutt!).
I’ve just started the “lengthening” process with the screws to make my femur “grow” and the consultant says she wants me fully weight bearing in the next six weeks. This is quite feasible as the external fixator (some quite fancy cross weave carbon fibre in there) is rigid and taking the place of my femur for the time being.
Despite no injuries to any of my actual joints, for some reason, after every surgery, the range of movement in my knee is seriously reduced and I get a lot of pain under/at the bottom of my knee cap. This is all quite normal, I’m told and is in part due to the tendons and muscles just seizing/stiffening up a bit through lack of use. The physios say this is all reversible, once I get the knee/leg back in use again. They also help by “manipulating” the joint. Now THAT smarts, I can tell you!
Yes, I set off the detectors in airports! I also set them off at court, where they use similar scanners!
I went to Oslo with my girlfriend back in February to see a-ha in concert (they were fantastic) and shortly before we flew out, I’d had a couple of MRI scans, where I was also injected with a “small amount” of radioactive isotopes, to see how well the osteoblasts (bone growing cells) were working.
This “small amount” of radiation was more than enough to trigger radioactivity detectors at the airport, so I had a covering letter from the “Department of Nuclear Medicine”, explaining why I was glowing like the kid from the 1970s Ready Brek adverts (showing my age here!).
Just seen the pm notification pop up, but not read the message yet. Once I’ve replied to the questions here, I’ll be sure to have a look. I’m slightly intrigued now!
Thanks very much, as I’ve said, the good wishes really do help.
The whole experience has also been a bit of an eye opener for me. I’ve had to resort to using a wheelchair more recently. I’ve never used disabled parking spaces or toilets, but when you “need” these facilities, it’s a real shocker just how selfish some other people can be.
I’m very lucky, because in time, I should make a full recovery and be as good as new. I’m (mostly) upright and still breathing. I could have been killed, cabbaged, paralysed or comatose. Yes, my recovery has taken a while, and probably a bit longer than it ideally should have, but there are people facing much bigger problems than me. My external fixator is one straight rail, where some other patients have the full “halo” job (technically known as an Ilizarov frame).
There are also lots of people with life ending or shortening conditions, or just people who aren’t so lucky to have a good support network of family, friends and colleagues. I’m lucky I’m not self employed, because that would no doubt have ended up with me being homeless, particularly if it was any kind of physical job. Although I’m on half pay now, I do have insurance to make up most of the shortfall, I’m spending much less than I usually do on simple stuff like food and fuel and I also actually qualify for some benefits (Personal Independence Payment). It was actually a big step for me to apply for benefits and as soon as I’m able, I’ll stop the claim. I’ve worked and paid tax all my life, so one rationalisation is I have at least paid in to the system that is now supporting me.
There is of course a whole argument that if I’d NOT had a motorbike to start with, I wouldn’t have cost the NHS and DWP the doubtless hundreds of thousands of pounds they’ve spent on me. As daft as it might sound, I’m actually still a bit conflicted about that!
I was initially in hospital at Preston, who were excellent. The injury was so bad, they would never have been able to fix me. I just wish I’d pushed harder and sooner for the referral to Broadgreen.
“My” consultant is utterly, barking mad. I like her a lot! She is absolutely arrow straight and says she can fix me. I completely trust her on that. She’s not held back on how difficult some of it will be for me, but I’d prefer that level of honesty, so I know what I’m in for. At least when it does hurt, I not only know why, but also that it’s not something for me to start panicking about.
Don’t be.... people fall off pushbikes, have car accidents, industrial accidents. Accidents from leisure activities every day. We all pay into the NHS so that it can fix us when we’re broken.. Some folk are lucky enough to never need the NHS but they still pay, others need lifelong treatment. It’s just the way it is. We’re very lucky to have it, but we shouldn’t feel guilty if we have to use it..
Like I say, I’m still a bit conflicted! I’m also a hypocrite, because I don’t eat anything like a healthy diet and I drink too much booze. A healthier lifestyle would no doubt cost the NHS less in the long term...
Then again, on the flip side, I’m a “blood biker”, so I save the NHS money that way! I also only get stuff on prescription that I can’t just buy, so paracetamols does the like is always for the supermarket and I paid for Senna tablets and Lactulose. Bizarrely, it cost me less to but the Senna and Lactulose “for cash” than the cost of a prescription charge...
Life is rarely simple or straightforward!
Yes, it was an IM nail, but it didn't really work; bone looks like a few hoola-hoops dangling around it and the nail drove itself up a little when I first walked on it. I did mention that it hurt like buggery to walk on, but the orthopedic nurse thought I was being a wussie. Next option is to remove the bone and put something fully synthetic in its place. Broke it in the mid-east, op done in London.
And yes, set of every metal detector like a christmas tree. With the notable exception of the one at City Airport which I went through about an hour ago. Told the chap there it was broken, but he didn't believe me.
Edit: orange tooks excellent. The grey has a hint of 90's/00's that doesn't sit so well with the 1970's design.
One of my fellow patients had a prosthetic femur put in (think he had his done in Birmingham) after they found cancer in it after he broke it. He was lucky, because without that break, the cancer wouldn’t have been found so early, so breaking his leg potentially saved his life. He was up and about walking on it within about three days of his surgery as well.
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Maybe broke because weakened by the cancer?
Possibly, although I seem to think it was something trauma related. For some reason I have it in my head he fell from a ladder while doing some decorating. Obviously the bone might have been weakened by the cancer, but I remember the specialist telling him it was lucky he’d broken it.
It sounds as though you're in excellent hands. I was an NHS physio in the '80's and '90's working at a regional orhtopaedic centre for three of those years. Leg lengthening ops were not the commonest op but they were very successful - though I can't remember them being used in a case of delayed union (if that's whst happened). But of course things have moved on since then. It does sound, though, that you were pretty unlucky to have had such difficulty getting the femur to unite ok - it's more often the tibia that gives problems. But it did look a pretty nasty injury.
As others have said, you shouldn't feel conflicted about riding your bike - every activity carries risks and it was unfortunate that biking had such a consequence. And to feel conflicted when you're a blood biker... just don't.
Anyway, you're in great hands - all the very best for a successful outcome ☺
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