::Griffblog::

Today I saw my consultant. X-Rays were taken and having having looked at them he declared the fracture well and truly healed and that it was time for the frame to come off.

Off he popped to check theatre availability. A few minutes later he returned and asked if I was available tomorrow afternoon! I couldn’t say yes quick enough.

Then followed the pre-op assessment, consent forms, urine test, MRSA swabs etc and then we drove home delighted and a little shell shocked at the news. We’d been home only a few minutes when my mobile rang. It was the hospital explaining that the Op could not take place tomorrow.

I have a latex allergy which causes issues with theatres. If anyone has been in before me they will have used latex gloves and this causes a very slight risk that latex dust may be on the surfaces or in the air. I’m only allergic if I get latex in my mouth, no balloon blowing for me, but once you declare an allergy they cannot take any chances.

And so, as I was mid list tomorrow they have re-scheduled so I am instead first on the table on Friday instead in a theatre that has been cleaned and is as latex free as possible. The whole removal procedure will take less than an hour and is effectively a day case so I can return home as soon as I have come around from the general anaesthetic.

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I’d like to think that I’ve generally kept my spirits up for the most part throughout the treatment I’ve been undergoing. Yes there have been bad days, infections etc that have brought my mood crashing down but I’m generally a positive person and tough as it can be, I’ve kept smiling.

January is a bad time for many, post Christmas/New Year with bleak weather and back to work etc but this last week has been a real test.

Wednesday was the day I was supposed to be travelling to St Peters Hospital in Chertsey (a 30 mile drive) to meet with my consultant and set a date for surgery to remove the ilizarov frame.  As we all know, Tuesday evening saw the worst snow fall in the UK for a great many years and so when we awoke Wednesday it was clear Cinders would not be going to the ball.

With a foot of snow having fallen overnight our car was stuck and the local roads were equally treacherous. Soon after we got up and surveyed the scene I received a text from the hospital cancelling the appointment and advising that a new one would be arranged in due course.

Buggeration!

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It has been some 4 months since I went under the knife (and chisel, spanner and mallet) and had the ilizarov frame bolted into and onto my leg.

By and large it has been a lot easier than I had feared. I’d had almost a year to prepare mentally and practically for the op so when the day finally came there was little shock at the appearance of the frame fitted to my leg and whilst it has been painful and uncomfortable and life limiting to large degrees, for the most part it has been easier than I had feared it might be.

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Only recently I was thinking how lucky I had been to only suffer one pin infection very early on in the process.

Then last Saturday one of my pin wires sprung an infection which got worse very quickly. By Sunday I had another pin wire and one of the thicker pins also infected.

My earlier infection I now know was but a teaser and the discomfort I had back then was nothing compared with the agonising and completely debilitating pain that this one has demonstrated.

So Monday morning I saw my GP who quickly prescribed Phenoxymethylpenicillin and Flucloaxacillin, two types of high dose antibiotic and as my normal pain killer supply wasn’t touching this new source of pain, Co-Codamol in the high strength 30mg dose.

The main infection is in the pin closest to the top of my thigh.  It is in the worst possible place because the skin and flesh moves a lot in this area.  And movement = lots of pain.

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After an aborted trip to see the consultant two weeks ago (tuned up only to discover he had been called away) we finally saw him last Tuesday.

The good news is the bone has now connected and begun to knit and fill in the gap. I am now booked to return on 8th December and if all is going well then, they will start undoing the tension on the frame to transfer some of the weight through the new bone rather than the frame.

If that goes to plan then normally the frame is removed a month later!

Given some of the stories I have heard from others with ilizarov frames, this has gone very well.  We were told at the outset that it would be 4mths at the very least but typically 6mths – 1 year so if it comes off in January it will be a shade under 6mths.

I’ve also made some huge improvements at home, I’ve thrown away the crutches and can now get around using a walking stick.  I can walk without but it is there as a backup as balance is an issue with a heavy frame on one leg and it locked straight.

So that was great news, my wife and I returned home with huge smiles on our faces at the good news!