::Griffblog::

On Tuesday I finally saw my consultant to check on the length of my leg and bone growth.

I was delighted to be told that the leg was physically at the right length (+25mm) now and I would therefore not need to continue with the daily nut turning spanner exercise. The bone however has not quite met growth expectations having grown only about 15mm since the surgical fracture.

Not unusual I was told and so I am am now waiting for it to grow to close the gap of approximately 1cm. To that end I have been told to move to using one crutch only and fully weight bear on the right leg, this encourages bone growth.

I’ve started doing just that today but it’s incredibly hard work. Two factors being the mental block that tells you not to put all your weight on the leg and the other being the leg muscles, unused to weight, which scream at you every time you apply pressure and trigger the mental process that questions whether you should be doing this at all!

I’ve a review in three weeks and if I can help speed up the bone growth by walking then walk I shall, that and the gallons of milk, multi-vitamins and orange juice I’m being fed should do the job!

As a journalist working in the technology arena it’s expected that I will have more than my fair share of gadgets. Some bought, some loaned and some gifted to me by companies in exchange for a review (but note I ALWAYS speak my mind regardless).

Photography is both an interest of mine and an technology that I use a lot in my day to day work. I don’t have access to the resources of large art department and staff photographers so I need to take photos that are at least half decent to accompany my reviews. Most companies will supply stock artwork for their products but for a review nothing is worse than stock photos. It’s a clear sign of re-hashed PR where the author may have barely used a device let alone formed an opinion of it!

And so I have a large collection of cameras, Pro SLR, pocket digital, combo digital and video not to mention the cameras stuffed into the various phones I have in my possession.

Video is a new area. The addition of short videos to demonstrate a product are a great value add to a written review. An early investment in a Sony ProHD Camcorder has proved a poor choice, it’s complex to use, the use of tape makes importing of film arduous and the results are far too high quality for most of my web-based needs.

And so I have come to buy a Flip Mino HD camcorder. Basic in the extreme but superb in their execution, the Flip series have proved a huge hit selling in their millions. Why? Because as a famous photographer once said, “the best camera you can have is the one that’s with you”! It’s pointless having a £3000 ProHD Camcorder if it’s too bulky to carry. The Flip Mino HD is inexpensive at £129 AND fits in your pocket.

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Tuesday was supposed to be my clinic appointment to measure the bone growth. Last Sunday was the tentative 25mm goal point assuming the bone has grown as planned so the clinic appointment was already late.

What with all that happened over the weekend Tuesday just appeared. The appointment at St Peters was for 2.30pm and so just as we were about to leave the house at 1.15pm the phone rang. It was St Peters cancelling the clinic as the Consultant had just rang in sick!

So I was left in Limbo. If I stop turning the nuts and the bone has grown as planned it will begin to knit. Fine if the leg is the right length, not so good if it’s short. If I continue to turn I risk having the leg too long!

We tried calling our liaison Sister at St Peters on Wed and despite being promised a call-back, none came. called again Thursday and got through. The cancelled clinic has caused turmoil so the best advice they could give me is to turn the nuts twice a day rather than 4 times and I’ll be seen on Tuesday 6th, a full week later and 10 days after I should have stopped turning the nuts.

Apparently the bone rarely grows at the ideal 1mm/day and even if it is longer, the bone is still soft and so can be compressed back a bit, indeed this is often planned as otherwise when it settles and knits you lose a few mm of length.

So now we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Tuesday. Hopefully the bone will have grown well and we can have a date when the lengthening stops and it is all locked off. Then the consolidation/knitting phase can begin.

I’ve always been a vociferous supporter of the NHS and the staff who work within. But last week this was stretched to the very limit by a poor experience at Frimley Park Hospital.

Last Wednesday evening I had a pain begin in my left chest when I took a deep breath. I did the man thing, ignored it, went to bed and hoped it’d go away. When I awoke the next morning the pain was still present.

I tried to book an appointment with my GP but no slots were available. Instead I eventually got a call back mid afternoon from a Doctor at the surgery. Having explained the symptoms he told me I needed to present at A&E as it may be a blood clot. Having recently had an operation I was in the increased risk category apparently.

So off I toddled to A&E at my nearest hospital, Frimley Park and after some tests, an ECG and a chest x-ray it was decided that I needed a lung scan and so would have to stay overnight. I won’t pretend I was delighted but needs must and after 4hrs in A&E I was transferred to the Medical Assessment Unit (MAU). This is a ward with beds for short stay only, no TV’s, bedside lockers or other frills and comforts.

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A huge problem for ilizarov and TSF frame wearers is clothing. Frames on the lower leg are perhaps slightly easier to cater for but troublesome nevertheless and femoral frames, being the largest and most bulky present a quite literally ‘huge’ problem.

As we had prepared long in advance we had purchased a couple of pairs of running shorts, the type with the slits up each side. The inner mesh lining was removed and we were relatively confident that underpants and these shorts would stretch over a frame. That was before I had the frame fitted!

When I awoke to see how big the frame actually was it was clear that we had underestimated the size. I managed to don pants and a pair of shorts with great difficulty and in the meantime Sue hastily modified a pair of shorts by cutting up the side and sewing on snap fasteners.

This made the shorts much easier to fit and so she then moved on to applying the same modification to underpants. No longer did I have to struggle to get them over the frame where they would catch on every nut and bolt!

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