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I managed to slip over on 6-November-2015 and fracture the femoral head of my right hip. This blog is just to keep friends and relatives up-to-date with my recovery. It also will show where the NHS is good and where there is opportunity to improve. If you click the images tab (above) there are a few images of the break before and after the repair.

Update 10-June-2016 - sadly the femoral head has avascular necrosis and a total hip replacement will be carried out on 15-June-2016

I am home in Stoke Bruerne

Sunday 24 January 2016

Day 74 (26) to Day 81 (33)

24-Jan (32)
Able to come down the stairs this morning one foot after the other rather than always leading with one foot (leg); that's yet another little milestone. Physio tomorrow with my friend Liz at Working Bodies. I am surprised that the NHS have said I don't need to go back to them for 4 weeks but Liz thinks I need weekly work. I know I am paying for Liz and that the NHS is free (at the point of delivery) but still feel that seeing Liz is an investment in my future rather than a cost. I haven't used any form of walking aid since Friday; I am quite pleased about that.

I went for a walk this afternoon with my friend Mike; all the way to the tunnel portal and back - about as far as I would wish to walk at the moment but nonetheless a little milestone in my recovery I think. I did take my walking stick I am afraid.

23-Jan (31)
Saddened to read in the NZ papers today that Alec Whishart who had formed a band in the 1970s called Hogsnort Rupert had died.  They had two very memorable songs, Pretty Girl and Aunty Alice brought us this - typical Kiwi stuff but I do remember so well going to hear them in Oamaru in the very early 1970s; their songs still bring a smile to my face and oodles of memories. What made them more endearing to me was that my beloved parents didn't like them! But then I don't think they, like many parents, liked their offspring's choice of music in their teens!

Making slow but sure progress with the walking.  Friends who visit say they notice great improvement but of course I see it continuously and don't see the shifts in improvement. It's the 'quad' muscle that seems to have its nose out of joint.

My friends Ken and Sue (and their lovely Boarder Collie Holly) sent me a lovely jigsaw during the week but, although I knew something was coming I didn't know what so I completely forgot to say thank you until prompted by Sue when she asked if it had arrived - I am very embarrassed by my lack of manners.

22-Jan (30)
The improvement in my mobility seems to continue - no pain in the left leg overnight  so I can only assume that there has been some kind of inflammation in my upper right leg which is now under control - great!

A meeting this morning with CRT's Director of Marketing at the museum and a trip into the tunnel and back again.

Took myself into Milton Keynes in the afternoon and walked to a meeting (albeit with a walking stick) so that's another little milestone.

21-Jan (29)
Well I got up this morning and zoomed around the bedroom as usual.  However the odd thing is that I have continued to be able to 'zoom around' all morning. I took some anti-inflamatory drugs yesterday and again this morning; I can't think of anything else that may be the cause of me being able to walk so well. They weren't anything smart - just Lloyds Pharmacy own brand ones.

20-Jan (28)
Jim Birch from Oak Craft Narrowboats came to see me today. Mainly about a shower with a larger enclosure as I have always found the current one a little small. I think we'll do a little more than that so I await Jim's quotation with interest.

NHS Physio today - all went well and Joyti doesn't wish to see me for a month as she thinks I am making excellent progress which is good news - she said I must understand that the work to fix my hip was a big operation.

19-Jan (27)
All day with CRT in Milton Keynes - even got to write a little HTML - that takes me back to BA days! I was very surprised how tired I was last night - dragged myself upstairs but I did sleep very soundly!

A bitterly cold day but a wonderful frost and a sparklingly clear day - driving in to Milton Keynes with Lee King (Lee is charge of the maintenance engineers from Stockers Lock to Leicester, across to Hawkesbury Junction where the North Oxford and Coventry canals join, down to the Blue Lias on the Grand Union in the Stockton area, and then south to Oxford) was just a great experience as I had time to look over the wonderful countryside.

18-Jan (26)
A quiet day with a visit to my physio (Liz) in Towcester at midday. I enjoy going to see Liz as she pushes me to do thing I hadn't considered or do do things in a different way all of which help. I find, following Liz's advice that swinging my arms (however odd it may look) helps hugely with my walking!

Very cold overnight with the canal covered in a thin skin of ice this morning! I am sure it will melt very quickly with the forecast for rising temperatures and a some wind and rain on the way.

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