Tired, but what a week!
Jul. 20th, 2013 08:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janewilliams20 First week back at "work". In theory I'm hoping to manage roughly half hours (standard time being 9-5). Well, I've done about 22 hours so far and may manage a few more over the weekend.
Then there's been the trips out, mainly to hospital.
Monday - phoned Orthopedics, and got in contact with the admin person who'd just come back from holiday and was trying to deal with the pile of handover notes from the one who'd just gone on holiday, my case being included.
Tuesday, I finally got somewhere with the Lister: an invite to Fracture Clinic the next morning. Texted Dave, he arranged to have time off work to take me, and on Wednesday we had our first go at getting me out of the house, into the car, and round the Lister in a wheelchair. It all went mostly as planned, if rather inefficiently at the Lister end. But we learnt...
All that came of fracture clinic was a doctor who hadn't seen me before (yes, there was still one left) showing me the X-rays so far, and explaining them to me. The first few, with the staples still in, show a definite gap between talus bone and the one that's supposed to be holding it in place. But later ones show the gap gradually narrowing. Apparently there's a ligament supposed to hold the tibia and fibula together, and that needs to heal up and pull them back in again. Looks like it is - let's hope it heals all the way. I also got to see and wave to lots of staff I'd met before, and yes, they remembered me. There was a plan to send me for One More Xray, but radiology queried this, since I was due for a CAT scan on Friday anyway, and the chances of them getting the right angle this time if they hadn't before wasn't worth it.
Friday, and down to the CAT scan. This time we weren't travelling in rush hour, and Dave had a better idea on where to get a wheelchair from and where to drop it off. Everything went very smoothly, and then we had an exciting lunch out! Well, actually, due to the logistics of doing that while hopping on a wheelchair, he pushed the wheelchair into the hospital coffee shop, and we had sandwiches :)
This was Dave's changeover day, so he would be back at work in the evening, and I expected another night of grabbing salad and sandwich makings from the fridge when I got hungry. (I'm starting to look like a lettuce leaf, or possibly a cherry tomato). But then I got a Facebook message from his sister-in-law. The family (who I don't see anything like as much of as I'd like to) were going out for a meal at a rather nice pub near me. Would I like to come too? There was discussion of accessibility issues at the venue, followed by some "yay!!"
I then had to do the "what shall I wear??" thing. I'd got a rather nice long dress before we went away, and not had a chance to wear it. Tried it on - too long :( Dangerously long, for someone hopping, with no free hand. Between buying it, and now, I've mislaid some of the tum and bum that was keeping it from trailing on the ground. I forsee sewing in my future... still, the dress I wore instead went better with the purple cast.
Well, it all worked out, and it was a wonderful evening - great food, great company. But for reference for all, if a pub assures you that they have a disabled loo, check exactly what they mean by this. This turned out to be accessed from the bar, not the restaurant, and there were steps between the two. Also, it may have been an extra-large cubicle, but my scouts tell me it didn't have grab-handles or anything else to get me on and off. Lovely helpful staff who opened a door they didn't normally use so I could get into the place at all, and tables arranged so as to be as accessible as possible for me, but a loo I can't get to or use can't be corrected by any amount of helpfulness, and not drinking much, in this weather, is not fun.
So, eating late, back very late, after a very strenuous day. I'd planned to spend Saturday morning while Dave was asleep doing some more work. Instead, I got up as planned, then dozed in the armchair till 9, nibbled a few things, wrote some light-weight RP in an online game, and did some knitting. Afternoon and evening? More of the same, plus a bit of messing about with graphics and watching Alias channel on the TV. Maybe tomorrow, if I get a sensible amount of sleep tonight, I'll get that work done.
And on Monday, I have fracture clinic with the right doctor, the expert on ankles who's actually in charge of my case, and will now be armed with the results of the CAT scan.
Then there's been the trips out, mainly to hospital.
Monday - phoned Orthopedics, and got in contact with the admin person who'd just come back from holiday and was trying to deal with the pile of handover notes from the one who'd just gone on holiday, my case being included.
Tuesday, I finally got somewhere with the Lister: an invite to Fracture Clinic the next morning. Texted Dave, he arranged to have time off work to take me, and on Wednesday we had our first go at getting me out of the house, into the car, and round the Lister in a wheelchair. It all went mostly as planned, if rather inefficiently at the Lister end. But we learnt...
All that came of fracture clinic was a doctor who hadn't seen me before (yes, there was still one left) showing me the X-rays so far, and explaining them to me. The first few, with the staples still in, show a definite gap between talus bone and the one that's supposed to be holding it in place. But later ones show the gap gradually narrowing. Apparently there's a ligament supposed to hold the tibia and fibula together, and that needs to heal up and pull them back in again. Looks like it is - let's hope it heals all the way. I also got to see and wave to lots of staff I'd met before, and yes, they remembered me. There was a plan to send me for One More Xray, but radiology queried this, since I was due for a CAT scan on Friday anyway, and the chances of them getting the right angle this time if they hadn't before wasn't worth it.
Friday, and down to the CAT scan. This time we weren't travelling in rush hour, and Dave had a better idea on where to get a wheelchair from and where to drop it off. Everything went very smoothly, and then we had an exciting lunch out! Well, actually, due to the logistics of doing that while hopping on a wheelchair, he pushed the wheelchair into the hospital coffee shop, and we had sandwiches :)
This was Dave's changeover day, so he would be back at work in the evening, and I expected another night of grabbing salad and sandwich makings from the fridge when I got hungry. (I'm starting to look like a lettuce leaf, or possibly a cherry tomato). But then I got a Facebook message from his sister-in-law. The family (who I don't see anything like as much of as I'd like to) were going out for a meal at a rather nice pub near me. Would I like to come too? There was discussion of accessibility issues at the venue, followed by some "yay!!"
I then had to do the "what shall I wear??" thing. I'd got a rather nice long dress before we went away, and not had a chance to wear it. Tried it on - too long :( Dangerously long, for someone hopping, with no free hand. Between buying it, and now, I've mislaid some of the tum and bum that was keeping it from trailing on the ground. I forsee sewing in my future... still, the dress I wore instead went better with the purple cast.
Well, it all worked out, and it was a wonderful evening - great food, great company. But for reference for all, if a pub assures you that they have a disabled loo, check exactly what they mean by this. This turned out to be accessed from the bar, not the restaurant, and there were steps between the two. Also, it may have been an extra-large cubicle, but my scouts tell me it didn't have grab-handles or anything else to get me on and off. Lovely helpful staff who opened a door they didn't normally use so I could get into the place at all, and tables arranged so as to be as accessible as possible for me, but a loo I can't get to or use can't be corrected by any amount of helpfulness, and not drinking much, in this weather, is not fun.
So, eating late, back very late, after a very strenuous day. I'd planned to spend Saturday morning while Dave was asleep doing some more work. Instead, I got up as planned, then dozed in the armchair till 9, nibbled a few things, wrote some light-weight RP in an online game, and did some knitting. Afternoon and evening? More of the same, plus a bit of messing about with graphics and watching Alias channel on the TV. Maybe tomorrow, if I get a sensible amount of sleep tonight, I'll get that work done.
And on Monday, I have fracture clinic with the right doctor, the expert on ankles who's actually in charge of my case, and will now be armed with the results of the CAT scan.