Home: Start of Recovery and Rehab (weeks 1 – 2)

Phase : Post Op – 6 weeks non-weight bearing.

Typically, these types of phases can be extremely monotonous… I know this from experience and with this immediate phase being a non-weight bearing requirement I know that this will certainly be the case. Monotony will affect the mind & body negatively if you allow, so I definitely need a purpose, a goal to ensure otherwise. Sure, there will be the down times, but I need the reflection of this period to be a positive one. I have all the information I need at this stage to understand the journey ahead of me…

The early days out of the hospital are where you get yourself into those little routines… Food and sleep will play a massive part in the recovery phase and thereafter I will have the energy for the rehab.

My daughter Lola is amazing… she had already been to the supermarket and bought all the lovely food we like to cook & eat, with a few treats hidden in there. I have lost weight so a few extra pounds to put on if I am to come out of this period in a strong position.

I alluded to the consequence of excessive opioid use and its blocking potential. Let me state right here and now no one should take this lightly. I was given laxatives in two forms and told to make sure I take daily I also know that drinking plenty of water will help. From the Fri to Sat my body was hinting strongly that there was a need to make room but with the inability to strain / push from the operation and the likelihood of dehydration and ‘previous’ waste backing up, for the love of life I could not offer any exit momentum. I was seated on the toilet, sweating profusely, holding positions that were causing pain, concentrating when morphine was counteracting that.

Like an iceberg, with much of its mass hidden, I could feel my channels full, but with the entrance blocked. I could feel a tortoise head and finally had to resort to a toilet wipe and attempts to help ‘dig’ a way through to creating some momentum. Dignity…? All gone…! I had the experience of the catheter a few days before and now this excruciating discomfort and pain. I had a clear mental picture of what was needed, and I had to coax and dig where space permitted… It is not a pretty picture but let’s face it, sometimes you have to roll your sleeves up and just get on with it. Imagine if you had to ask someone else to intervene…? Finally…! An offering that stretched boundaries enormously and stubbornly showed itself. I would not class as a victory and was massively concerned that this may become a daily ritual as long as morphine was a good friend. This experience was questioning my morphine friendship… Thereafter I was swallowing laxatives, increasing espresso consumption, and drinking gassy water to help this process return to some normality. I can report that this is a work in progress but that traumatic Sat night a one off.

 

Moving on swiftly… The layout of my town house means that I have my bedroom, a bathroom, a living room, and an elevated terrace on my middle floor. Lola has make it crystal clear that this is where I will be staying for the duration so my routine is focused on movement between the rooms on this floor and a huge dependency on her for any other domestic and personal care need. Not sure she was fully aware of what this caring situation entailed but she has amazed me with her planning and cooking skills. Even this morning hoovering the house top to bottom and moping the downstairs floors. All those times I have questioned whether she was listening… hmm, she was. Previously just playing me, I guess, but for now I am calling in my chips and this kind-hearted and loving kid is looking after her old man. Saying that my primary life carer No 1 will descend upon this house Sun evening to Weds evening, Mum. She has been through my life accidents and at 52 it will be funny and interesting to see her putting me in my place. I am looking forward to some childhood food that only your Mum can make.

Everyone has been amazing with the phone calls, social media contacts… the offer of help, conversation, savage commentary of my bike handling skills have kept these early days entertaining. My coach Legro is almost a daily call… between us I think we have managed to smash pretty much everything the body has. He understands where I am at and whilst he manages his own injury restrictions on what a Champion racing unit he is, he has made the time to ensure that I have support. Thank you, Dave…

Victoria Cycling Club… I said it before, and I will say it again. Simply a Class act this lot and outstanding support network. Those with me on the crash, those who have sent me messages on our social channels… To Mark for visiting frequently, Paul the Lock, Mr Beaman, BJC calling frequently… BJC getting me active with selling stuff, ha ha…. Steve V for looking after my bike and getting it across to Colin at the bike shop to assess the damage, to Sean G for taking time out to go and measure the size of the potholes in Maldon Road to help determine whether British Cycling see this as a ‘pothole’ derived accident.

If ever there was an advert required to epitomise what a Cycling Club is about these guys continued support, action and general collectiveness stands head and shoulders above anything else. Thank you all.

Addenbrooke hospital were quick off the mark with my fracture clinic appointment with Peter Hull… in short no weight bearing activity whatsoever until that date and that will remain my focus between now and then Mon 21st September.

Whose fault was the accident…? Listen to my mate Loggo and he will say I am the spass and likely my fault. Paul the lock was behind me and says that I hit a pothole fought the handlebars and then clipped another and the front wheel slide away and bang. That stretch of road is pothole littered so my initial contact with British Cycling was them asking for dimensions of ‘potholes’ to be able to determine whether they see a case or not.

So, this is where the nuisances of dimensions will come into play. Kevin, a member of VCC, has offered the guidelines as he works in the Highways Industry. National Highways and local highway authorities generally class 40mm depth as a pothole. Cheekily Essex highway authority class a pothole as 50mm deep and 100mm across. There are various pothole reporting avenues and cycling clubs, riders, drivers can report the offending ‘holes’ to the responsible authority. It makes sense to create a strict and tangible criterion because I am sure if there was not one there would be absolute legal chaos with all sorts trying to make claims.

I ask the VCC guys for help and this is where Sean pops along one evening and takes measurements of the holes I encountered. Collectively we have some within the tolerance so are ‘potholes’, there are some outside so just ‘holes. Either way these things caused me to crash, BC have the pictures and the dimensions and on Fri 21st Aug they agreed that there were grounds for a claim subject to me completing forms and offering evidence. I am under no illusion that this will be a quick process nor that a favourable outcome is a given… these things are notoriously difficult and local authorities extremely reluctant to accept responsibility let alone pay compensation. The BC Claim form is extensive so for now the immediate task is to complete the form, collate the photos, bike damage assessment, loss of income, etc, etc… something to move along. Again, no expectations in this regard but let us see how this evolves.

For now, my initial routine will capture seated strip washes… unable to use a shower because of my wound dressing and because I cannot be standing in a weight bearing situation that could cause balance issues in the shower. The flexibility of the hip and the bruising and general ability to move means the bath is out of the question also. So, I sit perched on the toilet with towels, flannels and back to the good old strip wash. Again, with my experience with accidents not something new but at least I feel fresh and clean(ish) once during the day.

Conscious that my appetite has fallen right off, I am not training, I have lost weight but need to eat healthy to gain the strength for recovery and rehab. Lola is making sure that I am eating small and frequent meals and drinking plenty of water. Conscious also that I do not just balloon up on weight as this will impact my ability to get around on crutches when that phase finally comes. Added to the nutritional aspect is sleep and I am trying hard to ensure I have a decent sleep pattern. Fighting to avoid dosing during the day, going to bed at no later than 10:00pm and generally sleeping through until 09:00am with a couple of pitstops in between. Add to these necessary tasks my regular medication needs and I have also continued the swallowing of supplements then this aspect of recovery is all going to plan. Happy Days…

I am a fidget and generally someone that does not stop, sit down, or watches daytime TV… as my Dad used to say ‘crap TV’… He used more descriptive wording, but I will keep it clean. There is no urge to put the TV on but luckily for me world cycling is happening, and I can sit and watch the whole races and be occupied for a decent length of time. I also have the Tour de France on the horizon so a great time to be immobile I say… a silver lining on that heavy cloud.

For now, I have plenty to occupy the mind whilst the body takes an enforced hiatus, the usual stress and strain of COVID financial security, fledging business ideas to be crystallised, new ideas to be thought through and considered. The body will recover, and I will be doing those little pieces like the Compex EMS, resistance bands and general stretching where I can to help coax it along.

Wayne