I guess this is where the bigger personal tests start to show themselves as I become less dependent upon medication and the monotony of not being able to walk and be mobile start to really impact what my day looks like both mentally and physically.

Firstly, the mental aspect… you often fight within yourself around the balance between negative and positive thoughts, these things happen, and it is human nature. Things & people around you will help influence which trait wins that battle intraday and for me this week started on a difficult note. Of all the well wishes and messages from friends, both new and old, I got let down by some who I thought were close and cared but obviously not by their lack of actions, hugely let down. Oh well, not something to dwell upon… easy to say ‘we draw a line underneath it all’ but in these moments when you are limited to a couple of rooms in the house, with the same views out of the window your mind will go down avenues that being preoccupied would consider as deep ends.

Easy to feel sorry for yourself I know when you mix those feelings with the COVID 19 financial uncertainty with no work, this health blip, relationships and no release of what cycling brings for me… however, I sit and look out of these windows and I drive myself to think that this is the bottom, the worse it can be, and that there is absolutely more out there than this. Envisaging life when you are older, immobile, restricted horizons… I cannot and will not accept this is what the future will hold. Enforces my desire to be physically fit, training for a purpose, be mobile, active, travelling and enjoying being around people that care.

So, all that thought process started negatively and quite quickly evolved into clarity of what I do not want in life and how I will positively strive to progress forward. All sounds deep I know, but heck we all have those moments, it is how you let it affect you that makes you the person you are. Not going to beat me…!!!

Secondly… the Recovery phase… I have a very decent recovery routine in place… thanks this week to the combination of my Mum and my daughter ensuring that I am eating healthy and frequently. Not being able to get up and down the stairs easily I am reliant upon meals being cooked for me at this stage and ensuring that I have those little comforts of an espresso and the odd treat. Add into that equation the generosity of my neighbours, Mab, Sham & the beautiful Imani who are often dropping in the odd food offering as well. I mentioned before that it is a fight to avoid snoozing during the day, the consequence of morphine, but I have avoided the temptation and as a result I am knackered by the time I go to bed and am at the moment sleeping 10 / 11 hours. All adds up to allowing the body to heal.

Strange feelings within the pain / discomfort category. No pain feelings from the hip as such, I know that I am static at the moment and giving no reason to aggravate but just some soreness and stiffness but no pain, to this point I do not know whether the morphine levels are truly masking the pain or it genuinely is what I am feeling… Time will tell shortly..!!! For now, the pain aspects seem to be focused on nerves… I have mentioned before that it feels like stingers, darts of heat firing down the outside of the thigh. It stops you in your tracks, full stop. Now I am testing the body movements to understand which combinations are causing these intense bursts. I have had a couple of inner thigh tendon searing pain episodes… I feel a popping sensation then ‘bang’ a branching pain that fires from within my groin area and down the leg. This one is the winner on the pain game and luckily not something I have had for the past 3/4 days so hopefully just an early and now redundant aspect of the surgery.

Whilst I am nowhere near able to get around and still under the 6 weeks non-weight bearing curfew the temptation is to do more… but patience is needed and a patient I will be.

Thirdly… The rehabilitation phase… Ah, the thing that many of those close to me are constantly nagging me to take steady with. Whilst the recovery phase is not something new to me with my chequered accident history, there is a dependency on others to help support. Sure, I do feel a burden on Lola during this phase and it has influenced my thought processes and will do so in decisions to be made later down the line, but I take comfort that she would not want me to be something I am not.

Rehab is about listening to the professionals, listening / leveraging from those that have had similar experiences such as my coach Dave, Toby in the US (friend of a friend) and also leveraging my own knowledge and experience. Listening to your body, you will know what is good for it and what is not and quite often in these situations isolated activities and focus on small controlled movements will help simulate the muscle groups, the encouragement of increase in nerve activity. Add to these thoughts, techniques, and knowledge the inclusion of supportive products and you will end up with a pretty comprehensive rehab opportunity.

Early attempts at stretching

A fellow Legro Training Camp cyclist from the US, Brent, put me in contact with his friend Toby who decided to take on a car at 40mph on his bike. Suffice to say his injury list was a little more extensive than mine but the major one was an acetabular fracture. He is much further than the line and Brent put us together over FB / Messenger and we share rehab notes and such like. One of the key aspects was blood clot potential and luckily for me here in the UK we are discharged with this risk covered by medication, not so in the US and an unfortunate consequence was the visit to A&E with a blood clot. Another aspect that we shared was equipment notes… until you delve who would know that there are varying approaches to crutches…?

http://www.mobilegs.com

In the UK, the emphasis is placed on elbow resting crutches. Unfortunately, where a disability such as my arm is encountered these are useless. In an earlier blog I highlighted that Cambridge Hospital had some problem locating under arm crutches and when they did find some, they were too short by some 4 inches. Better than nothing but not ideal and if I am going to use these for some time then likely to cause grief and discomfort with the arms and shoulders. For the here and now they are ok for the toilet run… Toby shared his experiences and identified a fantastic pair of under arm crutches from a US company called Mobilegs. Whilst expensive to buy they were, for him, an absolute game changer and a strong recommendation. I searched the UK internet and could not find anything comparable here so taking advantage of the Import Company I have for the AMP Human lotion and Funeral Car Flags I purchased a pair, had then shipped to Brent in Dallas, USA and from there arranged for DHL to ship across to me. I am pending delivery, but the reviews are great, they offer customisation in length, grip and ease of use angles and I will be getting plenty of use out of them. Add to that my history and these are not likely to be a one-off use away from this immediate period…!

Compex EMS… This is a whole new world for me, sure I have heard and seen TENS machines but did not realise that the whole world of EMS was as developed, and athlete orientated as it is. My surgeon Peter Hull mentioned this whilst we were preparing for the operation, so it was something I have looked up and started to read the detail with interest. This is where the friend network starts to pay dividends… I speak to Colin (my bike guru) who also supports Lucy & Reece Charles-Barclay, these are exceptional triathletes in their own rights with Lucy world class top 3. Lucy & Reece have extensive tie up’s with multiple companies, including AMP Human & Compex, and Colin asked if they had a Compex machine that they could lend and the next day I have a top of the range Compex SP8 wireless set up at my disposal. Further conversations with Legro has me now talking to a friend of his called Ben Wright (Ben-efit Bikefit) who is an SME with Compex and has helped Dave rehab himself previously from a pretty serious hamstring injury. Actually, he has helped many Pro cycling teams and individuals including the likes of Alex Dowsett, so for this purpose I am in excellent hands. It is bonkers how situations and support manifests itself.

Compex SP8 wireless system

Pain management TENS for nerves

My Compex routine for the nerve issues will be Pain Management TENS followed by Capillarisation followed by Pain Management TENS… approx. 1 hour to be repeated 2/3 times a day. Add to the Muscle Atrophy 29mins for the quads twice a day and I would say that a fair chunk will be aligning myself with this borrowed piece of kit. All roads lead to Mon 21st Sept, the fracture clinic appointment and getting the ok to start weight bearing as well as being in the best shape I can be to start progressive training.

Entertainment… Tour de France 2020 has just started so I have 3 weeks of nigh on daily cycling. Great timing even though it was not a deliberate choice and something that keeps me focused. The views, the excitement, the drama… got to love the race…!!!