Hardware Removal Experience

*Warning - long, rambling post coming up!

Well the deed is done and the pins are out! So far, so good, relatively little pain and getting around slowly. This is how my surgery day went ....

Up very early, after not that much sleep, nothing to eat and just clear drinks until 7am. Then we left for the hospital, to check in at the day case arrivals for 7.30am. We were shown to their arrivals area, where many others and their relatives were sitting waiting too. It was bedlam there actually, nurses running around doing bits and pieces and doctors, anaesthetists and physio therapists popping in and out to see everyone before they were sent off the the operating theater.

First I answered the admissions questionnaire, then saw the surgeon who had come to draw an arrow pointing at my knee. Next a visit by the physio who had come to issue crutches and tell me how to walk on them - I told him I'd got my own and after 6 months, I think I'd got the hang of it by now.  Next, I was taken to a booth where I got changed into my theater gown and after my blood pressure was taken, we were left to wait for the "call up". My cousin is a nurse in theater and she text messaged me to say I was second on the list and they were waiting for me, so I wouldn't have to wait much longer now. Just as well, because my nerves were getting a bit wrecked by now.

At 10am I was taken down to theater in a wheelchair and my cousin met me there to check me in. She stayed with me whilst I was put to sleep and hers was the first voice I heard, waking me up just over 30 minutes later. She got me a warm blanket and some water to sip and then kept a check on me for a while. She told me the surgeon was pleased with the procedure and although some of the metalwork was a little bit tricky to remove, he did manage to get it all out without causing anymore damage.

As I woke up a bit more, I became aware of a stinging in my knee, well, more above and around where I imagined the wound to be actually. I told her this and she said I'd had a morphine shot but she would get me some codeine once I'd been taken to the day case ward to recover further. Once she was happy with my progress, she took me down to the ward to hand me over! I was given codeine and left to snooze it off for a bit. Apart from the stinging, my knee actually felt fine. Although I was apprehensive about when the moment arrived for me to stand up and walk!

After an hour I was given a dismal cheese sandwich to eat and a cup of weak coffee. I ate the sandwich dutifully, as this was the first step towards my discharge later that day. A couple of hours rest and a visit by the physio team and then I was allowed to dress and get up for a trip to the bathroom.The second condition leading to my discharge! Success again, a bit shaky when I first stood up but not too painful, just sore when I moved around the wound area. No bone pain at all. I walked to the bathroom and back, very slowly, on my two crutches and then in the light of this achievement, was signed off and given the ok to go home.

Waiting to be discharged from Hospital

My bandaged knee

By 4.30pm I was safely installed on my sofa, feeling very relieved it was over, and even more relieved that I was relatively pain free. Eating dinner, trips to the loo and generally moving around was all fine. I kept up the codeine doses for the rest of the day and snoozed on and off until bedtime.

On waking this morning I got quite a surprise! Immediately, my thoughts went to my knee, in search of the pain that would be there as I was due for more codeine by now. Nothing! No bone pain, no stinging, nothing! I tested the water a bit, wriggling my toes and flexing my muscles, still fine. And when my muscles went into an involuntary morning stretch, for the first time in 6 months I didn't feel like I had to stop quickly because my knee was being crushed in a vice of some sort! I was quite elated, and stretched away to my hearts content! Whoooppee, this was good news :)

When I got up, I did have a bit of stinging and soreness in my knee as I walked around but nothing too bad. I'm using my walker today, not because of the pain, but because I know I can move around more confidently with this and I want to keep walking about as much as possible. I've halved the medication dose but if this progress keeps up I will probably ditch them tomorrow and just take my ibuprofen, as usual, for swelling.

I've been given the ok to do some gentle heel slides and start bending it as far as pain will allow, keeping an awareness for the fact that the staples (yes, more staples again this time) go over my knee and will be restrictive at the moment. Static quads exercises feel fine and as these are the safest exercises for me to do at the moment, I'm doing them as often as I can whilst sitting on the sofa here. Tomorrow I will try some more tasks from my physio regime, reverting back to some of the stage one exercises and taking it very slowly initially.

Feeling very positive at the moment and definitely no regrets about getting the surgery done. I know there's still a way to go yet, but hopefully, this is the beginning of the end of a long ordeal. I think the information I've read and lessons I've learned since my injury are standing me in good stead, no nasty surprises and plenty of ideas for what I should and should not be doing, and more importantly, what works for ME. Happier days ahead!

Hardware Removal "Eve"

Hmmm, well this is my last night with a knee full of metal! Got my hospital bag packed this afternoon, ordered the shopping in to cover the next few days, spoiled myself with a take away dinner and had a LONG, luxurious soak in the bath - it could be the last one for a couple of weeks until the staples come out.

Have to admit, I'm not feeling so confident right now. Yesterday, I felt fed up with the whole thing, just wanted to get it over with but at the same time a bit miffed that I have to go through yet another trauma. By today I feel kind of weird. I know the hardware has to come out - I can't bend my knee properly until it does, and its more than time to move on now. I'm not worried about the surgery either but feel a bit scared of the after pain when I come round and how I will manage to get into the house when I'm discharged later that day.

At least I know what to expect - thanks to the helpful posters at KneeGeeks! I guess the wound will hurt for a few days until it starts to heal so I have my pain killers at the ready and plan to sleep through it with the help of my codeine! By all accounts, the pain isn't nearly as bad as it was after the original surgery and once it begins to calm down I will feel (and see) a huge difference in my knee, for the better. Well, the KneeGeeks have been right about most things so far, so here's hoping they're right on this count too.

Wish me luck .... will update as soon as I can write something legible ;)

Getting a Switch Stick Walking Cane

I never thought I would see the day when I would actually be excited to open a parcel that contained a walking stick! Ha, well today I got my brand new Bubbles Switch Stick walking cane, and have to say ... I love it!

Shhhh though, don't tell my Physio terrorist about this, I don't think he'd approve. Progression was meant to be walker > two crutches > one crutch > zilch! To be perfectly honest, I CAN walk around the house by now without crutches, but its in a very Frankenstein style fashion and I limp like hell. I always thought that even when I can walk about outside without the crutch I will want to carry something with me, as a safety blanket and also as a "Get-outta-my-way-coz-I-can't-get-outta-yours-so-fast" warning to others. Have you noticed how ignorant of disabilities other people can be? How they expect you to dodge them, even though you are on crutches and struggling to put one foot in front of the next? Was I like that before this injury? hmmmm .....

Anyway, I did some research, and checked with the KneeGeeks club, and decided that I would try a stick. So I went out a couple of times and tested some frail looking versions, which did more to put me off than encourage me. I'd read on the Internet about Switch Sticks and not only did they look more sturdy than some others, they also came in great funky colours and styles! Then last weekend I was at a garden centre and spotted a stock of Switch Sticks. I decided to take one for a test drive and on the first step I just knew it was going to be more reliable than the others I'd tried out. By the time I'd walked several steps, I also knew that it was going to be perfect to help me make the progression from crutch to walking unaided. It felt more independent than walking with the crutch (no elbow support for a start) but yet my walking gait (stepping style) was more natural than when I try to walk without support.

I already knew that I could pick one up cheaper on the Internet, so I came straight home and ordered one. I knew I wanted the Bubbles design, I love bright funky colours and patterns and this has both. So it arrived today, I've tried it out around the house and for the first time in months I actually feel like I'm just walking around my home rather than making a huge deal of getting from A to B. Brilliant, will continue to report here on how its going with the Switch Stick, although it may be put on hold for a bit after I get my surgery next week. But I will be eager to get back to where I left off, and back to my shiny Bubbles "Broomstick" too!

Hardware Removal Surgery Scheduled

So on 25th April, the specialist decided that the pins need to come out! He thinks that I've progressed "better than I thought you would" and that it was time to give me some help by removing the hardware. The Xray didn't show any significant shifting, but on comparison to earlier ones, the whole arrangement of pins and wires does appear to have moved downwards. It makes sense. All of the places where I feel to pokes and twinges have areas of spikes, knots or wire loops under the skin somewhere.

Bye Bye Pins, you did your job but now its time to get the hell out of my leg!

I realise that if they're not removed I'm just not going to progress any further as the anticipation of when the next stab is going to strike is just too restrictive during physio therapy sessions. He said he would mark my surgery request as urgent, but it could take up to 3 months! So I resigned to just "getting on with it" and doing what I can in the meantime. Until last Friday .....

I got the call to tell me my surgery had been scheduled for 16th May, to be fair to the hospital, just over 3 weeks after the request, now that is pretty good going for the NHS! I went in to sign permission forms on Monday and am due for a pre-op assessment tomorrow.

So instead of starting back to work full time next week, I'm preparing to be inactive again, for a couple of weeks at least. Oh well, one step forward and all that jazz ......