6 Week Check Up

Yesterday was my 6 week check up with the hospital. The X Ray showed good results and I was told the fracture has healed well.

X Ray showing my healed fracture and the hardware used to fix it
(6 weeks, 2 days after surgery)

Now all that remains is to get my knee bending again and to build up the quad muscles enough for me to walk again. The doctor proposed to remove the splint and progress me to a short hinge brace. However, the nursing staff would not fit this and instead tried to squeeze my knee into a sort of sleeve support that was a size too small, they didn't have a larger one in the size I needed. When it was realised that this wouldn't fit my swollen knee, it was announced that I would have to make do with a tubey grip bandage instead. I objected to this, as my PT had said the day before that my quads weren't strong enough for me to walk without something to support me yet.

So the doctor was sent for again and he eventually agreed that I could keep the splint to get around with for now, on condition that I remove it and try to do as much as I can without it once I was home. I have to say it wasn't a pleasant experience, and the nurse would really benefit from improving her bedside manners in future! I am not due to see my physio again until next week, so in the meantime I will just do what I can with getting used to not wearing the splint and building my confidence enough to stand and possibly try walking without it.

On the plus side though, although the stiffness in my knee was causing me some discomfort, there was no actual pain when the various inspections and procedures were carried out. This has given me a bit more confidence to try to do more with it and its encouraging to know that 6 weeks of doing nothing has helped to heal the break .... even if it HAS made my muscles disappear and my joint stiffen up big time! Can't have it all ways I guess, so back to the exercises for now ......

The Fall

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Away for a weekend break with my hubby and friends, having a brilliant time! Decided to go and grab some food before settling down to watch another entertainment act. We ate our food and were just leaving the fast food diner when the accident happened. The step was shallow and unmarked and the lighting inside the food hall was poor. I didn't notice that it was even there when my left foot unbalanced on the edge of the step and my ankle twisted, sending me crashing down onto the floor below the step with my right knee taking the brunt of the fall. I rolled back into a sitting position with my knees bent up in front of me, and this is when I noticed the jagged lumps on my knee cap protruding underneath the material of my skinny jeans. We didn't need to be medical experts to know that this was going to need more than an ice pack to fix it!

A First Aider was called who took one look and telephoned for an ambulance immediately. Unfortunately, there was no ambulance in the area at the time - the nearest A&E department being over an hours drive away, so a paramedic was sent to assess the situation in the meantime. He checked my knee, my pain levels and made sure I was kept as comfortable as possible until the ambulance arrived, two diversions and an hour and a half later. I was stretchered into the ambulance and given entinox as pain relief whilst the knee was examined. By this time, my knee had a swelling the size of a tennis ball on the knee cap and was already bruising nicely. The initial protrusions were no longer visible due to the swelling and the ambulance medic suspected that my patella was dislocated. The entinox was increased whilst he tried to manipulate it back into place.

Over an hour later, with the help of the entinox we made through the winding lanes to the hospital A&E department. A doctor made a quick assessment and two Xrays were taken. I was told that I'd "made a good job of it". An orthopedic doctor was sent for to explain further.

Fractures of the Patella.
(Mine was a comminuted displaced fracture similar to the 4th diagram here)

I was diagnosed with a comminuted displaced patella fracture, which basically meant my knee cap was broken into at least four pieces. I would require surgery as soon as possible to pin and wire it back together. I was put on the trauma list for the following morning, my leg was put in a plaster of paris half cast splint and I was taken to the orthopedic ward where I was given diamorphine, ibuprofen, paracetamol and codeine for pain relief. It was a very long night, and the beginning of a long road to recovery.