Stumbling blocks to my plans...

As those who have been following me over the years now, I have been working on getting to be stick free after a major op on my left leg. Well its like 10yrs now & again my knee has locked up on me in February & I am back on my stick atm & relying on painkillers for a bit. But this time its a game changer as after been referred to do some Hydrotherapy treatment it was bought to my attention in my medical records the results from latest scans shows I have early stages of Osteoarthritis in my knee & it is this that's causing my knee to fail on me & flare up & lock it.

So today I have visited my specialist about my knee & he didn't beat around the bush about the condition to my knee, simply put I will never be stick free. Instead I will be mostly stick free, my knee will never be healed as its a degenerative condition & the best I can do is manage it to slow the process. So it's not all doom & gloom, as explained by the specialist & also what I have read up on the condition is keeping active is the best method to manage it. Specialist is pleased I am working where I am on my feet all the time, walking & standing. Its the best way to build up my muscles & even with knee flaring up & back on the stick I haven't stopped working & it sure helps.

But what it does mean is I have to re-adjust my lifestyle some more, first is seating. Had to replace sofa with a recliner one so to minimise the knee being bent. Also helps when using hot & cold packs around the knee too.

Next I had to stop cycling, after pain had eased I purchased a basic turbo trainer so I can use the bicycle indoor where I can gently pedal my legs where it has no effort to aggravate knee on the lowest settings. Also limits the chance of aggravating the knee on the roads with twisting & turning the bike, jarring, drivers etc. This way helps control the environment & can limit my time & effort in using it. But after 6 weeks I am back cycling outside, going slow & gentle but am getting the miles in. But the planned sponsored rides are likely to be cancelled.

Other things I have to now avoid is kneeling & crouching, not the easiest of things to avoid so will learn eventually. I have to also to do regular exercises to build muscles up more in my legs from my gluts to my ankles.

Another thing is to get lighter bikes to help ease the effort of cycling, now I know Roadrunner is a light bike & in the middle of being repainted right now. But its not a good bike to do my shopping on, shape isnt right for it & so I need to find a lighter version to lil Trekr.

But I also need to think ahead, it clearly documented that a recumbent bike is the best bike to cycle with Osteoarthritis & as I know full well it's not going to fully improve, eventually a standard bike will not be helpful & have to go for a recumbent bike. So going to have to work out a saving plan on this as these bikes cost over £2k & more for the folding version as I can then store it indoors.

Other things I need to do will be to loose some weight, I was doing well on that but each flare up of the knee means I become less active & weight goes back on quicker than I had lost it. This sure wont help for the knee weight load. That's about it for now, its late & a lot to try get straight in my head after today's revelations so probably a few things I've forgotten atm.

I may not be stick free ever again, but I am sure hell gonna make the use of sticks as lil as possible & have my folding stick gathering dust where ever I go. The battle is not lost, just need to change the game plan... :)

Minor blip in my plans....

Around 9 month ago after years of physio & determination, I thought I had finally conquered my disability, getting to full health & be stick free once & for all. Even getting on well with cycling & long rides with no issues after.

Well 3 weeks ago that all went to pot when my knee decided to go on me again after nearly 2 yrs of physio to sort it. It went so much so I was in agony & had to make a visit to the A&E where I eventually came back out on crutches & strong painkillers.

So for the first time in a long time I felt somethings I haven't felt in nearly 2 decades when my leg first went bad, disappointment & despair. It didn't help that the painkillers were making the mind all fuzzy & for the first time since I moved to Essex I wished I was back at Farnham, but not for what you might think. It was the flat I am thinking of, being on ground floor & having a garden is what I am missing at the moment. So I can relax & feel OK with it all as the cats would've had freedom to go in the garden & some where I can recuperate. Now there's nothing wrong with my current flat or it's location. Its the fact its in need of decorating & no garden I can easily get to as I'm on the 1st floor.

After 2 weeks, I finally came off the painkillers & crutches but still using the stick. Seen the GP to get a referral to a specialist as obviously the physio isn't working. And my brain is trying to adjust back to how I was years ago & I'm having issues with this, basically I am getting sick & tired with all this. I just want to get on with how I was doing before the knee went again, I aint as young to re-adjust again like I was 20yrs ago & really need to get this knee sorted.

At the moment I am feeling I wish I never had the damn operation to get me stick free as now going back on them is doing my head in & feel like I've been cruelly teased with a stick free life right now as I am back to how I was almost a decade ago & not know just yet when I be stick free again if at all.

So out of this I do feel I need to focus more on certain things, like everyone else we all have this where we have so many things going around in our heads & sometimes it's too much & need to re-evaluate & decide what is important right now. For me I need to sort my leg, a job & generally get my life back on track. The rest will have to wait or give way to what is more important.

So for now, just watch this space as I dunno how the next few weeks, months or years will pan out. I am hoping to try a short gentle cycle ride in a week or so time to test the waters to see if knee can cope. Then go from there, but most of all try not get stressed as I know that never helps the recovery.

My Bone Cyst Op’

As I've have said before, I've got a Bone Cyst in my Femur & needed an operation. Well 2 weeks ago I had the op & its been a slow long slog getting back to being myself.

Well they have cut out the Cyst, took bone off my Pelvic area as a bone graph but from the front, which surprised me as its a more tender area. With this bone sample, they mashed up & injected back into where they removed the Cyst. Then put a bracket into the ball joint & along the femur to hold the bone together.

The Op was done in the morning & I awoke 10 hrs later as they had trouble waking me! Should've told them I sleep like the dead as it is! lol

Staff were very friendly & food was pretty good, considering its a hospital, unfortunately the op was more envasive than expected & it was a week before I could get out. Didnt help that a couple days after I suffered chest pains (which was later diagnosed as stomach cramp) then internal bleeding where the bone gragh was taken (from blood thinners given for the chest pains as they thought I was having a clot in the heart or lungs at the time of the chest pains & docs being cautious!), had to be knocked out with Morphine after 2 hrs of excructiating pain!

Well now I'm home & have been for a week now. Staples were taken out today & i'm slowly getting the use of my leg. 1st week was like having a dead weight instead of a leg! lol Now I can just move it, bend knee 45 degrees & lift it an 1" off the ground. As you probably can guess I'm on crutches until my leg is all healed & fully functioning. Physio starts in 3 weeks once all is fully healed!

Now I like to thank my darling Jules for her support in all this, she's been looking after my dog during all this & is spoiling him rotten. Thanks for being there at the weekend after the op & visited me at every moment possible til she had to go back home. Also thanks for making my place nice & tidy for when I get home, big hugs are waiting for you!!! And thanks for being there to talk to, giving me praise & support!! It helped alot!

Also thanks to Tori for helping look after me the 1st weekend & my Mum for the rest of the week, she's been cooking a pile of meals for me & making sure I have everything handy & just have to reheat my meals from the freezer.

Also Jules is coming down & now doubt gonna bully me into letting her help me! lol

At least this time I can thank her personally when she's down!

Its been a hard few weeks, but with their help now & in the future I will make a full slow recovery. It will be a hard slog, but with all the support I'll get through it!