Hi everyone, Not new!

Hello DazSnake. Welcome back to Healthypages!

Thanks, been absent for a while, but changed that now 😎

Hi Daz - Welcome back it will be good to have your take on things.

Thanks Caroline, I'm gonna be around alot more often this time, lol.

Making headway so far, already had my new Massage Table arrive today, so just need to get some more stuff together, then onto all the legal requirement stuff.

And... I am back yet again, lol.

Here is a rough guide to my nearly 15 weeks of hell.

I don't know if you will laugh, cry, or just cringe, but here goes...

I had fun (UGGGG), early in November I was contacted with an opportunity for a Temp Job. A good way to get some cash to get me started, or so I thought, so I took the job.

However, on my second day while travelling into work (13:30), I sustained a knee injury, the chain jumped gears on my bike. I was travelling uphill, so I was stood up on the pedals to start building momentum, that's when the gears slipped and the bike wobbled like a drunken sailor until it collapsed. I ended up on my face, elbows & left knee planted across the bike & the road. Luckily I wasn't travelling that fast.

No visible signs of injury to my face, elbows, knee, or anything else & not believing it to be too serious (hours & hours later I would find subsequently find some minor scratches on my left arm & a bruise on my right), I continued on into work, but after about 4 hours or so the knee became excruciating, so I had to leave work (approx 18:45).

On my way home (usually about 1 hour ride in total), after about 2.5 hours (& alot of hobbling on the bike) I had barely got 1/2 way there, when the front tyre suffered a puncture (If the tyre hadn't suffered a puncture, I would have crested the last hill approx 10 minutes later, & been able to sit on the bike and free-wheel almost all the rest of the way home quite easily). Anyway, hobbling along on one good leg, while struggling to transport the bike at the same time, I managed to make it to the next village and find a business still open. I ended up having to get an ambulance as the pain had escalated badly by this point. At about 22:20 (timing ???) I was transported into the hospital.

NOTE: Gas/Air provided in the ambulance does wonders for the pain, but really screws with your marbles, and you can't remember important things, or the time, & all sorts of stuff gets really jumbled up, like why you are there in the first place.

Now, this is where the next few weeks were awesome, including multiple visits to multiple hospitals. (Noooooooooooo..............)

After X-Rays, Scans, MRI, etc, the result was that I had shifted the whole knee cap out of place by an inch or so at the point of impact (I swear it only felt like I had lightly banged it). It was mostly back in it's normal place by time I arrived at hospital. It turns out I hadn't caused any serious permanent damage to any of the Ligaments or Tendons, or the Patella itself, but there were signs of excessive strain to some of them. The results of the MRI eventually showed some minute fractures deep inside the Tibia. The Consultant started they'd be healed up within a couple months or so, no surgery required as no breaks or serious damage. So, in the early hours of the following morning I was discharged with a immobilizing knee brace, a pair of crutches, a bunch of pain killers & anti-inflamatory medication. Strict instructions to stay off the leg as much as possible, but not to let it sieze up, use it a little, but ONLY lightly.

By the time early December rolled around, I was managing to get around quite well, albeit after a fashion, but timing was truly epic. I had been having issues with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome for the last 9 months or so, and now I was informed the Carpal Tunnel Surgery for my Right-hand was due for the early part of the following week.

The pain from Carpal Tunnel Syndrome meant the surgery couldn't be put off for too long, so I elected to go ahead with it anyway. So after the surgery, the rest of that week was spectacular. I was hobbling around on my right leg, still too painful to have much weight on my left, my right hand out of use & bandaged up across my chest till the weekend, and using my left hand to try & stabalise myself.

Anyone envisioning a beat-up crippled pirate at this point ???

I had been into the Job Centre during the interim to make a claim for sickness, then once I had the surgery on my hand, I had go into the office that same week to supply medical forms & get some further details off them. They almost had kittens when I hobbled into their office.

After that I was given a different brace late in December for my knee, now that is no longer required though, and my hand has finally healed up.

Finally, I'm back to normal now, I've been declared fit for work once more, except for the next 3 months I cannot do heavy duty work. As can be expected, xmas & new year were a trying time.

I truly hope everyone had an "easier" end of year than mine.