 Poster: A snowHead
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Some may be aware, I took a freak fall on 10th March and the result was a fractured pelvis (acetabulum) & sacrum.
I was initially helicoptered down to Aosta from Pila & seen at the trauma dept as an outpatient. X-rays & CT scans revealed the pelvis fracture. I was told to stay off my leg, take paracetamol & get myself home, without sitting up, and get checked out in my local hospital. Not the best care for both advice or pain relief.
Scroll forward 9 days and I get flown back to BHX by air ambulance & straight to the QE in Brum who have a specialist pelvis team. CT scans redone & they reveal I’ve also got a buckle fracture of my sacrum.
First visit by physio team on the Tues who get me up & about on a SarahSteady, Weds on a zimmer & crutches on the Thurs. Discharged tea time on the Friday to home with a large bag of meds & a plan to self heal rather than operate as the fractures are stable and I’m still relatively young (54), fit & not overweight. Have 3 sheets of exercises to do at home - some more successfully than others at the moment.
I was supplied with a few mobility aids - toilet frames & perching stools but as I’ve got one working leg that’s it. I’ve had a rental stairlift fitted (found an excellent, very proactive company) at a reasonable cost & have purchased a wheelchair (excellent value at £120).
First consultant follow up on 25th & waiting to hear on physio. Non weight bearing on bad side for at least another 4 weeks so I’m busy doing very little. After 3 weeks I’m already noticing a slight deterioration in muscle tone.
So, let’s see how this all goes……………….
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Chuckles3, good luck with your recuperation and all the exercises.
Very interesting that you were able to hire a stair lift, do you have straight stairs? Ours go up to a half landing so not sure we could do a stairlift.
When I broke my kneecap 12 years ago I had it in a brace, and we were living at the top of an old house, 53 stairs I think. Going up I could do but coming down was more challenging.
Do report on your progress.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Pamski, Thank you. Straight stairs with a small landing at the top then one final step up to the main landing running parallel with staircase. I can hop up one step but not 13. They can fit on any staircase, it just takes longer if it’s curved or complicated. I was able to submit photos & measurements & it was fitted in a little over 48 hrs. It’s just nice to have a pain free option of a different view. I’ll be on crutches for a good 12 weeks so thought it was worth the small disruption & cost.
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@Chuckles3, best of luck. Yes muscle deterioration seems to happen remarkablly quickly. I had somewhere between 4 & 6 weeks non weight bearing. Building back up after the op was quite a challenge and even doing what i thought was a really light work out in the gym I kept pulling the muscle 
I found aqua aerobics helped get me strong enough to get back in the gym properly
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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When I was, I thought, recovering well from my broken pelvis I was discovering various "one sided" aches and pains as I became more active. I went to see an osteopath I'd seen before, and who has also treated other members of my family. He pointed out that the impact with the ground, which led to the fractures, had also affected soft tissues. And that the subsequent inactivity - and very unbalanced weight bearing - hadn't helped. He gave me some manipulation and recommended exercises to gradually "straighten me up" and get core muscles going in a more symmetrical manner. That helped a great deal. A physio could no doubt have done much the same. Any impact bad enough to have broken bones won't have left the rest of you unscathed. Building up really gradually is vital - I was older than you are, and our bodies don't recover as well as they once did.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Morning all. So just over four weeks since my accident & two more to go until I see the consultant again & may be able to begin to weight bear.
I’m doing my exercises as often as I remember  and had some small progress in that I can now lift my extended leg up about 4 inches when lying down flat. I would also say I have moved on from outright agony to very uncomfortable on the pain scale now. Still have the odd nip of liquid morphine at night if I’ve had a bad day but apart from that & the odd paracetamol, am managing my pain OK.
The main issue is the complete & utter boredom, interspersed with the odd bit of hilarity listening to MrChuckles3 fighting with the vacuum or the duvet on bedding change day. The stairlift helps enormously as I have access to the whole house & I’m looking forward to the better weather later next week so I can sit in the garden.
We’ve talked a lot about whether I want to ski again. I’ve softened from ‘absolutely not’ to ‘let’s see’ so who knows yet? I need to start researching resorts with lots & lots of cruisey blues to get some confidence back so any ideas welcomed.
For those interested, here’s my CT from Italy. It’s the wrong way round but you can see the fracture of my left side (on the right).
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@Chuckles3, just a suggestion for the pain. Take your paracetamol regularly, 4 times a day , every day. Very uncomfortable may begin to be just about bearable, and that nip of liquid morphine might not be needed at all.
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@Hells Bells, Thanks for the recommendation. I’ve been doing that since the accident but this week decided to see how I go without. Perhaps another 2 weeks of it wouldn’t hurt, at least until I see the consultant.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@Chuckles3, provided you are taking the recommended dose, it's perfectly safe.
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@Hells Bells, Thank you 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Well done, @Chuckles3. It's really good to have such an upbeat progress report. Enjoy Lichfield! 
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@Chuckles3, great news! 
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You know it makes sense.
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@Chuckles3, yay well done you! Keep up the physio - sure you will
Thankfully I only ended up non- weight bearing for a few weeks.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Week 13 update
Have had consultant & physio appointments this week. I’m now allowed to fully weight bear, using a crutch on my good side for longer walks for two weeks, to get me putting full weight through my injured side. I’m getting around the house completely unaided now though & the rental stairlift was taken out a week ago.
Physio every two weeks & a sign off visit at the hospital in 3 months time.
Lots & lots of new stretches to do & I need to build up my very diminished left thigh. I’m still uncomfortable at times, more from my fractured sacrum than the hip socket fracture, but slow improvements every week keep me optimistic.
The best news this week though - forget the hip - I’m one year clear of cancer, so I went out for a bit of a celebration & even walked home on my crutches
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Poster: A snowHead
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@Chuckles3, amazing news. So pleased. See if you have any aqua aerobics classes going on locally. I found them very helpfully after a number of weeks non-weight bearing as I was really struggling to get to a level I could do normal gym work. For me it was only about 5 weeks and that had a shocking muscle loss
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Chuckles3, great news. Well done!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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That's great news indeed, @Chuckles3, but it's been a long and hard journey, hasn't it? You've obviously worked very hard.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Great news @Chuckles3! Keep up the good work and I'll second the aqua aerobics suggestion. Even just wading through water is a great workout for the leg muscles. (either that or treat yourself and go on a beach holiday and do plenty of swimming).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Thank all 
Yes, @pam w, it’s been a long slog that’s for sure but I’m determined to get back to normal asap.
I’ve got a goal of going on a sailing trip early October (our scheduled trip in May obvs didn’t happen) so that’s giving me something to work towards & look forward to.
Thanks for the recommendations folks. I’m going to check out what aqua aerobics classes are on locally - have enjoyed them previously but I might have to do a short David Lloyd membership to do them again. I shall check this with the physio in 2 weeks time.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Last visit to the physio today at 15 weeks post injury. I’m allowed to ditch the final crutch & he was happy with my gait & the progress I’ve made so far.
The suggestion of aqua aerobics was an excellent one apparently, I just need to decide if it’s worth the costs as I can only get them locally at a very expensive David Lloyd club.
In the meantime I’ll be dusting off the cross trainer from tomorrow morning & have some resistance band exercises to concentrate on from now on.
It’s all about reactivating my thigh muscles & my glutes from now on, so if you see a mid 50’s woman, standing in a queue & her eyebrows keep going up & down, that’ll be me doing my backside squeezes 
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@Chuckles3, yes David Lloyd prices I find eye watering. When I was doing them they were included in our gym membership. Try local leisure centres so if they have them?
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A long overdue update. I’m doing very well - almost. The hip socket itself has repaired itself very well but I’m still getting some residual radiating aches down my leg at night if I’ve done too much. I’ e been assured this will lessen as the months go on.
My main issue now is that it appears I also injured my knee in the accident but this was completely missed due to the pain/numbness in my leg, together with the lack of weight bearing for so long.
I’m now seeing my usual private physio & it looks like I’ve got some serious inflammation in the fat pad next to the patella. This is restricting me bending my knee & I find it difficult to kneel or crouch down. We’ve settled on trying some different exercises & ultrasound for a few sessions in the hope that helps otherwise it’ll be back to the hospital for scans & worst case, a small op (but that’ll be a way down the road).
In the meantime, we’re resigned to resisting getting anything booked for next season although we have booked a yacht in the Ionian for a fortnights sailing end of September. A bit of autumn sun & Greek grub will definitely cheer me up if skiing is off the cards next season.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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@NickyJ, I should have said, I didn’t end up doing the aqua aerobics. David Lloyd wanted an obscene amount of £’s & our local pool classes aren’t great apparently. I’ve stuck with walking, cross trainer & my exercises in the main.
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Enjoy your sailing holiday, @Chuckles3. Let somebody else do the running round on an unstable surface. And be sure to have really non-slip soles. I find Crocs absolutely the best - also pretty well foolproof against stubbing your toes on a cleat.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@pam w, Thank you! I’ve already nominated MrChuckles3 as chief deck monkey for this trip & we have a footwear on deck rule so all good there!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Had a final appt at the QE Brum for my pelvis fracture this week & was very impressed that they are sending me for an MRI on my dodgy knee. As it’s clearly a result of the original accident, it’s being investigated as part of the same. My Physio can get me a private MRI within a week though if it takes too long so will see if the appt comes through by the time we are back from our jollies in Greece in a fortnight so fingers crossed.
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