Gotta believe it , whilst I sit here in my hospital bed 7 days longer than planned.
Me being me can never do things by halves meaning a simple (well not really ) operation last year to have a reinforced personalized shaped clavicle plate installed and a bit of Nigel’s toe for good measure after the 3rd brake of said clavicle failed to heal has needed to come out as lifting my arm to about 90% and beyond gave me a pallor (white) hand and arm and was affecting riding.
For a while , Calamity Jane here carried on as I always did , I had exciting races to train for , The arm had a mind of its own , one minute I was able to ride for 3 hours with no real issue other than a numb hand and fingers (don't worry you have brakes on the other side too) to literally getting down the road and my whole arm would go so weak , the grip strength of a flea with no arms and the twinging of nerve fibers getting caught between bone.
Mr Edwards my vascular specialist (bloody good one too) who proved no pulse when arm was lifted and got me in for loads of tests , Turns out one of the 7 screws was impinging on my subclavian artery - not great so booked in for removal of the screw. From then things progressed to developing a neck lump leading to more tests and having the whole plate removed.
It has been a weird and wild week but one that i needed to actually stop me and to rest ( I mean its quite a big way to stop myself) every cloud and all that.
Although the plate removal was never going to be routine due to a potential risk of severe bleeding It has been more of a rollercoaster than expected. Not only did I have some cleaning out and tying off a abnormally big vein and sorting out a flap of muscle that had detached itself It turned out that I also had an infection seeping out of the screw rather than blood .
So the potential of a night stay turned into a week with many friends , Colin the 1st , Clive the 2nd and Cecil the 3rd of cannulas taking more blood out of me and putting more hardcore antibiotics into me.
Staying positive has been a challenge with the sounds and sights of hospitals and without my family , missing the funeral of my grandad and just being reminded of mum in her most worrying time, not being able to just go out for exercise and eating good food.
However with all that being said I have met some beautiful people like Maureen and Nicky , Rikki and Penny to name a few each with their own personal challenges , I loved being there to make them smile and help where possible and I wish them all so much love , health and happiness in the future with their families.
And I couldn't forget the bloody incredible staff who put up with so so much and who I am truly grateful , we had so many laughs and made me feel safe - Adele , Frankie , Sara , and all of level 11 west.
I still have a long way of recovery to go with Pascal PICC , a line to administer my antibiotics at home but I will recover and that I am so thankful.
Cant wait to get back on 2 wheels x x
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