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Wow. I got the “all clear” on the bones from the specialist at the hospital last week, and I have generally been feeling pretty good. I get tired pretty quickly, but I have been able to spin on the trainer a bit, and am quite happy to walk places. Certainly, around the house I feel fairly able to do basic chores as long as I can sit down for a bit after an hour or so.
But today... Holy shit.
I was jumping around the living room with my seven year old, and we were laughing. That lasted about 30 seconds before, well, shut down.
It was almost as if I could feel every bone in my back scream all at once, and my intercostal muscles threaten me with going on strike. So I guess that would be impact sports out for a while!
Anyway, I don’t have anything to say, really, except that recovery involves some ups and downs obviously, and today really really took me by surprise.
P.S. I saw some texts I wrote when I was still full of morphine while in hospital in Leeds, and oh how I laughed. Such classics as:
“No problem. I have every intention of being at your wedding in a few weeks.”
“Sure, I’ll be by to pick up my new winter jersey in a couple of weeks. I’ll want it soon, because I should be back on the bike by Christmas.”
And to someone who queried my optimism:
“What? Of course I’m fine. I should be back at my desk in a couple of weeks max.”
Good news that you're on the mend.
You'll be back at 100% soon enough.
It takes time. And the older one becomes the more time it takes.
Recovery does indeed take time. It's amazing how quickly your body and mind can degrade but you need time for both to recover as I think they're linked.
It's been a slog for my recovery but feel I'm almost there.
Good luck and remember sometimes you're just tired and it will improve. Just rest, wind up and try again, and again and again. The body and mind are amazingly robust and you will improve, recover or adapt.
Ah yes. Pain killers.
Those calls I made from the hospital after my first dose of Paracetamol/Ibuprofen/Codeine/Tramadol...
”Hi. Won’t be in to work tomorrow. Broken my back. Don’t worry, I feel fine...”
Take it easy. 😉☺️
I wasn't allowed near work emails whilst on morphine - similar types of texts and emails were being sent.
I ended up virtually having to learn to walk again - really struggled to even get up stairs - I slept for months on the settee. It takes time. Keep doing the stretches, do a little bit more every day, but stop before it gets too painful.
I have good days and bad days. When I'm feeling good I do some exercises with the yellow latex band the physio gave me and then do them too vigorously, which upsets the AC joint and the sternum joint for a couple of days. I vacillate between believing the ends of the bone have woken up and are penetrating into the grafting material the surgeon used to close the gap, and believing that it's just the Ti plate and the screws doing the job. Been like this since Christmas and I've got to wait until 22 February for the confirmatory x-ray.
Even if the bone is healing, it's taking much much longer for the soft tissue to heal, ligaments and muscles were damaged in the crash and when the broken-off bone buried itself with no hope of meeting up and joining.
IME the hardest times are when you've realised you're starting to feel better and doing more, then as above you do something that proves you really aren't that much better after all. When you're starting your recovery the difference between a good day and a bad day isn't much, but as your recovery progresses the bad days seem way worse in comparison to the good ones. Go with the flow, listen to your body and allow it to heal. Measure the highs, not the lows.