Yebo

Hi there,

I hope this finds you all well.

First of all sorry for the lack of communication over the last few weeks as we only had the internet installed fairly recently.

For those of you who have been trying to contact me over the phone I am in the process of getting a new mobile as mine is stuffed and only works intermittently so don't be surprised if it rings off.

I have been out of hospital for a month now and I am enjoying a bit of peace and quiet to be honest. It's weird actually getting uninterrupted sleep and not waiting to use the bathroom. That being said, being at home is also a lot more sedate and I am trying to resurrect my post-graduate degree and finish it off once and for all before I go completely insane. However, there is test cricket on so I am enjoying chilling out and relaxing.

I have to be a bit more careful at home as I decided to wash up the other night and filled the sink up with hot water and managed to burn the hell out of my leg. I only noticed I had burnt my leg when it started spasming like crazy. Anyway at least I can't feel the pain but it has left a nasty wound on my leg.

I am still being treated for the embolisms and should be clear after six months treatment. The doctors wanted me to go for regular blood testing but I told them I would just inject myself with fragmin daily rather than spend hours at the hospital waiting for blood tests etc.

We have bought a Ford Focus Estate and it should be delivered in the next month or so. I am in the process of getting driving lessons organized so I can learn how to use hand controls and get out a bit more. I am not particularly confident going out at the moment but I am sure that will change over the next few months.

Jay is well and gone back to school to teach London's future criminals. She took the last few weeks off to help me out and so we could spend some time together. A couple of my mates came round to watch the rugby recently and it was great to just spend a normal day with my friends.

The flat was looking good until the neighbour's boiler broke and wrecked our ceiling. The council want to refurbish the flat and totally redesign our bathroom and bedroom to give me a little more space, which would be great as I scrape my knuckles on the door frames at least once a day and can't turn my wheelchair in the bedroom and bathroom. My neighbours must think I am a total nutter as I scream profanities whenever I get stuck or hit my hands.

So all is going well and I am happy and relieved to be out of hospital and will keep you posted,

Bruce

Leg Operation

Here is a pic of my leg one week after the operation.

I will hopefully be discharged when the leg has healed a bit

Flat

Here are a couple of pictures of the flat,

- I am bored uploading this but I am sure someone will find it interesting

Six months of fun and games

Happy New Year to all of you and I wish you all the best for the new year.

I had the operation on my leg yesterday and the surgeons are confident that they removed the whole lesion or growth. I was under GA and was out for a couple of hours whilst they did their thing to me. Oddly enough I can feel a strange buzzing in my right leg which is unusual considering that I could feel nothing previously.

Now the plan is to start taking Warfarin again to get rid of the blood clots and then I should be able to leave this place. I am really bored of sitting around in hospital doing nothing. Because of the surgery I cannot do any physio and was told to stay in bed but told them to get lost.

So I am up and want to get out of here asap as I honestly feel that I am taking up space for other people who need the care more than me. Every week there are one or two new admissions of people who have generally had accidents or have diseases. It gets a little depressing watching distraught relatives and people who have had their lives shattered.

The nature of spinal cord injuries is that no-one really knows what will happen in the future. One of the patients was unable to move her hands and legs but within one month is walking without the hint of a limp and no damage whatsover once the bruising in her back had gone down. She feel out of a 3 storey window and landed on her back.

This is compared to a man who twisted his neck when he heard his doorbell ring. He is now a complete tetraplegic who needs 24 hour care. He somehow aggravated the veterbrae in his neck and irreversibly damaged his spinal cord.

So that doesn't help put things in perspective when I am sitting here undiagnosed. The main thing is that I haven't got any worse considering the doctors don't know what is wrong. I am still supposedly 'sick' but I could go to a coagulation clinic closer to home to get my blood monitored rather than sit around waiting for blood tests - that is why I am anxious to get out of here asap.

I am meeting with my bosses tomorrow for my six month review - at least I have a valid reason for not being at work. Some people take stress leave for six months if their cat dies!

Yep as of yesterday it has been 6 months since I stumbled into St.George's thinking I'd be out in a day or so. I had tickets to go to watch the England v, SA test match and was really concerned about missing that more than anything else.

So I celebrated my stay with an operation and some general anesthetic.

I really appreciate to offer of £ to help with wheelchair and adaptation costs and I am in the process of setting up an account so I will be in touch with all of you who have offered financial assistance.

So hopefully I am finally reaching the end of my stay in the NHS world and will celebrate with a couple of beers (and accompanying catheters) in my flat with Jay.