Putting a boot into our original Easter plans… COMPLETED 5/3 About This Page:

[Pris]

I can't believe it's that hard to rent a wheelchair. Around here there are several places that rent medical supplies such as wheelchairs. It sounds like you really are progressing. Heck, you're getting in more steps in recuperation than I do on an average day.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Pris

I can't believe it's that hard to rent a wheelchair. Around here there are several places that rent medical supplies such as wheelchairs.

Neither could I. I thought it would be easy, but how little I knew..

It sounds like you really are progressing. Heck, you're getting in more steps in recuperation than I do on an average day.

It is taking a lot of work and today it was extremely dull, as it was raining for much of the day and all I did was walk around the house all day and up and down the stairs repeatedly - I lost track of how many times. Oh well, it all helps, it's just boring!

[purplegal]

Hopefully they arrange physio for you soon so you don’t over compensate with another part of your body. Good thing you had your beloved donkey’s to watch and take your mind off your healing.

[manticorjenn]

Sounds like you are recovering well, even if slowly. I am glad you had the donkey's to occupy you for part of the time. I know how boring walking around the house can be, but, moving is a good thing. Hopefully the rain will go away soon and you can take advantage of the outdoors for walking.

[SuperDave]

Seems the recovery is going well. You were certainly a bit worried about certain things in the beginning on who you were dealing with and whether they were doing the right thing as you expected others in your recovery as you obviously know them and have more trust in them!

That is just insane trying to rent a wheelchair as the costs sounded fine in the beginning but the minimum rental days were insane for 200 LB regardless of how long you needed one. What a cash cow that business is and not exactly fair. Almost seems it would be better to buy one and have for future use, even though you hope you won't need again! Not good to gouge patients for things like this, considering their medical costs already that insurance may not cover entirely!

Hope the recovery is getting better and are back to 100% shortly and may be close to that presently. At least we hope!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by purplegal

Hopefully they arrange physio for you soon so you don’t over compensate with another part of your body. Good thing you had your beloved donkey’s to watch and take your mind off your healing.

I honestly think I'd have been lost without their antics. They may look like miserable creatures, but my goodness, when you watch them, they are so much fun!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by manticorjenn

Sounds like you are recovering well, even if slowly. I am glad you had the donkey's to occupy you for part of the time. I know how boring walking around the house can be, but, moving is a good thing. Hopefully the rain will go away soon and you can take advantage of the outdoors for walking.

Sssh.... I'm saying this quietly, but it does look as if this morning is nice, so hopefully I can get outside a little later... fingers crossed!

[chezp]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

That is just insane trying to rent a wheelchair as the costs sounded fine in the beginning but the minimum rental days were insane for 200 LB regardless of how long you needed one. What a cash cow that business is and not exactly fair.

That's how I felt. I thought their website was very misleading...

Almost seems it would be better to buy one and have for future use, even though you hope you won't need again! Not good to gouge patients for things like this, considering their medical costs already that insurance may not cover entirely!

Ah well, don't forget that a lot of people over here don't have insurance and just rely on the National Health Service. If you choose to take out private medical insurance, then it just gets you seen quicker and a private hospital, which are generally nicer. The one I had my ankle op in is certainly much nicer than our NHS hospital.

Hope the recovery is getting better and are back to 100% shortly and may be close to that presently. At least we hope!

I am improving, but I think it will be some time before I'm 100%. I suspect it will be a few weeks before I can drive for example... That is beyond frustrating when you're used to driving everywhere.

[chezp]

Pre-trip report – part six: welcome to plan B for this trip…

First off, I went through all our plans and looked at the websites for each place we were due to visit and looked at information about their accessibility. In this country, you have to make properties as accessible as possible, although it is accepted that it won’t always be possible, particularly with things like castles or historic homes.

After a look at the websites, it became clear that pretty much anything with the word “castle” in it was a complete no-go. That meant Caerphilly Castle and Corfe Castle were both off the list. It’s a shame, as we’d never been to the first and we’d tried to go to the second before and failed. Oh well, I guess one day it will be third lucky for Corfe.

Our plans for the National Trust properties in south Wales are also out as well. It’s because we don’t know how well I’ll do with a long car journey. Before my op, the physio I saw told me that I’d have to have my leg up for the duration of the drive, which went down like a lead balloon with me, as to do that, I’d need to be in the backseat and I usually get car sick if I sit there.

Instead, we’re now going to visit the Vyne, which is about an hour and a half from where we live. I’ve reserved a wheelchair with them and it looks as if the visit will be perfect in a way, as the first floor is closed due to refurbishment work, so I won’t be missing anything.

Then we’ll make our way over to Stourhead which we visited many years ago. I’ve wanted to go back for years, but I know Mark hasn’t been keen. I wasn’t sure how we’d get on, given it’s a huge garden, but they have a mobility buggy that takes visitors around and they’ve confirmed that all I need to do is make staff aware when we arrive that we want to use it and they can then arrange it for me. I have been amazed by what the National Trust do for their visitors.

With each property, I’ve also asked whether we can use the disabled parking, as over here, it’s usually reserved for those with blue badges. It’s not something I would usually consider doing, but I need the extra space to get the boot in and out of the car and in fact, I’ll probably be putting it on when we arrive and taking it off when we leave. The longest I had it on for was the first full day after the cast came off and I think that’s why I ended up with such pain in my calf. Now I try to keep it to just a couple of hours a day.

We’ll spend the night in Bath as planned, but we won’t be going to the Bath Thermae Spa. This was a very tough decision for me, especially after my consultant said I’d be fine to go. However, the spa is nowhere near any parking, so Mark would have to drop me off and I’d have to wait for him. I might be able to sit, but I wasn’t sure. Then I’d have to work out how to get around the spa itself. I couldn’t really be in my protective boot, so that would mean being on both crutches and having to leave them with attendants at the two pools. I wasn’t sure what to do with them on the level with steam rooms and heated chairs. It just got too complicated.

I rang them to explain the situation and to ask what would happen. We’re going down with Mark’s sisters on a weekend in June and I asked if I could use our vouchers for that and I was told I could. Ok, so we wouldn’t get a meal, but at least that would be paid for. So Jan’s voucher won’t go to waste, and I think it is the best decision. As I say, it wasn’t an easy decision, but I think it’s the right one for my ankle.

There is a spa at our hotel in Sidmouth and I’ll take a look at it and decide whether I feel like using it or not. It will depend on whether or not it’s busy, as I’d prefer to try it if there are fewer people around, what the floor surface is like and whether I feel confident on it, things like that. I’ll take my swimming stuff and we’ll just see how we get on…

The next day we’ll go straight to the Donkey Sanctuary, rather than stopping anywhere else. They’ve got a “tea in the paddock” event taking place from 11:00am, so I thought it would be nice to go there for that and it will be a nice relaxing day with barely any driving. There’s more of the same on the Sunday and we still might visit A La Ronde, as it looks like a relatively small place, so I may be able to get around it Ok.

On the way home, we’re going to stop off a couple of times, so again we don’t have too long of a car journey home – otherwise it would be four hours! After about an hour, we’re going to visit the Hardy Monument, which as the name suggests is a monument to Vice Admiral Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, Flag Captain of HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar. It will probably only be a few minutes’ worth of stopping, but at least it will be a chance to stretch our legs.

The final part of the trip will be to stop off at Petworth on the way home, as again they’ve confirmed all the details I needed as far as accessibility goes. As I write this, it’s five days away, so who knows? I may be fine with walking a lot further by then than I am at the moment. There’s no way of knowing, but I do know I’ve made a lot of progress since last Friday, which was five days ago, so here’s hoping….

And, as for the ankle – how’s it going? Well, after some prodding, I have had my first physiotherapy appointment, which was good… and bad! The bad was the fact she tried to get me to put all my weight on my right leg, which I couldn’t do. She also pressed on the bruised area of my ankle and I practically hit the ceiling.

However, the good was that I took my first few steps without the boot or the crutches. That gave me confidence. I’ve been told I should do a bit more of that and should try standing and shifting my weight on to the right leg. I also have some exercises to get my ankle moving again. I felt so much better after seeing her, as I know what I now need to do to improve. She also told me that I need to walk as much as possible in the protective boot. I thought that was the right thing to do, but now it’s been confirmed. And I have managed to stand for about a second with all the weight on my right leg, so that’s something….

So, excuse the pun, that’s where I stand now with my recovery. I’m glad we’re going away for the weekend and I’m really looking forward to it. We’ll make the best of the situation and have a good time. It may not be what we’d originally planned, but this will still be fun…

[Colexis Mom]

Sorry you’ve had to rearrange the trip due to your ankle but it sounds like you’ve still got some great things planned for your time away!

[disney_duke]

I love that your National Trust membership allows you so many different places. It makes it rather easy when you have to make adjustments like this! And all of the places you go to look just amazing.

PT is so important to recovery! That's the thing (again!) that you don't think of -- all we focus on is the surgery part. But PT is equally important! I was amazed at how quickly I came back after knee surgery. I ran a half marathon six months post surgery! I'm absolutely positive you'll be back to normal just as quickly.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by disney_duke

I love that your National Trust membership allows you so many different places. It makes it rather easy when you have to make adjustments like this! And all of the places you go to look just amazing.

Yes, the National Trust membership is an absolute godsend for all trips we take in the UK. Thank goodness our friend purchased lifetime membership for us all those years ago.

PT is so important to recovery! That's the thing (again!) that you don't think of -- all we focus on is the surgery part. But PT is equally important! I was amazed at how quickly I came back after knee surgery. I ran a half marathon six months post surgery! I'm absolutely positive you'll be back to normal just as quickly.

Wow! I must admit that I am amazed at my progress even since the first appointment on Tuesday.

[Pris]

I'm glad you will still be able to do some things on your list and think the trip will be especially good for you as you've been so confined to your home over the past few weeks. Sending for good travel weather and a great time, even though it is totally different from your original plans.

[chezp]

Originally Posted by Pris

I'm glad you will still be able to do some things on your list and think the trip will be especially good for you as you've been so confined to your home over the past few weeks.

It will be lovely to get out. I've only been outside of our town once since the op and that was over three weeks ago!

Sending for good travel weather and a great time, even though it is totally different from your original plans.

I'm hoping we'll still have a good time, even though the weather forecast isn't looking great.

[Tara O'Hara]

All of those places look fabulous!! What a packed weekend you guys are going to have and I am so excited to hear about it!!