Well that's me off my bike for a while

[Fubar]

 

[roadrash]

agree with reiver, ive had similar problems for a few years , sensory loss in the right leg, it comes and goes, im having two discs removed , and three vertabrae fused in march 15 ,surgeon said it can take a while for nerves to repair , everyone is different , i guess what im saying is give it time , easy for me to say , i know, but dont be thinking the worst , ( i may need to come back and read this myself in 4 months time) good luck with the rest of your recovery.

 

[ColinJ]

Focus on the positives of healing / recovering from the op and worry about the other bridges when you get to them.

(I know, rubbish advice. Sorry.)

I think it is good advice!

My legs quickly got weak when I was bedridden. I could only walk a few yards at a time when I finally got moving again but the strength did start to come back eventually.

It's early days yet. Fingers crossed for a better recovery than you are expecting!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

[QUOTE 3429735, member: 9609"]Far too early to jump to that conclusion - I had motor loss for over two months and it all came back 100%. In fact I had to wait over 2 months before the NHS refereed me to a neuro surgeon, another 2 weeks before seeing the surgeon, then another 3 weeks before the op, at which point they decided I was showing signs of improvement so I no longer needed the operation. (patella reflex had a murmur where it had been dead for about 3 months, I could score a try with it now)
Some of the sensory stuff, numbness etc took virtually 2 years to get back to normal. So far far far far too early to worry about permanent damage - you will probably be out touring on the bike next summer.

And none of that is meant to underplay what you are going through at the moment, I had something quite similar and it is hellish, astonishing amounts of pain and the worry what the future might bring - I used to worry if I would ever walk again.[/QUOTE]

agree with reiver, ive had similar problems for a few years , sensory loss in the right leg, it comes and goes, im having two discs removed , and three vertabrae fused in march 15 ,surgeon said it can take a while for nerves to repair , everyone is different , i guess what im saying is give it time , easy for me to say , i know, but dont be thinking the worst , ( i may need to come back and read this myself in 4 months time) good luck with the rest of your recovery.

@roadrash best wishes for the op.

I guess with previous experience of my body and it's ability to heal, particularly nerves (I have significant nerve damage in my left arm & left leg plus minor damage in the neck, none of which have improved and 2 of them having had more than 20 years to try to) plus with my consultant's concern and her ' warnings ' that i am unlikely to make a full recovery topped off with the continued falls...

I guess I am just not wanting to get my hopes up like I did last time with my left wrist believing that life could go on add normal once it had healed. It didn't heal, life didn't go on as normal and I had to retrain and all hopes of my chosen career had to be abandoned. I'm pretty much back there, only this time with the added ' bonus ' of not being able to walk unaided.

I've been here before and the one thing that i had feared the most (both of us had feared the most) has now happened. It's that bad at the moment that my parents are talking about getting me a wheelchair.

I'm just finding this too hard at the moment.

 

[coffeejo]

@roadrash best wishes for the op.

I guess with previous experience of my body and it's ability to heal, particularly nerves (I have significant nerve damage in my left arm & left leg plus minor damage in the neck, none of which have improved and 2 of them having had more than 20 years to try to) plus with my consultant's concern and her ' warnings ' that i am unlikely to make a full recovery topped off with the continued falls...

I guess I am just not wanting to get my hopes up like I did last time with my left wrist believing that life could go on add normal once it had healed. It didn't heal, life didn't go on as normal and I had to retrain and all hopes of my chosen career had to be abandoned. I'm pretty much back there, only this time with the added ' bonus ' of not being able to walk unaided.

I've been here before and the one thing that i had feared the most (both of us had feared the most) has now happened. It's that bad at the moment that my parents are talking about getting me a wheelchair.

I'm just finding this too hard at the moment.

*hugs*

Focus on each day as it comes.

Thinking of you xx

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Sorry to hear that, @SatNavSaysStraightOn . We're all hoping you're wrong, and it will turn out better this time. Hang in there, and keep updating us.

 

[ColinJ]

I've been here before and the one thing that i had feared the most (both of us had feared the most) has now happened. It's that bad at the moment that my parents are talking about getting me a wheelchair.

I'm just finding this too hard at the moment.

Obviously I hope you are wrong, but if it does come to the worst then I am sure you will face it with your usual fortitude.

For an inspiring example of what might still be possible, see what local Mytholmroyd lass and fellow feisty blonde Karen Darke achieved AFTER being paralysed from the chest down ... world and paralympic medals in hand cycling, polar expeditions, climbs of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, doctorate in geology, a hand-cranked ride across Japan ...

She has written two books which would probably be worth reading. (I meant to read them but never got round to it.)

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Obviously I hope you are wrong, but if it does come to the worst then I am sure you will face it with your usual fortitude.

For an inspiring example of what might still be possible, see what local Mytholmroyd lass and fellow feisty blonde Karen Darke achieved AFTER being paralysed from the chest down ... world and paralympic medals in hand cycling, polar expeditions, climbs of the Matterhorn and Mont Blanc, doctorate in geology, a hand-cranked ride across Japan ...

She has written two books which would probably be worth reading. (I meant to read them but never got round to it.)

I think a lot of the problem at the moment is that i am getting very little help. If you are clearly paralysed the nhs is brilliant, but right now I am getting no help. it's the you can stand up policy, what's the problem. We only come out to the elderly and frail (i have been told this over the phone by one of the surgery Dr's).

I have to fight just to get a doctor to come out and see me at home (managed that twice), if I ring for a telephone appointment it is another fight and you end up feeling like a child being scolded by a teacher for wasting their time. They just don't seem to understand or want to even know that I can't sit up for more than 7 minutes, I can't yet walk more than 50m if that, getting into a car to be driven to the surgery is not an option, I can't sit down long enough, let alone wait around in the surgery because I can only stand for 10-15 mins.

Right now the only help I have is my husband, that's it and he is out of the house from 7am to 6 pm each day, working Saturdays to cover the hours he needs to make up. I don't tell him when I fall because I know how much he is worried about me. He literally only knows about the falls I have when he is home.

 

[Scoosh]

[wants to jump into car and drive down to help ... ]

Can you get the Dr who did come to see you at home and is - or certainly should be - au fait with you condition/situation to inform the rest of the staff at the practice (including reception and doctor colleagues) about your situation, so they have a 'heads up' for when/if you have to call them ?

Failing that, can the Consultant inform them by letter ?

Any CC folk** within walking/cycling/driving distance who could at the very least drop in for a chat, a and maybe even some vegan soup or CAKE ? At least it would be a change from a tablet screen, four walls and a ceiling !




**this might not include @potsy and @User14044 ...

 

[Ganymede]

I do feel for you, @SatNavSaysStraightOn. I feel very angry from a distance that you can't get the help you need. Have you tried asking if there are any voluntary organisations locally that can help? The government does now expect charities to take up the social care which has been dropped by the government but you have to find which ones they are. Your doctor's surgery probably has some information but you need to ask specifically. If you can get your parish mag there might be some useful contacts such as the WI - this isn't their function but the WI is full of ladies in late middle age who know all about local resources. You could also try the local Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org.uk/What-we-do/Health-and-social-care/Independent-living/Support-at-home.

It seems to me that you could be eligible for a temporary blue badge - a friend of mine had a blue badge when she was recovering from a multiply-broken leg, though that was a few years ago.

 

[Saluki]

I was about to mention the temporary blue badge option. A friend of mine had one after an operation. She had hers for 6 months and it was an absolute boon for her. Talk to your doctor (if you can get to see him or her) about it. You should be able to book a talking on the phone appointment for such matters.

I know that this probably isn't terribly helpful but, when I was 19, I broke my back a bit and was told that there was only a tiny chance of ever walking again. I was a bit narked off to say the least and wallowed in self pity for a while, until my Boyfriend came and bullied me. He told me to pull myself together and not to sit about like a big pink slug and to get with the programme. Not sure what programme but I was so angry I was motivated to stop feeling sorry for myself. I was motivated to work really hard in the pool and with the physios so that I could get up and punch BFs froggy face in (He was ex special forces and a fair bit older than me so punching him probably not a great idea in retrospect).
I walk now, with a bit of a roll like John Wayne but I did get better. My PMA wasn't great, but Stuart's was (BF) and it was infectious. What I am trying to say is I know how easy it is to feel depressed and negative but please keep your chin up and don't watch that Jeremy Vile person. He'll make you feel worse. We all heal more slowly as we get older and have to make plan B or even plan C or D work for us. You are in our thoughts and prayers anyway.

 

[coffeejo]

Being isolated is miserable, it really is, especially when your norm is to be independent and self-reliant. Hold onto those strengths. x

 

[Saluki]

Being isolated is miserable, it really is, especially when your norm is to be independent and self-reliant. Hold onto those strengths. x

When BF was out of the room, I had my dog for company. He would bring me biscuits, socks, blankets and all sorts of stuff. I never could teach him to bring a cup of tea but everything else was great. No laptops in those days but I did have a stick with a few rubber bands on that I used as a remote control for the TV. This did not work on the radio, it only shoved it off the table and the volume shot up and there it stayed blaring at me until someone came to help.

I was only ever on my own for a couple of hours. Being on your own for 11 hours must be horrendous. I am sure that the Red Cross offer a visiting service, I am pretty sure that the Salvation Army do too. Worry not, they won't 'God' at you. They are nice people.

 

[Scoosh]

Being isolated is miserable, it really is, especially when your norm is to be independent and self-reliant. Hold onto those strengths. x

True - but she canae be totally 'isolated' with all the lu-urv being dished out from CC !

and and even from some !

 

[coffeejo]

Just a thought - if you've a spare room, have you considered something like the HelpX scheme? I know you don't live on a smallholding etc but you may find volunteers who'd be happy to help out indoors given the time of year? I know loads of people who get HelpXers in and they all highly recommend it.

http://www.helpx.net/