Hooray!
I can drive. It's official the nice surgeon chappie said if he was me he would be driving by now. Great, bear in mind he is the same chap who said if he were me he would be crying just a few months ago shows what progress I have made since the little fall I had on September 24 2007.
That was a life changing day for me and my beautiful and oh so patient wife Tracey. She had always said there was not a lot of difference between wife and carer and for a long time after the accident she had to fulfil both roles. Without her hard work and perseverance I don't know how I would have managed and the farm would have ceased to operate.
It had been a nice quiet evening at Rock HQ when I had my accident. We had searched for a missing Turkey and found its remains in the gully next to the cliff. Lucky Mr Fox had had quite a meal, a full grown female Bourbon Red Turkey. We had only had the birds a week, a stag and three hens. They all decided against settling for the night in the goose house and had taken refuge in the roots and fallen branches of the trees in the gully that runs alongside the cliff at the back of the cottage. Try as we might we couldn't get to this one so had to leave her hoping the fox wouldn't get her. Unfortunately the bloody mess we found told us otherwise.
We walked back to the house and I remembered that Ben, our son, wanted a computer that was packed in the gallery loft in the workshop. Tracey told me to leave it but I didn't listen, readers of these web pages may remember the I should listen to my wife more entry a few months back, anyway I didn't listen and climbed the ladder into the loft and sorted through the boxes. I found lots of interesting stuff that we had just dumped there when we moved in and so started passing boxes down to Tracey. This is where it all went very wrong. While I was waiting for her to put a box down I fell. I don't know how I did it, I either stepped backwards off into space or just lost my balance, whatever caused it physics finished it and I hit the concrete floor nine feet below me with considerable force.
I knew I was hurt, I also knew I had to get my wellingtons off, again I don't know why but in the few moments after I hit the deck I kicked my legs like a toddler having a tantrum until my wellies flew off. Satisfied I had got rid of my footwear I focused on the real issue, how do I get a 55 kilogramme dog off my chest. Rocky had seen me fall and decided that what I really needed was him to keep me warm. Had I fallen off the side of a Swiss mountain I am sure this is the correct action for a mountain dog to take, as I was in sunny Wales his efforts were wasted and only fetched him a punch in the ear as I tried to shift him before asphyxiating. Tracey was talking to me calmly, asking if I needed an ambulance. Pretty sure I wasn't getting up unaided I agreed call one.
Bethan came out to the workshop to find me lying on the floor in a bit if distress, she helped keep me calm by asking if it was my blood on the floor, and did I know the bones were sticking out of my arm. I actually couldn't see any of this as my left arm was at a very funny angle behind my head. In actual fact it felt like it was across my chest so I knew the damage was pretty serious.
The paramedics came within 20 minutes or so, they did a fantastic job of patching me back together but were a bit concerned over the amount of morphine they had to give to ease the pain. They did the usual routine, stay with us, can you hear us, what do you do, I was waiting for the what do you do question. I'm an extra for the BBC in Casualty, I replied, just for a split second they stopped and looked at each other, how they laughed as they twisted my arm.
I had always thought that should I ever receive a serious injury I would be very stoic about it, calm, quiet, dignified in pain, resolute stiff upper lip. When they straightened my arm to get me on the stretcher my scream probably sent birds skywards in Africa. The pain was unreal and the noise of the bones grating together made Beth and Tracey want to throw up.
We went by ambulance to Hereford Hospital, if I had fallen 20 minutes earlier I could have had a ride in the Helicopter air ambulance but they had just grounded it due to poor visibility, at least I know for next time. At the hospital the paramedics crashed the stretcher through the double doors, in Casualty they have teams of doctors and nurses all eagerly waiting to assist, in reality we crashed straight into a queue of stretchers. Lucky for me I hadn't stopped bleeding and the growing pool of red on the floor was annoying the Sister so I was taken to the front of the queue. I watched the look of anger on the faces of the other casualties as I was taken through, judged most in need amongst the needy, well it pays to be a winner! I couldnt see the obligatory child with a saucepan stuck to his head so I felt a bit let down.
Convinced I would be home later that night plastered up and ready for work the next day I started to mess around, as usual. I gave a wonderful speech to Tracey and Beth saying that should anything happen to me they were to share everything, give my CD collection to Ben and look after each other. I then rolled my eyes around and pretended to stop breathing through the oxygen mask. I lay very still, Tracey bent down and whispered softly into my ear that if I didn't stop messing around she would break my other arm. I resumed breathing.
The doctor came in and asked me how I had done it, I told her that Tracey had kicked the ladder from underneath me, Tracey told her I was a mental patient. Tracey won.
They decided that I needed an operation and that would take place tomorrow. I would have to spend the night in hospital. I also might lose my arm. I had broken all three bones above and below the elbow, the elbow was a mess, bits floating around, bones poking out, probably never play the piano again eh doc? He looked at me, you cant play anyway he said. Hmm, I will have to try harder. I might lose my arm but at least I kept my sense of humour he said as he walked off, funny man. We had'nt had the farm 12 months and here I was almost certainly disabled. Not good.
Long story short, 8 hours surgery, five days in the most chaotic ward known to the NHS, a dose of MRSA, being made to sit in my underpants in a waiting room bleeding on the floor, given crap food, one meal was even still frozen when I was given it, sent home without painkillers and then sent a nurse who was expecting to deal with a patient who had a broken leg not arm, finally it looks like I am on the mend. In two weeks I have to have an operation to remove the metal work from my forearm, hopefully once that is done I will be able to straighten it. Hopefully.
The main slab of metal and nine pins will stay in place as the main break still has to heal. Its an odd sensation knowing you are held together with space age Mecanno.
Anyway for the last 7 and half months Tracey has put up with having to run the farm, work full time, be nurse to me and basically do everything. I am getting back up to speed but its going to be while before we know if my left arm is going to function properly.
I still count myself as lucky though and wouldn't change anything, too much good has come out of the accident. Some of the pain I could have done without but the lessons learned and the experience gained made it worthwhile.
Many thanks to all of our friends for their help and support over the last 7 months, and a very big thank you to Tracey, my wonderful wife who I love dearly.
I can drive. It's official the nice surgeon chappie said if he was me he would be driving by now. Great, bear in mind he is the same chap who said if he were me he would be crying just a few months ago shows what progress I have made since the little fall I had on September 24 2007.
That was a life changing day for me and my beautiful and oh so patient wife Tracey. She had always said there was not a lot of difference between wife and carer and for a long time after the accident she had to fulfil both roles. Without her hard work and perseverance I don't know how I would have managed and the farm would have ceased to operate.
It had been a nice quiet evening at Rock HQ when I had my accident. We had searched for a missing Turkey and found its remains in the gully next to the cliff. Lucky Mr Fox had had quite a meal, a full grown female Bourbon Red Turkey. We had only had the birds a week, a stag and three hens. They all decided against settling for the night in the goose house and had taken refuge in the roots and fallen branches of the trees in the gully that runs alongside the cliff at the back of the cottage. Try as we might we couldn't get to this one so had to leave her hoping the fox wouldn't get her. Unfortunately the bloody mess we found told us otherwise.
We walked back to the house and I remembered that Ben, our son, wanted a computer that was packed in the gallery loft in the workshop. Tracey told me to leave it but I didn't listen, readers of these web pages may remember the I should listen to my wife more entry a few months back, anyway I didn't listen and climbed the ladder into the loft and sorted through the boxes. I found lots of interesting stuff that we had just dumped there when we moved in and so started passing boxes down to Tracey. This is where it all went very wrong. While I was waiting for her to put a box down I fell. I don't know how I did it, I either stepped backwards off into space or just lost my balance, whatever caused it physics finished it and I hit the concrete floor nine feet below me with considerable force.
I knew I was hurt, I also knew I had to get my wellingtons off, again I don't know why but in the few moments after I hit the deck I kicked my legs like a toddler having a tantrum until my wellies flew off. Satisfied I had got rid of my footwear I focused on the real issue, how do I get a 55 kilogramme dog off my chest. Rocky had seen me fall and decided that what I really needed was him to keep me warm. Had I fallen off the side of a Swiss mountain I am sure this is the correct action for a mountain dog to take, as I was in sunny Wales his efforts were wasted and only fetched him a punch in the ear as I tried to shift him before asphyxiating. Tracey was talking to me calmly, asking if I needed an ambulance. Pretty sure I wasn't getting up unaided I agreed call one.
Bethan came out to the workshop to find me lying on the floor in a bit if distress, she helped keep me calm by asking if it was my blood on the floor, and did I know the bones were sticking out of my arm. I actually couldn't see any of this as my left arm was at a very funny angle behind my head. In actual fact it felt like it was across my chest so I knew the damage was pretty serious.
The paramedics came within 20 minutes or so, they did a fantastic job of patching me back together but were a bit concerned over the amount of morphine they had to give to ease the pain. They did the usual routine, stay with us, can you hear us, what do you do, I was waiting for the what do you do question. I'm an extra for the BBC in Casualty, I replied, just for a split second they stopped and looked at each other, how they laughed as they twisted my arm.
I had always thought that should I ever receive a serious injury I would be very stoic about it, calm, quiet, dignified in pain, resolute stiff upper lip. When they straightened my arm to get me on the stretcher my scream probably sent birds skywards in Africa. The pain was unreal and the noise of the bones grating together made Beth and Tracey want to throw up.
We went by ambulance to Hereford Hospital, if I had fallen 20 minutes earlier I could have had a ride in the Helicopter air ambulance but they had just grounded it due to poor visibility, at least I know for next time. At the hospital the paramedics crashed the stretcher through the double doors, in Casualty they have teams of doctors and nurses all eagerly waiting to assist, in reality we crashed straight into a queue of stretchers. Lucky for me I hadn't stopped bleeding and the growing pool of red on the floor was annoying the Sister so I was taken to the front of the queue. I watched the look of anger on the faces of the other casualties as I was taken through, judged most in need amongst the needy, well it pays to be a winner! I couldnt see the obligatory child with a saucepan stuck to his head so I felt a bit let down.
Convinced I would be home later that night plastered up and ready for work the next day I started to mess around, as usual. I gave a wonderful speech to Tracey and Beth saying that should anything happen to me they were to share everything, give my CD collection to Ben and look after each other. I then rolled my eyes around and pretended to stop breathing through the oxygen mask. I lay very still, Tracey bent down and whispered softly into my ear that if I didn't stop messing around she would break my other arm. I resumed breathing.
The doctor came in and asked me how I had done it, I told her that Tracey had kicked the ladder from underneath me, Tracey told her I was a mental patient. Tracey won.
They decided that I needed an operation and that would take place tomorrow. I would have to spend the night in hospital. I also might lose my arm. I had broken all three bones above and below the elbow, the elbow was a mess, bits floating around, bones poking out, probably never play the piano again eh doc? He looked at me, you cant play anyway he said. Hmm, I will have to try harder. I might lose my arm but at least I kept my sense of humour he said as he walked off, funny man. We had'nt had the farm 12 months and here I was almost certainly disabled. Not good.
Long story short, 8 hours surgery, five days in the most chaotic ward known to the NHS, a dose of MRSA, being made to sit in my underpants in a waiting room bleeding on the floor, given crap food, one meal was even still frozen when I was given it, sent home without painkillers and then sent a nurse who was expecting to deal with a patient who had a broken leg not arm, finally it looks like I am on the mend. In two weeks I have to have an operation to remove the metal work from my forearm, hopefully once that is done I will be able to straighten it. Hopefully.
The main slab of metal and nine pins will stay in place as the main break still has to heal. Its an odd sensation knowing you are held together with space age Mecanno.
Anyway for the last 7 and half months Tracey has put up with having to run the farm, work full time, be nurse to me and basically do everything. I am getting back up to speed but its going to be while before we know if my left arm is going to function properly.
I still count myself as lucky though and wouldn't change anything, too much good has come out of the accident. Some of the pain I could have done without but the lessons learned and the experience gained made it worthwhile.
Many thanks to all of our friends for their help and support over the last 7 months, and a very big thank you to Tracey, my wonderful wife who I love dearly.
A diamond at Rock HQ.
2 comments:
Your wife sounds like a saint.
Thank you, she is, probably the patron Saint of Cider :)
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