Now we know the answer!

Went for the scan last Wednesday in Harley Street. All very salubrious. Attended by a couple of delightful young ladies in white coats. Emerged into the pouring rain and stood there for 5 minutes on crutches until a taxi arrived. And the rain stopped...

The result was phoned through to me today (Sunday). In brief, there is a recurrence of the disc problem. The last operation was to chip away some bone at the joints between the vertebrae and to remove some disc that had slipped out. There is now more disc that has extruded and it is pressing on the femoral nerve. The risks attendant on these back operations are multiplied on every recurrence. And often the disc that has slipped out will be absorbed by the body, which is why slipped discs get better without an operation in most cases. So we are waiting a month to see if this starts to happen. If it does not, or it gets worse, he will go in again. In the meantime keep taking the painkillers!

A step backwards

Well, it was all going swimmingly. Then about 3 weeks ago something moved in my back, and I am now back on 2 sticks! The GP said that there must be another impingement (i.e. something is pressing on the femoral nerve) and to see the specialist. I did that yesterday, and it is not straightforward. To see what is wrong they need an MRI scan. But you cannot do this when there is metal in the vicinity. And there is metal in the stent that they put in my aorta to deal with the aneurysm. This will, at best, distort the image, and may, because of the magnetic fields, move the stent! They are thinking about it....

But we had a great time on the Rhine last week. Sonia was brilliant, towing 2 suitcases, while I followed on 2 sticks. Then she went on all the incidental trips, and I stayed on board with a load of books and caught up with my reading. I could do that for a long time!

Now things are on the move again, there will be more frequent postings. All e-mails and letters gratefully received.

The Other Specialist

There has been a gap in communications - partly because things have been going well enough for me not to have much to say.Since January I have more or less had to learn to walk again, and I now have reached the stage that I go out without my sticks - if the walk is not too long. I need them on rough ground, though, which makes working on the allotment slow, but I am getting fed up with them, so I shall probably keep them for special occasions.

I went to see the other specialist yesterday - the one that deals with arteries. He put me through the scanning machine and the x-ray machine and then said that it had all worked, and that I could go away until December. Apparently I have to have a check-up every 6 months.

I am now swimming 900 metres a day - next week it will go up to 1000, and that will be far enough. I do not expect to lose any weight doing it, but I hope it will be redistributed a bit. It is good fun - I go to Tonbridge School Swimming Pool and if I choose the right time I get a lane to myself. Cost - £2.50 a visit.

The next trip is to Scotland - or at least to the Borders. I have volunteered to take the grandchildren there!! At least I shall not be able to run after them.

About all for now, although I shall probably think of things I wanted to say as soon as I sign off.

The Specialist.....

is pleased, and does not want to see me again until December. The flip side of this is that what I have then will be all that I will get! So be it.

I have also started swimming again - Tonbridge School has opened its swimming pool and other facilities to the public - on payment of quite a decent sum, actually, but I think it will be worth it.

I have also started digging again so we may get a few beans this year, but I am putting most of what I have down to soft fruit, so we shall probably have to get a new freezer if it all works out.

And if that sounds hopeful, you should see my gait, which needs sorting out. That is what the physio is all about, but I have had to learn to walk again, and I am just past the toddler stage. I always thought that there was something about a bottle....

About all for now. All visitors and messages welcome.

Further progress!!

It's a month since I last posted. Progress is monthly, rather than daily, but it is still there. I am now walking around the house without sticks, and have progressed to the grounds. There is still the problem of risking my knee giving up whilst walking down stairs or down a slope, but that is a symptom of what I have actually done, which is damage my right femoral nerve. When that happens I fall over which creates consternation among all around, but I have practised falling over and rolling, rather than crashing to the ground. The nerve is slowly reconstituting itself, but I guess it will take many months to recover fully. Still that is the stimulus I need to keep on doing the exercises 3 times a day.

Jonathan Nicholson, from Cayman, visited the other day, which was very nice, and Tim and Lorna from South Africa did likewise yesterday. It is always nice to have visitors from abroad, as I am not keen on the long walk to the aircraft that always seems to be my lot. And they never give me the electric trolley - it is always the wheel chair with a frail young lady to try and push me along.

About all for now - we see the specialist next week, when I may have some more things to say.

Getting on

Well, progress has slowed up - or so it seems. The physio seems satisfied that she can see improvement, and I suppose that over 3 weeks she may be right, but I should like it to go faster. Sleeping seems to be the problem at the moment - I get cramp and wake up about once an hour throughout the night. I get some quinine pills today that I hope will sort it out. I would have thought gin and tonic would be a better source of quinine, but you cannot get a prescription for that. Otherwise life goes on satisfactorily. I am driving quite happily now, which is a great relief. And I see the physio again in about 3 weeks, which will be the next entry unless things happen.

Further improvement

As expected, the physio has given me more exercises, but I am now getting around the house without sticks. A bit ungainly, to say the least, as there are a lot of atrophied muscles to be built up, and some nerve fibres to be regenerated before I am walking as freely as I would like.

However, we went to Cardiff a week ago and stayed at the St Davids Hotel on Cardiff Bay. Recommended! Luckily Sonia is quite happy doing long distance motorway driving, as although I am driving, I find sitting too long in one position induces cramp, which is embarrassing at 70+ m.p.h!

I am also finding the Blue Badge that I persuaded Kent County Council to issue to me is a boon and a blessing. Parking on yellow lines with impunity is a luxury that I shall find hard to give up. But it means I can go anywhere, really, and do my own shopping. You also get the best parking spots in the hotel car parks, and such like.

So, all in all we are getting there. All phone calls are still much appreciated, though, as are suggestions for lunch at pubs and so forth. I just wish that the sun would shine for longer than an hour at a time!