Part 7
My 6 week check up at the hospital was a huge anti-climax. In Norway the doctors had hinted that I may be able to start doing some physiotherapy after 6 weeks. I thought this meant that I would be able to start moving properly and doing exercise. Unfortunately for me I was told that I would not be able to do anything until 3 months after the operation, another 6 weeks. As I was already walking OK I didn't need any physio for that and as I couldn't bend or twist my back yet there was nothing to do there. That meant another 6 weeks of log rolling and I couldn't go back to work. I was a bit dissapointed, but alot of the things I had read in the prevous 6 weeks had suggested that the 3 month period of inactivity was normal so I wasn't totally surprised.
On the up side I could now walk pretty well normally, so I could occupy myself with plenty of strolls in the sun. I have to thank Shaun and Troy for looking after me during my recovery. Shaun took time out of his busy (!) schedule to take me for walks with his dog Troy and making sure I was always well fed on pies! It made a big difference to be able to go for walks in places other than from my house, as I was not driving, and having some company while my wife was at work.
The 6 weeks until my next appointment went fairly quickly, although I did have to visit the Doctors during this time. Shortly after my 6 week appointment, when all was well I started to get pins and needles in my right foot. Although this doesn't sound like much I was quite sensitive to pains and things in my back and legs and I knew that pins and needles could be a bad sign. After several days I saw my GP who tested my leg strength and reflexes and suggested that it may be just due to me sleeping on my front and putting pressure on a nerve in my leg. It was true that I tended to sleep in a fairly uncomfortable position, lying on my front with my left leg hanging off the side of the bed and therefore alot of pressure on my right leg. He said that there was no need to worry, but if it got worse then I should go to the A&E at my local hospital.
About 3 days later it started to get quite painful and had spread to almost the whole of my right leg. I was a bit worried about this so got my wife to take me to A&E when she got back from work. At the A&E I was seen to within a couple of minutes of arriving and the Doctor reassured me that it was nothing serious and may have been due to how I was sleeping or that I may be favouring my right leg when I walked to compensate for my back. I asked him about DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis) as that was one thing that had crossed my mind but he assured me that I did not have the right symptoms. Strangely the following day the pain had gone, although I still had pins and needles in my foot and over the next few weeks the pins and needles came and went but I wasn't worried about it any more.
The time for my 3 month appointment rolled around and this time I have to admit that I was quite nervous about the outcome. I really wanted to be told that I could finally move my back. At the hospital I was sent for X-rays and when these were ready the consultant declared that everything was OK. At last I could start to bend and twist. I asked the doctor lots of questions about whether my TH11 and TH12 vertebrae were fused but he said that it was impossible to tell with the screws and pins in the way. He reassured me that the fractures were fixed and that even if the vertebrae hadn't fused the screws and pins would hold me together quite adequately. I was still quite nervous about my back and whether it had fixed properly. For the last 3 months I had been treating it very carefully indeed and, although I wanted to start moving again I didn't want to put my recovery back. It maybe sounds a bit crazy but I wanted to be certain. I also asked the doctor about what I could now do. He said that cycling and light jogging would now be possible. I half-jokingly asked about football, expecting him to laugh, but he said that when I was comfortable jogging and running I could start to about play football again.
The following day I had my first physiotherapy session since I had left hospital. The physiotherapist showed me some gentle exercises for loosening up my back and getting strength back into my stomach muscles. I had tried bending after my hospital appointment but couldn't get very far! I had no real pain but my back muscles felt very tight.
This brings me up to date. I will write again when I have made some progress on bending my back.