Olly Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 So, last night at 7.00 pm I was hale and hearty - a careless trip over an electrical flex and I fell forward, landing heavily on one knee. Six hour later, I was discharged from A&E with a knee brace and crutches and instructions not to weight-bear till the fracture clinic on 10 September. There is no fracture, and although the kneecap dislocated it's gone back, but I've almost certainly ruptured a ligament and my knee is grossly swollen. I just wondered if anyone has any tips on sleeping/sitting comfortably, whether it's best to keep my leg up to help the swelling reduce, and generally how to manage on crutches. The scene in A&E was farcical as the nurse tried the brace on back to front and upside down before he managed to fit it, and then hopped around the cubicle on the crutches to show me how to use them .. a lot easier when you haven't got a knee the size of a football! I live alone, and I can see that even making a cup of tea is going to be challenging, and gardening/chicken/beekeeping are going to be off the menu for some weeks. I foresee lots of hand sewing/knitting and reading. Luckily I have fantastic friends, and I should be able to do some work from home if I can get my laptop delivered to me, but I am going to be housebound for some weeks except when kind friends take me out. Any tips would be very welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Ouch. No advice I'm afraid, but sending a gentle hug. X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Sorry to hear that Olly. From experience, cool packs and elevation help, as does a good support (which you have), padded bike gloves to help with blisters on your hands from the crutches are good too. You'll soon be an expert on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Oh no Olly, I am sorry to hear that. I will ask DD later if she has any tips for crutches as she was on them for a few months a couple of years ago. Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lavenders_Blue Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Ouchie! No tips I am afraid, but just want to wish you a speedy recovery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patricia W Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 You poor thing! I second the DM recommendations. Once the swellling goes down, you'll feel more comfortable. So just keep your feet up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Poor you, sounds very painful (and very inconvenient) . Hope you manage with the help of your friends - it's an added difficulty if you don't have someone on hand to help you 24/7 . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WitchHazel Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Ouch. Really sorry to hear about this Olly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groovychook Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Sounds very painful and darned inconvenient to me. Wishing you a speedy recovery! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Sorry to hear about accident and no thanks have had enough of ligament problems with YS who did his ankle ones in. As you probably know from my long and boring thread he was advised to swim for physio and it did help. Check with your clinic first - you will need help if you do venture to a pool. thank goodness they go back to school in next week - you dont want to be jumped on by some little oik. Wish you better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie Posted August 30, 2013 Share Posted August 30, 2013 Poor you Olly. You will have a right job on balancing cups , food etc.... but I managed to borrow a trolly on wheels that I could push so I could take things between rooms, also a little fold up table for my lap top , etc placed close to hand on the sofa side of the room. I ate many a thrown together sandwich leaning with my back to the sink, even drinking coffee in the same place, it was too much of an effort to hobble too much. Oh I had a bag that hung onto the grip of crutches , sort of with my hand on top so I could carry essentials with me, keep it a short one or it bangs against the knee. You will become quite the inventor in your abilities to get about . Take care of your hands... lots of cream and a soft hand grip of anything that eases the pressure on your hands. your arms and shoulders are going to ache, and your good leg also so rest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purplemaniacs Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 How is the knee today Olly? DD used bum bag and little ruck sack to carry things around and a flask to take hot drinks in so she didn't have to struggle with single mugs of drink . If you have stairs she did them on her bottom until she was braver and then scared me as I was always worried she would fall and do more damage using the crutches. Chrissie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 31, 2013 Author Share Posted August 31, 2013 Knee is a bit sore, but I went out to a friend's last night - I found just walking to the car and getting in and out was exhausting. Yes, I'm using shoulder bags to transport stuff, and the stairs are definitely being traversed on my bottom, I'd be far too scared to try them with crutches! Angie thanks for your comments, I'm really struggling with the crutches and its a relief to hear about your experience, my arms are aching and my good leg keeps getting cramp. It doesn't help that I'm not very fit, and, er, 'traditionally built' Just now I can hear the chickens shouting but I can't go and see what is up. I am beginning to realise that a lot of gardening jobs are just not going to get done this year, and I will have to cancel some things I'd planned to do. It could be worse, and as my sister said, it's a great opportunity to finish all those craft UFOs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Webmuppet Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Ow. I hope the swelling goes down soon. RICE is the way to go, rest, ice, compression and elevation. Over the years I have mangled both knees, the only thing that seems to fix it is time.just don't try to do too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alis girls Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Oh and Olly put something soft like lint on handles as YS got callouses from gripping them. I had to tape it on replace when dirty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Sending you lots of get well soon vibes The only advice I can offer is to use a rucksack for transporting as your back and shoulders take the load. Otherwise yes, ice, elevation and rest. Don't be too proud to accept whatever food offerings or cleaning offerings which might come your way Have you got someone sorted for the bees in case you were going to take the honey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted August 31, 2013 Author Share Posted August 31, 2013 Well I'm going to have to ask for help there - I haven't had time to take it off but I have two supers on each of two hives and last time I looked they were both full! I have a couple of friends who also keep bees and I think I'll ask them to help, they only got about 20lbs of honey this year so perhaps I could do a trade-off. Otherwise my beekeeping mentor could take it and do it with his, but he's really busy. I am not good at asking for help, but I think this experience is going to teach me a few new things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluekarin Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Oh ouch! Hope you are feeling a little less sore now. My main advice is rest as much as possible. I was lucky to have people around the house to get me things so didn't need to worry about carrying anything hot. When you rest with you leg up make sure behind your knee is supported. You probably wont have the same problem as I did as you have a knee brace, but my leg was in a cast from knee to toe when I broke my ankle and there was a worry the ligaments on the back of my knee could get stretched if I didn't support it properly. Take high strength Vit C effervescent tabs to help the ligaments heal and prevent any other conditions happening because of this accident. My daughter uses crutches long term and wears padded cycle gloves to help stop her hands getting sore. If you are able to, sleep down stairs for a few days and then when you are feeling a little stronger start to go up them again. I washed in my kitchen sink - quite a trial doing hair, but I managed. Also, try and get friends/family round to help with things like the chickens and anything else that needs doing. Apart from that, please take care of your self and sending you healing Omlet vibes PS just seen your post. It is hard asking for help if you are used to being very independent. Just bear in mind that if you get the help now, you'll heal quicker and get your independence back much quicker. You don't want to hurt something else just because you didn't want to ask for someone to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seagazer Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Sorry to hear about your knee Olly, I hope it mends quickly. I damaged my knee (I was on a dodgem and we crashed into a parked dodgem and my knee smacked the steering wheel ) a few years back. Mine wasn't as bad as yours from the sound of it (I didn't get crutches) but it did swell and would give way unexpectedly. I ended up seeing an osteopath after a couple of months as I couldn't do as much ie bending my knee, squatting etc. once I'd thought all the swelling had gone down. Apparently I stll had a lot of fluid around my knee, she did lots of massaging and gave me exercises to do. It may take time but do the rest, ice etc as I didn't at the time and it probably delayed everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohcarolina Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Sorry to hear about your accident Olly. Wishing you well. I've just spent 11 weeks off work following a foot op and had to spend 90% of the first 6 weeks with my foot elevated (even in bed). Most of the advice I'd give you seem to have but I'd say: if you don't have a triangle pillow then get one. Mines been invaluable supporting my back whilst sitting so long on the sofa. Second, 'embrace the doss'. Take some time and enjoy the R&R. You need to get in the right mindset for what's happening. Slooooooow down. There's no choice Don't be afraid to ask for help. Some of my 'chicken mates' from Fresh Start for Hens kindly came and cleaned out my Eglu's and runs on a couple of occasions (I couldn't go near them due to infection risk) and I was soooo grateful but I know that if & when they ever need help ill give it. Online food shopping is brilliant. Especially the ones that deliver to the kitchen. My friend lend me a plastic stool, available from £1 shops - the little local ones - for about a £5er and I used it to sit in the bath and shower as my shower is over the bath. I also have one of those non slip bath mats that I used, made me feel more stable. I bought a 'limbo' which is a cast cover (there are a couple of different ones on the market) as I quickly realised I just had to wash and I didn't want a mate washing my hair over the sink. That first shower was such a good feeling! Take you time and you'll master it - even with crutches. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Caroline Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted August 31, 2013 Share Posted August 31, 2013 Have you been given any help or aids by the Occupational Therapists? When Rosie was on crutches at the end of last year, we had a frame for around the loo, which made it easier for her to get on and off; we also had a grabber for picking things up and a stool for in the shower. We just took them back as she finished using them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted September 28, 2013 Author Share Posted September 28, 2013 Four weeks on, and I'm hobbling around although still too scared to go out without crutches. The good news is that I didn't damage the tendons in my knee, but I have a massive haematoma and I'm going to need a few weeks of physio. Hoping to go back to work in another ten days or so. I thought I'd update with my top 10 tips in case this is useful for anyone else in future. 1) Lots of people will offer you help when you have an injury like this. Some of them really mean it! As Daphne said, ask for help with anything you can, I will forever be grateful to the friend who called in and simply tidied up the kitchen for me. 2) Buy help if you can afford it - I'm lucky enough to have a cleaner already, but if I didn't I'd definitely have wanted one for the last few weeks. I'm going to get a gardener in for a few days as I still can't get outside safely and it's going to be impossible to work out there for some weeks to come. I bought an Ocado 'smart pass' so I could get shopping delivered any time without delivery charges. It's cost me being at home, but I decided it was a crisis situation. 3) the triangular pillow mentioned by Caroline is a huge help if you're in bed (I can't imagine 11 weeks, poor you!) I already had one, but bought another one for use on the sofa. They can squish up to support a bad leg, too. 4) Lids are your friend. I've got one of those insulated cups with a lid and it was the only way I could get a cup of tea back to my chair without spilling most of it. A wheeled trolley would have helped. I wouldn't normally eat out of a Lock-and-Lock but on a couple of occasions it was the only way to manage getting soup or stew to the table. 5) Don't sweat the small stuff. For example, I normally recycle everything, but when you can barely stand for 5 minutes, washing out plastic containers isn't a priority. Also, try not to be churlish when helpful friends don't do things quite the way you would. Just saying. 6) If you don't already have one, beg, borrow or steal a tablet or iPad. When I couldn't sleep, I surfed the net or watched catch-up TV in bed. I also did a fair bit of Internet shopping! A subscription to Netflix that I'd forgotten to cancel proved an absolute godsend. 7) you can hire a wheelchair by the week from www.wheelfreedom.com. 8 ) Most public buildings have good disabled access - a planned trip to the British Museum was saved from disaster because I discovered that not only do they have free parking if you book ahead, they would also give a free ticket to the person pushing my wheelchair even though it was for a fully-booked exhibition. It's well worth asking. 9) a bath seat (I managed to borrow one) is fantastic if like me you have an over-the-bath shower. Try Freecycle. (I haven't seen an Occupational Therapist, Dogmother, I think that's only if you're admitted to hospital) 10) you will not finish all your craft UFOs, improve your mind by completing the home study course you started three years ago, catch up on your admin or reorganise your life. You might however watch the entire back series of Downton, read several trashy novels and start some new craft projects, most of which unaccountably are not quite finished! It's not all bad - I feel very rested. It's always scary being ill when you live alone but I have had fantastic support from my lovely friends, and it's been a useful period of reflection. I knew I needed to slow down, and I need to make some changes to the way I live, so I'm hoping I'll be able to carry these through. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 Glad to hear that you are on the mend, these things happen in and instant and take time to heal, wishing you well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 What great observations and beautifully put . Glad you're getting there - it's certainly been a long haul . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 Is it really 4 weeks since you injured your knee? Blimey. So pleased to hear that you haven't damaged your ligaments. Hope you are soon skipping about as normal. X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
