[Magdalen] Hate to think about the bill

[Charles Wohlers]

Oh, my, Roger! This is exactly what happened to me when out hiking not quite 
two years ago - ruptured right quadriceps tendon. And they say it's a hard 
thing to do! I was at least a little mobile after the injury as I had a 
hiking pole which could help, since as soon as the leg bent, I collapsed, as 
that tendon is needed to straighten the leg out. I didn't get the "all hands 
on deck" treatment you did - first a couple of park rangers, and then the 
local ambulance with a one-wheeled stretcher. I was x-rayed at the local 
hospital (not 5 miles from the park where the injury occurred) and sent home 
with a brace locking my leg straight - just what you have now. Surgery 
wasn't until about ten days later, and it was day surgery.

They've probably told you something of your expected progress. You'll have 
the brace on, completely straight, for a week or so, and then they'll let 
you gradually bend it more and more. You'll likely be "mostly" all better in 
maybe 4 months. I forget how long it was before I was able to drive - a few 
weeks, anyway. I was able to travel just ten days or so after surgery, 
however, to my m-in-l's burial in Florida. Only difficulty was obtaining 
airplane seating where you could stretch you leg out straight.

So, be prepared for lots of physical therapy and exercises at home. But you 
will get completely better - it'll just take awhile.

Chad Wohlers
Woodbury, VT USA
chadwohl at satucket.com



-----Original Message----- 
From: Roger Stokes
Sent: Friday, July 29, 2016 9:07 AM
To: Magdalen at herberthouse.org
Subject: [Magdalen] Hate to think about the bill

Now I am home I can update you on my activities, and lack thereof, since
Monday. I am part of a walking group that has 3 groups doing different
walks eacg week.  The usual pattern is to start at a pub in a local
village where we can park our cars, order lunch and then do a circular
walk, mostly on public footpaths, over the next 2 hours befire returning
to the pub and having our lunch. For various reasons I have not been out
for several weeks so was looking forward to it this week. We'd been
walking about 50 minutes when my right foot went down a large hole and I
couldn't get up even with help so the emergency ambulance was called at
11.25 a.m..

Some people stayed with me, others went to the nearest bit if road,
perhaps a mile away, to direct the ambulance crew, and the rest
continued their walk. Because there had been a number of more
life-threatening cases there wasn't an ambulance available for some
time. When they got there they realised it would be difficult to get me
to their ambulance so they called for back-up from the Hazardous area
Resource Team. There are 15 of these scattered around the country as a
national resource, each consisting of 7 paramedics on duty at any time
who have undergone at least a further 8 week training session and the
majority do a further 2 week urban search and rescue course after that
so they are very well-trained.  They travel in a convoy of three
vehicles - an ambulance, a support vehiche and a pod which contains
other equipment.  It must have been quite a sight seeing them making
their 40 mile journey under blue lights to where we were!

When they arrived they off-loaded their Polaris, not an old nuclear
missile but a 6x6 ATV which can carry a patient in the back. I was
trabsferred to the basket stretcher which was then phuysically lifted
onto the vehicle for the journey across the field (under blue lights) to
the road where I was unloaded and slid across to the ambulance
stretcher.  The suspension did its job and it was a comfortable ride -
more so than in the regular ambulance to the hospital where Accident &
Emergency was jammed.  This meant the ambulance crew had to stay with me
for another coup;e of hours before I could be handed over to hospital
staff, sliding over to one of their trolleys.

Over the next several hours I was seen by three doctors and had an X-ray
which showed no bones nroken but there was a diagnosis of a ruptured
quadriceps tendon which holds the muscle at the front of the upper thigh
to the knee. I was told I would be admitted to a ward and the surgical
team would decide on Tuesday morning what happened next.  That final
transfer happened at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning, with a further slight delay
as there wasn't a bed for me to transfer to when we arrived in the bay.
These delays would not have occurred if my condition had been
life-threatening or liable to deteriorate.  I was safe and nothing
adverse was likely to happen as a result of the delay.

Tuesday morning the team duly came round, declared I needed surgery but
it wouldn't be that day but the next so the Nil by Mouth order was
lifted and water appeared on my table, followed closely by a doctor who
said there had been a change of plan so I would be operated on that day
so not to have anything to eat or drink.  An anaesthetist appeared to
tell me that he proposed using a spinal block if I agreed, which I did.
Having signed the necessary forms I was taken down to theatre where
three people checked that the forms they had related to me and I
confirmed my signature, the block was administered.  Tests with a
cold-water spray indicated that it had taken effect so after the needles
went in I felt nothing from my chest down for a couple of hours.  The
operation lasted 65 minutes, under the supervision of the consultant but
actually performed by two other members of the team. About 30 minutes in
recovery with no side-effects before I went back upstairs to the ward
and was able to eat and drink.

Wednesday morning's round I was told I was fit to be discharged once the
physiotherapist had got me out of bed.  Before she got to me the doctor
came back again to say that the latest blood test indicated dehydration
as my kidmey function was not in the right range so it would be another
night in hospital.  The physio came and got me out of bed and using a
frame for a short walk. Early Thursday afternoon she came back with her
occupational therapist colleague and we went for another walk, where I
felt more comfortable and confident. The OT lady said they would need to
see me at home to check any extra kit I would need and the timing meant
that would need to be Friday after my discharge.  A little later she was
back again to say that if I could give them access to my place she and a
colleague could do it that afternoon so another form was signed and the
front door keys handed over.  It made things easier for them that I am
10 minutes walk away from the hospital. She got back as I was being
taken down to the discharge lounge.

Another wait there, not as long as for another patient who was waiting
for her medication (I already had mine), the discharge letter was
printed out and I was wheeled out to the Patient Transport Service
vehicle for the short journey home where I arrived about 6 p.m. Supper
was pizza, one I had got on offer about a week ago, and I was glad to
collapse into bed at 10 for an undisturbed night's sleep.  Got out of
bed this morning, shuffled across to the bathroom for a proper
strip-wash and my first shace since Monday and back to the bedroom to
work out how to get dressed when you can't bend your right leg because
it's in a splint to immobilise the knee. I have discovered that the
computer tower offers a good support for that lag, withe padding at the
back of the splint providing some comfort.

Roger