I've been home few days now so thought I'd make a few notes on my initial experiences with the halo.
Sleeping and Medication
The halo was fitted Friday night; up until then I'd spent 3 days laid in bed, with instructions to not get up, stay still and keep the angle of the bed below 30 degrees. After the op I spent a bit of time getting used to being sat up and then dabbled with walking like a newborn gazelle around the bed.
I slept in a half seated position, but the halo was uncomfortable to lay against the pillow. Since I've been home I've tried various quantities and positions of pillows but the pressure the frame applies to my head when laying down isn't pleasant. Getting loaded up with paracetamol and liquid morphine has helped me sleep, but when it wears off in the early hours I soon wake up again. I'm not keen on the morphine's side effects so have resisted taking it through the day and I've even resisted taking it on some nights too.
Yesterday my mum made me a tall and narrow (18" x 6") beanbag pillow which fits between my bars meaning my head rests on it and the bars float in mid air, which saves the pressure against my head. This lead to last night's sleep being the best I've had - no morphine and the paracetamol took me until 4am.
Activity
The surgeon prescribed a steady course of pottering; in other words, not sat doing nothing, but not doing anything strenuous either. So I've spent the first few days sorting those little jobs that never normally get done, interspersed with lengthy spells of reading/films/music/etc.
My friends have been great; many have chatted on-line and via text, some have sent cards, and I've had a few surprise visits too. All of which have been very welcome. Facebook has been a very valuable lifeline.
I've not left the house since I came home, and can't see me doing so for few more days at the very least. I'm a bit unsteady on my feet and tire fairly quickly. I'm hoping I might be able to manage a trip to the cinema next week, but that may be a bit ambitious just yet.
Clothing
Due to the way the bars attach from the halo to the vest my clothing no longer fits. As someone who lives in t-shirts, I'm having to pack them away for the foreseeable future and embrace buttoned shirts! Even then, only the first few buttons can be fastened and I then look-like a cross between Robocop and a cheesy 70's medallion man. Hoodies also fit quite well in the same way (zip 1/3rd done up) but ideally I need something to fit around the metalwork.
We've raided the charity shops and hopefully my mum can turn her needlework skills to adapting some clothes to fit a bit better!
Thursday 15 October 2015
Sunday 11 October 2015
Heads, you lose...
As it often can, life's taken an unexpected turn. Rather than attempting to keep in shape over winter and be ready to come back stronger for next season, I find myself severely injured and wondering to what level, if any, I'll be able to enjoy my sports in the future.
The following is a summary of the last 7 days starting on Sunday 4th Oct.
Sunday
I went out for a steady ride on the MTB. I've nothing to train for at the moment so wasn't going flat out and was just enjoying riding for the sake of riding. I headed over to Foxhall Woods, somewhere I've ridden hundreds of times over the years which forms an early part of a 25 mile loop I was planning to do.
As I rode into a clearing I headed over to a smallish hump (2-3ft high-ish) in the ground that I've ridden lots of times before. What I couldn't see until I was at the top of it was that someone had dug out the back end of it turning it from a hump into a ramp with a ditch behind it.
I wasn't carrying enough speed to clear the ramp and the front wheel fell into the ditch, throwing me over the bars and through the air. I landed on the top of my head and immediately knew it was a bad fall. I lay there for a few minutes while I worked out what hurt and what didn't.
I eventually got up and was surprised to find that nothing appeared to be broken and nothing was bleeding. My neck felt sore but not ridiculously so. I, reluctantly, decided to cut my ride short and headed for home. I rather foolishly didn't take the most direct route back, but despite taking it very steady I felt every lump and bump juddering though my back.
Once home I told Clare I'd had a bad fall and wasn't sure what to do. I had a cup of tea and a biscuit, posted on Facebook for advice and pottered about in the garage for a bit. Enough mates said it sounded like an A&E job so I decided to go. We had arranged a big BBQ with our mates in the afternoon so was conscious of wanting to be back in time... Priorities eh...
The wait at A&E wasn't too bad, the nurse was incredibly thorough with her assessment of me and at this point I started taking the incident more seriously. She sent me through for x-rays; weirdly, to x-ray the top of your spine, they have to do it through your open mouth. Both the nurse and on-duty registrar examined the x-ray but couldn't see any problems so diagnosed severe whiplash and told me to take it steady and rest a lot for a few days. She did mention that a radiographer would also check the x-rays and that they'd call me if there was a problem.
I got back in time for the BBQ and spent the afternoon chatting with my mates, although I handed over the cooking duties and took it as steady as possible.
Monday
After getting hardly any sleep I built myself a nest in the arm chair to support my neck. I spent the day in front of the telly, taking a break to set up the new YouView box (it seems very good, but still not a patch on the 15 year-old TiVo it replaces). I emailed work and told them that I planned to be back in the office on Wednesday, maybe Thursday.
Tuesday
I cleaned myself up first thing and settled into my nest for another day in front of the telly. After the accident I decided that the impact to the helmet had been too much, and although it wasn't showing signs of damage, I wouldn't take any chances and would replace it. I ordered a new one and arranged for it to be delivered to work as I was going to be back in in a day or so...
Around 10ish the phone rang and it was a hidden number; I almost didn't pick it up and when I did, I didn't speak, expecting an automated sales pitch to kick in. When the person on the other end finally spoke and asked for Mr France I prepared for the usual call-centre spiel, however he explained he was calling from the hospital and that I needed to come back in as soon as possible! I rang a couple of mates for a lift but everyone was at work. Fortunately the buses run regularly and I only had to wait a minute or 2 at the end of the road.
Once at A&E I didn't have to wait in the waiting room and was whisked away to a room where the doctor explained that I had a fracture and that an MRI was needed to assess the extent of the damage. As I hadn't been booked in I was going to have to hope they could squeeze me in if possible. Fortunately a friend of mine is a radiographer at the hospital and she was able to fit me in fairly quickly.
The MRI took about 20 mins; for anyone who hasn't had one, they are a weird sensation where you're fed into a tightly enclosed space and water-boarded with extreme drum and base music.
Having refused to tell them what I knew, the next torture was to spend hours laid on a bed in various corridors and rooms waiting to find out what happens next.
The following is a summary of the last 7 days starting on Sunday 4th Oct.
Sunday
I went out for a steady ride on the MTB. I've nothing to train for at the moment so wasn't going flat out and was just enjoying riding for the sake of riding. I headed over to Foxhall Woods, somewhere I've ridden hundreds of times over the years which forms an early part of a 25 mile loop I was planning to do.
As I rode into a clearing I headed over to a smallish hump (2-3ft high-ish) in the ground that I've ridden lots of times before. What I couldn't see until I was at the top of it was that someone had dug out the back end of it turning it from a hump into a ramp with a ditch behind it.
I wasn't carrying enough speed to clear the ramp and the front wheel fell into the ditch, throwing me over the bars and through the air. I landed on the top of my head and immediately knew it was a bad fall. I lay there for a few minutes while I worked out what hurt and what didn't.
I eventually got up and was surprised to find that nothing appeared to be broken and nothing was bleeding. My neck felt sore but not ridiculously so. I, reluctantly, decided to cut my ride short and headed for home. I rather foolishly didn't take the most direct route back, but despite taking it very steady I felt every lump and bump juddering though my back.
Once home I told Clare I'd had a bad fall and wasn't sure what to do. I had a cup of tea and a biscuit, posted on Facebook for advice and pottered about in the garage for a bit. Enough mates said it sounded like an A&E job so I decided to go. We had arranged a big BBQ with our mates in the afternoon so was conscious of wanting to be back in time... Priorities eh...
The wait at A&E wasn't too bad, the nurse was incredibly thorough with her assessment of me and at this point I started taking the incident more seriously. She sent me through for x-rays; weirdly, to x-ray the top of your spine, they have to do it through your open mouth. Both the nurse and on-duty registrar examined the x-ray but couldn't see any problems so diagnosed severe whiplash and told me to take it steady and rest a lot for a few days. She did mention that a radiographer would also check the x-rays and that they'd call me if there was a problem.
I got back in time for the BBQ and spent the afternoon chatting with my mates, although I handed over the cooking duties and took it as steady as possible.
Monday
After getting hardly any sleep I built myself a nest in the arm chair to support my neck. I spent the day in front of the telly, taking a break to set up the new YouView box (it seems very good, but still not a patch on the 15 year-old TiVo it replaces). I emailed work and told them that I planned to be back in the office on Wednesday, maybe Thursday.
Tuesday
I cleaned myself up first thing and settled into my nest for another day in front of the telly. After the accident I decided that the impact to the helmet had been too much, and although it wasn't showing signs of damage, I wouldn't take any chances and would replace it. I ordered a new one and arranged for it to be delivered to work as I was going to be back in in a day or so...
Around 10ish the phone rang and it was a hidden number; I almost didn't pick it up and when I did, I didn't speak, expecting an automated sales pitch to kick in. When the person on the other end finally spoke and asked for Mr France I prepared for the usual call-centre spiel, however he explained he was calling from the hospital and that I needed to come back in as soon as possible! I rang a couple of mates for a lift but everyone was at work. Fortunately the buses run regularly and I only had to wait a minute or 2 at the end of the road.
Once at A&E I didn't have to wait in the waiting room and was whisked away to a room where the doctor explained that I had a fracture and that an MRI was needed to assess the extent of the damage. As I hadn't been booked in I was going to have to hope they could squeeze me in if possible. Fortunately a friend of mine is a radiographer at the hospital and she was able to fit me in fairly quickly.
The MRI took about 20 mins; for anyone who hasn't had one, they are a weird sensation where you're fed into a tightly enclosed space and water-boarded with extreme drum and base music.
Having refused to tell them what I knew, the next torture was to spend hours laid on a bed in various corridors and rooms waiting to find out what happens next.
The original doctor came back and said I was going to be taken up to a ward where I'd be fitted with a collar that I'd have to wear for at least 6 weeks and there was a possibility that I'd be kept in overnight.
Once on the ward I sat on the bed for a few hours waiting for more details. No one said I had to lay down or even that I had to stay in bed. A nurse went through various admin forms but didn't know if I was due to be staying. Eventually a junior doctor came and explained that I would be having a collar for a few weeks, that I should be laying totally still and told me off for walking to the loo earlier... He said I'd be having an overnight stay while the consultant assessed my scans, and that I could leave the next day.
Clare and Lily came to visit in the evening and brought me some supplies, it was clearly very upsetting for Lily to see me like this. They brought the tablet for me and I spent the evening watching the Lego Movie on that (If I'd known I'd need it, I would have stuck something other than Lily's films on it!)
My bed was by a window so I had a nice breeze, there were 6 beds on the ward, all except mine were occupied by blokes in their 70s/80s. Most seem nice enough, although I nicknamed one Goldilocks as he was forever calling the nurses as he's too hot/cold, the beds too hard/soft, he had too many/not enough pillows etc etc. He spent the whole of the first night calling out like this. I think I managed 2 hrs sleep!
Wednesday
Spent much of the day doing crosswords, playing with phone and tablet (how people survive in hospital without internet access I'll never know) reading and listening to music. Eventually the consultant called by and explained his findings.
He made it very clear how lucky I've been and how much worse it could easily have been. He explained that below your skull is a hoop-like vertebra and underneath that is a disc shaped one with a peg sticking out that slots into the hoop - It's the peg that has fractured and damaged various ligaments.
The options available to me were;
- Wear a collar for 6 to 8 weeks; this would leave me bed bound, needing Clare to act as a carer and risked the spine not healing correctly as the collar doesn't hold the neck solidly in place enough.
- Be fitted with a "halo" head and neck brace; this involves having some scaffolding fitted to my head and torso (4 screws into the skull, which are in-turn attached to frame and then onto a rigid vest). which has to stay in place for up to 3 months. This makes a good heal more likely and means I'm not bed bound but leaves me looking like Frankenstein...
- Operation on the spine to pin the vertebra back together; this has the most risk as it involves operating near the spinal cord and is obviously very invasive in a confined and sensitive area.
The halo option was his preferred option and and weighing up the options it was mine too... So no longer leaving on Wednesday after all and the op was hopefully happening on Friday (although they wouldn't commit to it and it may slip to Mon/Tues the following week!).
Once on the ward I sat on the bed for a few hours waiting for more details. No one said I had to lay down or even that I had to stay in bed. A nurse went through various admin forms but didn't know if I was due to be staying. Eventually a junior doctor came and explained that I would be having a collar for a few weeks, that I should be laying totally still and told me off for walking to the loo earlier... He said I'd be having an overnight stay while the consultant assessed my scans, and that I could leave the next day.
Clare and Lily came to visit in the evening and brought me some supplies, it was clearly very upsetting for Lily to see me like this. They brought the tablet for me and I spent the evening watching the Lego Movie on that (If I'd known I'd need it, I would have stuck something other than Lily's films on it!)
My bed was by a window so I had a nice breeze, there were 6 beds on the ward, all except mine were occupied by blokes in their 70s/80s. Most seem nice enough, although I nicknamed one Goldilocks as he was forever calling the nurses as he's too hot/cold, the beds too hard/soft, he had too many/not enough pillows etc etc. He spent the whole of the first night calling out like this. I think I managed 2 hrs sleep!
Wednesday
Spent much of the day doing crosswords, playing with phone and tablet (how people survive in hospital without internet access I'll never know) reading and listening to music. Eventually the consultant called by and explained his findings.
He made it very clear how lucky I've been and how much worse it could easily have been. He explained that below your skull is a hoop-like vertebra and underneath that is a disc shaped one with a peg sticking out that slots into the hoop - It's the peg that has fractured and damaged various ligaments.
The options available to me were;
- Wear a collar for 6 to 8 weeks; this would leave me bed bound, needing Clare to act as a carer and risked the spine not healing correctly as the collar doesn't hold the neck solidly in place enough.
- Be fitted with a "halo" head and neck brace; this involves having some scaffolding fitted to my head and torso (4 screws into the skull, which are in-turn attached to frame and then onto a rigid vest). which has to stay in place for up to 3 months. This makes a good heal more likely and means I'm not bed bound but leaves me looking like Frankenstein...
- Operation on the spine to pin the vertebra back together; this has the most risk as it involves operating near the spinal cord and is obviously very invasive in a confined and sensitive area.
The halo option was his preferred option and and weighing up the options it was mine too... So no longer leaving on Wednesday after all and the op was hopefully happening on Friday (although they wouldn't commit to it and it may slip to Mon/Tues the following week!).
In the evening a friend from work kindly collected a few extra essentials from Clare and dropped them off for me.
I slept with headphones in that night and was only disturbed once by Goldilocks...
Thursday
Another day of reading/music/puzzles etc. Clare came to visit me around lunchtime and brought fresh pyjamas and supplies. Another mate called by in the evening to keep me company for a while. There was still no commitment that the op would definitely be on Friday...
Goldilocks was discharged, hooray a good night's sleep!
Friday
I was prepped for surgery bright and early but still given no indication when (or even if) it would be happening that day. I didn't eat much and dozed on and off all day, not feeling well and not overly excited at the prospect of someone screwing things into my skull. Around 3:30 I was finally taken to theatre for the operation. You might want to skip the next paragraph if you're of a squeamish disposition...
The op takes place under local anaesthetic, meaning your completely awake for it! The 2 main surgeons appeared to have a Dr Cox and Carla type relationship (for all the Scrubs fans out there), him being slightly sadistic yet funny, and her being more of a calming foil to him.
Before he started, the surgeon advised me to keep my eyes shut (like I wasn't planning to anyway!) because if they're open when the screws go in, the muscles that control your eyelids are pinned open and you can't close your eyes until the halo is removed 3 months later!
After offering up the frame to my head he pointed out that I was about to hate him and to feel free to swear at him as much as I liked. Even with all the local anaesthetic in the world, there's no avoiding the fact/feeling that someone is screwing things into your skull. The screws themselves have torque heads on them that snap off as soon as the screw is in tight enough, this prevents them from being accidentally over-tightened. The surgeon warned me that I would feel the grinding as they snapped and he wasn't wrong...
Then the various bars were attached to the frame on my head; each clank vibrated through my skull and shook my fillings. And the same happened again as it was attached to my chest plate. After being wheeled back to the ward a nurse cleansed the blood from my face and taught me how to clean my screws to prevent infection...
After the op I was advised that I was free to go home as soon as I wanted, which seemed weird after such an invasive procedure. I still felt pretty queasy, oddly enough the operation hadn't relieved that feeling, so I wasn't sure whether to stay or go. At one point the nurse handed a mirror so I could see what a sight my loved ones would be in for when they came to meet me. It reminded me of that scene in the Tim Burton Batman film when Jack Nicholson's Joker has had the plastic surgery.
Around 6:30 I was feeling a bit better so arranged for Clare to come and collect me in around an hour. Unfortunately the good feeling didn't last long and within 10 mins I had Exorcist-style vomited all over the bed, I suspect a week's worth of morphine and nerves had taken their toll. I decided to spend another night on the ward and be collected the next day.
Saturday
I still wasn't feeling great in the morning, but had a double dose of MTFU and arranged to be picked up again.
Being home was both a relief and daunting. Not having qualified staff on standby was worrying and this stupid frame being stuck to my head still felt very disorientating and uncomfortable. However seeing Lily and Clare again and having the luxury of home comforts was fantastic.
Sunday
It's now a week since the accident and a day and a half since the "cone of shame" was fitted. I'm getting a little more used to the frame, but the feeling of it reverberating through my head when I snag it on something still isn't fun. Trying to get comfortable in bed last night was hard work, but Clare assures me I fell asleep quickly and I managed about 7hrs before the meds wore off, so I can't complain too much.
I headed back to the ward earlier to have my screws tightened and I can assure you that it was about as much fun as it sounds... The frame had started to be a little more comfortable but we're now back to it hurting like an utter bastard.
Is it Christmas yet?
Thursday
Another day of reading/music/puzzles etc. Clare came to visit me around lunchtime and brought fresh pyjamas and supplies. Another mate called by in the evening to keep me company for a while. There was still no commitment that the op would definitely be on Friday...
Goldilocks was discharged, hooray a good night's sleep!
Friday
I was prepped for surgery bright and early but still given no indication when (or even if) it would be happening that day. I didn't eat much and dozed on and off all day, not feeling well and not overly excited at the prospect of someone screwing things into my skull. Around 3:30 I was finally taken to theatre for the operation. You might want to skip the next paragraph if you're of a squeamish disposition...
The op takes place under local anaesthetic, meaning your completely awake for it! The 2 main surgeons appeared to have a Dr Cox and Carla type relationship (for all the Scrubs fans out there), him being slightly sadistic yet funny, and her being more of a calming foil to him.
Before he started, the surgeon advised me to keep my eyes shut (like I wasn't planning to anyway!) because if they're open when the screws go in, the muscles that control your eyelids are pinned open and you can't close your eyes until the halo is removed 3 months later!
After offering up the frame to my head he pointed out that I was about to hate him and to feel free to swear at him as much as I liked. Even with all the local anaesthetic in the world, there's no avoiding the fact/feeling that someone is screwing things into your skull. The screws themselves have torque heads on them that snap off as soon as the screw is in tight enough, this prevents them from being accidentally over-tightened. The surgeon warned me that I would feel the grinding as they snapped and he wasn't wrong...
Then the various bars were attached to the frame on my head; each clank vibrated through my skull and shook my fillings. And the same happened again as it was attached to my chest plate. After being wheeled back to the ward a nurse cleansed the blood from my face and taught me how to clean my screws to prevent infection...
After the op I was advised that I was free to go home as soon as I wanted, which seemed weird after such an invasive procedure. I still felt pretty queasy, oddly enough the operation hadn't relieved that feeling, so I wasn't sure whether to stay or go. At one point the nurse handed a mirror so I could see what a sight my loved ones would be in for when they came to meet me. It reminded me of that scene in the Tim Burton Batman film when Jack Nicholson's Joker has had the plastic surgery.
Around 6:30 I was feeling a bit better so arranged for Clare to come and collect me in around an hour. Unfortunately the good feeling didn't last long and within 10 mins I had Exorcist-style vomited all over the bed, I suspect a week's worth of morphine and nerves had taken their toll. I decided to spend another night on the ward and be collected the next day.
Saturday
I still wasn't feeling great in the morning, but had a double dose of MTFU and arranged to be picked up again.
Being home was both a relief and daunting. Not having qualified staff on standby was worrying and this stupid frame being stuck to my head still felt very disorientating and uncomfortable. However seeing Lily and Clare again and having the luxury of home comforts was fantastic.
Sunday
It's now a week since the accident and a day and a half since the "cone of shame" was fitted. I'm getting a little more used to the frame, but the feeling of it reverberating through my head when I snag it on something still isn't fun. Trying to get comfortable in bed last night was hard work, but Clare assures me I fell asleep quickly and I managed about 7hrs before the meds wore off, so I can't complain too much.
I headed back to the ward earlier to have my screws tightened and I can assure you that it was about as much fun as it sounds... The frame had started to be a little more comfortable but we're now back to it hurting like an utter bastard.
Is it Christmas yet?
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