Simple pleasures

 The other day I posted about having my well deserved bath but unfortunately for me my wounds hadn't quite healed enough. So I re-dressed the ones  that hadn't healed  & waited... Luckily for me when I removed the dressings they had healed this time, I could finally have my bath!!! 

Pre bath 

almost there! 

The feeling of the water touching the back of my leg was the strangest feeling! 

My leg felt even lighter when submerged in the water. 

Sometimes the simplest things are the best! 

What do you think?

The un-itchable itch

I have lost count of the restless nights & irritable days that the ex-fix causes. One thing that is most annoying besides pain is the itchiness caused by the wires & pins. As healing makes progress the itchiness seems to get worse! Especially around the bottom wires of my ex-fix.

The above image is one of my top row of bottom wires that has become increasingly irritable. The skin that surrounds these wires is very tight & this causes redness & sore skin. The wire is not infected.

                                   

This image is of the bottom row of wires just above my foot. As you can see the skin that surrounds the wire is red, tight, sore & is pushed up around the wire this is known as 'tenting'. If you look at the top wire in the picture you can see there is a washer, this applies pressure to the skin once the foam dressing is applied & should prevent 'tenting'. 

                                   

These are the top three pins just below my knee. This picture was taken at 19 weeks as you can see the skin around the pin sites has healed well. There is some 'crust' present around the pin & it is important that this is removed when the sites are due to be cleaned. This is to prevent the skin from growing up the pin. 

                                       

Here you can see all three pin sites. These pins haven't been as bad as the wires for itchiness & irritation but as the weeks have gone by they have become more irritable. 

Since having my ex-fix removed the itchiness has increasingly become worse. I can only imagine this is due to the wounds & skin healing. 

I thought once having my ex-fixed removed I would have the best nights sleep! However I have yet to have a good nights sleep. I have gotten so used to making myself comfortable with my ex-fix now without it, it actually seems wired!  

As my leg is still recovering & is still painful at times I think I will have a good nights sleep once it is fully recovered! I will keep you posted! 

:') 

What do you think?

Whats your experience of having an ex-fix?

Can I have my well deserved bath?

The time has come to remove my dressings from Wednesday when they dressed my leg following the removal of my ex-fix. 

As long as all the wounds have scabbed over, I can have a proper bath! :')

So fingers crossed!

If the wounds haven't all healed over then I will have to have my usually awkward bath with my leg hanging over the side & will need to re-dress these wounds. 

So the moment of truth...

The top three wounds haven't healed over so these will have to be covered again but all the bottom wounds have :')

My ankle & foot are still swollen but this should go down as I am able to mobilise better.

19 week long hairs!

:o

The top three pin site wounds have been covered with sterile gauze & micropore tape. The bottom wounds have healed over so it is safe for these not to be re-dressed. 

Looks like I will have to wait a little longer for that well deserved soak! 

What do you think?

Interviews

As you may know I am a nursing student in my third year & I was due to graduate in September, however the accident has delayed my graduation. Luckily it's looking like I will only need to move back a module meaning I can graduate in January 2014. 

I have attended three job interviews since having my ex-fix & they have all gone well:') I attended one in Stoke-on-Trent while I had my ex-fix in place & was using my wheelchair & crutches at the time. My second interview was closer to home in Durham & I attended this interview when I was much more mobile & only using one crutch. I had my third interview on Monday after my ex-fix had been removed but still using both crutches as I can only partial weight bare. 

I thought it maybe useful to include this post as it is important to carry on with your normal life as much as possible while having an ex-fix. 

Interview tips 

I always think it is important to look clean, smart & professional. 

I always tie my hair back. For these interviews I used a hair doughnut, £1 from Primark to easily tie my hair up into a professional looking bun. I oped to use this as I am not brilliant at styling my hair but found this really easy & quick to use. 

Here's a link for how to apply a hair doughnut;

http://www.makeartnotwar.me/2012/03/every-girl-should-own-hair-doughnut.html#.UfzLp42koQk

I always wear a little amount of make-up, after all its not a night out. I like to apply a lot of moisturiser & primer before applying a small amount of 'natural' looking foundation. For these interviews I used Revlon's 'Nearly Naked' foundation as I find it very light to wear & it gives a natural appearance. 

For a bit of blush I used Revlon's blush 'baby stick' in light pink, again going for the most natural look.

I usually pencil in my eyebrows but only did them very lightly for the interviews as I didn't want them to appear over powering. For this I used Rimmel London's professional eyebrow pencil in light brown. 

I applied a small amount of mascara using Boots No7 'lash adapt' mascara.

& finally for my lips I simply applied tinted lip moisturiser by Nivea. 

For interviews I usually wear a suit or formal dress, as my ex-fix kind of gets in the way with everyday clothes I went out & especially purchased a new suit dress that didn't break the bank! I luckily found my dress quickly by searching a few internet sites & found the perfect one in Tesco's F&F clothing range at £16. 

Now shoes that maybe the most awkward one depending on what type of ex-fix you have. For me shoes were very awkward as my foot was swollen a lot of the time from the ex-fix & with having the lower wires in place just above my foot & ankle it made it very difficult to get shoes to fit. This is why most of the time you see me wearing crocs! (Not the real croc's I may add). 

For two of the interviews I managed to wear some black dolly shoes from Primark that were only £4. I did have to buy two sizes though to get them to fit! 

I always take a formal looking bag along to the interview to carry my portfolios, proof of ID & qualifications.  Again this bag is from Primark & was about £10's. 

 I couldn't always manage to carry this myself when using crutches, so my dad who took me to the interviews had to carry it for me! Bless him! 

Finally I always try to read up a bit about the job I am being interviewed for, take note of what is current in the news in relation to your area of work, have some questions you can ask at the end of the interview, be confident & go in with a smile! 

I hope this post helps & was an interesting read! 

Let me know what you think?

Have you got some interview tips?

Have you been to an interview while having an ex-fix in place?

The next step

So now I have my ex-fix removed its time for the next stage of rehabilitation. I currently have my leg dressed but hopefully this can all be removed tomorrow evening as long as the wounds have healed over. :')

My rehabilitation from now consists of partial weight baring which is up to half my body weight but nothing more for now. I must always walk with both crutches for the next 4 weeks. After 2 weeks of partial weight baring on my leg I am allowed to gradually build up to full weight baring again. 

It is a weird challenge to only partial weight bare as for the last 19 weeks I have been told to fully weight bare as much as possible! 

What else would you like to see on this blog?

What do you think? 

Surprise!

As some of you may know I went for my hospital appointment yesterday. I did the usual arrived for my appointment, had the x-ray and waited to see the professor. When I went into the room for my consultation the professor had my x-rays up on the computer screens. I was so nervous about what he was going to tell me. Has it healed since the last time? Is there any improvements? How much longer does he expect it will be on? 

At my surprise he said ''Its healed! Lets get that thing off.'' 

The professor then went and got his 'tool box' and began to loosen my frame. Once the frame had been loosened the professor applied pressure to my bone.

He explained that if the bone was to move less than 2 millimeters it was ready to come off, if the bone moved more than 2 millimeters the frame would need to stay on for a bit longer. 

My bone moved less than 2 millimeters so he asked the specialist nurse to remove my wires and pins. 

At this point I was overwhelmed with happiness and shock! It was finally coming off! Today! OMG! 

Not only was I happy I was extremely nervous as I felt so unprepared for the removal.  As the professor had already loosened the frame, the nurse began to disconnect the wires from the frame. Once all the wires were free she removed them from my leg using pliers. Pulling the wire through from one side to out the other. It sounds worse than it actually is! 

The first wire to be removed  felt like a sharp dragging pain but only lasted for a second. The second wire to be removed I didn't even feel it coming out! The ones after that were not to bad but felt quite a bit of pulling and tugging. 

Once the wires had been removed there was only the 3 top pins left to remove. I was most anxious about these pins but during the removal it just felt like bone ache and slight pain / discomfort. This is nothing after what other pain is felt during the whole process of having an ex-fix.  So do not be overly concerned about the removal! :) 

The top pins were larger than the bottom wires so these were removed differently. The nurse removed these by applying an instrument around the pin allowing her to screw the pin out of the bone and tissue. 

I was very nervous & worried about the removal when I was told I would have it taken off without any anesthetic or pain relief, however after having it removed I would say to anybody else in the same situation not to worry as it is not as bad as you imagine. I think it is more the thought than anything!    

Once removed there were small wounds as you can see from the above picture. These were simply covered with sterile gauze and secured with a bandage and micropore tape. 

On a funny note can you see the white looking squares around my pin sites? This is where the dressings where in place to protect my pin sites & as we have had some lovely sunny weather you can see where I have tanned but left un-tanned skin around my pin sites! Looking like white squares!  

Its quite funny isn't it? 

There are also 19 week long hairs on that leg in between pin sites where I was unable to shave. That just made the leg look even funnier! But I'm not sure if you can see that on the pictures. 

Finally Free! 

My leg is back! It feels amazing just not to have the weight of the frame surrounding my leg! When I returned home I was able to rest my leg on a cushion & it was the best feeling! I could feel the soft cushion on the back of my leg! Such a strange feeling after 19 weeks of it being held in a cage. 

I was informed that now the frame has been removed I must always walk with two crutches & not to fully weight bare. I need to build my leg back to weight baring gradually over the next 4 weeks. 

It is of extreme importance to take extra care at this stage as once the frame is removed the bone is very weak & is still recovering from the injuries.  

My next appointment is on the 31st of August were I will have another x-ray to ensure the bone has completely healed. 

After being on my leg for 19 weeks looking at it from across the room was so surreal! 

All the hard work & effort has all paid off in the end! 

Yesterday was like winning the lottery when he said it was healed & could be removed!

Support

Support is one of those things we all need from time to time & sometimes we find it hard to find or accept support from others. 

Support groups are a good way to communicate with others in similar situations as yourself & are a place to receive friendly support & advice.  You can help support others, receive support & make new friends. Its a win win really :') 

Speaking to somebody who has experienced or is going through a similar situation is good as you can compare & gain useful knowledge, which may help you. 

I have personally found comfort in reading other peoples blogs about external-fixation &  in particular a Facebook support page.

There is a Facebook support group page for External-Fixation  &  Ilizarov frames which I have found very useful & informative. I have been able to use this page to view other peoples achievements, concerns & advice. There are some really good pictures & a few videos which are useful to watch. 

The link for the support page is: https://www.facebook.com/Ilizarov.ExternalFixator.Support?hc_location=stream 

Or search in the Facebook search bar for: external-fixation support group

The support page states;

''Our aim is to bring together people with Ilizarov / External Fixators; to provide support, information and share experiences.''

I would highly recommend having a look & trying it out!

You can find other useful blogs about external-fixation which I have read on my reading list and I have listed some useful websites at the bottom of the page. :')


Is there anything else you would like to see on this blog?