2 weeks in

Up until now, I've dated everything for the day it happened, but frankly, my life isn't full of adventure at the moment, so I'm going to update as things occur.

This time - I've got a long list of lessons learned.  You can probably imagine the stories behind a few of these...

Don't let someone put superglue on top of your stitches. The glue will still be holding everything together when the stitches need removing, making a complete dog's breakfast of the process. It also means you need to sit and squash each bit of the glue until it fractures and then pull it off the hair without opening the wound - fiddly isn't a good enough word.

Fight for a big-wheeled wheelchair - far easier to use than a small one, (and allows you a bit of autonomy) for longer distances than you can manage on crutches. It meant I could visit the main allotment I work on for a quick visit. If you can, customise with a plank and a cushion on top of that, so you can sit with your foot up, or better still, get one with built-in leg raising supports (you may need to kill someone to get one of these...).

You might get almighty muscle spasms in your bad leg, especially at night - I'm finding that taking a tramadol before bed really helps (though tramadol is problematic - see next post).

You do get better on the crutches - but you need to watch out for over-use signs in the wrists especially - arms just aren't designed to take your whole weight. I still haven't worked out a good way to crutch walk up our stairs though, due to the bannister rail stopping half way up.

Make sure you move your legs regularly, even when you are getting pampered to death by the family.

Friends have been great at dropping in, though visitors may come in batches (3 groups in 1 day!!) so stock up on books and box-sets for the gaps.

If you're lucky, one of your friends is studying scalp massage and needs someone to practice on... Thanks Kathy!

Getting the village craft group to meet at yours helps to while away an evening without you having to move about a lot.

Crocheting a squid is actually quite fun.

Don't be scared to get the cast changed if it's loose or uncomfortable.

Keep pushing yourself to do a bit more each day, and you'll build up muscle and stamina, but the buttock on your good leg will probably bitch about it later.

Try to get some sunlight each day if you can.