My earlier blog posts at the beginning of the month referred to Hopalong and the limitations of that for the then upcoming York Model Railway Exhibition. Now that the show is over and I’ve had another visit to the coven an update is warranted [and because its good news]
I’ll report on the modelling aspect of York show in due course but I had a great time. After the leg pain misery of the last three months causing me to miss both Narrow Gauge North and a Ffestiniog Railway thing I should have attended getting to the show for all three days, meeting and chatting to folk was a real tonic.
Whilst there was an element of “its 3.5miles from home, if I can’t make it to this one I really am screwed” but I am really grateful to Adrian & Phil for making sure I got there and helping with the things I couldn’t manage. All three of us actually got some modelling do as well.
Just to recap. This wonky leg has been acting up since before Christmas and the treatment was for a long while grin and bear it and stick a new dressing on it. At the beginning of April I started a new regime of treatment that was initially very painful as it consisted of my leg being bound in tight compression dressings.
In this form my wonky leg is bound from my toes to knee. It applies constant pressure to the skin and forces blood to the surface to facilitate healing. Each Wednesday its applied I’m in it until Tuesday night when I take it off and have a long soak in the bath before its done again the next morning.
Flag Delta – navigating with difficulty
I was walking with a stick as I needed it initially. I now use it sometimes if going somewhere crowded as much for the fact it advertises “Keep clear of me; I am manoeuvring with difficulty.” As the bound leg, wearing the only shoe I own that fits over the bandages doesn’t always go the direction intended!
As well as the ulcer all the surrounding skin has been damaged and its all be leaking into the dressings. My initial thoughts as to why they wanted me to take it all off at home was so they couldn’t hear me scream as the dressings pulled all the scabbing off the wounds. There as also an issue that by the weekend the wounds were getting a bit smelly to the extent I was wishing that I had longer legs!
The lot I took off last night, the third lot, came off without the screaming but it all still looked a bit horrible prior to a good soak and a scrub before it was covered up for the night.
All the photos I take of it seem odd as the leg appears upside down from my perspective so I got Nurse Sharron to take a picture. The results are excellent, the main ulcer is virtually gone, the secondary one (doesn’t really show in the before pic) is also nearly gone, the rest of the skin surface is mending and the whole leg doesn’t look anything like as inflamed.
I am now in week 4 of the compression but there is progress and I can see an end to this plus a discussion has started about ongoing practicalities for carrying on with life and stopping this happening again.
