Six months on!

So november the 8th crept up surprisingly quickly and marked the 6 month mark following the amputation which has come around disturbingly quick.  Doesn't time fly!

So a few things have been going on.  Most excitingly in august we found out Morgan is pregnant which is incredibly exciting.  Baby is due at the end of April.  As thrilled as I am, there's no denying that it .  Suddenly I'm not working at my own pace, instead I need to be as able as I can possibly be in terms of strength, mobility and stability by April.  It's not just about me any more!  Daunting as this is, I do like a challenge and often operate best with a deadline!

Working towards that goal, I was pleased to pick up my first ever running blade last week from Jamie at pace rehab.  It's crazy.  The unit is so incredibly light weight and flexible.  First time you stand up in it it's actually a little disconcerting.  Feels far too much like nothing is there for it to be trustworthy but nevertheless it didn't take long until I was bouncing around the physio room outside of the bars (literally a couple of minutes).  It's a wonderful feeling to be so bouncy, for want of a better word, on my feet.  

When switching back to the walking leg, however much I love it, it feels so incredibly heavy! It's ridiculous.  First time I did it was in front of Jamie - he was keen to be there as he's been there before and knew I might nearly fall over - good for a laugh basically!  He wasn't wrong, nearly fell over.

There is a lot of learning to do and so in due cours I'm meeting with Hayley Ginn from Carbon Motion to do some running training.  I've not met Hayley yet but I've not heard a bad word and her reputations is fantastic - she worked wtih Jonnie Peacock amoung others.  I'm fairly sure she'll destroy me in no time though - in a phone conversation, when my prosthetist suggested she go easy and pointed out that I have a spinal injury and haven't been an amputee long her response was "guess you'll need to learn to man up a bit."  I think we're going to get along!! 

Until the training can happen, I'm applying some time to getting used to wearing it. I try to spend a bit of time each day wearing the leg. It's anew socket and a little different to the walking leg so I spend some time just trying to get used to the fit, bouncing around the garden with the dog and so on.  Tonight I tried my first jog!  I'll be honest, it hurt and was hard work.  Part of that was just that my running fitness is pretty much non existent.   A more substantial part was that my stump needs to adjust to the new pressures and stresses that jogging puts on it.  It'll take time.  Tonight I did what would normally be about a half hour walk, in about 20 minutes.   It went along the lines of run 50-150m, rest, repeat.  Ended up becoming a bit of a high intensity interval training workout.  Not my intention but it's a step close to running naturally.   I was pleased to find my back held up fairly well, at least to begin with.  It hurt, obviously (always hurts), but didn't really hurt any more than walking.  My concern was always that running would be hugely more painful than walking but so far it seems ok.  Watch this space I guess!   The aim is a decent 5k time.  Then the paratriathlon potential remains a potential...

In other news,  come the new year I'm signed up to train to become a personal trainer with premier training.  I'm really excited about this.  I'm sure the course will be hard work but I'm excited about helping people achieve their goals in life, in terms of fitness.  Long term I want to do a level 4 course in excersice referral so I can also work with people going through rehab process or dealing with disabilities or medical issues.  I think it has the potential to be exciting and satisfying work.   I've been amazed at the way a good level of fitness helps through a rehab process (in both the rehab process' I've done so far).  I'd love to help more people tap into their potential.  Hopefully I'll be able to do a decent job.  Like with the running, time will tell! 

Training and my own physio etc remains vital.  I was reminded of just how vital it all was a couple of weeks ago after pulling a muscle in my neck meaning I couldn't make it to the gym until I had recovered.  Through general business at the same time, I didn't have physio for a couple of weeks.  My body just siezed up!  It was crazy just how stiff and sore I became in such a brief space of time. I also found I quickly became so much more lethargic and lacking in energy.   It seems the human body, however battered, and beaten is still built to be used and moved.  Not moving enough for a couple of weeks led to a seriously painful couple of hours at Neurolink physio! 

Three months on.

ohhh new leg

On the 8th August it was three months on from the day of amputation surgery, and what a crazily busy three months it's been and how dramatic progress has been. 

To give some perspective, prior to amputation I was told I would he at roehampton for 6 to 12 weeks so there was a possibility I would at this point have been writing about my discharge from hospital.  Instead, having been discharged after 3 weeks I covered that what now feels a very long time ago. 

bit of biking

On the 8th I was lucky enough to be in Wales on holiday with morgan and her family. This has become a bit of a yearly tradition and it's been fascinating to see how I've changed over the years.  If you go back to 2010 we went prior to my initial accident when I was fully able bodied, the following year I was pretty much Wheelchair bound, 2012 I was hobbling around on my feet with huge amounts of pain prepping myself for an ankle fusion. 

getting out with the pooch 

This year I was getting used to an amputation!  Just prior to the holiday I'd been fitted with a new leg so I had that To get used to but it was a big step up (thank you Jamie at pace!). Whilst walking is still hard work, it's so liberating to be up and walking and not be in huge amounts of ankle pain.  I pushed myself quite hard while we were away and did a fair amount of walking on uneven ground, a bit of cycling and a bit of almost scrambling.  All in all the back, the stump and the prosthesis held up extremely well and I was pretty much able to keep up with everyone most of the time.

Walking on dodgy ground

this was fun!

There is no denying it takes a lot of effort though.  I have read that as a below knee amputee, time on your feet requires about 20% more effort than for a non amputee.  I think I'm finding it easiert than it was prior to the amputation with my mashed up ankle but nevertheless, the challenge is now to be at least 20% fitter than everyone I know so I can always keep up!  It was great to be away though and we had some fun little adventures while we were out in Wales!

me and my incredible wife! 

Following the holiday, I was lucky enough to be invited to Loughborough by the good people who run the UK paratriathlon team for what was discribed as a 'talent confirmation camp's as a follow on from the day in Birmingham a few weeks ago.  It was a good couple of days but my word did it knacker me out.  There was an element of sitting and listening, finding out about the sport, it's background, the classifications and so on - that was the easy bit.  A lot of it was fitness tests in each of the three disciplines, some strength and conditioning work and receiving some coaching.  I did a timed 750m swim (just over 15 mminutes), a 10km bike ride on a watt bike (half of a triathlon distance but time was short, 18 minutes - very nearly sick), and as much running as the stump would allow for.  I only did 2 laps of a 400m track but I think that was more than was expected of me given how recent the amputation is.  My first lap took 2:54, the second took 2:30.  I was pleased with the improvement, although as one of the coaches joked, clearly I wasn't trying hard enough first time...  I think he was joking!

All in all it was a good weekend.  In a weird way, although it was my weakest sport I was most pleased with the running as I literally had no idea how I would do.  It helped that one of the physios there has taught amputees to run in the past and so gave me some feedback but I felt the improvement was good, particularly when compared to my first attempt at running back in Birmingham. 

trying some running

bumped into Jonnie Peacock, came over all star struck... 

ICE!!

I can't claim it wasn't a massive relief to get ice the leg afterwards, or to take the prosthesis off in the car for the drive home but it was a great experience in some incredible facilities.  What's next in terms of paratriathlon, who know! I'll hear from them in the next couple of week and see if they want to pursue stuff with me further. Whatever happens, Im keen to try and do a triathlon, I think it'll be a great aim as something to work towards! I also had the pleasure of watching Jonnie peacock and stef Reid (incredible paralympions) training on the track.  They are both so fast, it was inspiring to see, in the flesh, how quick and agile you can become on one leg!

Incredibly, throughout all of this, my stump held up perfectly.  When I went to physio and massage on Thursday I discovered my other muscles had coped less well.  My word was I tight in various places. Physio and massage always hurts - if it's not hurting its a waste of time, let's be honest, by my word, that day was something else. After two hours of pain, Natalie and Bex taped me up with sports tape and sent me home to watch the bruises develop - and they did develop! I felt better for it though, at least
I think so! 

little bit sore

Irritatingly, despite my stump holding up to all this abuse, after one quick bike ride yesterday, somethin rubbed in my socket and I rubbed a sore behind my knee.  Thankfully, its nothing too serious and it doesn't rub when I walk.  As long as I stay of the bike until its recovered I should heal up on no time at all. It's just an annoying part of life with an amputation.  Realistically I've done incredibly well not to get any sores so far as the risk is certainly greatest early on as the stump changes size.  Every step is a new learning experience I guess!

New experiences!!

It's close to eight weeks post op now, which means I have been home for about four weeks which is in itself somewhat exciting.  A fair amount has gone on but there have been some key milestones.  

As the weeks have rolled on by I have been gradually attempting to increase my time not using my sticks or simply using the one stick.  Progress is quick but nevertheless it feels painfully slow - I think however fast a recovery may be, the patient never feels it is fast enough.   It was an exciting weekend on 22nd/23rd as it was a good friend, matts, stag do (for which I am honoured to be the best man) and so a decent group of blokes ended up in Norfolk finding various ways to make him look like an idiot.  It was an fun weekend and I was pleased to be able to spend a lot of time on my feet over the course of the three days.  

The Sunday and Monday ended up in fact being my first two totally stick free days which was a fantastic step forwards.  I didn't have to walk any particularly long distances in these days, nor did I go at much of a pace, but there was no point where sticks were used which was great. By the Tuesday I was unsurprisingly suffering a little and so the sticks swiftly came back out.  The increased strain has led to greater circulation in the stump and a reduction in the swelling. This in turn makes getting the fit right that much harder - every day now begins by padding out my stump with at least 3 and a half socks and so the fit is harder to get correct over the course of a day but I'm all booked up to visit Roehampton again on Thursday to discuss options with the prosthetist and to pick up my new foot which is ready and waiting.  I'm hoping I will persuade them to do a remould...  I guess we'll see what happens. 

This weekend was also fun!  Morgan and I went up to Birmingham with some friends because I had been invited to attend a Paralympic potential event day which we went to with very little understanding of what it would entail.  A night in Birmingham proved fun.  We arrived at the travel lodge quite late and asked the guy behind the desk where we could eat locally. His response was, "I go by hygiene rating, there's a few 2 or 3 star places around but if you want a full 5 star rating you want to go here!" 

Seriously Birmingham?? What's that about? Is kent so upper class and posh that I don't need to worry about what hygiene rating a place as I assume there all 5 star or were we just in a particularly crummy area? Still we went, got food at this buffet style place (which was incredibly busy - I guess if its the only clean place around that's inevitable) and then went to bed.

Following the worst night sleep imaginable, I got up feeling a little bit sick from the buffet, achy from a really rubbish bed and got ready for what was potentially a day of sport.  Once we made it to the uni where the event was taking place we found the sports area it was all happening in and were amazed at how serious it all was.  Having turned up with absolutely no idea of what to expect, it was a little daunting to discover this was an event seriously intended to find people who they felt had the potentially be fast tracked through a training programme as medal hopefuls for Rio 2016.   They had various fitness test and some representatives of specific sports.  It was an outrageously shattering day but I gave everything my all - despite a lot of gym work etc, I felt very unfit during the this day, I have a lot of work to do still when it comes to improving my fitness.  Various things were asked of me such as rowing, cycling, using a kayak ergo, weight bench and medicine ball throws.  The greatest challenge they set was a sprint... It been close to three years since I ran last and so soon post amputation I was far from convinced of the likelihood of being able to.  After a few practices in which I failed somewhat miserably to do more than a couple of strides, I made some adjustments to my fit and went for it.  I didn't attempt to practice, I just opted to commit and off we went.  The results were not impressive, instead I basically limped quickly but I was expected to do it 3 times and each of the 3 times I found myself faster which I was pleased with.  

This isn't to say I can now run.  I don't think I could do it again today and I certainly couldn't do it without a similar 10/15 minutes psyching myself up and practicing and adjusting my fit.  Nevertheless, it was flipping exciting to find myself able, and it gives hope that to run may become a real possibility.

Here's how ridiculous it looked (apologies for side on video);

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=cDufbuLZS1E

The next step regarding the Paralympic potential event day is to wait and just get on with life and doing sport for pleasure etc.   At some point in the future I will apparently be contacted following them having put all the data together and decided whether they want to put me through further testing or say thanks but no thanks. As much as it would be exciting to hear positively from them, I am not anticipating hearing much from them as I am well aware that less than two months post amputation is incredibly early days to be doing things like sprinting...  Only time will tell I guess.   

In other news, yesterday was Oliver, my brother in laws birthday and he fancied going cycling! Like running, this would prove to be my first bike ride in nearly three years.  It was a little nerve wracking if I am honest but Oliver, Sammi, Morgan and I went and gave it ago. It was so good to be back on a bike and to be able to propel myself at a pretty reasonable speed.  

It was a little iffy at times, the odd clunky gear change sent my fake foot straight off the pedal, and standing up to get extra power was (at this stage at least) a total no go but the ride was nice and has left me fully inspired to get myself riding again.  I'm only talking gentle trails at this stage, no seriously mountain biking but it was great to do.  

Also, a great way to exercise the pooch who ran determinedly along with whoever was at the front for the entire ride! 

Here's some proof!

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=Lui4OjSLuY4 (ignore the dodgy start)

http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=plcp&v=DTAuqw7WhaU

And so the progress continues...