A Journey of a 1000 miles starts with a single step

Significant dates in my recovery Journey

I was given a diary in Swindon hospital to note down events that I needed to remember.

The entries are quite sketchy to start with and quite hard to read. My right wrist was painful for 3-4 months so my writing was not the most legible, even worse than normal!

I have extracted significant milestones in my 'Journey of recovery' and dates that are worthy of note.

Date	Entry
2003
11 Jan	Accident.
11 Jan	Admitted to Bangor Hospital.
21 Jan	Transferred to Swindon by ambulance.
	Little or no recollection until I leave hospital on 14th Feb.
11 Feb	Given a diary to act as my 'memory' for appointments, etc.
14 Feb	Discharged from Great Western Hospital, Swindon.
19 Feb	A walk around the village with my sister and Sean her 2 year old son.
21 Feb	Visit from Mark of TruCare to discuss visits over the next few weeks.
22 Feb	Local walk with some friends, one of whom slipped and broke his wrist!
25 Feb	First time since accident, cooked dinner for myself and Janet.
26 Feb	Visited a gym in Melksham with Mark of TruCare.
27 Feb	Walked to the gym myself. The walk there took 45min, the return 1hr 15min
27 Feb	First time since accident, made bread using a bread machine.
1 Mar	I had to get a new ATM number as I couldn't remember mine.
3 Mar	My first outpatient appointment at RNHRD, Janet drove me there.
9 Mar	Walked the route from the bus station to RNHRD with Janet
10 Mar	1st independant outpatient appointment at RNHRD.
19 Mar	Sawed some logs by hand to try to improve my right wrist.
21 Mar	Orthopedic surgeon appointment about my wrist.
25 Mar	I had a laptop dropped off from work to see how much I remembered.
31 Mar	Regular eye test for work, it was not as good as it had been.
15 Apr	First visit to work, afternoon only.
8 May	Full day visiting work, these visit were so colleagues could see I was OK.
10 May	First successful ride of a bike, on Janet's more upright hybrid bike.
21 Jun	First long walk, did the Yorkshire 3 Peaks with a climbing friend, Graham
28 Jul	Got my Driving Licence back, so I could start my phased return to work.
31 Jul	Played squash, my wrist hurt, reaction speed and coordination problematic
13 Sep	Passed a medical check for diving
16 Sep	Visited Bangor Hospital to thank the staff there
23 Sep	Bought dictaphone to use while driving to and from work
29 Sep	First full day at work, I had been doing 2 or 3 half days a week
8 Oct	Comment in diary 'back to alternate half days and full days', so I must have tried consecutive full days before this.
1 Dec	Attempted to work a week of full days but had to rest on Friday.
18 Dec	Started going back to Body Balance to assist in my coordination, etc
2007	After working 4 days a week for 2004-2006 resting on Wednesdays, get back to a full 5 day working week
9 Apr	Started working 30 hour week over 5 days instead of 4 x 7.5 hour days
6 Aug	Started working 5 x 7.5 hour days
8 Oct	Completed 2 months of 5 x 7.5 hour weeks
8 Oct	Now working a normal week

2008	A year of working 5 day weeks has been hard but there have been no real setbacks

Gym

I started visting a gym in Melksham quite early in my recovery to do the physio recommended exercises and use the treadmill and exercise bike to try to regain some level of fitness. It also felt as though I was actually doing something rather that just waiting for recovery to happen.

Wrist

My wrist did trouble me as the raduis had been fractured at the end and not treated while I was in hospital. Then because I was not using it it became very painful if I tried to weight it in any way. This was not due to the fracture, which had set while I was in hosptial although incorrectly, but due to the soft tissues seizing up. Exercise and using it i.e. physiotherapy was the solution to this.

Eye Test

I had a scheduled eye test for work and the results indicated that my eyesight had deteriorated a lot and I now required glasses.
When I explained the nature of the head injury I had suffered from, the optician suggested that my eyesight was still settling down and this would continue to improve over time and I should have a second eyetest after several months.

Yorkshire 3 Peaks

This was a challenge in more than just walking as I had to meet up with Graham in Derby as he was driving across from Cambridge and I would be taking the train from Bath.
The actual walk by comparison was more straight foward. Graham had done the 3 Peaks several times before so all I had to do was follow him. We completed the 25 miles in a reasonable time (10 hours, I think) considering that it was only 6 months since my accident.

Driving Licence

All people who suffer a head injury have their Driving Licence revoked for at least 6 months then you have to have a review with a DVLA approved doctor to regain the licence. I initially got my licence back as a 1 year licence, which was then renewed for a normal one.

Dictaphone

I found that during my drive to and from work ,25 miles each way, I would remember things which I had forgotten by the time I reached my destination so couldn't write them in my notebook. To solve this problem I bought a dictaphone that I could record memos in before transferring it to my notebook.

Body Balance

This is a class I attended at lunchtimes from work not only as a break from work but also to try to improve my coodination, balance and flexibiliy. It is a combination of Tai Chi, Yoga and Pilates, and did certainly help me in improving these areas of fitness