It’s not often I post or create topics on here but I thought it would help me vent a little, and who knows it might be an interesting or worthwhile read to someone?
I have (as the title suggests) had the worst August I could imagine. And for that sake of GD I will summarize my little story.
Apologies in advance for terrible spelling and grammar, writing has never been a strong point of mine.
August was set to be a fantastic month for me. I had a holiday booked to go to Thailand with my fiancée for 2 weeks on the 14th, And had a job interview that went very well with a rather large computer company at the beginning of the month, which mean I could finally hand in my notice at my current company if I was offered the job. My current job is a sore topic of discussion with me at the moment as they as a company have gone downhill over the last year. So everything was looking like it was shaping up to improve for me.
My misses had gone away with her mum and her Nan the week before we were set to leave for Thailand for a small holiday down in Lyme Regis. This meant that I had the week to myself to catch up with some friends and get the last of the holiday prep sorted before she got back.
She had been away for 2 days when I and a group of friends decided to go and visit a new skate park and activity centre that had been built near us quite recently. Now I must mention that I am 24 years old, used to skateboard a lot back in the day (from 14-20) and the idea behind going was for nostalgia's sake and a quick blast on the mini ramp which looked awesome.
The misses called me the night before we where planning on going and had told me that it was a silly idea to go before the holiday in case anything happened. But me being stupid I ignored her concerns and explaining that I would not do anything crazy and stick to simple things within my ability. She trusted me and that was that.
My friends and I got up early and travelled to the new park all excited about getting back on our boards. We signed our disclaimer forms, paid our entry fees, and rolled up towards the ramp at the back of the park.
After about ten mins of getting my confidence back, dropping in, pumping, doing rock fakies, and taking it easy, the inevitable happened, I slipped off a trick felt my left ankle roll underneath me and the board just rolled away.
I sat up on the bottom of the mini ramp, and my mates who saw what happened (we were the only ones in the park at the time) laughed it off as a pathetic bail. I knew something wasn't right, from the pain in my foot so I looked down and it was sitting in a very odd position. Panic stricken I had the instinctive reaction to grab it with my hand and twist it back to where I knew it was meant to be.
Now I am not really sure what my pain barrier is like but needless to say it hurt like hell. I told my mate to either get the staff of the centre pronto, or call an ambulance. At first he didn’t believe me, because the bail looked so terrible. But I only needed to ask once more in a more serious tone for him to get the message.
The staff came over went through the usual first aid checks etc, and confirmed that an ambulance would be needed. At this point I was in so much pain, and so much going through my mind I felt terrible. Holiday ruined, possible job ruined misses going to kill me etc etc.
After about 20 mins of lying on the floor a single car ambulance arrived and the paramedic came over to re-assess the situation. The chap was very kind supplied me with some gas and air and checked over my foot. He asked me if I could move my toes, of which I could, asked me if I could move my ankle up and down of which I could, and asked me if I could finally move it left to right, if which on attempt a rather large looking thing popped out of the side, followed by lots more pain.
It was clear at this point that there was a break of some sorts and a trip to hospital would be needed.
A larger ambulance was called (another 30 min wait) and I was transported to my local hospital. They completed about 7-8 X-rays on my foot and after a brief analysis by a doctor I was referred to a different hospital.
At this time neither my fiancée nor parents had been called. This was my choice as I didn’t want to call and scare them until I knew personally the extent of the damage.
I arrived at the larger hospital, and was administered to a ward. After HOURS of waiting, blood tests, cannula being fitted I was consulted by a doctor. I was unhappy about being at this hospital as I knew a lot about this hospitals reputation. (My fiancée used to work there as a student midwife).The doctor explained that I had suffered a double break in my ankle (tibia and fibula) and also dislocated the ankle in such a way that it would require surgery.
This was obviously enough information to go by to call my partner. This part as I am sure everyone in a relationship can imagine, does not need much explanation. She was VERY upset, VERY angry, but also VERY concerned. She had agreed (although I did not) to come home as soon as possible in order to visit and help look after me.
After spending the first night in hospital with some of the worst nurses I have encountered. I was told that I was unfit for surgery due to swelling which had now occurred around the ankle.
To try and keep the long story as short as possible this was a trend that continued for a week. Yes that’s right, a whole week of sitting in bed in a hospital ward, with terrible nursing staff, sleepless nights, horrible patients, ranging from old people ****ing themselves all times a day, and a Pakistani old man who thought it’s ok to cough up phlegm and spit it on the floor once every hour and chant prayers to Allah at 3 am as loud as he could.
The day came when I was finally able to go for surgery. It was, in a sick way a very good piece of news in my current terrible situation. The rest of my time in hospital is a bit of a blur, Surgery felt rushed, I now sit at home with a plate in one side of my ankle and pins and screws in another. I have a terrible, heavy, and cumbersome plaster cast on which is going to get changed to a lighter fibre glass one when I go to get my stitches out in a week.
But now I have 6-8 weeks of non weight baring time on crutches to look forward to. This means that I can hardly do anything. Sitting is difficult because I am in constant discomfort, and sleeping is basically nonexistent. Showering is VERY difficult, and basic takes like getting dressed etc I require help with.
The first few days at home where pretty depressing for me, my partner has explained she has never in her 9 years of being with me seen me in such a state, And I will admit it openly it’s the first time I can remember crying since I was a kid.
This whole experience has ruined a lot of things for me, mountain biking, snowboarding, friendly football league I had joined, and of course work and our big holiday to Thailand.
The misses and I are currently in the process of claiming back what we can, and by the looks of things (because we booked everything ourselves and did not use a travel agent) we will get most of it back without hassle.
There is one plus to this rather rubbish situation to me. The company I had the interview with called me while I was in hospital to offer me the job, at the full allowance of salary listed for the role. So at least I have that to be thankful for. The company knows about the current foot situation and they are being very accommodating and understanding.
Although this post probably seems rather dramatic it’s been a nice way for me to vent a little and get a lot of my chest.
I am very thankful to the people I have around me. I could not ask for a better fiancée and she really has been a rock throughout this whole thing. And family and friends, who have all helped me out in ways I would have never expected.
So if you ever see anyone with an ankle break or walking around on crutches, spare a minute to think that its not an easy break to deal with and I would never wish it upon anyone.
So GD, that's it, if you stuck with it till the end thanks for reading.
If anyone has any other stories of woe do share it might help perk me up a little.
Please do not swear.
I have (as the title suggests) had the worst August I could imagine. And for that sake of GD I will summarize my little story.
Apologies in advance for terrible spelling and grammar, writing has never been a strong point of mine.
August was set to be a fantastic month for me. I had a holiday booked to go to Thailand with my fiancée for 2 weeks on the 14th, And had a job interview that went very well with a rather large computer company at the beginning of the month, which mean I could finally hand in my notice at my current company if I was offered the job. My current job is a sore topic of discussion with me at the moment as they as a company have gone downhill over the last year. So everything was looking like it was shaping up to improve for me.
My misses had gone away with her mum and her Nan the week before we were set to leave for Thailand for a small holiday down in Lyme Regis. This meant that I had the week to myself to catch up with some friends and get the last of the holiday prep sorted before she got back.
She had been away for 2 days when I and a group of friends decided to go and visit a new skate park and activity centre that had been built near us quite recently. Now I must mention that I am 24 years old, used to skateboard a lot back in the day (from 14-20) and the idea behind going was for nostalgia's sake and a quick blast on the mini ramp which looked awesome.
The misses called me the night before we where planning on going and had told me that it was a silly idea to go before the holiday in case anything happened. But me being stupid I ignored her concerns and explaining that I would not do anything crazy and stick to simple things within my ability. She trusted me and that was that.
My friends and I got up early and travelled to the new park all excited about getting back on our boards. We signed our disclaimer forms, paid our entry fees, and rolled up towards the ramp at the back of the park.
After about ten mins of getting my confidence back, dropping in, pumping, doing rock fakies, and taking it easy, the inevitable happened, I slipped off a trick felt my left ankle roll underneath me and the board just rolled away.
I sat up on the bottom of the mini ramp, and my mates who saw what happened (we were the only ones in the park at the time) laughed it off as a pathetic bail. I knew something wasn't right, from the pain in my foot so I looked down and it was sitting in a very odd position. Panic stricken I had the instinctive reaction to grab it with my hand and twist it back to where I knew it was meant to be.
Now I am not really sure what my pain barrier is like but needless to say it hurt like hell. I told my mate to either get the staff of the centre pronto, or call an ambulance. At first he didn’t believe me, because the bail looked so terrible. But I only needed to ask once more in a more serious tone for him to get the message.
The staff came over went through the usual first aid checks etc, and confirmed that an ambulance would be needed. At this point I was in so much pain, and so much going through my mind I felt terrible. Holiday ruined, possible job ruined misses going to kill me etc etc.
After about 20 mins of lying on the floor a single car ambulance arrived and the paramedic came over to re-assess the situation. The chap was very kind supplied me with some gas and air and checked over my foot. He asked me if I could move my toes, of which I could, asked me if I could move my ankle up and down of which I could, and asked me if I could finally move it left to right, if which on attempt a rather large looking thing popped out of the side, followed by lots more pain.
It was clear at this point that there was a break of some sorts and a trip to hospital would be needed.
A larger ambulance was called (another 30 min wait) and I was transported to my local hospital. They completed about 7-8 X-rays on my foot and after a brief analysis by a doctor I was referred to a different hospital.
At this time neither my fiancée nor parents had been called. This was my choice as I didn’t want to call and scare them until I knew personally the extent of the damage.
I arrived at the larger hospital, and was administered to a ward. After HOURS of waiting, blood tests, cannula being fitted I was consulted by a doctor. I was unhappy about being at this hospital as I knew a lot about this hospitals reputation. (My fiancée used to work there as a student midwife).The doctor explained that I had suffered a double break in my ankle (tibia and fibula) and also dislocated the ankle in such a way that it would require surgery.
This was obviously enough information to go by to call my partner. This part as I am sure everyone in a relationship can imagine, does not need much explanation. She was VERY upset, VERY angry, but also VERY concerned. She had agreed (although I did not) to come home as soon as possible in order to visit and help look after me.
After spending the first night in hospital with some of the worst nurses I have encountered. I was told that I was unfit for surgery due to swelling which had now occurred around the ankle.
To try and keep the long story as short as possible this was a trend that continued for a week. Yes that’s right, a whole week of sitting in bed in a hospital ward, with terrible nursing staff, sleepless nights, horrible patients, ranging from old people ****ing themselves all times a day, and a Pakistani old man who thought it’s ok to cough up phlegm and spit it on the floor once every hour and chant prayers to Allah at 3 am as loud as he could.
The day came when I was finally able to go for surgery. It was, in a sick way a very good piece of news in my current terrible situation. The rest of my time in hospital is a bit of a blur, Surgery felt rushed, I now sit at home with a plate in one side of my ankle and pins and screws in another. I have a terrible, heavy, and cumbersome plaster cast on which is going to get changed to a lighter fibre glass one when I go to get my stitches out in a week.
But now I have 6-8 weeks of non weight baring time on crutches to look forward to. This means that I can hardly do anything. Sitting is difficult because I am in constant discomfort, and sleeping is basically nonexistent. Showering is VERY difficult, and basic takes like getting dressed etc I require help with.
The first few days at home where pretty depressing for me, my partner has explained she has never in her 9 years of being with me seen me in such a state, And I will admit it openly it’s the first time I can remember crying since I was a kid.
This whole experience has ruined a lot of things for me, mountain biking, snowboarding, friendly football league I had joined, and of course work and our big holiday to Thailand.
The misses and I are currently in the process of claiming back what we can, and by the looks of things (because we booked everything ourselves and did not use a travel agent) we will get most of it back without hassle.
There is one plus to this rather rubbish situation to me. The company I had the interview with called me while I was in hospital to offer me the job, at the full allowance of salary listed for the role. So at least I have that to be thankful for. The company knows about the current foot situation and they are being very accommodating and understanding.
Although this post probably seems rather dramatic it’s been a nice way for me to vent a little and get a lot of my chest.
I am very thankful to the people I have around me. I could not ask for a better fiancée and she really has been a rock throughout this whole thing. And family and friends, who have all helped me out in ways I would have never expected.
So if you ever see anyone with an ankle break or walking around on crutches, spare a minute to think that its not an easy break to deal with and I would never wish it upon anyone.
So GD, that's it, if you stuck with it till the end thanks for reading.
If anyone has any other stories of woe do share it might help perk me up a little.
Please do not swear.
