Another scan...

I was up at about 5.45am again this morning for the next installment of my hospital adventure.

My mom was once again the designated driver, and we hit the road with a flask of coffee for the 1.5h drive through.

It was the usual 2h wait in the queue system in order to get my file from the admissions desk, and then it was off upstairs for my visit with the specialist.

I spoke with him, and showed him the letter from my physio, and he told me that he was pretty certain that whatever injuries i had to my knee would not require surgery, but that he would sign the forms and send me for a scan of my knee.

I was very happy that finally i was getting a scan and someone would be able to tell me exactly what was wrong with me.

I thanked him, and headed off to find Pieter, the guy who i had been liasing with from before i left the DR.

He was in his office, and i chatted to him for a fair while, and commented on how impressed i was with the service i had so far received from the hospital.

He told me that the hospital offered a shuttle service between the town where i was staying, and the hospital, so that when i needed to return, i could use the service instead of my mom having to drive me through every time.

He also told me about their physio service at the hospital if i needed it.

He walked me up to the physio department and i chatted to the head physio there.

It turned out that she knew the lady physio that was serving the area where i lived. I told her that i had been told that the physio service in the area had closed down.

She said that this was not true, as her friend still did the physio there. She phoned her friend and made a first appointment for me on the 18th April.

This would be perfect for the future, as it was only a 10min drive from my house to get to physio each week, and would be done on the public system, so would save me a lot in physio fees, which i dont have.

My appointment for my scan was made for the private clinic in George, for the following thursday.

My mom pointed out that there was another branch of this same clinic closer to home, and we headed to the George one to see if there was any way we could get the appointment changed to closer to home.

We were in luck, and after a chat with the receptionist there, we managed to change the location and the date for monday!

Another step further into the process that was hopefully going to tell me what was wrong with my knee...

Back to hospital

On tuesday i spoke with my physio, and she said to me that if i was still having the same pain, even with the brace, then i should possibly consider getting a scan of my knee to see what the problems are.
I contacted the guy at the hospital i had been in contact with previously, saying that i was still in a lot of pain, and was there any way that i could get seen again by the specialist, and possibly get a scan of my knee.
This morning, he replied saying that he had spoken to the specialist, and that i had an appointment booked in for tomorrow! All i need is a letter from my physio recommending further inspection of my knee.
So, i went back to the physio, and she has written me a letter to take to the specialist tomorrow.
I am quite surprised at how quickly things are moving along with regards the hospital here, as this is on the government system, and it just seems extremely efficient to me.
I must say that i am pleasantly surprised!

Braces and exercises

Finally managed to track down a knee brace.
A woman in the same town had an accident a while ago, and has finished using hers. So she was prepared to rent it to me.
I went through and picked it up this morning. I figured out how it was supposed to fit on my leg, but just to be sure,  went back to the physio for a quick visit so that she could fit it professionally for me.
It was only a 5min job, and soon i was crutching my way back towards the car with my new bionic leg, confident that now the pain in my knee would be alleviated.
This evening i went through my exercise routine, but only managed about half of it before the pain in my knee once again stopped me short.
I decided to stop for the evening, and speak with my physio in the morning.
Its extremely frustrating, as, if it wasn't for the pain in my knee, i would be a lot closer to walking again.
Ah well...will see what the physio thinks in the morning...

Toilet troubles...!

After an extremely restless night of waking up every 1.5h to go to the toilet, every time with a full bladder, i was a little concerned as to what this change in sleeping habit was caused by?!
I did a bit of research on the internet and found that the antacids i had been told to take 3 times a day have certain side effects.
One of them being a need to go to the toilet a lot more often.
I delved a little deeper, and found that these antacids, although high in calcium content, are not ideal for calcium intake.
It was originally thought that the calcium would be absorbed into the body and help bone growth in this manner. But scientific tests have disproved this theory in that the stomachs natural acids play an important role in absorption of the calcium. And the fact that the antacid is cancelling out the stomach acids, only results in the kidneys having to process all the extra calcium out of the body. This can lead to kidney stones in long term use, and various other problems too.
So, i decided to stop taking these tablets.
I am using a calcium supplement anyway, so do not think it necessary to carry on using the antacids as well.
And since i stopped taking them, i am back to sleeping a full nights sleep, and have reverted back to normal toilet sessions.
I find it very important to know what you are taking in the way of supplements, and have researched all of the tablets i have been told to take.
Normally i would not be taking any tablets. I only take herbal supplements if needed, but for now, i am relying on the extras to get me back to fighting fit, having been satisfied by my research that all is good.

Aqua-size!

Today was a luvly sunny day, and i headed out to the swimming pool to get some sun on my skin, and do a bit of aqua exercises.
I had been told to walk up and down in the pool at about waist depth, so as not to put too much weight on my injured leg, so that i could simulate the walking motion.
This was important to teach my muscles in my leg the correct procedure for walking, as i needed to relearn all of this again.
I found that i needed to be at around about armpit level depth to relieve enough weight from my leg to make walking possible.
I did about half an hour of walking back and forth, with a bit of pain occasionally in my knee.
Then it was a bit of suntanning and catching up on the latest news in the world of surfing in the local Zigzag magazine.
For those interested, exercises include:
* Standing straight up with my crutches for support, and slowly transferring my weight from right to left and back again, as much as i can withstand.
* In a sitting position, doing leg raises.
* Using an elastic band, hooking it around my toes, and pushing against the band, stretching out my calf muscle.
* Using the same band, with the foot pulled away from me, try to pull it back towards me against the resistance, basically the opposite of the above exercise.
* Standing in an upright position, with the elastic connected to my injured leg from the front, try to pull against the band, and flex my knee in a reverse raise to 90 degrees.
I have a whole list of exercises to perform, which are taking me an hour or so every day to go thru.
I have also been told that it is necessary to get hold of a brace for my knee asap as i need to start load bearing on my injured leg, and this brace will facilitate that without the pain.
I also got a call back from one of the South African newspapers that i had contacted while still in the DR. They had been following my progress, and wanted to do a telephone interview with me now that i was finally home again.
Here is the article that was published in the Cape Times newspaper...the details a little misprinted, but the gist of things is there...

Physio

Today was my physio appointment, bright and early at 8am.
The first time in my life i've ever had to have physio and i was a bit apprehensive, but at least i knew a few questions would be answered once i was done.
I was explained all about the muscle and ligaments in my knee and how they work together to achieve the functionality that you require to walk normally.
She tested all of the range of motion of my joints from my hip down to my ankle and toes, and asked me to do certain lifting and bending exercises to see how strong my muscles were.
She was generally satisfied with most things tested, but was a bit concerned about my knee pain that i was having.
She told me that my knee had a bit too much lateral movement, and judging by where i was indicating the pain was, that i more than likely had a ligament tear to the lateral collateral ligament.
Unfortunately, this ligament could not repair itself over time, and required surgery.
She told me that it was possible to strengthen the rest of the leg and knee, but that the knee would always be susceptible to collapse laterally due to the injury.
She said that she would suggest to the specialist at the hospital that i undergo an MRI scan in order to ascertain the extent of the injuries to my knee.
I have a return visit to the hospital scheduled for the 23rd of April, so i am guessing this is when the scan would take place?
She gave me a list of exercises to do at home in the meantime, and suggested that i get hold of a knee brace to stop the lateral movement in my knee.
Unfortunately, the braces cost about R2500, so this is not really financially possible at the moment.
I think i will soldier on without it for now, and if i need an op in the future, i will then have to obtain one of these, as post-op it is vitally important to stop this movement until the knee has recovered.
The physio treatments are not on the health system here, and therefore not for free, and are not affordable to do on a regular basis, so i will carry on at home, and visit the physio every couple of weeks to see how i am improving.
No harm in strengthening my leg for now. Will have to wait and see what the MRI reveals in a months time.
If i need the op, then i will have to get it, no matter how long i need to wait in order to have it done, as my mobility is very important to me as someone who leads a very active and sporty lifestyle.
Once again, time will tell what the future holds in store...for now, exercise and patience...

Hospital -- Take 2

A nice early start of 4.30am in order to get to the hospital and join in near the front of the queue...or so i thought...
The wait in the queue was a 2.5h one, and i gratefully received my file from the admissions window, and was then sent upstairs for my appointment with one of the orthopaedic specialists.
It wasn't a very long wait and i was seen to.
The doc looked over my xrays which i had brought with me, and said that he needed to send me to get more recent xrays before he could make a proper diagnosis, but that looking at the xrays i had brought in, he was reasonably happy with what he saw.
So, off i went, back downstairs, to join the queue for the xrays.
Another hour later and i was sat outside the docs room once again waiting for my next appointment.
In i went and he looked at the new xrays.
A broken drill bit inside my hip, which is apparently quite a common occurrence.
A broken titanium screw in my hip, which is apparently near impossible! The doc even requested he could keep the xray to show his peers cos they didn't believe him when he told them!
He was very happy with the job on my femur. He said it was a complicated operation, and was well executed.
He was happy with my hip, even though it did contain some broken equipment in it.
And the tibia was a decent enough job too. The fibula which was not repaired, he said was common practice to be left as is, as it was not an important bone, and was frequently used if bone grafts were needed.
So, that just left my knee.
He said that i should visit a physio to see what my limitations were, and that he hoped that with physio alone, i would be able to get myself back to somewhere near my former self...
Then it was back downstairs for a 3h wait for my medication - vitamin A, loads of pain tablets, and a box of calcium based antacids to supplement my calcium intake.
Then it was the 2h drive back home again.
A successful day, and a good start on my road to recovery...

Police stations...

If you had mentioned the words "police station" to me 2 weeks ago, i would have been terrified, but now they were a happier place to start my journey to hospital.

I needed a police affidavit to say that i had no job and no income, which i needed to take with to the hospital in order to receive my treatment on the public health system.

A reference letter from a local doctor was needed, and then i was set to go.

A trip to reception to get my file from the hospital, and then a meeting with the guy who i had been liasing with over the internet, and then to join the queues of people waiting to get seen.

A wait i was certainly prepared to do, after all the waiting i had been doing in the DR!

1 week til i find out exactly what the prognosis for the future is...

Until then, to try and lead as normal a life as possible, with as much time spent in and around the swimming pool as my untanned skin can handle...

Plettenberg Bay...

It was fantastic to see my parents again, and almost a little surreal to be back home again after such a long time in the wilderness full of worry and problems.
The short drive back from the airport, was greeted by the familiar sight of the Plettenberg Bay lagoon as we came over the rise into the town!
There was a tear in my eye as i finally realised the dream that had started 2 weeks earlier in a cabana in the Dominican Republic...

Sunny South Africa...home at last!

The time with my brother and his girlfriend seemed to fly by all to quick, and then i was on the way back to the airport again.
I checked in with SAA, and once again was greeted by super helpful staff at check-in, who provided me with a wheelchair and also someone to help me with my bags thru immigration and customs and onto the plane.
Unfortunately it was another lengthy delay waiting onboard the plane, as there was really bad weather on our intended flight plan, and the pilots had to wait for the revised flight plan to be sanctioned and loaded into the flight computer.
Unfortunately, i had a friend meeting me in Johannesburg at 7am, and i had no way of letting her know that i would once again be delayed!
The flight was only about a third full, and while i was being seated in economy, the lady in charge of the hostesses approached me and asked me if i would like to sit in business class!
I have never flown business class before, and gratefully accepted!
WOW!
The luxury was immediately plain to see! There was loads of space between seats, and the seats converted all the way into beds to sleep on.
There was even a button that set into motion a 20min massage, with balls rolling up and down your back while you lay or sat in the seat!
My foot was once again swollen, so the ability to be ale to put my feet up and sleep was very much appreciated!
The menu was to die for.
Starter was salmon and cream cheese, followed by fillet mignon with veggies. Then a dessert of cheese and biscuits, all washed down with a couple of glasses of merlot!
After this, i was definitely ready for bed, and collapsed into a deep sleep. My first ever sleep on a plane!
In the morning i woke up to a breakfast of orange juice and muesli, followed by spinach and egg, and a platter of fruits.
Then it was time to land, and once again i was helped with all my stuff into a wheelchair and bags collected and pushed thru to arrivals.
A few days in Joburg, where i was very well looked after, and then it was the short, 2h flight, to George, to see my parents for the first time in almost a year...

Lima

The flight was a good one, and the staff were very helpful and attentive to any need i had.
I did start to think about the delay, and whether i would be able to still connect with my onward flight, as it was only an hour or so stopover in Lima...
My questions were answered when i landed in Lima, and i was asked which onward flight i was to be taking?
I was told that my connecting flight had already left and that i would have to stay the night in a hotel before leaving the following morning and only arriving in Sao Paulo now at 5pm!
My poor brother would be waking up at 3am to start the 2h drive to the airport to meet me, and i would only be arriving 12h later now!
I had 1 free phone call provided me by the airlines from the hotel, so i would be using it when i arrived.
It was about a half hour drive at midnight to get to the hotel, and when we arrived i was greeted by the famous signage of the Sheraton group!
Wow! A hotel that i could never have dreamed of affording. This should be quite a treat!
It was!
I was prepared a hamburger and chips from the kitchen, and it was delicious. Served with an orange juice while i used my 30min of free internet connection to send an email letting my parents know of the delay and also to my bro, although i suspected he would not be checking emails at 3am in the morning!
Then it was a hobble upstairs on my swollen left foot, and i was greeted with 2 dbl beds in a large room with ensuite shower and bathroom.
It was immaculate, and super comfortable!

I had my first hot shower in almost a year of travelling, and just stood under the water, feeling the weight of the last 5 months slowly wash off of me and disappear down the plughole.
I finally managed to extract myself from the shower, and dried and phoned my bro to let him know of the delay.
Unfortunately i had gotten the time differences wrong, and he was already on the road for an hour!
He was not best pleased, but said he'd see me later on.
And then it was bed.
It was a crying shame that i would only spend the next 4h in the most comfortable bed i had ever slept in, but i had no choice, my taxi would be here to collect me and take me back to the airport at 6.30am!
I decided to forego the incredible spread that was breakfast at the Sheraton, and get the extra hour or so's sleep instead.
Beep beep, beep beep, went the alarm on the clock radio next to the bed, and it was already time to get up.
I lay there thinking about what had passed, and what was still to come, and slowly managed to drag myself away from the comfort i had only briefly known.
I went downstairs, hoping to grab a coffee before my taxi driver arrived, but he was already there, a full 20min early, and i climbed in and said a very grateful goodbye to the best hotel i have ever had the pleasure of staying in.
Back to the airport, and an ontime flight for a change, and we were on our way to Sao Paulo.
I would just like to state for anyone reading this blog, that if you are ever in South and Central America, then the airline of choice has got to be TACA airlines. I flew both legs of my journey to Sao Paulo with them, and was blown away by the helpfulness and professionalism of this airline. They also happened to be the cheapest airline to fly with!
Upon arrival, my bro was nowhere to be seen, and i was once again helped off the plane by a member of staff, and pushed in my wheelchair to baggage collection, and my bags collected and brought along with me to the arrivals area.
The guy who had helped me went off to make a phone call to my brother to ask when he would be arriving, and then returned to stay with me the 20min or so til they did.
He helped me load the bags in the car as well, and off we went.
The 36h or so i spent in Brazil was amazing.
We were in Ubatuba, a coastal area just south of Sao Paulo, and it was incredibly beautiful.
It was great to see my brother, who had been by my side via email and telephone through my entire ordeal, and between him and his Brazilian girlfriend, had been a massive help to me.

The last 2 weeks...

Ok, here's the information from the last 2 weeks or so...
I'll date order it as it happened anyway...

The long road to recovery...

Everything starts with a few small steps.
Whether it be literally, or figuratively speaking...
And so began my journey to a decent hospital and knowledgeable doctors...
It had been about 2 weeks in the planning, but my return to South Africa had begun.
I had been in contact with a local hospital in SA, and had arranged an appointment with specialists on the public health system for the 19th March.
It gave me just under 3 weeks to get myself back to SA.
I had sat in the DR for almost 5 months waiting for sum favourable news from insurance companies, and had gotten close to nowhere. This was not my driving force behind wanting to get out of the DR though.
It was my health.
For a long time i had been insistent on getting something out from my suffering, so that i could pay back some of the cash invested in me by friends and family.
But after all this time, my health was not getting any better, and i needed to get myself back on my feet. There was no way i could even think about paying back any of this money if i could not work. Health was my number 1 priority.
So...
I had contacted immigration in the DR, and they had told me that i was free to leave the country. There was no impediment to me leaving.
The hospital had confiscated my UK passport, but i had my SA passport on me still.
Never before did i think an SA passport could be useful outside of South Africa.
But i was being proved pleasantly mistaken...

Airports -- Take 1

On wednesday i had hired a car and travelled up to Santo Domingo airport to speak with immigration themselves and find out what was required in order to leave the country on my SA passport.
The reason being that my entry stamp was in my UK passport, so i was a bit worried that they might stop me, or charge me a lot of money on my way thru immigration...
I had looked for hours on the internet on tuesday, and even phoned a few numbers to find out, but no matter who i phoned, or what info i found online, it always seemed to be contradictory, or incomplete.
So, i found myself in a hire car with a mate, on my way to the airport to find out from the horse's mouth, so to speak...
After a bit of lunch in the airport while we waited for the lady at immigration to return from hers, we asked some questions and got some answers.
It seemed like all i needed to do was to to pitch up at the airport with my SA passport, a photocopy of my UK passport, which i had in my possession, and pay the 1000 peso fine for staying over my initial 30 days, and i was free to leave.
It seemed simple, but after 5 months of hell, it was certainly not a simple thing in my mind!
Friday could not come soon enough...

Airports -- Take 2

After what seemed like forever, friday arrived.
My ticket had been booked with the last of the money from my family they had available, including a very generous contribution form my grandfather for my birthday, donations from my mates off of this website, and a little help from my previous dive company as well.
It was a 5pm flight via Lima in Peru, arrriving in Sao Paulo the following morning at 5am. I needed to change flights in Lima, but there was only a 1 hour stopover, so that wasn't too bad.
We arrived at the airport around 2pm, and went over to the check in desk to hand in my bags.
I was asked for my passport, and after a minute, the person helping me disappeared with my passport. She was chatting to another lady further down the row of check-in attendants.
She returned and told me that there was a problem.
My heart skipped a few beats!
Apparently i needed my onward travel documents in order for them to process my booking!
I had specifically asked my parents to hold off on paying for my date change for my return ticket from Sao Paulo to Joburg, as this was emergency money in case anything went wrong at the airport, and i didn't want it wasted in paying for a flight i could not catch if i was held up in Santo Domingo for any reason.
For this reason, it was not a confirmed flight as yet.
It was only for the following tuesday, as i was planning on spending 2 days with my bro, who happened to be visiting his girlfriends parents in Sao Paulo at the time.
But, without this ticket, i was not going to be boarding the plane!
I went thru to their offices in the airport and checked online, but all i had in my email was the old ticket, and an email from the SAA representative confirming the date change. I did not have the all important e-ticket that i needed to present to the airlines!
So, with a bit of fuss, they changed my ticket to the next day, saturday, for the same time.
They were very nice to change it for free, as this was, essentially my mistake.
So, off we went, back to Bayahibe, a 2h drive away.
On arriving back in Bayahibe, my place i was staying, had already been filled by new tenants, so i was effectively homeless!
Luckily a mate had just moved out of their old place and still had 24h left on his old lease, so i moved in there for the night...

Airports -- Take 3

Saturday morning arrived, and another car hire later, and another trip up to Santo Domingo with my mate loomed large.
This was our 3rd trip in the last 4 days, so it was with a little bit of mounting frustration that we climbed in and started the 2h drive back to the airport.
I went to check in, with the ticket that my parents had now paid for, in my possession, and they accepted my bags and asked me if i required a wheelchair and someone to help me thru immigration?
I asked for some help, and a guy from the airlines arrived with my wheelchair.
My mate gave him instructions in Spanish as to why i had photocopies of my UK passport, and what to tell the immigration officer.
I was extremely nervous because if there were any altercations, then i would be stuck in the DR with no accommodation and more importantly no more money, as it had all been sunk into getting me back home!
It went thru without a hitch, and i was wheeled into the departure area to wait for my plane.
After an impossibly long 2h delay due to technical problems, i was off down the passage to board the plane.
I was first on the plane, which was a first for me.
After another 30min of everyone sitting on the runway waiting, we were finally into the air, and i breathed a huge sigh of relief as i watched the tarmac, and the DR, disappear into the distance!
I was free!
I was going home!
The nightmare was finally coming to an end...

On a more positive note....??

Just received a call from my lawyer.
Sounds promising.
He said that he has made a case against the insurance company for taking so long to even get back to us about a meeting. The case against them was delivered on tuesday, and they have 10 days to respond to us before we can take them to court about this.
The original figure requested for when we made our initial case against them was for 5 000 000 peso, so lets hope that when we sit down with them we get a fair bit of that as a payout!
Time will tell, as is always the case here...
Lots more info to add. Updates in about 10 days time. Keep watching this space...