Since her accident on Tuesday, Pauline has had her operation to pin the femur. My visit to her in Intensive Care on Wednesday evening she did not remember. I cannot say I am surprised because she was very confused about many things at that point. The following day, yesterday, she was back on Conwy Ward and by the time I visited in the evening she had, with great difficulty, got out of bed for an hour.
Despite the pain she is experiencing, the progress, I believe, is excellent. How long her full recovery will take is unknown but I would bet on it being less than average for someone in her sixties. her surgeon visited her yesterday and, when she mentioned the "torn muscle" following her fall a few weeks earlier at Henllys Hall he said it was very likely that the break had started then. Personally, I think it means she fractured her femur on that occasion and broke it on Tuesday in Amlwch.
One interesting fact is that her surgeon, Mr Mel Jones, is the author of a very interesting article on the world wide web about the Anglesey bonesetters. Follow this link to find out more:
When we were in A & E the charge nurse told me Pauline's leg was to be placed in a "Thomas Splint" and this was what happened. It is the same design as the originals made by the blacksmith in Liverpool who worked for Dr Thomas. I found the story fascinating and was reminded how important Anglesey is in terms of history both for Wales and the United Kingdom. Seeing the doctors selecting the spot to inject the femoral nerve to give pain relief whilst the splint was attached was also interesting. They used an ultrasound scanner to find the nerve. The femoral nerve, artery and vein are all very close, so it is all too easy to hit the wrong part when injecting the local anaesthetic. Looking at the picture, I could see a large pulse which told me I was looking at the artery. I am pleased to say they hit the right spot!
So, the news is that excellent progress, involving pain, of course, is being made. I am very grateful for that.
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