Surgery

Surgery went well yesterday, thank you all for your lovely messages 🙏🏽

I had a wound debridement and a split skin graft. So the wound was cleaned on my left calf, skin was shaved from my left thigh and placed onto the wound.

I had the option of having a spinal anaesthetic as everything was being taken below the waist, I took this option so I was awake for the procedure but everything below my waist very numb and I couldn’t feel anything.

The procedure was pretty quick and then I went back to a room to wait for the feeling to come back into my legs.

My left leg is bandaged from upper thigh to above my ankle. The skin graft is close to my knee so I want to prevent too much knee bending and I’m keeping the limb elevated. I’m wearing my mountain equipment trousers which have a long zip on the side so it’s easy to put them on over the dressing.

The surgery was done as a day case so I was home for the evening. It does feel a little strange being a patient as I’m usually on the other side but everyone has been so amazing.

A huge thank you to everyone at Derby Royal Hospital and everyone involved in helping me.

I still have a few other injuries that are healing.

• Neck pain that I got early on in the exped from dragging a heavy pulk and looking down at the compass (since finishing my neck movement is coming back)
• a few superficial cold injuries that are healing. You can still see the ones on my cheeks and nose.
• a few smaller musculoskeletal niggles which are healing (luckily I know a good physio – that’s me by the way.. 😉)