Tommy Collison's Posterous http://tommycollison.posterous.com Most recent posts at Tommy Collison's Posterous posterous.com Mon, 04 Oct 2010 11:10:55 -0700 [Hospital Diary] A New Week http://tommycollison.posterous.com/hospital-diary-a-new-week http://tommycollison.posterous.com/hospital-diary-a-new-week Quite a lot of stuff has happened since I last updated this, namely the fact that I left the hospital :)

Been at home about a day and a half at this stage now and I've been kind of up and down. Yesterday was mostly terrible as I battled a temperature, nausea, headaches, drowsiness and bizarrely, hiccups. Strangely, my pain level was a 0 or a 1 at most (on a scale of 1-10). 

It was discovered, however, that the cause of all of the above was quite simple. Nearly ripping a whole in the space-irony continuum, the painkillers were the cause of all my problems. 

So I'm back to regular paracetamol, which I brought from home and has no side effects on me. 

In terms of physical recovery, I can feel the leg getting less sensitive when people touch it to check it and so on. I'm not allowed bend it except for the CPM (Continuous Passive Motion) machine, which gently bends (stretches) the leg. Currently, it's going up to a 40 degree angle and we've hopes I'll make it to 70 degrees by the end of the 3 weeks. I've to do that machine 3 times per day for 30 minutes. Following each session, I've to lie prone for 30 minutes, which reinforces the stretches. 

At the end of three weeks, I start going back into hospital, but only as an outpatient. There, I meet with physios and actually start putting me back on my feet. For now though, I've a relatively easy ride, medically-wise. It gives me time to devote to other stuff, like reading and schoolwork. 

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Fri, 01 Oct 2010 10:02:24 -0700 [Hospital Diary] Quick update http://tommycollison.posterous.com/hospital-diary-quick-update http://tommycollison.posterous.com/hospital-diary-quick-update Doing very well. Going home tomorrow. Cast came off this morning. Wound healing well. Epidural turned off about half an hour ago and anesthesiologists should be up soon Sent from my iPhone

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/277957/Screen_shot_2009-10-30_at_16.14.01.png http://posterous.com/users/36zxeohxsKm5 Tommy Collison TrustTommy Tommy Collison
Thu, 30 Sep 2010 05:20:06 -0700 [Hospital Diary] Thursday http://tommycollison.posterous.com/hospital-diary-thursday http://tommycollison.posterous.com/hospital-diary-thursday I wish I'd John's ability to sleep anywhere, I really do. Hospitals are always associated with not getting a lot of sleep (or having very bad sleep) thanks to nurses coming around to check your BP and such, and to move you every 2 hours. Luckily, I've nothing to do here except exist, really, so I sleep whenever I can. My leg, which is in a hard cast, is incredibly sensitive. Moving me from my side to my back is grand, but moving me onto my side can lead to very bad pain if it's prolonged. It's not their fault but boy, does it hurt. The doc was just in with some good news. Since my pain's quite low (Never more than 3 on their 1-10 scale. Leg's in a bit of discomfort but totally manageable) and I'm responding quite well to semi-solid food (mushy pasta, not actually too bad), everything comes out tomorrow. Epidural, catheter, IVs and hard cast all off/out tomorrow.
Can't wait. :)

Photo

Sent from my iPhone

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/277957/Screen_shot_2009-10-30_at_16.14.01.png http://posterous.com/users/36zxeohxsKm5 Tommy Collison TrustTommy Tommy Collison
Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:25:13 -0700 Shoe saga http://tommycollison.posterous.com/shoe-saga http://tommycollison.posterous.com/shoe-saga One day, I was watching Top Gear, as 11 year old Tommy was prone to doing. Richard Hammond was wearing converse and I really liked the look of them. My mum got me a pair and I wore pretty much nothing else. When I was about 14 and at one of my physio appointments, my physio expressed her dislike of my wearing converse. She explained how they've no support whatsoever and are bad for my feet in the long run. Dejected, I got a new, stronger pair of shoes.

Fast forward to this morning. I'm getting new insoles because my feet had grown out of my old ones. I'm curious as to whether the surgery would allow me to wear converse again (oh, the things I worry about). I ask my orthotics doc what her opinion was. She tells me that so long as I'm wearing the orthotics, it doesn't matter what shoes I have. Converse's lack of shock absorption was also counteracted somewhat by the fact that my insoles had some on the bottom anyway. I think my physio got confused -- thinking I was suggesting wearing converse on their own, no insoles, hence her dislike. Happy with this blessing, I send a text to my uncle, a shoe shop owner in Phibsborough:

Photo_1

So there was I, thwarted somewhat by my embarrassingly large feet. Still managed to get a pair:

Photo_2

(that's the insole, the white peeking out from the top of the shoes)

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Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:24:00 -0700 The New Blog http://tommycollison.posterous.com/the-new-blog http://tommycollison.posterous.com/the-new-blog

Introduction

 

This is my new blog -- not a replacement for my other blog, more of an additional one. 

 

I'm going to America for 6 weeks this Friday, for some surgery for my Cerebral Palsy. I'm not entirely sure of the ins and outs of the medical side of things. I know there's some cutting and moving and rejigging involved though. My area of interest rests more in the aftermath -- how many nights in hospital? what sort of cast? what'll my dependence on a walking stick be like afterwards?

 

What this blog is for

 

Well, I already have a blog -- why should there be a second one? 

 

The thing is, some people won't be too interested in the sort of thing I'll be posting here -- how physio is going, pics of the hospital, what methods I'm using to stop myself going insane, how recovery is going on a day-by-day scale. And that's fine. There's Trust Tommy for that -- a more general look at things. The only reason that this blog isn't taking the form of a Twitter account is that I don't think 140 characters would do.

 

So, stay tuned for more updates when we go Stateside!

 

~T 

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http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/277957/Screen_shot_2009-10-30_at_16.14.01.png http://posterous.com/users/36zxeohxsKm5 Tommy Collison TrustTommy Tommy Collison