My Fracture Story

20 March 2018, It was an extended cold winter tuesday. I had spent most of the day lying and reading. For a change Ashwin was done with work early that day. We usually did our weekly grocery and vegetable shopping on Mondays from Morrison's, a supermarket next door, but for some unknown reason we had missed our schedule. So we decided to go to Kingsbury a so called Indian locality where you can find amazing Indian chats, food, veggies, fruits and every other grocery. So that we can eat some chats on our way back.

5o'clock we decided. 5:30pm we started from home, got on a bus-204 reached Kingsbury before 6pm. We ate panipuri and bhelpuri at Bombay Spice, a restaurant, then went on for veggie shopping.

Restaurant and supermarket are on the opposite sides of the main road and bus stop is near the restaurant.

After buying some nice and fresh veggies we crossed the road and noticed 204 approaching. And we being humans ran on the footpath to catch the bus, because it is basic human tendency to run for bus when you are as close as 15-20 meters.

Ashwin was ahead of me, both of us had couple of bags in our hands.

Next thing I remember is I was on the floor crying. Time 7:30pm.

I'm not sure if I tripped over an uneven surface or over my own foot, somehow I fell hard on the wide footpath. There was nothing around me to hold for support and moreover my hands were taken by bags and there was no way I could land carefully on the floor. So the next best thing, knees landed first on floor bearing all my weight.

I felt an agonizing pain in my knee, I could not stand or even walk. At first I thought it was a minor fracture. There were a couple of cops who came around and helped me walk towards a shop and made me sit on a chair. There were other people gathered around because of the volume of my cries when I fell.

Cops said it might just be a shock coz I could easily stretch my legs and they went away. And we thought that was right, anyway I only tripped and fell. I was hell-bent on going back home that very moment. But there was one Gujarati guy who insisted on going to hospital and getting an x-ray done. He repeatedly asked us to go for x-ray and suggested a hospital close by.

Pain had reduced a little by now, I could stretch my leg but not bend.  I felt more alive or lively or full of life at that very moment than ever before.

So as the [life-saviour] gujju suggested we took a cab and went to Northwick Park Hospital.

Ashwin pulled me in with the help of a wheelchair. We saw there were a lot of patients waiting. We requested at reception to priority process as pain was throbbing and I couldn't stand or walk. Getting in and out of cab was very painful. They asked what and how everything happened. They gave me 4 painkillers of 2 types and asked us to wait for 2-3 hours as there were a lot of people waiting. And my injury was not risking my life. I was in agony and angry and what not. For once I thought of going back home but Ashwin wanted to be sure it was not serious, so we waited. Time 8pm

I was chilling and cool, still sitting on wheelchair, looking around at sick people and pitying on them, little did I know that my injury was a fracture. I used the free hospital wifi, to you know, fb insta and etc as I was bored and there was no pain because of painkillers ofcourse. Ashwin bought us some sandwich and coffee around 9:30.

We were called in around 10:30. A black lady doctor attended me, noted down all the details I said and asked me to wait in another room. She asked me to remove my pants and lay down and twisted my left leg in all possible directions, stretched and bent and etc. I could not bend beyond 45° it was very painful. 

She then she asked us get x-ray done and come back to the same cabin. When I asked if it was serious, she said, “pain is somewhere on the inside, it can be serious”. Shifting from wheelchair to x-ray table and back to wheelchair was a real struggle as I was unable to stand on my own legs!

We were back and waiting for her to fill us in about x-ray results. She came in with braces in her hand and said there's a break in the bone near knee joint and that it takes 6 to 8 weeks to heal. She asked if I prefer braces or cast and she put the p-o-p cast covering 3/4 of my leg from thighs to ankles, gave me crutches to walk and asked not to put any weight on my injured leg.

Time 12:30 am

We took a cab again and reached home around 1am. I called my mom and dad after having food. They were shocked, sad and upset. 

We were told an orthopedic appointment letter will be posted in 2-3 days.

Those were the most difficult days. We had no proper knowledge about injury and reports were not given to us. I dint know what to do, with whom to discuss about my injury. Every minute was difficult. I did not know how to clear my doubts and so I studied whole knee anatomy over Internet.

There was hell lot of pain and I was not given any pain killers. I had some crocin pain relief tablets which I brought with me from India. I took 4-6 tablets per day for almost a week.

But those were the days I felt very much alive. I was never so conscious about myself as much as I was during those painful days. Every second every minute I was conscious of myself, my body, my leg, what my thoughts were, what my smallest of small actions were, like, how I move my fingers, eye-lids etc

It was a substantial shift in my routine.

I couldn't walk without crutches in each hand. I couldn't stand for more than 10-15 seconds. As the cast was on I couldn't bend my knees. I always had to sit with my leg elevated.

All day I sat on sofa with my left leg on a cardboard box kept in front of me.

I dint take bath for 3-4 days but just a rough clean-up. I kept another cardboard box in bathroom for whenever I had to use the toilet, to keep my leg straight while I sit on the toilet seat.

Then came the letter, orthopedic appointment for 27th. Finally some relief. I planned everything I wanted to talk and ask, noted them down on my Note app. By this time I was used to the cast, I could stand, walk and sit with a little help of crutches.

Appointment was at 9:45 am we reached at 9:30am. After registering our arrival at reception, some lady, I don’t know if she was a doctor or nurse, she was in her casuals. She took some samples of liquids from my nose and back of the throat and said it was just in case I needed a surgery. We were sent for CT-scan, fortunately we got the scanning appointment-slot early and it was done within 20 minutes.

We were cool expecting no surgery.

But unfortunately doctor said I needed the surgery to fix my broken bone and fix a screw in it. He said we'll receive another letter for next appointment and I should be giving blood samples in the next department for various tests.

I was not moved neither shocked after knowing I needed a surgery. But my worry was that I was not given proper information about what comes next, when will the surgery be done, how is it done and is it not necessary to prepare patient before surgery? Etc etc. I was worried and lost.

But then, Ashwin explained things to me how the system works there...

There's a state-funded system called the National Health Service, or NHS, which guarantees care for all. That means everything from ambulance rides and emergency room visits to long hospital stays, complex surgery, radiation and chemotherapy — are all free. They're paid for with payroll taxes.

There are NHS centres for every area which work from morning 8 to evening 6 also timings vary for different days of the week and closed on weekends. Residents should be registered to their local NHS centres and take an appointment in the morning to consult for that particular day. Appointments are also available online.

And there are NHS hospital for every council which operates 24/7. In which there is a department for Accidents and Emergencies (A&E) which provides care within 4 hours. So patients who are very ill and cannot wait until the next day or for an appointment, will visit these A&E centres. Well if accident injuries or other illness is life threatening then they are treated immediately.

Patients are given appointment for next available date and time and takes a minimum of 1 week for your turn, because there will already be so many others patients waiting to be treated. So appointment piles up and delays consultation. First come first serve, but serious and life threatening cases will be treated immediately

There's no difference between people who can pay more money and those who can't afford. It's completely free for everyone. Very well equipped and well maintained with finest quality instruments... you can't believe it's state funded, especially for us, because of condition of our government hospitals and yes we are helpless because of population explosion.

There are only a few private hospitals which treat royal families and other VIPs, public can consult if you can only afford that unnecessary luxury.

Now when we said I need a surgery to our parents they were shocked and cried and prayed and shattered. But we had to go on with surgery there was no choice. Our parents asked if I would wish to go back to India for surgery so that it'll be done sooner. But I preferred Ashwin beside me for anything I had to face and he had no leaves left to travel back to India. And moreover I preferred to get surgery done in London and then go back home for pampering.

So, received the letter and appointment was for 5th of April. And let me be clear it was for orthopedic consultation. We still don’t know when will be the surgery.

Waiting is the hardest thing.

So finally when we reached ortho-dept on 5th we met Dr. Bhattee one of the best sports-surgeons in London. He explained how the surgery will be done and asked for my consent.

He said the fracture is at the back of my knee and so they will have to cut open my leg wider than usual to get full view of bone because nerves and veins pass through right above the bone and the joint, so they have to be moved aside and then fix a screw and put the nerves-veins back on place and stitch. He also said it would have been small and simple surgery if fracture was on the front of knee. Now I knew why i had to wait to meet one of top surgeons, he said it was not simple one.

He checked his calendar and said he will be operating me the very next day 6th of April 2018, okay so I had no choice but to give my consent and go ahead.

The nurses removed the cast and I got to see my hairy leg after so long. Doctor checked my knee movements and gave another metal brace to use instead of cast.

The doctor asked us to get the MRI Scan done that very day to be sure about ligaments and muscle conditions of broken knee before the surgery.

Scan appointment was at 3:30pm but we immediately reached the department hoping if there was any extra time they might call us in early. And it happened. MRI was done within 40 minutes. But it was very difficult to remove braces and then enter MRI Scanning room, shift to scan table and shift back to wheel chair, put braces back on, O God. We went back again to the ortho nurse to properly fix the braces. And then we came back home. Brace was a new thing for me and on that, it was hard to commute from one department to another even on wheel chair as it is a very huge hospital.

We got a call at 8pm to notify that I should not be eating or drinking anything after 12am also I had to reach Admission and Theatre department at 7:30. So all set. I had no questions in my mind now. I was unbelievably peaceful inside, no thought waves no fear. Instead I was curious how I might feel after surgery. Ashwin’s friend stayed over with us that day.

6 April 2018 I was ready by 6:30 and we reached there by 7am. At 7:30 A doctor explained about the surgery procedure and took signatures on various papers. Then a nurse came and asked me to wear only the hospital robe and wait. Then an anaesthetist came and explained about me being unconscious for the surgery and its effects after I gain consciousness. He looked like Indian but born and brought up in England. He comforted me very much about surgery. It was nice talking to him.

Then the nurse came back with a hospital bed and asked me to lay down. Ashwin was with me until they pulled me away.

I was kind of excited and curious to see what all was being done. I was pulled inside a cabin after a long passage. There were a few other doctors and anaesthetists who greeted me and asked various casual questions. One lady asked if I had any metal on my body. To which I replied that I had removed all ornaments the previous day.

She said, "you are so normal, I like normal people" I understood it in two ways. Then one of them searched for the nerve at the back of my left palm to fix a cannula. And he did it again on the same hand for another cannula. And started injecting something inside it, where at the same time another person near my face put an oxygen/gas mask on my face and said I will be sleeping in another 5 seconds, he counted 1.. 2.. 3.. 4..  and I dint even hear him say 5.

         *image of x-ray post surgery with the screw inside,

             left knee tibia bone connecting PCL ligament * 

Hopefully I will be back with the after-story in second part, thanks for reading!