John's Blog

As we enter December 2023 it is a poignant time in my recovery, firstly it is nearly 9 months I've spent in hospital being cared for by the amazing #NHS Here at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford UK and now the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust again here in Oxford UK. Both trailblazing and excellent institutions. Christmas this year is a particularly emotional time because for the first time in 9 months I will be well enough to have a "day release" or specifically spend some time at home with my family over the Christmas period, at home. I am looking forward to this time with all my heart and soul and once again I would like to thank the amazing NHS for the care they have given me this year. The staff in particular  #Nurses, #careassistant, #physiotherapist, #occupationaltherapist, #speechtherapist, #doctors and #psychotherapist  This year, Chris Rea's song "Driving home for Christmas" has a particular meaning and parts of it being tears of happiness a...

Firstly this article is an experiment in a new tool I have found for content creation management so this is a TEST!! While I iron out any issues. Secondly I will go over the tools and where I found them. Thirdly this is an honest article and I am not employed or being rewarded by either of the companies mentioned. I found these tools on Product Hunt, this is a website and app that is a collection and promotion tool for new products that have just been released. It's been around for a while and you may recognise some of the big name products on there (Atom Editor, Electron, Sublime Text etc).  It was on here that I came across the tool I am evaluating now. Buffer (https://www.buffer.com) Buffer is a social media tool that enables you to - Create ideas and draft content  - Create and track posts from drafts  - Build up a queue of content to publish  - Schedule your posts to be posted on future dates and times - Collaborate with colleagues on on posts  Now the best...

  One of my current issues I have in my recovery is a lack of a good strong voice. I can be heard in a quiet room or Facetime call but can find it difficult to be heard over the phone or a crowded room. Now my voice is slowly returning thanks to some Speech Therapy but I want to recommend a free service that may help others Relay UK   https://www.relayuk.bt.com/ It is a text to speech or speech to text for hard of hearing service that is free for use here in the UK..Check it out it may help. More business should offer a Relay number like the UK Government does for people that are hard of hearing or speaking. #disabilities #disability #deafawareness #speechtotext #speechtherapy #texttospeech

 One aspect of recovery from surgery such as a Hip operation is pain.  Over the last few months I have been in pain, both before and after surgery, some of it is to be expected and other can be totally unexpected and caused by accidental impacts.  Previously I would have asked for Morphine, but after a while I got concerned about addiction, so I stopped requesting it. As I write this is am in pain, right now. It is 2340 at night and I am writing a LinkedIn article while my right leg is in pain.  Why am I doing this? Well two reasons, one - its my thoughts and experiences, and two it portrays an aspect on how I’ve learnt to get over pain without Morphine, one of which you could apply to the situation of encountering an impossible task or challenge. Now, when I’m in pain, I stop… and I find something challenging to do, something to distract me and take my mind off the pain. Now apply this to when you hit a wall with a challenging task. Would you keep hitting that (pain...

 If you have been following my rehabilitation process then a few weeks ago I achieved the milestone of 57 Ross Return stands in 45 minute. That is a movement using legs and arms to pull myself to a standing position and sit back down again all in a controlled fashion and from varying heights. Believe me the lower you sit the harder it is to push up! Now fast forward to Thursday 19 October. My brilliant Physiotherapist gave me a choice, more of the same or standing and sitting using a walking aid called a Zimmer Frame, being up for a challenge I choose the Zimmer Frame. After standing and sitting, unaided, using the Zimmer Frame a few times my Physio turned to me and said “You are ready to walk” . After which, I was attached to a safety harness and proceeded to take my first steps in six months of being in hospital using a zimmer frame for support. Not one step, Not three steps, But fifty steps in total, yes fifty. It hurt, it was hard work but my mind and body were determined to do...

  Anybody that follows me here or knows me will know I am effectively being taught how to stand and walk again after an accident earlier this year. Part of this rehab is undertaking sitting to standing exercises using an #NHS supplied tool called a #RossReturn ( https://healthcare-matters.com/product/ross-return-7500i-patient-transfer-system ) This is designed to train the legs to push to a standing position from a seated position and back again in a controlled fashion. It can also be used to transfer between seating on a hospital bed to seating on a wheelchair for example. My previous “personal best” for standing cycles was 26, that’s moving from seating to standing as described above. On Friday 13th, I not only passed that record, I totally smashed it by achieving 57 stands and 3 transfers!!!!!!!!!! This is a testament to the staff at the Oxford Centre for Enablement here in Oxford, UK but also my own personal determination to walk again by Christmas. The moral of this story is N...