Nine weeks on - reporting in from England

3 April 2016 - 9 weeks post surgery plus a couple of days

I had expected to build-up to travel slowly. I expected that the first time I would be testing out my new knee would be travelling to a conference in England in June. So the current invitation to travel to England to attend Cochrane meetings took me by surprise.  

I can now report on how well my planning for this tour has worked:

- the graduated compression stockings were useful on the flights. My legs didn't swell and they were "good to go" when I arrived

- the wheelchair and mobility services provided in airports were well organised and reliable. It was initially a bit embarrassed to be in a wheelchair when I had spent the last two months trying to walk independently - but by being ushered through bustling airports was a massive relief. I would highly recommend this service

- I brought a crutch with me rather than a more subtle walking stick. I have been relieved to have the crutch to lean on - literally and figuratively. It has been great to use while standing up and talking to people at conferences. It has reduced my limping when I am tired. Plus it has been a useful signal to people that I need a little more space, I walk a little bit slower and that I need to take a bit of care with my mobility. People have been very kind and courteous - opening doors, finding chairs for me and being thoughtful about giving me directions with easier access.

I have tried to manage my free time carefully - taking taxis and hop-on hop-off buses so that I can get out and about and see new things but I don't waste my walking energy by getting lost and meandering around.

Yesterday after running some errands, I ran out of steam and went in search of a cab.  I was pleased to be invited into the Morse bar at one of the flashiest hotel in Oxford while the concierge hailed a cab for me.

During this trip it has been nice to meet  up again with old friends and colleagues - I had been a bit shy about telling people about the arthritis issues I was managing so now I feel no pressure to pretend I was not in pain.

I have also "knocked off" one of my big fears. I have just given a 20 minute conference presentation. I didn't use my crutch and was able to stand up and move around easily while talking. Whew!

I have significantly increased my walking. I have been now walking between 4-6km a day. In addition I have been standing around chatting (which takes a lot of energy). I was talking to Peter about this and how tired I am feeling and he pointed out that it is probably at least a year since I was able to walk 6 km - so it isn't surprising I feel tired.

I am finding ascending stairs quite hard. Last night we went to a dinner at Balliol college in their great hall. It is a huge and impressive building with a steep flight of steps. What I hadn't realised was that a trip to the bathroom involved going down and up the stairs (in the rain and darkness). And it is pretty near impossible to move quickly with crutches.

I am off to London this afternoon. It will be interesting to see how I will go in a larger city with vast differences and also larger numbers of people on the street.

My scar is coming along well although the hair is growing back quite thick and lush.

So - even though I am feeling tired, I am feeling good about getting around and managing travel. And I am pretty pleased that my capacity for distances is surely but slowly - increasing.