Six months later!

   I haven't posted for almost six months! This is for two reasons, firstly I wiped my computer and forgot my blog password and even though it is saved on my memory stick kept forgetting to find it! Secondly I've actually been slightly busy.... that's right I've had things to do!!! Finally!

   Update number One - DRIVING I first had driving lessons for my 18th birthday in November 2010 these went well but my instructor had to change career and so couldn't teach me anymore, after a few months I got a new instructor and had around 10 lessons before I ran out of money. I had nearly a year without lessons, in august 2012 I was planning to restart learning when I had my accident! After a year and a half of recovering, in January 2014 still in the wheelchair I decided to push myself and start lessons again. To be honest I didn't want to, I was terrified of being on the road but I knew it would massively help my independence.
Anyway I had to re take my theory test as it had expired thanks to the accident and after that booked my practical test for September this test then had to be cancelled and I had to wait another 6 weeks before taking it on Halloween. I ended up failing it 30 seconds before the end of the test for hesitating at a roundabout! (pretty obvious why I did that) THEN the test centre was shutting for two months so I had a window of about 2 days to hope for a cancellation or wait another two months to retake. After all that I really thought something was telling me not to drive but I managed to get a cancellation and passed my second test with 3 minors!!!!! I'm very nervous driving especially on roundabouts but I can't explain the independence it gives me, after almost two and a half years of having to rely on people for everything I can finally do simple things like go to and look around a shop by myself!
I have to use an automatic car because of my left leg but I don't mind.

Here she is!

Update number two - WORK On the 29th of September I finally started the childcare apprenticeship I should of started more than 2 years earlier! I can only manage part time hours but it is fantastic, I am so lucky with how supportive and flexible they have been and continue to be. I don't think I would of been able to stay determined with my recovery if I didn't have this to aim for. Just getting up and doing a morning at work makes me feel worthwhile.

Update number three -  PUBLISHED ARTICLE On October 20th I had an article I wrote published on Cosmopolitan online!!! I can't tell you how excited this makes me you can read it here http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/reports/a30591/real-life-story-coma-car-crash/ I was even on the front page of the website!

Update number four - TURNING 22 I turned 22 in November and finally managed to venture to a nightclub, I only went to a small one where there were places to sit down and not so many people I'd get squashed. It was mostly a great night and a great achievement the only down side was a few people's attitude to my stick. I had a few people come over and ask my friends what was wrong with me, asking what's wrong with someone can be rude enough if not done by someone genuinely interested and caring but speaking over me to my friends and continuing to do so even when I approach you and explain I can speak for myself is unbelievable! I also had one guy come down some stairs behind me and grab my stick, I think he thought it would be funny in front of his friends which backfired when he looked an absolute idiot and one of them apologized for him.I does make me feel self conscious and worry about what people would say if I had my burns on show if they can't even handle a stick but luckily most people aren't like that!

On the way out for my birthday!

Update number five - JOSS MOVED On new years eve Joss moved to Cheltenham! He was meant to move at the time of the crash but when it happened he moved back in with his parents to be close to me. He put his plans on hold for almost two and a half years to be there for me and I don't know what I would have done without him. What we've been through would tear a lot of couples apart let alone at our age, we were 19 and 20 when it happened and we've had some rough times but ultimately we're so much stronger together because of the accident. I'm incredibly proud of him for what he's been through and what he has done and still does for me, he had to see me underneath the car and sat by my bed every day I was in hospital, he pushed my wheelchair for nearly two years and physically cared for me in ways no one should have to! He accepted my appearance changing in a lot of ways and has been there for me mentally. He's FANTASTIC! It's strange not seeing him in the week but i'm building up my confidence driving to see him at the weekend!

Physical Update - I now use one walking stick to get around and can get around my house without one. I still have physiotherapy and have a big limp and get tilt when I walk without the stick, I get knee and hip pain as well as in my leg and back and have developed plantar fasciitis which is basically damage to the tissue in the heel so I get severe pain in my heels sometimes which is a pain! I'm having triple whammy surgery this Thursday to give me more steroid injections into my shoulder scar, the third stage of my scalp scar revision and a big operation on my left leg to release a muscle hernia. Fingers crossed it all goes ok, things are looking brighter :)

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

June/July 2014 - More surgery and progress :)...

      FIRSTLY just a 'warning' I am including photo's of some of my scars in this post so if you wouldn't like to see don't scroll down!

 



        On the 17th July I had the second stage of my scalp revision surgeries. The first of which I had in October which I wrote about here, the second stage involved the same as the first. Remove as much of the scar as possible and pull both sides together to create a smaller scar, and in the case of scalp scarring like mine reduce the area of baldness. The operation went well, it's painful and you have a sort of half face lift while the skin stretches but to have less of a bald patch is fantastic. I underwent some more steroid injections to my shoulder scar while I was under the anesthetic as well which will hopefully flatten the large lump on it but I didn't see much change after the injections I had on Christmas eve.

Not the best photo as my hairs covering some of it, but this is after 1st stage before 2nd stage (the scar constantly scabbed) 

After on the day of the operation

     The reason I chose to include photo's and have done in some past post's is because on many occasions I've found myself googling things about surgeries, injuries. treatments and experiences I've had or got. Either to try and find information or see that I'm not the only one, one of the main aims of this blog is the possibility it could help someone else. I'm also happy to answer any questions about any of my injuries and treatments just ask :)

    I'm still having driving lessons and if/when I pass my test I will be able to make steps towards starting work... It feels strange even typing that! I am extremely lucky in that I was going to begin a great opportunity at the time of the crash, although it was awful timing (not that there's a good time to have a life changing trauma!) they are so supportive that it has been held for me and they are very flexible with my abilities and the limited hours I will be able to work so I can start long before I would be able to in most jobs. I struggle with pain and still use two sticks to get around but when I've passed my driving test I will be able to drive to work and therefore save all my physical energy for the few hours I will be there, safe to say I'm very excited! :)

On that note I actually have to go for a driving lesson now!

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

APRIL/MAY 2014

    So the last month and a bit hasn't been very interesting -what's new? I hear you say - but I haven't even had many hospital appointments other than physiotherapy #boring
  Medically I got my second scalp operation booked in for the 17th July the first part of which I had back in October, you can read about that here. I had a few medical reports for the solicitors which aren't very fun but are necessary for our claim. And I continue making steady progress in my weekly hour long physiotherapy sessions which I have now been having for 20 months (since I left hospital)! I still use the wheelchair for longer journeys but am using two walking sticks to make shorter distances. I'm having some nerve pain in some of my scars most noticeably in the large burn on my back which causes me to jolt but we're just seeing how that goes for now.
 
    In other news it was my dog sargent's 11th birthday on April 13th (think I'm scraping the barrel for this post...) We adopted him after he was fired by my grandparents 5 years ago, he was one of their guide dogs (both my grandparents are blind) but he kept making mistakes and was scared to go out with them so he was pretty useless...

  It was my best friend of 10/11 years Beckie's 21st birthday and with the help of some of my mass of equipment (below) I was able to go out for a few drinks for it! I'm definitely not at clubbing level yet but I haven't even been able to do that since the crash!

Quite the collection!

The cake I knocked up for her

Me and Beckie about 2 years before the crash

   

    Lastly, my lovely boyfriend (and 'carer') jetted off to Holland a week ago on the 19th May (well slowly went there via coach..) he's gone with two friends to travel through a few places in Europe for a month. He really deserved this break after all the sacrifices he has made and continues to make for me over the last almost two years because of this crash. However as well as all the lovey dovey 'I miss him' stuff, he is my main source of leaving the house! I see my two fantastic best friends once a week and have physiotherapy and a driving lesson once a week but other than that I'm pretty stuck. I think I've made plenty of comments on how bored and stuck inside I always am but it's still rubbish! I think it's hard for people to understand what it's like being bed/house bound and not able to go out alone (I certainly wouldn't of before the crash) and I'm lucky that one day despite life long problems I will be more independent than this. But I do literally spend days on end finding rubbish to watch to fill the hours and it's very lonely. I have watched every episode of the only way is essex twice in the last two years..I'm not even going to list any others haha I regain my street cred watching Breaking Bad and Dexter with Joss!
Moaning aside I am going away for a few days in a few weeks and Joss will be back in just over 3 weeks!

Hopefully I will have slightly more interesting news in the next post, thank you for the few comments I've had lately I do LOVE getting comments :)
DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

March 2014 - Glastonbury & Harry Potter Studio Tour...

    In the last couple of weeks I have had two exciting trips out woohoo!
On the 20th March me and my lovely mom took a trip to Glastonbury in Somerset. This was especially special as it is a trip we had planned almost 2 years ago and we were due to go about 3 days after the crash. My mom said it's one of the first things I remembered when I was in intensive care after waking up from my coma and I kept getting very upset about it. I think in that sort of situation you can't possibly compute the magnitude of what's happened and what it might mean so you think of the little things like not being able to go to Glastonbury! (I think I was even upset I'd miss a hospital appointment I'd got booked by my gp..) Ironically we originally wanted to go as we hardly saw each other with her working shifts as a midwife and me being a general 19 year old with a work and social life and we have now spent the best part of 20 months together haha. We only went to the town to look at the shops and stuff but it was really nice! I used my wheelchair mostly but it's lovely to now be able to stand up and look around a shop using my stick!

The pub we had lunch in had 5 cats! Better than the 'cat cafe' we paid to visit in Budapest!  

   And on Wednesday Joss took me to the Harry Potter studios! It was my Christmas present from him but we waited until his operation was done and settled before we went. It was SO good! I'm definitely not a mad Harry Potter fan, I didn't used to queue up for the books or have to be at the first showing of each film but I have seen them all and I do love the films. (In fact Joss and I watched them all again when I came home from hospital) I think the fact the first film came out when I was 9 and the last when I was 18 means we sort of grew up with it and I admit I was a bit sad when the last film ended..
I think turning the studios into a tour was a brilliant idea and it is so well done. The sets have so much detail that they don't really feel like sets and it's a great opportunity to appreciate just how many people were part of putting the films together, and the amount of talent is insane! I definitely recommend a visit and if you do have a 'butter beer' I suggest sharing one, me and Joss did and half a cup was definitely enough! I'll just put a few of the many photo's I took up or you might be here a while...

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

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Major catchup!...

I always sit down to update this blog and then end up not writing anything so now I have loads of things to write about! 
I'm going to try and keep each thing short and sweet and rambling to a minimum..

On the 5th December (was that really almost 4 months ago?!) I jetted off to Budapest with Joss and two close friends for another 21st birthday celebration, I mean if you can't go clubbing you have to have two trips right? It was a fantastic few days but I did struggle with the wheelchair a little and had some low times thinking about how different my 21st should of been. Although the hostel was pretty wheelchair friendly and I managed to get to the bathroom there with my crutches or sticks. All in all it was great to get away with some of my biggest supports and best friends.

The trusty chair in it's 3rd country!

 

On the 23rd December I moved back up to my old upstairs bedroom after 16 months sleeping in the bedroom my parents had to make for me in our front room, in order for me to come home from hospital. I started off in that room barely able to transfer from my wheelchair into my bed with a board and with a commode in there, but it was still hard moving back upstairs. After I first went back into my room I decided to have it painted a different colour to make it easier but it still didn't feel like 'my room'. I think it's because I feel so different from the 'old' me now and I probably subconsciously thought everything would be back to normal when I went back. I'm slowly accepting I won't be exactly the same ever again, no part of my life will be the same but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. 

On Christmas eve I had an appointment with my burns and plastics consultant to review my scalp surgery (read about that here), at the review it was decided that I will have the surgery repeated to improve the size further and hopefully that will help with the pain and pulling of the hair around it. I also had some painful steroid injections into part of my shoulder scars that are hypertrophic in the hope it will break down some of the tissue and help with the pain. Most of my scars are hypertrophic..

''A hypertrophic scar is a cutaneous condition characterized by deposits of excessive amounts of collagen which gives rise to a raised scar, but not to the degree observed with keloids.^[1] Like keloids, they form most often at the sites of pimples, body piercings, cuts and burns. They often contain nerves and blood vessels. They generally develop after thermal or traumatic injury that involves the deep layers of the dermis and express high levels of TGF-β.
When a normal wound heals, the body produces new collagen fibers at a rate which balances the breakdown of old collagen. Hypertrophic scars are red and thick and may be itchy or painful. They do not extend beyond the boundary of the original wound, but may continue to thicken for up to six months. They usually improve over the one or two years, but may cause distress due to their appearance or the intensity of the itching; they can also restrict movement if they are located close to a joint.
Some people have an inherited tendency to this type of scarring'' wikipedia

The 3rd January was both the one year anniversary of me standing up and my first driving lesson since before the crash. I may need to have an automatic but I am determined to learn and pass in a manual if possible because I feel it is an advantage to be able to drive a manual if needs be. Having a car would be so helpful to me as I can't walk anywhere but could get out more independently if I could drive to my destination. It's definitely very emotionally hard being in a car and I am filled with panic but I'm focusing in how much it would aid my recovery.

The 8th January was my five year anniversary with Joss! I intend to do a full post at some point about everything he has done for me but we'll save that for a really soppy day! 

For the 16th and 17th January I was in London with mom to see a ballet as her 50th birthday present from me! I used my wheelchair for 90% of the trip but was able to use sticks to get on and off escalators without which we wouldn't have been able to use the tube at all. My barely 5ft tall mom had to carry my wheelchair while I clung on to the escalators and you would be shocked at how few people offered to help! Just being able to do that though is massive progress for me. The ballet was called La Corsaire and was a sort of pirate love story, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to be honest and the skill of the dancers is just amazing.

 

Last but certainly not least Joss had an operation on his shoulder! His first operation date was cancelled pretty much just before the anesthetist came to see him! And he ended up having it three weeks later on the 17th February (his 22nd birthday). He dislocated his collar bone in the crash which was treated with a sling and left but as it was causing him pain again 18 months on they basically pushed it back down and secured it into place with an artificial ligament. It was very painful and he wasn't allowed to drive for 5 weeks which was hard on both of us as I can't walk anywhere we were pretty stuck, but he's doing really well now and is back driving phew!

 

Now I hope this post wasn't too boring as I was trying to cram in too many things but I really am going to try and update this more often as i find it really helpful even just to myself. 

Thank you to everyone that ever reads this blog and to all the people who give me feedback on it. It gives me a place to express myself, see my progress and hopefully help any other people in the mean time. I absolutely love hearing from people and would love some comments if anyone has any :)

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

Wasting my young years

I will do a new update post soon I promise as I've had nearly 10,000 views I must have some readers?!

I heard this tonight and it got to me I just want to get my old life back! I know I will achieve a new life with so much more perspective I just want to feel like a normal 21 year old for a bit!

Scalp Operation and 21st birthday celebrations!

   I have neglected this blog for a whole month and although I only have two official followers I have had over 8500 views (If you read this blog please give me a follow!) so I apologise for that!

  On October 17th I had an operation on my scalp. You can see a full list of my injuries here but as I was run over and dragged beneath the car my helmet was broken and ripped upwards meaning my head was dragged along the tarmac.  

*Please don't anyone read this and think 'helmets are pointless then' because the car tyres drove into/over my skull before I was dragged and I don't need to go into details of what would of happened to my skull/brain if I wasn't wearing my helmet. That is also why you need to take great care of your helmet and always wear one that fits you perfectly and one that you can be certain has never been dropped.*
Obviously this left me with a large area on the right side of my scalp that was missing skin this led to half of my hair being cut and shaved to prevent infection. With intensive treatment and care the area healed over with scar tissue covering my skull up again nicely! While the outer area of scar tissue began pushing new hairs through, the deepest central area was essentially pure scar tissue from the skull up so it stayed bald and numb. My fantastic burns and plastics consultants put a plan together to remove as much of the scar as possible and try and close it up to give me a thinner scar and therefore less obvious bald patch. Too avoid expansion surgery (insertion of a balloon under the skin which is regularly filled with saline to make extra skin) they opted to just pull the two sides together after the middle was cut out meaning it could be too tight and may take more than one operation.
As always I was mostly nervous about the waking up from the anesthetic, I wrote here that I pulled myself out of the coma and as you can imagine it was an extremely terrifying experience that left me scared of falling asleep for a while and each operation is a reminder of that. The operation went ok though and although I needed a drip and some extra oxygen for a while when I woke up I was allowed home the same day. This one was very painful and I so tight I genuinely couldn't lift my right eyebrow for two weeks. Oh and I wasn't allowed to wash my hair for two weeks! I wont know until my follow up on Christmas eve whether they need to do another operation on it and I can't see it myself in a mirror but I have some photo's taken by Joss which I will include, to me they are not very gross but feel free to skip past them!

The morning of the operation (yes those are white frazzled hairs trying to grow out of it)

2 weeks after looking smaller about to get the stitches out (surgical gel not grease!)

22nd of November was my 21st birthday! My 20th birthday wasn't great and although I still couldn't go on a wild night out or anything I have come a long way since then and wanted it to be special. With some help from Joss and some friends I decided to plan a weekend away, well that soon became two weekends away with two different sets of friends! I settled on Devon for 3 nights on my actual birthday with 11 friends and Budapest two weeks later with Joss and two other close friends. I have just come back from Devon and it was brilliant! I worked my arse off in physio for the last few months which really paid off with me being able to use crutches in the house and get out of my chair and walk a distance when we went to the beach, I was so happy! I did actually have to dose up on codeine and have a nap when we got back from the beach but who cares it was brilliant!

The day before my birthday three of my best friends, Naomi, Beckie and Aaron took me to TGI Fridays in Birmingham and then to the German market and it was genuinley probably the best night I've had since the crash. They made me feel so special and made such an effort with balloons, confetti, hand made cards and a birthday cake (which involved a rather embarrassing song from the staff...) The German market was amazing too and somehow I managed to attract a polish man who took a liking to me and went off and brought me a birthday present!

I spent the morning of my birthday with my mom before Joss picked me up for the 3 hour drive to Devon. My mom is absolutely incredible she always has been and she has literally done everything for me since the crash. She had to be told I would probably die, she sat with me while I was in a coma, she rushed to me when I woke up from it at 3am, she sat in a chair next to my bed all day and night every night for the first week, she got to me at 10am every morning stayed until 2pm when Joss came drove home and came all the way back at 6pm to sit with me until 8am every single day I was in hospital and when I came home she washed me, emptied my commode and took me shouting at her when I couldn't cope anymore. She went to the effort of getting me 21 presents for my 21st birthday, not all big fancy things but lovely stuff that made me smile. One of them was even an elephant she had knitted (elephants are my favourite animal) despite only having knitted a few things before and having the kitten unravel it twice!
I hope everyone knows how grateful I am for making this birthday so special and I cannot wait for the next installment in Budapest!!!

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

''How are you?'' - Physical Update...

   Whenever I see people or bump into someone on one of my rare outings they usually ask how I am, nice right? Well yes it is nice but it's not that easy to answer. Chances are I'll just say 'fine' or 'OK thanks' or if I really am in a very bad mood maybe even 'crap' but then usually followed by 'but I'll be fine' people don't want to here things aren't going well they want you to say you're doing great and then they feel better and get on with their day and if its a quick stop and chat in the street they certainly don't need me rambling on about my recovery. I thought this would be a better place to try and explain 'how I am' with a quick (maybe not that quick) physical update.

14 MONTHS ON...

Bones - My last Xrays show that my Pelvis is knitting together well as is my spine and looking at my first Xrays compared to that one is a massive change. The first ones frankly are a mess there are a mass of breaks and the pubic rami (inner pelvic ring) is totally snapped and distorted. I still get a lot of pain in my pelvis but I'm told I always will and there is a chance I'll need a hip replacement when I'm old enough because I broke my right hip socket.
My Femur (thigh) is finally going in the right direction but 14 months on it still hasn't fully grown back. Basically when I arrived on that fateful day a large portion of my thigh bone had literally been ground to nothing so I was left with a bit of bone coming down from my hip socket and a bit coming up from my knee with a big gap in the middle (cringe I know) so I endured a massive operation whilst still in a coma and had a plate and screws put in which will stay in forever and is the length of my whole thigh.
My wrist, shoulder and jaw are doing well I still get a few niggles here and there but they healed well.

Organs - My lungs and liver have healed very well and fingers crossed they wont cause me too many problems in the future.

Face - My Septoplasty operation has made some difference however it has not totally fixed my septum so I still can't breathe fully through the left side of my nose and it may well collapse back. The person who stitched my left nostril back on deserves a medal because the scar is so neat. My bottom lip reattached itself to my gums now I have a scar running across my bottom gums which can be a nuisance when eating certain foods.

Burns/Scars - Obviously my worst scar is the exhaust burn on my back which I endured skin grafts on but I also have scars from the severe road/friction burns to my hip, shoulder and scalp, the plate in my thigh, the stitching on my nose and the lung drain holes on my sides. Most of them are hypertrophic which means the scar becomes over granulated and raised. They itch a lot and hurt in the cold. The scar on my scalp which caused me to have half of my head shaved is being operated on tomorrow...I'm very scared about that. The full thickness burn to my back is by far the biggest scar it pulls the skin around it in and is very tight around my waist. It itches and is very sore if pressure is applied. I still have to massage all of my scars with different creams multiple times a day and still have a compression garment. I don't know how I will deal with my scars when I wear the clothes I like and they are on show..

Walking - I often get asked how far I can walk and how long until I can use a walking stick etc. Basically I am now starting to use crutches around the house and have used them to get into a restaurant once. It's really hard to explain because I don't know how long it will take. I still use the wheelchair to go out to placed and I'm going away for my 21st in December and have been told I will need to take my wheelchair. At some point I will use crutches out and a tripod walking stick and a normal walking stick at home then those out and one stick at home then one stick for everything. But all of that seems far away. I have physio every week which I enjoy but if I push myself I get pain in my back, hips, leg and knee so it's tough.

If you find any of this remotely interesting and want to know anything else feel free to ask :)

DRIVESAFE, George xxx

Sep '13 - One year post discharge, Seeing my bedroom and a trip to Cadbury world...

So today - September 27th 2013 is one year since I was discharged from hospital. I explained how hard that was in this earlier post I was still naive then I thought as soon as I got home it would all be over, but really emotionally the worst was yet to come. I didn't come home in a sense, I came back to my house where I had a new room downstairs, no real toilet, I didn't wear my old clothes, I didn't look like myself, think like myself or do anything I used to do.
A year on from that date - I still use a wheelchair, I'm still having operations, I have therapy/councelling most weeks, I have physiotherapy every week, I can't leave the house alone, I still have a compression garment, I massage my scars several times a day, I'm still in pain, I have a variety of hospital appointments and my femur/thigh still hasn't grown back.

On a lighter note I went to Cadbury world last week! I haven't been in like 10 years (maybe because I'm supposed to be 20) so I was pretty excited, me and Naomi were planning to go but thought it more acceptable if we take her niece and nephew...So it ended up us two, Flynn, Lauren and Lauren's mum Helen. I have to say it was a pretty good day, I can't remember what you used to get but we got 3 bars of chocolate, a shot of melted chocolate and a cup of our choice of sweets covered in melted chocolate from a place called essence. The kids seemed to really enjoy it and the outdoor play area was massive! My ticket price was reduced because I use a wheelchair but I'd recommend it to everyone, especially if you need to entertain children for the day!

I also went in my actual bedroom for the first time since I left it the morning of 'crash day'. Something I'm not ashamed to say I've been dreading, for the first 9 months I couldn't go upstairs at all and since then I've been gradually getting up more and more but still sleep downstairs. My therapist helped me put a plan together for going in and I suppose it wasn't as bad as I thought. It was really hard seeing all my old clothes and  magazines dated the week of the accident. I went shopping with Beckie the week of the accident and there are year old clothes in there I've never had the chance to wear. The clothes I wore that day aren't there because they had to be cut off my mangled body. Probably worst of all my diary still open on that week with 'safari park with Joss!' written in it. It is like looking at someone else's stuff and it's almost like grieving for the 'old Georgia' because I feel so far away from that. I don't know if it's a good or bad thing that I thought it would all sink in when I went in there but it didn't. My therapist say's I completely disassociate from it and can easily talk about the crash as if I'm reading a script which I suppose isn't good because it really really doesn't feel real. Probably partly because I literally woke up from a coma and had to believe what I was being told with no recollection of it happening! 

My mess of a wardrobe

Quite different from my beige downstairs room

Completely unaware of what was going to happen

Year old clothes still waiting to be worn

I think I'll follow this post with one purely on my physical updates so it doesn't all get mushed together and is easier to find if anyone does happen to stumble across this blog! If you do read this blog and you don't really know me please feel free to comment and say 'Hi' I love hearing from people who have found this little blog xxx
DRIVE SAFE, George 

The rest of August '13 - Another operation, A hundred mile cycle, and an off road wheelchair...

So hopefully once this post is out I will actually be able to start posting more regularly and using this blog as the sort of online diary/awareness raiser that it is meant to be! So if you're reading this and you find it interesting or enjoyable or whatever else please give me a follow or share my little blog on twitter?

On the 4th of August my step dad took on the rather impressive challenge of cycling 100 miles, yep ONE HUNDRED miles! He took part in RideLondon in which 16,500 cyclists have taken part in a 100-mile race from Surrey to London in the UK's largest ever mass participation cycling event. Why?! I hear you ask. Well all in the name of ME! (sort of...) He completed this monumental task (in under five hours!) to raise money for the Midlands Air Ambulance. Without whom I would not be here. I don't think everyone realizes that air ambulances are run solely by charitable donations (completely crazy if you ask me) it costs £6million per year to run the life saving helicopters so raising money is SO important. My step dad raised nearly £700 and I can't wait to start fundraising when I'm back on my feet!

My MAA wristband made out of a lanyard!

Rhianna (Joss's sister and one of my best friends) came home on the 12th August after 6 weeks in Central America! She went with a group and trail leader and travelled through several countries and did awesome things like scuba diving and volcano boarding! I have to say I was very jealous, me and Joss are desperate to travel and were planning to go after I complete an apprenticeship which should of been spring 2014 it has been pushed back a fair way by this crash!

My note from Rhianna in Leon. (my mom calls me Geebs..)

Me and Joss decided to venture out on the 16th and took a trip to Birmingham for dinner. We went to Handmade Burger co. I've never been before but would definitely recommend it! The place itself was lovely and we sat outside next to the canal which was so nice and relaxed. The food was SO good, it even managed to fill Joss up before he could finish his chips which is a rare sight I can tell you!

Lovely view!

Even lovelier food! 

I took another venture out on the 20th, this time not so successful. I was meeting up with two very good friends Beckie and Naomi, and as it was still really hot I had the genius idea of taking a trip to the near by Lickey Hills...Not one of my best ideas. Before we even got to the visitors centre we had to attempt the rocky, holey car park with a wobbly wheelchair. The hill from the visitors centre felt like one of those death drop slides and as the tarmac path rapidly ended as we hit the walk ways the tree roots and rocks sprung out of nowhere. It was honestly one of the funniest days since the crash and I could hardly breathe from laughing but god knows what people must of been thinking. Three 20 year old girls one in a wheelchair falling over tree roots and resorting to going back up the visitors centre backwards..We retreated to a pub for lunch where we were attacked by wasps...

Beckie and her expert pushing skills amongst the tree roots!

On the 28th I had another operation. This time it was one I was actually due to have before the crash and should of been my first ever operation, oh how things change! It was an investigatory laparascopy to investigate some symptoms I had had for quite a few years. 'A laparoscopy is a type of surgical procedure that allows a surgeon to access the inside of the abdomen and pelvis through small incisions without having to make large incisions in the skin.'  It meant another general anesthetic but the operation took just under two hours. It ended up diagnosing me with endometriosis, something I knew was a possibility but really didn't want especially after everything that has happened it felt like the final straw. It is an incurable condition which can cause infertility which for me personally would be the worst thing ever. BUT there are lots of pain management options and it's better to know at this age than find out when you've been trying for a baby for years. I haven't had my post op appointment yet so I don't know how bad it is and on what organs, and there is nothing I can do but hope for the best and try and stay positive! The recovery was worse than I was expecting and it put a hold on my physiotherapy as I couldn't even sit up without pulling the stitches for a few days. But seriously if I could have a break and some good news soon that would be great aha :)

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

19th August 2013 - One year 'Anniversary'...

This post might end up being quite short compared to some of my (OK all of my) other posts. But I thought it was about time I posted since we have now passed the elusive 'one year anniversary'..

Firstly I feel odd using the word 'Anniversary', that implies a happy occasion I think like wedding anniversaries and '6 month' and '1 year' anniversaries that happy new couples count. But I don't know what other word to use so it will have to stick! Any suggestions greatly received!
But anyway Monday 19th August 2013 marked one year since the horrific events of Sunday 19th August 2012. The build up was awful I'm not ashamed to say I have been dreading this date pretty much since the crash happened. It's hard to explain, it's not that I'm superstitious and thought the same thing or another traumatic event would happen on it (although I can be superstitious..) it just stirred up so many emotions and fears.

I hated the idea of having to say 'August 2012' instead of 'Last August' when people ask about the crash. I thought somehow people would stop caring when it was over a year ago. I was scared I would spend the next six weeks reliving every event from the scene and hospital. I hate it when people say 'when this is over' because to me that implies that one day I'll wake up with no scars no mobility issues or impending arthritis no flash backs and no memory of this. You get the picture, in general I was terrified of this date the mere thought of it made me feel sick! But in all honesty it wasn't as bad as I thought. I cried and felt sick but I went to physio and then spent the day with Joss just relaxing together trying to keep busy. Nobody stopped caring and expected me to miraculously heal overnight because 'it had been a year' so all in all it was OK. I did have a few more flash backs and for a few days I couldn't stop thinking about what I was doing in hospital on each date - that was overshadowed when I had another operation but I'll talk about that in another post - my neighbours even sent flowers which really touched me that they remembered the date and acknowledged that I would be feeling low it was absolutely lovely!

 DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

June/July '13 - Everyone's leaving, Pub's, Parking and Nasal reconstruction...

    On the 6th June I had another trauma/orthopedics/bone review. Nothing much to report from this one, had my Xrays and my left leg is still making steady progress after being stubborn and refusing to grow back at all for 5 months!

    At the beginning of June I was preparing for 5 days without my main man Joss! He was jetting off to Amsterdam for two of his friends 21st birthdays. I'm not going to lie I was extremely jealous and especially annoyed at the driver who caused all this and meant I couldn't go! I was apprehensive as the longest I haven't seen him for since the crash is two days, for company if nothing else - I get so lonely! It also happened to coincide with my parents going to the Lake district with my grandparents for a week so I was 'fending for myself' (my 17 year old brother was here too) for the first time in 10 months. But it went fine, I missed him but I managed not to cause myself any more injuries which is a plus!

My main man in Amsterdam!

      On the 22nd June I saw the upstairs in Joss's house for the first time in 10 months! Which meant I also saw his little Gecko 'Shisha' too! I took my crutches to his house so I could get upstairs using the same method as at home. 

An old photo of Shisha having a bath!

And one of his bearded dragon so he doesn't feel left out!

     For the last 10 months (minus time in hospital) I have been having to ask at bars and reception areas for the key to places disabled toilet. Not all of them have keys but a lot do and I didn't have my own! But I finally got one and so decided (now I don't have to ask to use the loo!) to venture to the pub on a Friday night for the first time since the crash on the 28th June. It didn't go as well as planned, it was really overwhelming being in such a busy pub and I felt really self conscious. Partly due to the wheelchair and partly due to my hair and general appearance I felt like I looked so different to the last time I was in there. It also didn't help that I still couldn't go to the loo alone because the door is SO heavy I wouldn't be able to get out. Why would you make a disabled toilet door the weight of an elephant?! And I didn't feel I could drink too much partly for fear of hurting my poor liver that has had enough of a rough year being burst! and because I felt too vulnerable in my chair. Anyway I shed a lot of tears on the way back to Joss's (my house is too far from town) but hopefully it will only get easier, now I've done the first time.

My new toilet key!

     On the 12th July I had my first operation since leaving hospital. One of my injuries was my nose, most obviously the left nostril was pretty much torn off (I've been told that it looked like a skeleton face where there's just a hole instead of a nose, which is hard to hear) luckily that was one of the first things addressed at hospital and was stitched back on before I was even found a bed in Intensive Care. THANK YOU whoever did that for me. Clearly my nose took a lot of force and this meant that my septum (the inside partition in the centre of your nose) was bent out of shape meaning I couldn't breathe from the left side. So on the 12th July that was finally reconstructed! It was really emotional being back in a gown in a bed being wheeled down by the nurse and it brought back so much. The worst part was coming round afterwards (I explained Here that I pulled myself out of a coma in ITU at 3am not knowing where I was unable to move which was the worst time of my life and I still have nightmares about it) I woke up after the operation while they were removing the tube from my throat which sent me straight back to that and in my sedated state I really freaked out. Once I was back on the ward I was ok though, my nose really hurt and I felt groggy but after 5 hours I was allowed to go home. I had packing in my nose and swelling so I couldn't breathe through my nose at all which as I happened to get it done during a heat wave was not great! I ended up sleeping sat up with a straw in my mouth so I didn't shut my mouth and wake myself up! And I couldn't taste a thing for almost two weeks which was not good! I also had to wear a really attractive bandage under my nose for 10 days to catch blood and protect against infection. Luckily it was all done internally so they made no incisions on the outside and my stitches will stay in about 6 weeks and then come out by themselves! Watch this space to see if the operation worked!  

Probably the worst photo ever taken of me - back on the ward

Other events of note in June/July...

• I started Yoga at home with an amazing instructor, lot's of sitting on a ball and breathing!
• I started psychotherapy/Counselling at a private practice thanks to my occupational health team.
• I dyed my hair for the first time since the crash and although it was distressing having half the amount of hair I felt better after it.
• Me and Joss had joint therapy sessions.
• I got MAD at the council after they rejected our appeal against a disabled parking charge (this will get it's very own post soon!)
• Joss's sister/one of my best friends Rhianna left for 6 weeks to go on a trip to central America :(
• The UK had a heatwave, like an actual heatwave with actual heat!

Picnic in the park with Naomi, Beckie and Ella!

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx

May '13 - Katie Piper, Sarah Millican and a Shower in my own house!...

    I'm going to start May off with another strange - 'wheelchair reaction' shall we call it? It was around the 4th May I think and me and Joss went to Kidderminster to meet some friends (It was a bit emotional actually because stupidly I didn't realise it was the first part of the route we took to get to and from the safari park that day and we had to park near the mcdonalds we stopped at on the way home) 
Anyway we went for a drink and as we left the pub and headed down the high street at around 6pm we encountered a rather drunk lady. I could tell she was going to come over and she did. She kept looking at me, and after complimenting Joss on his shorts...Decided to turn on a very patronising voice and pull a sad face and ask why I was in a wheelchair. I told her very briefly about the crash and hoped she would leave. Instead she said 'oh my god' a lot and then decided to hold my hand...so as we were trying to leave and Joss was pushing me she was walking along side holding my hand eventually she stopped and said a few more 'oh my god' 'how awful' type things and then hugged me so tight I actually thought my jaw might crack again!  
If anyone who reads this has any funny/strange wheelchair or disability reactions please comment or send them me on twitter I would love to read them! https://twitter.com/1992_georgia

   On the 9th May I went upstairs in my house for the first time in over 8 months! I have been having physiotherapy since I was in hospital and it has progressed from using a machine to bend my leg at the very beginning to finally being able to begin weight-bearing 5 months later. 3 months on from that I can finally begin to use steps/stairs. To do this we have had to have railings and bars built in our home to allow me to get up them. Now they are built, I use one crutch and have the other arm holding the left hand rail and using right foot first can get up one step at a time. I'm not allowed to do it without someone following me with their arms braced across the rails in case I fall because I'm pretty unsteady on my feet! It was very weird seeing upstairs again, my bedroom door is directly ahead at the top of the stairs and is covered in so many pictures/stickers/leaflets (even a first class train head rest cover..) from when I was about 16 it was like looking at someone else's door. I couldn't face going into my room just yet I think that will be quite hard.

Here I am at the top of the stairs! 

   On May 15th I had my FIRST shower in my own home for 8 months 3 weeks and 5 days. The last time I was in there I was getting ready for the safari park. We originally thought I'd be able to get upstairs in November 2012 so to finally be allowed 6 months later than that was a big achievement! I got some great equipment from my occupational therapist so as long as someone helps me up and downstairs I can shower independently!

My shower equipment in my own bathroom!

    A while ago I was contacted by the Katie Piper Foundation (KPF) after speaking to another girl online who was left with bad scarring after a road accident. I was invited by the KPF to begin attending their events which I was really happy about because I'm not sure how to deal with my burns and scars emotionally. On the 19th May I attended my first event which was a pamper day at a very nice salon in Birmingham. I had my hair trimmed to sort out any split ends which was great because I'm very self concious of the fact that it is so uneven and there is a big scar in the middle of one side so to have someone do it in that environment made me feel more at ease. I had my make up done by a fantastic volunteer who was really funny and you didn't feel like you were there because you had something horrible happen. Katie piper herself painted my nails and we were given amazing goody bags with scar treatment and sun cream as well as really fancy make up for free! It was also the first time in exactly 9 months I've done anything remotely independent as Joss was able to just drop me off and then pick me up at the end. 

   On the 23rd May me and Joss took a little 'road trip' to Manchester together. One of my birthday presents this year was Sarah Millican's DVD and I decided I really wanted to see her live. I was trying to persuade Joss to take me to her 2013/2014 tour when I received an email with links to tickets for her warm up gigs! £7 to see her and 3 other comedians in small venues, yes please! I opted for Manchester as it was the closest and told Joss I'd buy his ticket if he got the car for the weekend which he did. So on the first day we found our hotel (good old premier inn) and got something to eat after wheeling round Manchester city centre before going to see her at the Frog and Bucket. It was a great place, a small bar/venue but they were great about the wheelchair and we had a really good table with a good view but not in the way. It was a brilliant night and the acts were hilarious. The next day we went to the War Museum and had a peek at the TV studios before we headed back. All in all a very good weekend! In fact a pretty good month!

DRIVE SAFE, George xxx