Day 3

Last night I had a pain in the back of my ankle that I can only describe as akin to being stabbed with a searing hot poker. I'm not really sure what was going on there- I guess that it has something to do with the hamstring graft, but I wasn't really expecting pain not in my knee.

I have been trying to get an appointment with my GP to discuss my return to work, and to ask a few questions about the pain and the swelling. I would feel a lot happier if I could just check with a medical professional that what is happening with my leg is within normal limits and there isn't anything to be worried about. I haven't been able to get an appointment with a doctor and I've been told the next available appointment is the 1st of July, which is pretty useless. The literature that I was given from the hospital says that you will be visited by a nurse to change your bandages and check up on you, but I was told I would need to change my own bandages because I guess budget pressures have dispensed with that service. It's a bit of shame, just for the purpose of being reassured if nothing else, and maybe spotting the person who is experiencing problems once every so often, but well, that's how it is.

I know that it has only been a few days since the surgery, but it is hard not to get frustrated with everything being so slow. Everything takes a really long time at the moment- getting up, getting around, and everything seems to take a lot more effort that usual, not least because I'm having to consciously secure my balance all the time.

I've continued with the physio but I'm yet to see improvement (I know it's been a couple of days since I started), but I'm hoping that this is one of those things that is slow at first and then really picks up the pace.

To stop myself from getting too down in the dumps I've spent a little time sat in the garden sun until it got cloudy because the summer doesn't seem to have properly arrived despite it being LATE JUNE.