A familiar view

Arth: "I didn't want to go to the hospital this morning and I wished I had taken ear plugs"
Aggie: "Don't be a wuss. Remember, the nurse said that anyone who says it hurts when the clips are removed is a wuss!"
Arth: "I don't think she was very sympathetic and I didn't like what the physio said about having to do your exercises until you have tears in your eyes either."

I took Arth and Aggie for a "physio education" session in Newcastle this morning. By and large it was what I expected, but I would have liked a bit more positivity. Words like "It will all be worthwhile because the outcomes are nearly always very good" would have helped.

To be fair, the nurse and physio were on a hiding to nothing, because different consultants have different ways of doing things. 

You may or may not have:
compression stockings ( for 0 or 4 or 6 weeks)
compression bootees (but there is a national shortage and there are none at this hospital)
receive a femoral nerve block
receive anticoagulants by injection or aspirin by mouth
have clips out after 2 weeks or 3 weeks (the latter is me)
go home at 1, 2 or 3 days
and so on.

Where is the evidence based medicine I wonder?

The nurse did say they have done research to show that drinking lots of water helps. So that's good. (I did not dare ask where it was published...)

The physio said that if we were not walking outside by 1 week, we were not doing the exercises.

When it came to the end, there was a brief moment when we could ask questions. Since no one piped up immediately the session came to a quick end.

I'm sure it will all be OK. I had things to ask and I'm probably more worried than average because I know too much.

The rain poured down this morning and the first day of the big walk, The John Wesley Way, set off from Middleton in Teesdale. I hope it dried up for them.

Here, the rain stopped at lunchtime. In the late afternoon I walked down to Chollerford, met some delightful Hadrian's Trail walkers and took this image of the bridge.

PS Arth has brightened up when I offered to open a bottle of red! (He heard the nurse tell another patient that he would not be allowed alcohol whilst on painkillers. Julie please note - no smuggling in small bottles of wine!!)