In February 2024, Ian slipped on ice outside a supermarket, he could not prevent hitting the ground, his head narrowly missed a metal bar. Ian picked himself up and carried on, thinking nothing of the fall.
Within days, Ian started to experience some pain in his left leg, thinking it was just bruising and would heal quickly. The pain didn’t go away, it started to worsen, mainly in Ian’s left knee. As time went by, Ian developed a limp (antalgic gait).
Late March, Ian contacted his G.P. who referred him to a physiotherapist. The physio gave Ian a leaflet with instructions for exercises he should do to try to alleviate the pain. The exercises provided no benefit pain wise, the pain just got worse.
Sometimes trying to get an appointment to see a G.P. is nigh on impossible. Ian got a telephone appointment in early May, but they denied him pain relief even though he had explained his pain. Another 2 weeks go by, and Ian calls the G.P. surgery again, asking to see a doctor, on this occasion, he was lucky and got to see an ‘out of hours’ doctor, who prescribed some pain medication.
Time passes, with the pain still worsening and now affecting his sleep, Ian again asks to see a doctor. At this appointment in June 2024, Ian asks if could he have an x-ray done on his left knee. His knee was x-rayed, the x-ray results came back, and there was nothing wrong with his left knee.
Ian contacted his G.P. during both August and September seeking some pain relief, with little luck, till he managed to see another out of hours doctor who did prescribe some pain medication and referred him to a specialist to try to work what was causing the pain. The specialist scheduled Ian’s appointment for November, which was a problem, how to cope with pain till then?
The pain had been affecting Ian’s daily life; meant that very little around the home was completed in 2024, though between them Ian and Sandra managed to install another solar panel, details of which are on page Solar PV – part 3.
Finally, the November appointment arrived, and Ian saw the consultant who thought the knee pain was actually coming from Ian’s left hip, so they requested and performed x-rays of the hip, though it was 2 weeks before Ian got the report. The report confirmed Ian’s left hip was the source of the pain, and he was then scheduled to see another consultant mid-January 2025.
The appointment in January was with a Consultant Trauma & Orthopaedic Surgeon. The surgeon presented Ian with two options during this appointment: do nothing or receive a total hip replacement.
Originally, they scheduled the surgery for March 2025, with pre-operation tests planned for early March, but a scheduling issue with the anaesthetist caused them to reschedule the surgery for the first week of April. Ian had surgery and was discharged the following day after he walked ‘the stairs’.
As far as Ian is concerned, 2024 was a lost year
The joint pain caused a lack of motivation and apathy