Today I had op 2 of 3. This one was to look at the legs to see what extra work, if any, needed to be done and do any prep work for the final op.
I don't recall the time of day, but remember being wheeled in by bed from ward A2, to the Prep Room adjacent to the operating theater. I remember the nurse from the day before being on my left side, and two anesthetists to my right preparing the anesthetic. One of the anesthetists started asking me a list questions and, although I cannot remember any of them, I remember thinking 'this is where I fall asleep on half way though question four'. The questions ended, I asked if they had any more as I wasn't asleep yet, then I must have actually gone under as I don't remember anything apart from waking up in my bed back in A2 a few hours later.
When I woke up, the first thing I remember seeing was the nurse that was with me earlier. I then remember feeling the staples in my legs, not a painful feeling, just a sensation of something around the middle of my thigh - the middle as in across the middle horizontally, not vertically - felt a bit weird, but not painful as such.
Next I remember the phantom sensation everyone talks about with amputees. There is definitely a difference between phantom 'feeling' and phantom 'pain'. The best way to describe it is as though all the hairs are standing up on your legs, then someone is gently pushing just in front of the balls of your feet and blowing across your toes - not that unpleasant to be honest.
I remember a few wires to my side - a button to deliver morphine set on a 3 minute delay, i.e. once I'd pressed it I had to wait before I could press it again. Next there were two 'drains' in the bottom of my legs. Basically these are tubes, about a centimeter wide, inserted into my legs. The tubes are then linked to small rectangular bags either side of me; gradually the bags fill up with liquid and every few hours they get measured and emptied. The final two wires were inserted in each leg under the dressings and routed back to two bags of medication (not sure of the name) behind my bed. Finally there was a catheter inserted in my bladder as I couldn't get out of bed to use the loo, the bowl 'movements' hadn't started yet luckily.
After a few minutes a surgeon appeared to let me know the op went well. He said I'd also need another op on Monday as my left leg was on the kneecap and had to be shortened to just above the knee, and my right leg had to be tidied up a bit more due to bone injuries.
Later that night I was moved from Ward A3 to A2. A2 is a smaller room with four beds, each one occupied by a patient with neurological or trauma injuries. I remember one of the guys opposite had a stab wound (trauma injury) and the others had fallen after passing out and had difficulty with their memory (neurological injury). I can't remember what I had to eat that night and currently can't find the menu to jog my memory (the menu changes every two weeks so you get an idea what you'll be having to eat for the foreseeable future!).
Wednesday 30 January 2013
Waking Up in A3
I don't remember anything between being knocked out in the ambulance to waking up the next morning in a trauma ward, ward A3, in Addenbrookes. I vaguely remember the act of waking up and pulling a tube from my mouth, although that may be my brain recalling a scene from the original Matrix movie.
The whole day currently seems like a blur, however I remember my brother and mother being there on the day. I remember having sausages and mash for dinner and peeing though a catheter; as I mentioned before this is a guts and all blog ;-)
I remember a number of other patients being in the same room and talking to a nurse, whose name I cannot remember. UPDATE - her name was Becky (things are slowly coming back after a few months).
I've since been told that I went through emergency surgery on Day 0 as I lost a lot of blood, and that I was quite 'agitated' on arrival. After questioning the surgeon, 'agitated' translates to trying to rip my breathing tube out and generally throwing a massive tantrum, all of which I don't remember!
Last memory of the day was being told I'd need another op the following day to look at and tidy up the renaming legs as much as possible.
This is the first image I remember seeing after waking up (so I took a photo!) - I wasn't particularly bothered by the sight and came to terms with what had happened almost immediately; whether that was the drugs, my mind not believing it or simply that I had taken it all in we'll never know.
The whole day currently seems like a blur, however I remember my brother and mother being there on the day. I remember having sausages and mash for dinner and peeing though a catheter; as I mentioned before this is a guts and all blog ;-)
I remember a number of other patients being in the same room and talking to a nurse, whose name I cannot remember. UPDATE - her name was Becky (things are slowly coming back after a few months).
I've since been told that I went through emergency surgery on Day 0 as I lost a lot of blood, and that I was quite 'agitated' on arrival. After questioning the surgeon, 'agitated' translates to trying to rip my breathing tube out and generally throwing a massive tantrum, all of which I don't remember!
Last memory of the day was being told I'd need another op the following day to look at and tidy up the renaming legs as much as possible.
This is the first image I remember seeing after waking up (so I took a photo!) - I wasn't particularly bothered by the sight and came to terms with what had happened almost immediately; whether that was the drugs, my mind not believing it or simply that I had taken it all in we'll never know.
Day 0 - Wednesday Jan 9th 2013
Im writing most of this part from memory, I've only just started this blog and it's already the Wednesday 30th Jan. Once again, Im writing this to document my journey (so posts may be quite long and detailed) and hopefully help others.
After being run over (don't like using the word 'hit' as that may bring up other images), I remember shouting out for help while laying face down between the edge of the platform and the nearest rail.
After what seemed like no time at all I heard a man's voice shout to the station workers to 'stop the trains'. Fortunately as the station is overground, the track power lines are overhead so there was no risk of electrocution for me or the rescuers.
Once the trains were stopped, the man joined me on the track and reassured me that I was going to be ok. I was fully conscious during the event (although even now I cannot remember the actual act of slipping and falling beneath the train) and managed to give the man, whose face I still couldn't see, some vital information like my name and age. I knew my mum was waiting outside the station to pick me up, so I was able to give her mobile number (probably not the best idea in hindsight as if they called it she would freak out), car reg (got the wrong car though, hers was in for a service).
After a few seconds, if not immediately, he shouted to other commuters to find belts so he could fashion tourniquets around my legs. Instead of just handing the 'equipment' two other people jumped onto the track behind me and held the belts in place. I knew something was up with my legs so asked for a scarf to be placed round my eyes.
The emergency services arrived a few minutes later. Looking at photos my mum took of the station car park, it seems all three major services were there - police to keep people away and manage the public, fire brigade to move me off the track and an ambulance to take me away to hospital.
I remember being rolled onto a large white plastic board, while still on the track, then being strapped onto it - two straps diagonally around my chest, and one laterally across my groin. I then though 'how the hell are they going to get me off the track'…after all there are no steps intended for such a situation. Luckily there were enough people to lift me and the board onto the platform, then carry me from the platform to the waiting ambulance. I distinctly remember peaking though the bottom of the scarf around my eyes and seeing a man in a full face helmet as I looked up.
I don't remember a lot about being in the ambulance - someone warned me of a bump, that must have meant I was transferred to a bed with wheels before entering the ambulance. Once inside I remember looking up and peaking around. I've never seen the inside of an ambulance before, but remember the side of the vehicle was directly to my left. To my right was a female media who was starting to cut off my jumper and what was left of my trousers. That's about all I remember until Day 1, from what I've since been told, I was pumped with ketamine and rushed off to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge.
Outside in the station car park, my mum was wondering what was happening due to all the emergency vehicles. She tried calling my mobile and got no reply so decided to see what was going on. At the same time a police officer had been sent to look for her and keep her away from the scene. The officer found her within seconds and radioed in to say he'd 'found the mother'. Naturally she was pretty keen to find out what was going on - eventually she got herself locked in a police car after being told that I was alive and talking. She was then driven to the local police station, joined by a friend and worked out that the accident involved my legs by questioning the officers looking after her.
This is the photo mum took and sent to my phone, before she knew they were for me!
After being run over (don't like using the word 'hit' as that may bring up other images), I remember shouting out for help while laying face down between the edge of the platform and the nearest rail.
After what seemed like no time at all I heard a man's voice shout to the station workers to 'stop the trains'. Fortunately as the station is overground, the track power lines are overhead so there was no risk of electrocution for me or the rescuers.
Once the trains were stopped, the man joined me on the track and reassured me that I was going to be ok. I was fully conscious during the event (although even now I cannot remember the actual act of slipping and falling beneath the train) and managed to give the man, whose face I still couldn't see, some vital information like my name and age. I knew my mum was waiting outside the station to pick me up, so I was able to give her mobile number (probably not the best idea in hindsight as if they called it she would freak out), car reg (got the wrong car though, hers was in for a service).
After a few seconds, if not immediately, he shouted to other commuters to find belts so he could fashion tourniquets around my legs. Instead of just handing the 'equipment' two other people jumped onto the track behind me and held the belts in place. I knew something was up with my legs so asked for a scarf to be placed round my eyes.
The emergency services arrived a few minutes later. Looking at photos my mum took of the station car park, it seems all three major services were there - police to keep people away and manage the public, fire brigade to move me off the track and an ambulance to take me away to hospital.
I remember being rolled onto a large white plastic board, while still on the track, then being strapped onto it - two straps diagonally around my chest, and one laterally across my groin. I then though 'how the hell are they going to get me off the track'…after all there are no steps intended for such a situation. Luckily there were enough people to lift me and the board onto the platform, then carry me from the platform to the waiting ambulance. I distinctly remember peaking though the bottom of the scarf around my eyes and seeing a man in a full face helmet as I looked up.
I don't remember a lot about being in the ambulance - someone warned me of a bump, that must have meant I was transferred to a bed with wheels before entering the ambulance. Once inside I remember looking up and peaking around. I've never seen the inside of an ambulance before, but remember the side of the vehicle was directly to my left. To my right was a female media who was starting to cut off my jumper and what was left of my trousers. That's about all I remember until Day 1, from what I've since been told, I was pumped with ketamine and rushed off to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge.
Outside in the station car park, my mum was wondering what was happening due to all the emergency vehicles. She tried calling my mobile and got no reply so decided to see what was going on. At the same time a police officer had been sent to look for her and keep her away from the scene. The officer found her within seconds and radioed in to say he'd 'found the mother'. Naturally she was pretty keen to find out what was going on - eventually she got herself locked in a police car after being told that I was alive and talking. She was then driven to the local police station, joined by a friend and worked out that the accident involved my legs by questioning the officers looking after her.
This is the photo mum took and sent to my phone, before she knew they were for me!
Welcome To My Blog
Hi All,
Here is a photo of me in my wheelchair next to my bed on Ward J2, taken on Jan 23rd. The purple sheet behind is part of a sling the nurses used to get me from the bed to the chair. The wheelchair is actually pretty comfy, there's an air cushion that I sit on and wheeling about is a lot easier than I thought.
The following link is to a local newspaper website that reported my story. It goes into more depth about the event than I have here if anyone is interested in a bit of background information:
http://www.hertsandessexobserver.co.uk/News/Bishops-Stortford/Commuters-courage-after-horrific-train-injury-17012013.htm
Thanks for reading,
My name is Matt. I've decided to start this blog to record my journey to recovery after an incident a few weeks ago - Wed Jan 9th 2013 to be exact - and as lot of friends and family (and members of the public) have been asking about how I'm doing in hospital.
To put it in simple terms, I owe my life to three people I've never met before, but happened to be the right people, in the right place, at the right time. I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for me, as I feel ecstatic to be alive, I only hope people see how fortunate I was to have these people come to my assistance while putting their own safety at risk.
Up until a few weeks ago I was a regular commuter from Bishop's Stortford station in Hertfordshire to Liverpool Street station in Central London. I have worked in a Bank in various roles for 8 years since I was 21.
On Jan 9th, I caught the train home as usual, however managed to leave my wallet, that contained my season ticket, on the train...as I went back to collect the wallet I managed to slip between the platform and the train as it was pulling away (not drunk honest!). Unfortunately the angle of my landing meant that my legs were caught in front of the train wheels of one of the rear carriages and as the train pulled away, so did my legs.
As the train left I was left stranded on the track, bleeding heavily from the ends of my legs. That's when my three rescuers stepped in to put tourniquets on my legs to stem the blood loss until the emergency services arrived. I was fully conscious during the whole event, but felt no pain - Im not a very religious person, but thank God for adrenaline.
A few weeks have passed since then and I now feel this is the right time to start writing about what happened, my thoughts, feelings etc. A number of people have suggested I do this to help understand what happened and what is going to happen, and I hope this is useful to anyone else who may know someone or be someone going through the same experience.
The following link is to a local newspaper website that reported my story. It goes into more depth about the event than I have here if anyone is interested in a bit of background information:
http://www.hertsandessexobserver.co.uk/News/Bishops-Stortford/Commuters-courage-after-horrific-train-injury-17012013.htm
Thanks for reading,
Matt :-)
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