Back to work!

Bone is healing nicely

Dissolving stitch escaping!

Very quick update! After eight weeks off work, I can return to work, on a phased return for two weeks.
I saw the physio and fracture registrar on Wednesday. Physio was good, he said I should be able to push it a bit more now and my length of recovery is now limited to how much pain I can stand. I'm pretty good with pain so its "light the blue touch paper!"
When I saw the fracture registrar, it wasn't such good news. He is very pleased with the bone recovery and the fracture is healing very well.
The wound is a little different. As you can see from the second photo, there is still some swelling which becomes tingly sometimes and has been painful.
The reason is right in the middle of this photo. If you look about one inch above the elbow you can see a small black stitch which is trying to escape! One of the dissolving stitches obviously doesn't like the party and my body is rejecting it by forcing it out of the scar. This has possibly led to an infection which is causing the swelling. He told me to go to my GP and ask them to look at it.
He advised me not to use ibuprofen or diclofenec (which I haven't anyway) because they inhibit bone growth. He suggested I use paracetamol and keep the dose regular as that is how they work best.
I have to comment on the fantastic volunteer staff at Pinderfields. The folk in the main atrium are very helpful and put a smile on everyone's face - I think it must be a competition that they have because every person they interact with leaves with a smile. Fantastic, thank you and well done!
My GP may not share that view! She wasn't very happy that the registrar had referred me to her when he could have issued the antibiotics. Fair point I suppose, but I do feel like a pawn in the NHS chess game sometimes!
Of course the antibiotics have upset my stomach so I wont be far away from a toilet in the next few days!
Looking forward to work, I have met with our fantastic HR manager and made arrangements and they have been most accommodating. Hopefully I will have a meeting with occupational health on the morning of my return and we have already ordered a new desk which will be shoe horned into my classroom. I'm not sure how easily I will be able to fasten my shirt, but I can wear a polo shirt.

3D printing

Prusa Mendel printer (from www.reprap.org)

Annoying!
Ive finally got round to a "deep clean" of my office, including the dozen or so boxes of old computer bits and various forgotten about projects.
One of those projects was a 3D repstrap printer which I probably got about half way through. A quick google shows that things have really come on a lot so I think its time to resurrect this project and finish it off.
3D printers consist of various blocks that are almost plug and play (think of it as object orientated hardware)
There is the main board, the CPU of the system and associated stepper motor drivers, heating element drivers, switch sensors etc.
There is the physical hardware that hold three stepper motors at ninety degrees to each other and move a carriage across the printing plane.
There is the print head, usually a heating element and a "pump" that forces a plastic into the heated chamber and out of a small nozzle. The printhead (extruder) has a thermistor that measures the temperature accurately.
Of course, this is a vastly simplified version of events!
I had bought and assembled several bits of electronics, namely a sanguino board (similar to an arduino), and three stepper motor drivers.
When I plugged everything together and tried to run a program, one of the stepper motors wasn't turning. This turned out to be a burnt out L297 chip which these boards were prone to. My choice is to replace the chip and carry on, or just buy a complete set of electronics for a new set up. In any case to get my current printer working will need me to buy another stepper motor driver (for the extruder printhead) and an extruder assembly.
Im going to opt for a complete set of electronics which will work out far cheaper in the long run. The old style of electronics were expensive and things have mover on considerably. You can now buy a microstepping stepper motor driver for £10 and a full set of electronics for £120
Initially, you create a "repstrap" printer which is a working printer that has some components bodged together using various bits of hardware. You then get the repstrap to print a replacement set of components and then rebuild the whole printer using replicated components.
Should keep me busy through the Summer!

Recovering

There has been some talk in the papers recently about the painkiller Tramadol . Its widely used in muscular and orthopaedic injuries. After some discussions (see "Snap 2"), I was given 16 Tramadol (two days at maximum dose) and two days worth of Diclofenac, another painkiller that reduces swelling.

I needed to organise a sick note for work, so I booked an appointment at my GP in Horbury. She knew I had been to hospital but didn't know what for as the notes hadn't arrived. She gave me a three week note which would take me up to half term and I was hopeful that I could return to work after then. She also gave me 200 Tramadol and diclofenac!

Tramadol are an opiate based drug that are widely available. Initially they certainly remove the pain but after a few hours the side effects make you extremely tired and you have strange dreams and even start talking to inanimate objects! I did need the maximum dose for a few days but as soon as I could I reduced the dose to the minimum. after a few weeks I was just taking them before bedtime. I switched to paracetamol and ibuprofen as my main weapon.

It was great not having a pot on, as it allowed me to move the arm as much as possible. By the time I went to fracture clinic (a week after the op), I could rotate my wrist about 75% of normal but using the elbow was very hard and my movement was restricted.

Two weeks later and I had some very bad news! My wrist movement was completely back to normal but the elbow hadn't improved at all. The physiotherapist really pushed it hard and it was extremely painful. I was told it was unlikely that I would regain full movement, and that I wouldn't be able to ride again. I was also told to stay off until my next appointment,

I called in at work the next day. Everyone was fantastic, right from the head to my colleagues in the Maths and ICT staffroom and I felt greatly valued and supported. 

When I said that I wanted to return after half term, the general advice was that I should listen to my doctors! My GP confirmed that it wouldn't be sensible to return early and so I have another four weeks off work!

I am gradually working on the elbow movement but it is really painful and I have to occasionally hit the dreaded Tramadol tablets which just knock me out. I am determined to ride my bike to work when I return!

Nexus 7 Aluminium Keyboard and Case

Mini Laptop?

Just a quick review of a new case I got for my Nexus this week.
The case is available from several outlets, but Infinite Zone sell it for the very good price of £13.99 and delivered it two days after my order.
This review is going to be quite easy, it one of the "does what it says on the tin" kind of situations. This keyboard is good quality, similar to a high end laptop although obviously much smaller. It connects easily via Bluetooth and is therefore completely wireless and doesn't need to touch the Nexus 7 in order for it to work.  The keyboard needs a separate charger which can be a problem - I am going to investigate some form of "Y" lead to split the normal micro USB into two.
Normally, you sit the nexus 7 on top of the keyboard which makes what is basically a small laptop. I thought that I would miss a mouse or touch-pad, but actually it is very easy just to touch the screen when you need to.
As a keyboard, I would rate it as 8/10, the only limiting factor is the smaller form factor, but unless you want to carry a large keyboard around with you, I dont see how this could be improved. The keyboard also makes a very good nightstand with the Nexus at just the right angle for bedside clock, if that tickles your fancy.
As a case, it is very good. The style of the cover is identical to the Nexus 7 so you effectively get a double sided Nexus 7 that can cope with most of the rigours that the Nexus is likely to encounter when in your pocket of bag. The Nexus clips into the cover but is easily unclipped. It does add to the bulk quite a lot, making the combined tablet and case 20mm thick as opposed to 10.5mm for just the Nexus. It does mean that if you use the Nexus as a normal tablet and just use the cover for protection when not in use, then you will be using the beautifully thin and light Nexus on its own, a definite advantage compared to other case designs.
Weight is also a factor, the combined tablet and case are 550g compared to just 340g for the Nexus on its own. I don't see this as an issue, as the combined weight isn't too bad and you wouldn't really notice it when you are carrying it around. Its a different story when you are using the tablet though, but as I have already said, you use the tablet completely uncovered so it isn't really a problem.
As a case, I would rate this as 8/10 - it provides good protection but could be lighter, which would probably mean it would be as good as a cover!
So, two scores of 8/10 would surely mean that I give this case 8/10 overall, but I would actually go one higher and say 9/10. The whole concept of a mini laptop and also the very high build quality without adding to the cost make this cover a steal.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Slim-Mobile-Bluetooth-Wireless-Aluminum-Keyboard-Case-for-Google-Nexus-7-/390528385359?ssPageName=ADME:L:OU:GB:3160

Snap part 2

Pinderfields

The time is flying by, I'm very tired and sleep quite a lot which is a poor excuse for leaving part 2 so long!
Once I had been robed up, the nurse walked me through to the pre-op room and I laid down on the bed. It was obvious that her role was to monitor my condition and engage me in mindless banter. The two anaesthetists used ultrasound to locate the nerves in my neck and shoulder and block them one at a time with an injection.
They worked quickly and very skilfully but when they took the pot off my arm, I was surprised to find that I could still feel it, in fact it was quite painful. They were too!
The pre-op room is a short corridor with a double door at each end. My bed was pushed through the second set of doors into the theatre. There were half a dozen people in there, all busy with their own tasks. A stand was fitted to the bed just above my chest and I gathered that my arm was going to be strapped to that whilst they did the operation. The problem was the anaesthetic wasn't blocking the pain, my arm had gone numb but I could still feel my whole arm. They gave me an injection and asked me how I was - nothing to report.
What seemed like sixty seconds later I was in a recovery ward with about thirty other patients, all post-op!

The broken olecranon
is clearly visible here

A view from above

After the op

Four torsion bands

23 metal clips and a lovely scar

Not only had I no recollection of the operation, but I didn't even remember drifting off to sleep! I'm really very glad as I think it would have been an awful experience having your elbow opened up a few inches in front of your face! The operation seems to involve exposing the joint and fitting the metalwork and that isn't going to be pleasant!
I could feel my fingers but the strange thing was I couldn't move them, no matter how hard I tried.
I can only describe the sensation of post-op as euphoria. You seem to be floating in a lovely warm cloud!
After a while, they moved me to a separate room on a different ward. The nurse kept coming in every half an hour or so and doing my observations and she said it was all looking good. I was still very sleepy when they moved me into a ward with three other patients.
My overall impression with Pinderfields is extremely good. The teams of staff were proficient, well equipped, extremely skilful and above all, gave me first class treatment. A&E in particular were superb and the fracture clinic and physio clinic were first class. You can probably guess that there is a "but" coming here!
At seven pm, they gave me a huge antibiotic injection and said it was the first of three which were to be given every six hours. I fell asleep as soon as the lights were turned off and woke up at three minutes to one. No point in falling back to sleep, I thought, as they will be giving me another jab soon. The ward was extremely quiet and I couldn't hear anyone moving about so at about 2am, I buzzed the nurse and asked her about my antibiotic. She said they had been very busy with admissions and that she would bring it.

Nice card from work!

I woke up at seven am in quite a lot of pain. The nurse gave me two codeine tablets and said that the drugs run would be round at eight am so I could have more then if I needed it. As it happened, the run came round much later and they only gave me one tablet despite me asking for more. The arm was quite painful!
The man in the bed next to me was admitted at the same time. He had fallen into a trench and got his foot caught, badly breaking several bones in his ankle. He was in agony and they gave him some morphine. This worked and he went to sleep. A few hours later he woke up and asked the nurse for some more pain relief and was told that the drug trolley would be around at dinner time. When it came around they said there wasn't any for him and that they would check. They didn't and when I left the ward at six pm, he still hadn't been given any!
The doctor confirmed I could go home just after dinner. I asked the nurse what pain relief I would be given and she said she would check. Initially, they said I would have codeine which I knew wouldn't be strong enough so I asked for something stronger. I was in quite a lot of pain but they couldn't give me anything because my notes had been sent down to the pharmacy.

Looking wasted1

My wife arrived but I couldn't really talk to her very much because of the discomfort. When the nurse eventually brought me a pack of drugs to take home, she was very dismissive and said that she thought we were "having a go at her". Something was very wrong that day, pain relief is essential and it wasn't being properly managed! I was also concerned that when it was tie to go home, they just said "theres your drugs, you can go". I wasn't told what to expect, when they would be in touch, what to do and what not to do etc.
Its a real shame because I would rate the rest of my experience at Pinderfields very highly.
As I can type (slowly!), Ill add another post in a couple of days about how the recovery is going.