Just when I thought it can’t get any worse
it did. I wrote earlier about a coccyx injury but it turned out to be a broken
pelvis. A transverse fracture in the sacrum. S3 bone broken into two pieces
with a slight displacement of the lower half. Coccyx got a hit too and at the
beginning I was having so much pain that I couldn't really distinguish from
which bone the worst pain originated. Therefore I wanted to have it scanned. To
find out how bad it was and to minimize any further damage. Right from the
beginning I felt that something was really wrong and that it was more than just
a bruise. That's why I went to see a doctor right away to have it x-rayed. But
the doctor I went to at Levi refused to do it. He just told me that they don't x-ray
tailbones. As simple as that. All I got was a prescription for painkillers and
an empty wallet (105€ for nothing).
A week later situation wasn't any better. I
felt that the pain hadn't decreased at all and got quite concerned. At that
stage I could palpate the tailbone end myself and understood that the worst
pain was higher up in the pelvis. So I went to St Cross hospital to see if they
could x-ray it. Nurse who took me in understood my concern but sent me forward
to Coventry hospital to get it x-rayed because they could only scan limbs. So I
called Coventry and explained my case. I told them that I suspected a pelvic
fracture and the person in the other end told me that I should have an
ambulance to get there. I agreed that sitting in a car was a nightmare but
convinced her that I could take myself there without an ambulance. Big mistake.
Had a taken an ambulance I would most probably gotten my pelvis x-rayed right
away but I didn't want to inflate my case, so I asked Sami to drive me there
instead. I went in as a pelvic fracture patient but got out with a coccyx
fracture - diagnosed again without an x-ray or sufficient palpation (a young
male doctor who was clearly too scared to touch me). Just more painkillers. I was
really disappointed and made a bit of a scene as they refused to scan me (I
actually started to cry but it didn't help).
Two weeks later I was still worried and went
to see a GP at our local surgery. But there are no scanners at local surgeries. Once
again I got prescription for some more painkillers and started to feel more and
more like a drug addict.
Four weeks after the incident the pain had
finally started to diminish and I could manage the normal life again, except
sitting and lying. But I was really tired of it and wanted to get back to
training. I had already lost four most precious weeks of my winter training and
I didn't want to lose any more. I thought I could gradually start running again
but just to play it safe I went to see my physio Sarah to get some advice how
to start with. After several healthcare units and doctors she was the first
person to really examine my spine. Soon she discovered the small bone
displacement and sent me to an x-ray, which just confirmed what she had
suspected. I was more than upset by the new piece of news (that I really had a
broken sacrum with no signs of healing) but at the same time extremely grateful
that Sarah had found it. Without her I would have started running and probably
delayed its recovery even further. After the x-ray I was instantly told by all
doctors and experts not to run for another 4 weeks.
Ironic that I had been free to do whatever
I wanted the first 4 weeks with my broken pelvis but now that the worst pain
was gone and I was feeling a whole lot better I was told to rest for the next 4
weeks. Then we'll see how much damage I've done during the first 4 weeks...
Status at day 40: Yey I'm able to swim! (at
least a few hundreds..)
