The latest injury...

Throughout my life I have managed to maintain a steady stream of decent injuries: broken bones, stitches, sprains, strains and other miscellaneous maladies. Here is the story of my latest:


Last week, I broke the chain on my bicycle on the way home from work. Not a big deal, as I was almost home, so I just walked the rest of the way. It was bad timing because I had just placed an order for some other new parts for my bike (including speedy road tires that fit my mountain bikes wheels), but I had not ordered a new chain.

So over the weekend, I put the new tires on my bike, and fixed the chain (so I thought at the time). I gave the bike a quick tune up and then went out to give it a test ride. I was so excited about how quickly and smoothly I could cruise around on my new tires. Suddenly, as I was really starting to pick up the pace, my "fixed" chain broke again sending me flying off the bike. I scraped my elbow and ankle, but nothing serious (so I thought at the time).

The accident happened on Sunday and on Monday I was feeling okay, just moving a little slowly. Monday night I started getting horrible pains in my ankle and Tuesday I could hardly walk on it. I limped my way to work, and by lunch time I was in enough pain that I decided it was time to have someone look at it (I hate hospitals and only go in as a last resort).

Luckily, I work right by one of the largest hospitals in London. They have a service called the Minor Injuries Unit. It is set up to deal with cuts, sprains, broken bones and things like that. I was so amazed by the service they provided. I just walked in and a few minutes later a nurse was looking at my ankle. Apparently the scrape had become infected, thus the pain and swelling two days after the actual injury. She sent me away with a course of antibiotics and instructions on things to look out for. It was all completely free! It’s great to see that all the tax I pay actually goes to something that can benefit me!

Wednesday I spent the day at home, not feeling too well due to the ankle and the antibiotics messing with my system. Today (Thursday) I am back at work and it is starting to feel a bit better (although I noticed that my ankle is starting to turn some interesting colors).

One good thing is that today is the last day of work for me this week. Friday and Monday are holidays for Easter. In addition, it is okay for me to mix alcohol with the antibiotics that I am taking, and Sunday is the end of lent and I can drink beer again!

I hope this post finds you all well and without infected ankles...

JE