So those of you who are regular readers may have noticed me mentioning an injury I recently suffered, so rather than just alluding to it I thought it was time I actually shared with you all what actually happened!

The short version is I dislocated my knee.  The long version is slightly more interesting and involves me getting slightly high on gas and air!

It was a usal hectic morning at work, I'd had an apprentice not turn up for work and my manager was at her daughter's assembly so I was holding the fort.  I sorted out pre-school ready to take my kids through, dashed off to get them, and as the gate opened the doorbell rang (late apprentice!) and the next thing I knew I was lying on the floor.  I could feel some pain in my left knee, so I put my hand out to feel it to find it wasn't quite where it should be.  Calm as anything I called for one of my colleagues for help, then everything went into super speed!  My manager was called- luckily only a few minutes away.  The kids were ushered back into the room they'd been about to come out of, and a pillow was found for my head as I couldn't even attempt to get up without an awful amount of pain shooting through my knee.

Unsure what to do, one of my colleagues called 111, I answered the same questions several times and they decided it was probably best to send an ambulance for me.  My Mum was called (handily working at home that day) then it was a waiting game.

The lovely lovely paramedics turned up, took one look at my knee and decided it was time to get the trolley and the entonox.  They took my vitals, then stuck me on the gas and air.  It gets a bit hazy from here on out- I know the entonox made me dizzy so I closed my eyes.

They somehow got me upright, without any swearing, and somehow got me onto the trolley, again without any swearing.  I then remember getting worried my mum didn't have my bag or trainers, so asked about those about 10 times!  They whisked me off to A&E, into a bay & the next thing I knew there was a doctor there, who popped my knee back in with a small tug.  Then it was down to x-ray to have it x-rayed, then up to A&E again to have it plastered.  At this point I'd come down from the gas and air and was anticipating being told to rest for a few weeks.

Wrong!  They put dislocated knees into plaster to stop them popping out again!  I could've cried at this point!

Fresh home from hospital, plastered from ankle to mid-thigh & sporting a pair of massacred trousers!

 I spent nearly 4 weeks in plaster, which were a nightmare in terms of personal care and getting to sleep!  I ended up having a total of 10 weeks off work, but reached the point where I was going completely round the twist being stuck at home, so went back as soon as my GP would ok it!

I'm still having regular physio, my knee's still quite weak and I get tired easily walking without a crutch.  (Apparently that's my body working harder to get my knee to work 'normally') But I'm heading in the right direction, albeit slower than I'd have liked!

My slightly more colourful 2nd cast