So Here I Am Once More…

It’s been quite some time since I last posted anything on here. Recovery from a broken hip is, as I’ve come to discover, a long and drawn out process. You lose muscle mass, strength, control, and on top of that confidence. The world becomes a smaller place, filled with risks and pitfalls that you have never imagined. The stomach-churning fear brought on by the sudden slipping of rubber crutch tips on a wet tiled floor outweighs anything I’ve encountered before. As time has passed, pain recedes and mobility improves, but each day brings new challenges, and often not in the most positive way. Can I walk further? Yes. Is it pain free? No. Does my new style of lurching walk have side-effects? Oh, yes…

Losing muscle mass and strength means that impact when walking which was once absorbed by the muscles now goes directly through the knees, and as someone whose knees weren’t in top shape before, this brings pain with every step. Left, right, left, right. Bang, bang, bang, bang. It’s no fun. Painkillers and anti-inflammatories take the edge off, but no more. With time, perhaps the muscle can be rebuilt, but it’s never going to be the same. That’s not to say I’m finished yet. One of the first challenges I had was going “off-road”. Getting back to outdoor walking over rough ground was one I had to try, after months of flat walking in a home or town environment. Annieshill, often a gateway to some of my local walks, is a good testing ground, with slopes of varying degrees of difficulty. I visited there back in January, replacing my walking stick with some shiny new Black Diamond trekking poles, and it was a good start. I was able to get the drone up, despite the weather, and in the video you can clearly see me wobbling around, despite trying to walk in a straight line for the camera…

A few weeks back I attempted a longer walk, one I had fancied doing for years: The 13 mile long Water of Leith walkway. Working in Edinburgh, and having lived there for a while, there were some sections I was very familiar with from getting to and from work, but there were some parts I had never visited. The start of the walk at Balerno can be reached by the No 44 bus service, and from there it’s a pleasant walk back into Edinburgh and on to Leith, where you can grab a bus back into the city. By the end of the walk I was hobbling a fair bit, and I was pleased with my effort. My physio on the other hand said that 13 miles of constant descent, though on the face of it gentle, was not good for my knees. My knees agree with him.

Having been laid up for so long meant that lots of jobs had been piling up at home, and the decks had to be cleared before anything else. I was looking forward to getting away for a short camp somewhere in the coming weeks, but the weather has been dreich beyond belief. Perhaps a bothy might be more enticing. As I write this another storm (Kathleen) is on the way. Perhaps it might leave some better weather in its wake. If so, I’ll dust off my gear and get out somewhere. Time to get the maps out and start planning…