A good night of sleeping with the benefit of a sleeping pill and I woke at around 07:00 ready to get organised as the driver collecting the two Marks from Nord Clinic to take us to UPA was due at 10:00.
The usual regime of blood pressure, blood sugar in preparation for breakfast at 08:00. My blood sugar reading was better at 9.1 so I injected 8 units Novorapid and 20 of Lantus. As I started to re pack and get ready the nurse informed me that the driver was going to be early so I needed to get a move on.
Getting long trousers on without bending my knee too much was a challenge, but eventually I made it and then it was the sock on the right foot! All done I repacked the suitcase and my other hand bag. The driver, the same one we had getting us to the clinic on Monday, dealt with my bags as I walked into the external glass lift to go to the ground floor.
The walkway was covered in melted and refrozen ice so I was particularly careful with my crutch technique. Safely in his Toyota minivan I was in the front seat while Mark and his wife Kelli were in the back. Bending the knee sufficiently to get into the front seat was a challenge but I managed it without too much discomfort as we then set off to Druskininkai. It was a dull and cloudy weather pattern as we drove down the AI or E85 towards Vilnius before turning off at the 129 junction.
Quite a difference from the last time I was here in July 2018 with snow everywhere but the bird nests on their pylons are still there! We stopped at a service station to allow both patients to mobilise a bit and then proceeded on our way noticing the LPG storage here as a lot of cars on the continent use LPG.
As we approached Druskininkai I remembered that there was a bit of a welcome setup on the roundabout, so I prepared to take a photo.
Now I'm in Druskininkai and there have been a few changes with a new café on level 2; ideal for those of us recuperating, with our rooms on level 2. Having successfully been admitted to UPA I went up to level 2 in the lift and walked round to my room 219 with its view over the forest.
I didn’t go out onto my balcony!
Having unpacked a few bits and bobs I checked through the paperwork I had been given and put today and tomorrow’s appointments into Google Calendar, sharing them with Catharine so she knows what I am up to.
My first appointment labelled “General Internist Consultation” was with the delightful doctor, Giedrė, whom I recognised from my previous visit in 2018. She reviewed all the paperwork and hand wrote, in a fountain pen, with tremendous style, to complete the notes for my stay here in UPA. Then she looked at the bandaging. I told her that it was feeling rather tight and she removed the blue fabric strapping which gave me great comfort. This appointment had been scheduled for 13:40 but I was called in early which was good as I was then able to go for lunch at the new restaurant before going back to my room. In the restaurant there were not only my Canadian friends, Mark and Kelli but also more English speaking guests wielding crutches. After lunch I caught up with a couple from Wrexham and will catch up with them again tomorrow.
The afternoon sessions were Topical Cryotherapy, which is great for lessening the pain and swelling and then Occupational Therapy which was a kind of review of what I was expecting to get out of my stay here.
Following the Cryotherapy I then returned to my room and took some Paracetamolis/Kodeneino pain killers as I had forgotten to take them after lunch, but next the dressing fell off. I called the nurse who came straight round and changed the dressing.
That allowed me then to fall asleep for around an hour before I got organised to go back to the restaurant for my dinner. The food here is superb and once again I had fish backed up with cooked peppers, a mixed salad and coleslaw.
Summary of progreses:
Pain levels: Lifting my right leg to gert onto the bed is a problem and I now get my left foot under my right ankle to lift the leg. Otherwise, as long as I remember to take the pain killers, I am doing OK
Stiffness: The area above the right knee is stiff and I feel tension as I lift the right leg to move it forward as I walk. I find it difficult at the moment to flex the knee more than around 10°. I am continuing with the simple exercises given by the physio in Nord Clinic and making sure that I move eevery hour.
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