Featured Ooops!

Ah, Sandi - currently lying in a hospital bed in Tenerife, on a holiday that turned into something of a disaster. Assuming I can fly home on Sunday I’ll update then!

 

Okay, I promised a holiday update, and now we're back home here it is...

I hadn't been away for about three and a half years, so decided that I'd push the boat out a bit and book something nice. My MiL is in a care home in Tenerife so that was always going to need to be the destination, but I booked us in at a lovely hotel called the Jardines de Nivaria in Costa Adeje for a couple of weeks as a last bit of luxury before we properly tighten our belts for the economic meltdown that's to come here in the UK.

All was well for the first four days. The weather was - as usual for Tenerife - glorious, the hotel was perfect, and we split our time between the beach and the pool, eating out in the evenings and generally having a lovely time. I went to the gym every morning for a light workout and a couple of kilometres of easy jogging on the treadmill, and as we weren't eating or drinking to excess I felt pretty fit and in generally good shape.

On the 5th day the weather started to change, and then the government on the island issued a weather warning, saying that we were about to face three days of cyclones. In fact, that proved to be something of an exaggeration, but what we did get was four days of rain followed by two days of cloud, and even the remaining days were a mix of sun and cloud. Bearing in mind that Tenerife normally gets two or three days of rain per year this was completely unexpected and a major pain in the arse given that September is normally perfect weather with temperatures up in the mid to high twenties (every single year).

At the same time as we were enjoying the final day of sunshine before the storms, I started to feel a slight ache in my groin that, over the morning and early afternoon, developed into more of a pain than an ache. Unfortunately, though, I must have been compensating for the discomfort when walking/standing, because later that afternoon I got a full-on back spasm and could barely move at all. I spent that night literally not sleeping a wink, and the next morning managed to get myself over to a local walk-in doctor’s surgery where I had a painkilling shot and was given a prescription for muscle relaxants and ant-inflammatories.

I was a bit concerned that the (rather elderly) doctor wasn’t paying much attention to my groin, but by then my back was hurting so much that I wasn’t thinking about anything else. In any event, I spent the next day in bed (fortunately it rained all day anyway), and by the following day my back pain was rapidly subsiding. In fact, by the day after it was gone completely. I did have some residual discomfort in my groin though – by now it was Wednesday and we had a serious chat about seeing if we could fly back the following day (Easyjet only fly to/from the UK on certain days of the week) but I decided that everything was easing a bit so we’d stick with our original plan and fly back on Sunday.

The following day (Thursday), the weather broke and my groin felt much better. Bea had to meet her brother in the hotel that morning and left me by the pool and, at some point, I decided to turn my sunbed slightly so I was facing the sun. It wasn’t heavy at all – it was just a wicker frame with a thin mattress on it – but the moment I pushed it I felt something pull in my groin and I was then completely overwhelmed with pain. I won’t go into detail, but I somehow managed to get myself to our room (refusing multiple offers of help en-route) and spent the rest of the day lying on the bed, trying to find a position that eased the pain even slightly. Bea was really worried by now, but I told her I’d see if I could get through the night and then assess next steps. We got some room service dinner (which I barely touched) and eventually Bea fell asleep.

I tried my best to let her get a night’s rest as I had a feeling I knew what was coming next, but at about 6am asked Bea to help get me a doctor as I couldn’t bear the pain any longer. I actually met her in Tenerife when she was living there, and due to the issues she’s had with her mum she knew to call a local private hospital who immediately sent out a doctor. He asked some questions, gave me some painkillers, and within minutes I was in an ambulance on the way to hospital. I had blood tests, an ECG, ultrasounds, injections in my tummy, and was put on an analgesic drip to ease the pain, and I ended up staying there until the following evening.

It transpired that I’d damaged/inflamed the tendon (not the muscle, as I thought), and it’s likely that it was the consequence of iliopsoas bursitis. I was discharged with copious amounts of drugs and crutches, and managed to get through the final day or so before getting home last night with wheelchair assistance on both legs of the journey.

Not quite the holiday we had planned, and I felt really sorry for Bea, who was also periodically going to visit her mum in a care home an hour’s drive away. I’ll have to now organise some treatment, which will hopefully be covered through BUPA (which comes as part of my remuneration package at work).

One thing I’ll add – NatWest travel insurance (which is one of a few bank account benefits I'm entitled to) were amazing. In fact, the hospital said that of all the insurers that Brits over there tend to use, NatWest is far and away the most efficient, with apparently never an issue for either patient or hospital.

Edit: oh, and least I've now been on one of these (twice, actually, even if it did take an hour to arrive at the Luton end)...

 

LOL! Thanks, and maybe it was

 

Thanks all. Kind words and thoughts much appreciated.

@Sandi T, Bea is indeed an amazing woman.

Big LOL at @Iron. In fact, a bursa is just a closed, fluid-filled sac that works as a cushion and gliding surface to reduce friction between tissues of the body. They're all over the place where we have joints, and the "...itis" bit just means it was inflamed and sore. Unfortunately, it also led to problems with my tendon, which is when the fun really started.

 

Well, I managed to get out on the bike for the first time in over a month today - including 2 weeks away in Tenerife and then another two weeks recovering from this groin/tendon problem I picked up over there (which saw me giving up my Spurs ticket today, as I'd not have been able to climb six flights of stairs).

Anyway, I had a wonderful couple of hours, and I have to say that I'm over the moon with this bike. It really does suit my style of riding.

 

Hi Sandi - thanks for your lovely (as always) post. Sadly, I'm not yet properly recovered, but I'm now under the care of a specialist and have an MRI scan booked for Friday. I'm hoping we'll know more after that, as everyone's a bit perplexed at the moment. Anyway...

My motorcycling renaissance has been an interesting one (to me, at least), and I've owned some lovely bikes over the past four years. However, my motivation in working my way through the models I've had has always been to arrive at the right balance of performance, genre and image/lifestyle, as opposed to just finding a machine that I "like". I can sum it up in a way by sharing a Bell advertising video with you. It's fair to say that I identify much more with these guys than I do someone clad in full leathers, sliding from one side of the seat to the other whilst squeezing every last bit of power from their bikes as they race through the twisties (nothing at all wrong with that, it’s just not me)...



Anyway, suffice it to say that the Sport Glide is indeed a great match for me as both a rider and a person, and I'm loving every mile; I also love that each time I park up someone stops to talk to me about it. I may have said it before, but it feels like any time I go out for a ride it's a bit of an event. (Oh, and I already have the reflectors on my radar - in fact I was only checking over the weekend to make sure we hade some spare dental floss in the house!)

One last thing about my Tiger, which made way for this bike in the end... it was a brilliant, functionally perfect bike that did absolutely everything I ever wanted of it. However, I never once looked back at it after parking up... I'm sure you know exactly what I mean.

PS Are you now fully recovered yourself?

 

Well, it seems that I probably have a pubic rami fracture. I’ll know for sure after my consultation on Friday but all being well it should heal with a bit of physical therapy and the odd Ibuprofen!