Sunday 27th June 10

Slept well and then in the morning had to decide what to do about my ankle. I rang NHS Direct and they assessed my situation and suggested that it was just a sprain and did not advise me to go to Accident and Emergency. But, a facebook friend Graeme advised me that it wouldn't do any harm to get a second opinion... as he'd been diagnosed with a sprain but later, following an X-ray, it was re-diagnosed as a break. Gill also was keen for me to get an expert opinion.

So, I had an early lunch and then got bus times, and walked slowly round to the No.6 bus on Tang Hall Lane, which goes into town and then back out, past the Hospital on Wigginton Road. I got in there before 1pm and was 'triaged' by 1.15. Then there was a two hour wait and I was prodded and told that I need to see a more highly qualified practitioner, and a nurse called Simon called me back in 10 minutes later. He asked questions whilst prodding and said I needed an X-ray.

I hobbled down to the X-ray department and had two taken; a new system with the image recorded electronically and sent wirelessly to the computer system, where the image can be brought up on any screen. Ten minutes later I saw one of these images, and it was plainly obvious that I had broken a bone. Simon told me that it was the ankle-end of the fibula, a fracture called an avulsion fracture, which is when the ligaments and tendons pull off a bit of bone. This would explain the audible noise I heard.

So, he offered me a cast, although it wasn't strictly necessary, the ankle heals more quickly with a plaster cast, so he took me to the plaster casting room and put one on me. This was interesting and we chatted about stoves (he has one too!) and funerals. He reckoned that the way to deal with the problem of using up space in graveyards was to replace horizontal burials with a vertical auger hole grave. The pot he put on is a temporary cast; just a week, to be replaced in 8 days time with a weight-bearing one, in a colour of my choice! In the meantime, I had to use crutches.... a first for me, and remarkably difficult, especially in the sweltering heat.

I managed to get to the bus stop without falling over but not without plenty of grunting and puffing.

When the bus came 15 minutes later, I asked the driver if I might change from the number 6 to the number 10 at Rougier Street, and he gave me a ticket to enable me to do this. I got off at Rougier St and went up to the No.10 stand... the next one was 50 minutes away, so I went back to the No.6, which would get me fairly near to home sooner, but with a longer walk than the No.10. It was a tough walk, but I saw one of my neighbours, a gentleman who has had his leg amputated, who was washing his car, and I stopped and chatted to him and sat on his wall for a few minutes.

So, home to put my leg up and to try to reduce the swelling. A sedentary evening.