November – back from our overland Odyssey

 We are back from our big overland adventure and what an adventure it was - an amazing journey halfway around the world, by train -mostly. (You can read about it in my blog hwheat2025eurasia.blogspot.com once I have finished writing it!).  I have slowed somewhat AKA been distracted a lot in the last 6 months or more since our return but I’m catching up.

Singapore to London by train (mostly)

Where disaster struck. My arm was caught on the train steps - fortunately

I referred to unplanned/unwanted hiatuses earlier in the year and here comes another one! More monumental perhaps. In no-man’s land between Turkey and Bulgaria in the wee dark hours of the morning of October 12, I tripped and smashed my arm and shoulder. It was about 2 am and the platform, which was under reconstruction, was very dark. The upshot of that was that I landed squashed between the platform and the train with my arm at an alarming angle above my head. It could have been worse – I could have fallen right through to the rail lines and then I would have had to have been dragged somehow out from under the train. Doesn’t bear thinking about.  The train continued  on to Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria’s historic ‘City of Tsars once the medieval capital of Bulgaria). Why? The choices were few but we were a long way from a decent city hospital.  Fortunately we were armed with heavy duty pain killers but the pain was excruciating!  Thirty-six hours later Lindsay and I were driven to Bucharest and I was in a Bucharest hospital being assessed. My arm was not good, a spiral fracture, and I had 4 broken ribs, but I was alive! A few days later after more visits to the hospital, we were on a plane flying to London when I spent some days in a fog of pain waiting to get a flight home. Yes, I could have had surgery in Bucharest or London but I wanted to be home.  The long flight home was horrendous BUT we arrived safely. A day later I saw our lovely GP and between us, we found an orthopaedic surgeon who could see me in less than a week which was a miracle. The next day I was being operated on.  Sixteen days after the accident.

I was trussed like a chook for over 2 weeks - with obvious results

Upper arm and shoulder pinned back in place with 17 screws

Back with the birds and the bees

A lovely welcome home

And the birds were happy too

The following couple of weeks past in a fog of pain killers but slowly I roused myself and even got outside to enjoy our wee garden.  Lindsay was an amazing wonderful nurse.  My bed and armchair were my favourite places, although sleeping was difficult and I had to rely on sleeping pills so much so that I feared that I would become totally dependent on them for the rest of my life. But time passed and as we waited for me to become more mobile, we spent time editing our blogs and got a few of our trips turned into books. 

Sadly we had to cancel our expedition to Antarctica. My doctor said “absolutely not!” What a year - two trip cancelled and one cut short.  It was turning out to be a grim year – with the exception of our overland train journey. Even though that trip was cut short, it was a great experience.  Doctors’ and physio appointments became my main ‘entertainment’ while Lindsay spent a few hours every other day at Keiser’ physio trying to strengthen his hips and legs in the hope of avoiding the need for hip replacement surgery.