"Tibia fracture, left."

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I fractured my lower left leg in March and went by ambulance to the Atherton Hospital where I stayed overnight.

The following day I was fitted with a stabilising cast and transferred to Cairns Hospital and admitted.

On the Sunday I had surgery and the following day the surgeon, visited briefly visited me in the ward and I recall told me I had good bones but crappy skin and they believed all would be good from here.

In the following days as I acclimated to the hospital environment I was visited by various groups who stayed for short periods and sometimes asked me questions about pain and movement of my toes, of which there was none, and I was unable to raise the foot.

About three days after surgery, there will be detailed information in my file, I developed cellulitis for the entire leg between the knee and ankle. The operation wounds were completely uninvolved and remained so throughout my recovery.

I raised concerns with the various visitors dressed in scrubs came and went over the next few days before eventually a nurse took a swab and IV antibiotics were instituted.

After some 36+ hours without any noticeable change in the infected the antibiotics were changed and improvement became evident quite quickly.

Two different physiotherapists encouraged me to sit up in a chair with my leg raised on a stool but the best advice I got, to elevate my toes above my nose, that gave a beneficial result was was from one of the surgical group.

To achieve this I had to adjust the bed which was not easy without a corded control so I took a photo on my phone of the control panel on the outside of the bed and referred to it as I felt for the buttons.

This setup caused my legs to be bent at the knee and this subsequently caused a shortening of the tendons on the back of my leg, causing some pain and difficulty of movement when mobilising. I think the physios should be aware of this outcome.

During my stay I was interviewed twice by two different OTs and was advised the information would be passed on to the Atherton OT staff. I have to date not had any contact from them despite saying there should be an OT assessment of my home.

One of the physios gave some phone numbers to contact for assistance physio and property maintenance at home. The the physios were based on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast and the local home maintenance organisation were not reviewing their long wait list for another four weeks. I have not heard from them to date.

I was discharged to home on the Thursday and transported to Atherton hospital by ambulance where I was met by my spouse. I don’t recall having any paperwork in my hand at the time.

I was provided with an oral course of antibiotics and enough pain medication to last until Saturday mid-day and no prescription for ongoing medication so had to rely on over the counter products until I was able to get an appointment with my GP.

The wound clinic at the Atherton hospital removed the dressings on Saturday and left them uncovered as the wounds were dry and in good condition.

After my second visit to my GP, a week later, I was asked if I been contacted by the hospital physiotherapist and as I had not my GP phoned the hospital but could only leave a message. The following week I was contacted by SMS to make an appointment with a physiotherapist which was made for another 2 weeks hence.

I attended the Ortohpaedic Outpatients Clinic in Cairns Thursday two weeks after my surgery where the stitches were removed and I was visited by a person I assume was from the surgical team. The staff removing the stitches were surprised the wounds were not covered.

I again attended Ortohpaedic Outpatients Clinic in Cairns on a Tuesday a month later where the site was X-rayed and I was examined by the head surgeon and another and advised that I will given an appointment for three months time and keep wearing the brace for another four weeks.

I stopped wearing the brace in one week because it was causing so much pain and inconvenience. I felt my condition improved rapidly after discarding the brace because of the tapered shape of my legs it was not possible to keep it properly aligned causing stress on the knee and calf.

I attended my first physio session some 8 weeks after the incident, using a two wheel lift and slide walking frame. I was put through some balance tests which demonstrated that my historic poor neuropathy induced balance had significantly improved since the fracture. I was given exercises to do at home. I had subsequent physio appointments in May by which time I had progressed through a four wheel walker and to carrying a hiking pole for assurance. I was discharged from physio in late May.