Mr TLC doesn’t have a leg to stand on

house bricksMr TLC is not a man to be outdone. Oh no.

Mr TLC obviously felt that Super Mum had not tested the services of the NHS rigorously enough, so he decided to take on a spot of testing himself.

It started with a bang, the sort of bang made by a man who has missed his footing momentarily, stumbled on a small step and fallen down.

“Are you alright?”

“No, I’ve broken my leg,” replied Mr TLC, in the calmest voice you can imagine.

The calm tone left me wondering whether he was exaggerating as I dashed upstairs to make sure.

He wasn’t.

So, another dramatic weekend ensued. It started with an ambulance, a trip to casualty and the prospect of Mr TLC returning home with a pot on his leg a couple of hours later. Then x-rays revealed that Mr TLC had broken both tibia and fibula right through, so things escalated to an overnight stay in the hospital and the prospect of the breaks being plated. Chapter one finally ended after a few days in hospital and surgery to fit an external frame and pins [pictures via that link may not be suitable for those of a squeamish disposition].

Throughout this I kept thinking about the ad that encourages you to buy travel insurance. The one where every nurse, doctor and piece of medical equipment has a price tag attached. I am very, very thankful that we live in a place and a time where our healthcare is both high quality and pre-paid.

I also discovered just how supportive the head and my colleagues at my new school are. I had to take some time off when Mr TLC came home from hospital and then to go to outpatient appointments with him. Fortunately the GCSE maths exams were over and Y11 were out on exam leave, otherwise that would have been a real nightmare. Still, there were several days when either I wasn’t in school at all, or I dashed in, taught a couple of lessons and dashed home again. But there were no problems. People covered my lessons with the greatest goodwill you can imagine – even when Ofsted turned up. My colleagues are truly, truly fantastic.

And it’s been a learning experience. I now know how to clean an Ilizarov frame, I can list the side effects from various pain killers, I’ve discovered where we keep the Hoover and I can operate the washing machine. Actually, I thought I could do that already, but no, I found myself staring at the damn thing trying to remember how to switch it on. How hard can it be? It’s only got two buttons! Can you tell who normally does all the housework? Yes, I’m a lucky so-and-so. And no, you can’t have Mr TLC. He’s my excellent househusband and I’m keeping him 🙂

Anyhoo, this storyline in the TLC Terrace soap opera is going to be a long one – Mr TLC is facing 4-6 months dressed up as a TV aerial. I may have to rename this blog One-Legged Man.

Which means our summer plans include very short walks and a lot of TV. All good fun.

Photo: Broken Leg? by Kaptain Kobold on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons Licence.

7 comments to Mr TLC doesn’t have a leg to stand on

  • Z

    Blimey. Goodness, Lois, i’m so sorry, best wishes to Mr TLC (who evidently will want plenty of that for a while). My dog broke his leg badly and had to have one of those – well actually, it was my mother’s dog but she died the next day, so he was my dog by the time he came home. He made a complete recovery, not even a limp, if it’s any help.

    A school with colleagues like that is worth hanging on to. Hope Ofsted went well.

  • Good grief! Do hope he mends quickly and that you make the most of the enforced need to take it easy this summer. Glad the new school is working out well.

  • Yorkshire Pudding

    I hope that your man mends well and that in your new found role as a nurse you cater for his every need. To create the correct ambience and really get into your new role, may I suggest a short pvc nurse’s outfit from one of Sheffield’s fancy dress shops? Mr TLC and Nurse PVC – a dream team or a lethal combination?

  • will

    Eeek! And now I have to go have a lie down because I foolishly clicked on the link and it appears I am very squeamish.

  • I decided not to click the link to the medical picture.

    Actually I did break my leg once playing soccer – only the big bone – Strangely it didn’t hurt too much to begin with although my leg did look a strange shape with the foot bit flapping around. My sports teacher at the time decided to put my leg in a bucket of cold water until I could be got to hospital. In my case the bone fixed fairly fast but the muscles took a while to recover.

    Best regards to Mr TLC.

  • Lois Lindemann

    Thank you all for you kind wishes – although I’m not sure about YP’s suggestion. Still PVC would be most hygienic – perhaps I should wear that when cleaning Mr TLC’s pin sites? 😉

    The good news is that the latest x-ray shows signs of healing, so hopefully Mr TLC is on the road to a full recovery.

    He can now make a cup of tea for himself, which, given how much tea Mr TLC consumes during an average day, is a Very Good Thing.

  • Sympathy to you all. The NHS is the bees knees (so long as Mr Lansley doesn’t break them)
    We tested the service back at Easter http://uphilldowndale.wordpress.com/2011/04/23/a-cracking-easter/
    My friend had his leg saved from amputation following a very nasty car accident, he asked for a second opinion and the second consultant said he would try the technique in the link, it was late 1980’s pioneering stuff at the time and it worked, the leg was saved.