Quick Trip Out and ATI + 18

With Mrs P's help, I went out for my first short trip since the ATI (Achilles Tendon Injury). I've been following the hospital advice to the letter and have kept the leg elevated 95% of the time. The first week was really painful and I had to resort to taking Ibrobrufen painkillers. The second week was better although I started to really get frustrated that I couldn't get out and about. The foot has been plastered so that the toes are pointing to the ground therefore I can't put any weight on it even if I wanted to. I can go short distances on the crutches but then the injured foot starts to ache as the fluids move to the injured area.

I've been trying to exercise using dumbells and doing situps. If nothing else, I'll improve my upper body strength by the time the cast is off.

The field trip in the Doris the Landrover Discovery did me the world of good. We skirted around the fields in my areas and to make myself more at home, I even brought along a day sack with my possibles pouch and EKA knife. Some hope of using that though!

With the lack of mammal sightings we concentrated our efforts on finding some owls and almost instantly noticed a little owl (Athene noctua) on a fence post. Later we watched a barn owl for a full 5 minutes quartering away in the field. It was getting a little dark but I managed to get some footage. The pics are taken from the video so they're a bit grainy, but I think they add to the atmosphere of the dusk hunt.

Today, I went back to the hospital fully expecting to get the foot repositioned and a new cast fitted. This didn't happen as they decided to leave it in the same cast for another two weeks. This decision was made with no examination of the injury and no-one seemed to be able to explain why I had been asked to come back after 2 weeks instead of 4 weeks. This is a blow to my moral as it means another 2 weeks with the foot in the same awkward position. I am not happy - but if it means there's less likelihood of a re-rupture then I can't really argue. They're the experts (allegedly) but I think I'll still get a second opinion.

By the way - I've run out of grapes and my PayPal account is dwindling fast!! Help!!

Many thanks for all your emails, comments and forum messages.

All the best,

Pablo.