It’s been about 15 months since my accident. I wish I could say I’ve forgotten all the details but that would be pretty far from the truth. I’ll try to pick up from where I left off in my previous post. Not everything is resolved, I’m in a better place in some ways but my life has definitely changed.
Before leaving the hospital I was told not to wash my hair for at least 10 days, which would take me up to the first lot of stitches and staples being removed. We decided to do it the day before as my head was a bit of a mess. My hair had formed a hard hat of matted blood and frankly, I was starting to smell pretty bad. We came to the conclusion that a zombie apocalypse would probably stink as the smell of blood is really grim after a while. This time we didn’t have the usual basement vs attic argument we usually have. Lewis did have to scrub the stair carpet. A lot.
In that first 10 days I had a fair few wobbles. Worries about infection, some really unpleasant episodes of vertigo, black eyes, and bruises coming up all over where my various body parts had hit the stairs and the wall. I also had edema in my legs which was really unpleasant and took a while to settle down.
At the 10 day mark I had the first batch of stitches and staples out. The nurse left a few in as they were melded into the mess and I needed to get more of the matted hair/blood out before she could carry on. Before I go on, there was something that kept being asked that didn’t really register with me at the time but it’s worth mentioning.
Every time I saw someone new, which was quite often, I was asked “How did you do it?” “How did you manage to fall down the stairs?” “Did you slip?” – sometimes all 3 of those in the same conversation. I would reiterate: I slipped on the top step. I was half asleep, carrying my clothes as I’d just got out of bed and my foot slipped on the top step. As anyone can see from my previous posts the stairs go around a sharp corner and my unintended acrobatics came to a spectacular end, head first against the wall at the halfway point. At that point the wall is Victorian stone, skimmed and painted. I didn’t make a dent in the wall, but my scalp looked like I’d been hit with a machete. I digress, back to the point.
Not long after it happened, Lewis said to me “I hope they don’t think it was me”. And I was “Don’t be stupid … ohhhhh.” The penny dropped. That was why I kept getting asked so much “how did you do it”. I appreciate the reason for the enquiries. That’s not what happened, but it’s not the case for every woman out there. Lewis was and is my rock. He was alseep in bed until I woke him up (along with our neighbours) with my noisy uncontrolled descent. He washed my hair for me for weeks, gradually getting all the muck out.
Not long after the first staples were out, we started to make progress with the blood using baby shampoo and a lot of patience. It became somewhat obvious that there was something not quite right. There seemed to be more than one wound, or rather that the wound had branched off and formed what eventually looked to be a Y shape. When I went in for the last few closures to be removed, the nurses confirmed. My head had split again at a point just after the staples started and I had a parallel wound that had been hidden under my hair, branching off and going to the back of my head. A little longer than the one which had 25 staples in (4 of which had drifted and were just hanging about in my hair).
I remember when I was being treated before we left the house, Sheila, the paramedic told her colleague that I had “a large contusion”. She repeated this to the HCA/nurse who re-dressed the wound in the back of the ambulance before I went into A&E. I have no idea whether that HCA/nurse passed that information on to triage or the doctor and nurse who cleaned and closed me up. I’ll be honest though, I really doubt it as there was no mention of it while they treated me. To be fair, IF it was already split, it was under my hair. I have no complaints about Taz and Brooke, they were great. It’s even possible that it didn’t break at the time and could have come apart later. I was completely numb so I doubt I’d have noticed if it did. My main problem is the lingering doubt it has left me with throughout my recovery – a wound long enough to jusitfy 20+ staples was never cleaned, treated or closed. It has healed, but has left me with a significantly (to me) differently shaped head. The ‘dent’ is much worse on that side. It’s not actually a dent, it’s more that the scalp between the two wound scars is 5mm+ higher than the rest. Both wounds stop roughly above my ears to the back of my head; the initial ‘S-shaped’ wound starts at my right temple and ends above my left ear.
I was hoping to do this all in one post, but it’s not going to work so I’ll draw to a close on this part. The added stress of worrying of potential problems arising from the untreated wound has made the last year difficult. And then there’s the other problem. Approximately 6 weeks after the fall I started suffering from horrendous tinnitus. I’ve barely had a quiet moment since.
Below are the last set of photos I’ll post of my head. As before please note they are quite graphic. Not as bad as the previous post, but still pretty horrible all the same. Click the blurred versions if you think you can stomach the originals.
As you can see I lost a lot of hair. It started coming out in clumps not long after and has taken a long time to regrow. In January this year I asked the hairdresser to shave my head. We agreed on a grade 4 cut. I don’t hate it, but I’m not young or slim so it does not suit me. However, it’s been a big help for Lewis to be able to see better when putting bio oil on my scars, which are still a bit tetchy and the oil relieves the tight feeling in my head.
This photo was taken on 28 November 2023. Six days after it happened and the day after my birthday! I still have fading black eyes at this point.
This photo was taken on 9 December 2023. We managed to get it cleaned up pretty well, but you can now see the secondary wound which is essentially a ‘fork’ in the injury. The greasiness is caused by an anti bacterial cream (Brulidine) that goes a bit yellow on contact with the skin. Looks gross, but works well.
This was taken on 9 January 2024. As you can see my hair was really falling out by this point. I haven’t been out in public without a hat on since this happened. My head gets too hot or too cold. Even more so now it’s a buzz cut.
That’s it for this one. My next post will cover my ‘tinnitus journey’. Which is far from over. 🙁
Edit 16/02/2025 – After I started writing this post I got a call from Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary telling me I have an appointment for a CT scan. It’s tomorrow. Wish me luck…
