A nasty fall left Nicola with a badly fractured hand that required an urgent operation. In this video, she talks about how Chelsea and Westminster Hospital’s Hand Therapy app was invaluable in helping her to regain some mobility.
Watch the video or read the transcript below.
Falling and breaking my arm
I was walking along the road, Knightsbridge, Harrods side. Not going to Harrods, just going to the bus.
I’d walked all around Kensington Gardens and then the next thing I knew, I was going down, literally like a plank. It took about two seconds.
Receiving treatment in A&E
First of all, I spent a long time in A&E and they were brilliant, with Dr Claire. She had a very good attempt, which was very dramatic, to straighten this arm because they said that it was badly fractured.
They had a go at that and they said, ‘We doubt if it’ll work, but come back as soon as you can.’
They gave me an appointment two or three days later to see the Hand Trauma team.
Finding out I needed surgery
Then they said, ‘Bad news. Both sides are very badly broken, so you will need an urgent operation.’
There was some good news, but it was mostly bad, and that’s where we proceeded from there to the operating theatre, which was a novel experience for me.
This bone they replaced, or realigned, in order for it to heal properly because unfortunately, in the temporary cast, everything had moved twice.
So they put a very large steel plate in with pins, or nails, I’m not sure which. I didn’t want to know too many details. I just had absolute faith in them.
Adjusting to life with one arm
Life without the use of my arm has come as quite a shock because it’s been quite difficult.
It’s made me think big time about people who, because I will get better to some extent, hopefully 100%, it’s made me think very, very hard about people who don’t have the use of one arm or both arms.
Being introduced to the Hand Therapy app
I was introduced to the Hand Therapy app almost straight away after my operation because just three days later, I had my first appointment with the Hand Therapy Unit with Lynn, my physio, who’s fantastic.
She was very gentle and very kind and she introduced me to it in that first session.
I had no idea there would be an app.
Having support between appointments
It was like having a physiotherapist in the room with me, particularly because I had met Lynn, who was my physiotherapist, and she stars in four of the exercises.
It gave me confidence, but more than that, it helped me, and this is vital, remember exactly what I was meant to do.
And I think it’s very important, at the speed I was meant to do it and the angle.
So I think the photography is brilliant and the voiceover is also fantastic because it just gives you the exact pace, and it’s quite slow, that you’re meant to be doing these exercises at for maximum benefit.
They tell you when to pause, how long to pause for and when to restart. It’s fantastic.
Seeing progress through recovery
At the start I could virtually do nothing with my hand.
Today, which is about three weeks since my first physio, I can do a lot of different things.
I’m on schedule, I’ve worked hard, I’ve listened to everything the physio said and I use my app daily, and it’s been brilliant for me.
I think the more technology we can use to help us, the better because what we’d really like is the physio at home with us every single time we do it and we can’t have it, so this is the next best thing.
The Hand Therapy app was developed with the help of a CW+ grant and was supported by the CW Innovation Team.
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