Physio came to see me this morning. I walked independently but she noticed I was quite unbalanced so I walked holding her hand, just as a stabiliser rather than taking any weight and I was much better. I did the stairs again and was much more stable. One of her colleagues joined us and did an assessment of my leg strength, steadiness when standing first with my eyes open and then with them closed. It was evident I use vision a lot to keep my balance. She advised me to use a stick to help balance when I’m walking. She gave me some additional gentle exercises – squats, walking on the spot and some to help strengthen my legs. She agreed that I was ready to be discharged, and was pleased to hear I had already got an appointment with outpatient physio in a couple of weeks.
The discharge process was started. I was rather surprised to be given a fitness to work certificate saying I only needed to be off for 2 weeks, but when I later got my discharge summary it stated 6 weeks so I will need to get another certificate from the GP. The staples are to be removed 14 days post-op, I will see the neuro specialist physiotherapist at 6 weeks, and will have a follow-up with the surgeon at around 2 months.
Getting home was a bit uncomfortable, but thankfully it is only a short drive. I was quite tired by the time we got back so I got myself straight upstairs and watched a bit of TV in the den for the evening.