CJ Racing.co.uk

Latest News 2008

25.12.08

Merry Christmas From CJ Racing

Chris and everyone involved with CJ Racing would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Hapy New Year!!

 

26.11.08

Walking In The Right Direction

Chris returned to the John Radcliffe Hospital a week ago and had some more CT scans on his leg. He then saw the surgeon who looked at the scans before revealing that his leg is finally on the mend. The two pins inserted in the leg two months ago had worked. The gap in the femur had finally got bone filling it. The pins were stopping the plate from bending and aiding the recovery. This is very good news and means Chris can now start to use less of his crutches as the leg gets stronger over the coming weeks.

There is still a long way to go before getting back on a bike but he has already set his targets. Aiming to get back riding at the beginning of the season! Obviously this is if everything goes to plan. He is in the gym getting fit and is twice as strong as before his crash.

 

17.08.08

Oxygen Chamber Continues

Chris has been continueing his treatment in the oxygen chamber five days a week. The reason so often is to get the blood oxygen levels up high enough to keep the body healing quicker. He said "I've had ten or so sessions now and its hard to say whether its working or not. But i am taking less pain killers and my leg isn't hurting as much as it was before. So that must be a good sign!! I will only know if it has really worked when i go back to the Hospital on the 15th September for my check up.

It looks pretty certain that Chris will have the Operation two days later on the 17th unless there is a major recovery between the two check ups.

 

28.07.08

Operation Time

After the last few months of good progress Chris was then set back when the surgeons told him that they wanted to do a further operation on his leg to add two screws which should keep the bone in place and more solid.

The problem at the moment is that every time Chris walks on the leg the metal plate down the side of his leg is bending causing the top part of the fibula graft to move. Although there is more bone around the area there is no solid formation which the doctors were hoping. So they plan to insert screws diagonally through the plate and through both the new fibula bones and Chris' femur. This should make it all solid and stop it moving and allow everything to heal. In the mean time he has been advised to restrict how much weight is put through the leg and use two crutches where possible and minimum one crutch.

This is a blow for Chris but he knew it was a possibility. He said, "They surgeon told me about the operation but in the end it was down to me whether i wanted it or not. It took me a few days to think until i decided to go for it. Its been a long time since the crash now and i want it to heal. I think this is the best way forward. The operations planned for the 17th September up in Oxford but i will have scans and a check up two days prior and they will see how much progress has been made. There's a possibility it may have started healing properly but i don't know."

To try and help the leg heal quicker Chris has been in contact with an MS society who are going to allow him to use there Hyper baric Oxygen Chamber. This will increase the oxygen in the blood and aid healing. The reason Chris hasn't taken this route earlier was because he asked a few surgeons about it for his injury and they said it would heal quicker but, using it lot will make the bone softer although appearing strong.

Chris said, " I was given a lot of information before about the oxygen tank, and i know they work as that's what healed me when i dislocated my hip in 2004. But at the time i didn't want my leg to heal and be weak. But now there is a fair amount of bone around the area and it just needs that little bit more to heal the gap. I'm hoping it will work as i want to get off crutches as soon as possible and start walking normally again!!

 

09.06.08

Good Progress

Chris has been making some good progress since his last visit to the Hospital. He has been continuing his gym sessions and been walking around a bit to try and help build up the leg muscles. Although he still suffers from a fair amount of pain in the leg he says it is getting better. "My leg muscles seem to be improving all the time. I do struggle to walk properly at the moment without a big limp, using one crutch seems to be doing me good and i hoping the progress will continue. The Gym has helped me get my upper body strength back to what it was before and I'm starting to feel a lot stronger now." said Chris.

 

15.05.08

Hospital Update

Chris went back to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital on Tuesday to see the surgeons about his leg. He Had a CT Scan early in the morning and then returned after lunch for the Surgeons to examine the scans.

They were pleased with the progress since the last scan 8 weeks ago. The bottom of the femur has virtually healed properly where the bone graft is. However the top part isn't quite as good. That being said the improvement in that area has been good meaning no further operations at this stage. It also means Chris can now start to walk around with one crutch in safe areas and put more weight through the leg. Also a major step forward is that Chris is allowed to try and walk without crutches for a few steps around his home to see how the leg is. If Chris gets any pain then he must stop.

There are some risks involved with Chris putting more weight through the leg. The Surgeons have told him there's a risk the metal plate could crack due to stress if the bones in his leg aren't healed well enough to cope with the weight. However this risk is a small one, which if it did happen Chris would need an operation to replace the plate and would also do a bone graft at the same time to add bone to his femur.

 

03.05.08

Gym Boost

Chris has been given a major boost in his recovery after being given a one years free gym membership at Hayling Islands top hotel, The Langstone Hotel. They have good gym facilities and also a swimming pool steam room, sauna and Jacuzzi which will all aid his recovery.

Chris received the pass a few weeks ago and already can feel the difference especially after swimming sessions. He said, "I'm trying to go to the gym about three times a week, mixing that in with four sessions of physio and also my daily leg exercises i'm hoping to speed up my recovery. I have been swimming the last couple of weeks and its really improving my leg muscles which had basically wasted away after my accident."

 

16.04.08

Johno Flys Again

Chris made a step forward with his recovery at the weekend by flying out to Poland with good friend Jason Doyle. This shows the progress as it means his leg is bending well and giving him no pain when sat for a period of time. This is one of the many outings he's had in recent weeks having visited the, Isle of Wight, Reading, Mildenhall, Rye House and Somerset to watch meetings and see friends.

Chris will be back at Oxford for another check up on the 13th May after being told on the last visit that they wanted to wait longer before deciding on whether to operate on his leg. This is due to the infection and also because the femur is healing better but no perfectly.

 

14.03.08

Latest Check Up

Chris went for his latest check up on his leg on Tuesday and came away with slight uncertainty to what’s going to happen next. The good news is that the bones healing well but there is concern about the progress of where the top pieces of fibula inserted into the femur join the main bone.

Chris will return to Oxford in two weeks to have a CT scan to see the leg in more detail and a decision will then be made to whether an operation will take place. If they decide to operate then they are looking to graft a piece of bone from his hip into the leg to add bone to the area where healing is slowest which should add strength and also help bridge the gaps between the two bones.

More good news though is that Chris is being referred to specialists to provide him with heal cups to make his legs the same length when walking about.

Progress is still being made with the knee movement. Chris is now managing to bend the knee 70 degrees with the physio which is a good improvement. He is in good spirits and is so eager to get fit again he has sorted an exercise program out to build up all his legs muscles again after they wasted away from all the operations.

 

05.02.08

Good News for Johno

Chris had a check-up at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford today and the doctors are very pleased with the amount of growth around the bone inserted into his thigh. This means that for the time being he will not need another graft, although they have not ruled that out in the future. But the signs are that the whole area is starting to knit together well and Chris has been told that he can now partially weight bear on the injured leg. This is much sooner than expected and apparently this will, in turn, stimulate bone growth as well.

Chris is naturally delighted at the news. He has started to get frustrated by the lack of activity especially as normally at this time of year he would be busy going to the gym and getting his bikes ready for the new season. He has also just bought another car with automatic transmission so he is getting mobile in every sense. It also means less driving for his mum as Chris is paying for 3 sessions of physio each week as well as all the visits to hospital.

 

26.01.08

Back to Oxford Tuesday

Chris is to return to Oxford Hospital on tuesday to see the specialists dealing with his leg and pelvic injuries. The Surgeons will look at new x-rays of the injuries to see how they are progressing. There is a strong possibility Chris will have to undergo a further operation to graft bone from his hip to this femur to join the two bits of fibia bone currently in the leg.

Chris has been having physio three times a week since before Christmas and its starting to pay off concerning the movement in his knee. He is now able to bend the knee approximately 45 Degrees which is still a long way off full movement but is a major improvement since returning home from hospital. Chris said "The leg is starting to move much better than before. It's a long way off the full movement which i want it's good progress. I'm hoping it will continue to improve at this rate as the sooner i can bend the knee the better my recovery will be."

 

02.01.08

Recovery Update

Chris has been progressing well since leaving hospital. He has since returned to Oxford to have x-rays on the leg and pelvis, in which they were pleased with the results. He is due back in Oxford in about 3 weeks time to check on the progress and the Surgeons will consider a further operation which could help heal the leg faster.

Chris has now finished his course of IVAnti-biotics and has started taking the oral equivilant which he will be on for four weeks or more depending on how the infection in the leg is going.

 


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