A Mind Filled with Positivity

Kate experienced a year of adversity that few could imagine. She suffered a serious road traffic accident which required limb reconstruction. During this treatment she was then diagnosed with breast cancer and only two weeks after this cancer diagnosis her mum died. This left her feeling devastated. Yet recalling her experience, Kate speaks with such clarity and positivity, and firmly believes that her strong mindset framed her successful treatment outcome. 

Kate Back at the Scene of the Accident

As a keen cyclist, Kate had cycled for over 30 years without an issue. She particularly enjoyed her daily 20 minute bike ride through South London to work at a school as a maths teacher.  In November 2021, on her usual route to school, she was hit by a truck which turned into a junction, having not seen her.  Her legs went under the back wheel and her face was pushed into the handlebars. Kate was taken to King’s College Hospital and found to have multiple fractures to the tibia and fibula of her right leg, as well as a fracture to her left eye socket which affected her vision. 

From the minute Kate came into the hospital, she felt quite overwhelmed by a feeling of care from the staff and felt that everything was going to be okay.  She was reassured by the medical expertise of the team and their experience.  This knowledge made her feel extremely positive and grateful that she was at King’s for treatment.  She believes this early optimism helped set her on the right path for recovery. 

Kate’s Damaged Bike

Kate had previously had a spiral fracture to her leg, so pinning the bones wasn’t an option. After a few days in a half plaster-cast, she was fitted with a Taylor Spatial Frame. This was fitted from her knee to ankle with pins and wires driven into her bones using a live X-ray to ensure the bones were perfectly aligned. Over many weeks, the struts were adjusted using measurements set by a computer.  Her family helped set the struts to make it easier for her. Kate was interested in the medical process and the technologies used and this gave her a better understanding and belief about her own healing capabilities.

After a week in hospital Kate was able to go home and her family converted a downstairs study into a bedroom for her, so it was easier for her to get around. The daily cleaning and dressing of the raw wounds where the pins and wires went through the skin to the bone was quite challenging, but Kate soon mastered the technique with the help of Rebuild’s specialist limb reconstruction nurses.  

Kate in her Converted Study

Kate recalls the pain as being bearable. She initially had quite sharp aches but these improved quickly. The inflammation around the sites, where she had thin wires, was quite uncomfortable against the skin on her knee and ankle, but these were removed after a couple of months. She was given morphine and other drugs to treat the pain in the early days, which helped but also made her feel quite fuzzy headed and affected her emotions, which she found difficult.  

After about 6 weeks Kate was able to weight-bear which was quite an exciting moment. She felt that Rebuild’s specialist physiotherapist helped enormously, right from the start, not only physically but in an emotional sense too by helping with expectations. Kate also found ways to make the frame more comfortable on a daily basis by coming up with practical solutions.  As it was winter time, she found a way to cover her leg and frame while being outdoors.  With her daughter’s help, she adapted a baby’s waterproof parka all-in-one into a frame cover to keep her leg warm and dry, by cutting the arms and legs off the garment so the coat part was easy to put over her frame.  Kate believes that it was worth spending time adapting her clothes as it helped keep her spirits up. The frame was even decorated in tinsel at Christmas. Before her accident, Kate enjoyed hill walking and being out with the dog – she was able to get out with the family by using a wheelchair which she found really beneficial. 

Kate returned to her teaching job on a part-time basis after two months, and thoroughly enjoyed getting back to her normal routine. She found the middle stage of her frame treatment quite difficult and felt like the process was endless, with weeks rolling into each other and at times struggled to imagine walking again. At this time, Kate found it reassuring when visiting the clinic to recognise other patients that had progressed in their treatment from a frame to a boot and this gave her confidence in the process. 

Kate with her Husband, Nigel

Just as Kate was adjusting to her new life with the frame, and only four months into treatment, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Only two weeks after this, her mother died.  This was a big shock and Kate explains she had to face a mental challenge of drastic acceptance that all would be okay. With three children ranging in age from 12 to 18, she kept a strong belief in healing and remained positive for them. Kate explains that her husband was a rock during her treatment. He was incredibly supportive and understanding, stepping in to care for both her and the children, which meant he was unable to work for a while. Kate was grateful that her teaching salary continued while she was on sick leave to ease the financial burden. Sadly she was only back at work for two months before her cancer diagnosis, so had to take sick leave once again.

The cancer treatment quickly became the focus, with a curative treatment planned over a three month period. Kate had a mastectomy, followed by an intense programme of chemotherapy. This was a low point in Kate’s treatment, both mentally and physically, as the chemo destroyed her white blood cells leaving her open to infection. With the wounds created by the screws of the frame, she became a high risk patient. To monitor for signs of infection, Kate had to take her temperature each day. Unfortunately, after two months of chemo Kate suffered an infection, requiring intravenous antibiotics. When this progressed to sepsis, a decision was taken to remove the frame immediately. This meant the frame was removed in June, much earlier than planned, with an uncertain outcome. Kate’s leg was fitted into a boot and monitored closely for several months. Against all the odds, Kate’s leg mended with perfect alignment of the bones and both Kate and the medical team were delighted.

Kate successfully recovered and is now two years on from her accident and cancer treatment. Looking back at her experience, Kate believes there were several good things that came to light – being off work made her realise just how much she loves her job as a teacher. She also saw how much kindness there is in people, from the support of the medical team and Rebuild, to her own friends. Even at the time of her accident she was touched by the kindness of the general public, when people brought blankets and pillows to the scene of the accident for her, and thoughtful gestures like giving up their seat on a bus. She fully understands how easy it is to feel flat and disillusioned as the weeks go on, but her advice for patients is to believe in the process and try not to worry until you need to. She recommends embracing the frame and finding solutions to make it more bearable, and to keep in mind the end result. 

Fitted with a Taylor Spatial Frame