Ireland day 0253. Wednesday 08 June 2022- UKHip02


Ireland day 0253. Wednesday 08 June 2022- UKHip02
Today’s summary Early train down to Southampton for XRay, consultation and blood test checkup for my hip replacement 5 years ago.   All in order.   Return to Dublin in the evening
Today’s weather Cool and overcast most of the day.   Occasional heavy downpours
Today’s overview location
(The blue mark shows the location of my route)
Close-up location
(Click button to download GPX file of route as walked today)
Southampton hip check
Commentary

I must admit I’m not keen on hospitals and X-rays and blood tests etc., so I wasn’t really very enthusiastic about coming to Southampton today for the five year check on my hip. To compound the discomfort, my appointment was 10am and as the hospital is quite a long way from Southampton station – and I had to have the X-ray first – it meant an early start and no leisurely cups of tea in bed.

Anyway London was looking good as I came through bright and early – Big Ben has finished his redecorations and is back out after five years under wraps. It was nice to see the familiar sights again. Down in Southampton, it was all a bit less familiar. I’ve probably only been there half a dozen times in my life and I hardly know it at all.

But what of the main event – the consultation itself? Well it was pretty anticlimactic, actually. Quite a lot of hanging around waiting for various bits of paper to be signed off but eventually everything was in order and I saw the surgeon. He told me that my repaired hip was “looking good”. I need to wait a few days more for the blood test results to come through but assuming they are ok, there’s no need for any further checks on it for another five years. Hooray!

The surgeon also looked at my other hip – the “good” one – and it’s looking ok but showing signs of wear and tear. It was already pretty knackered five years ago to be honest and at the time he said there was probably only five years left before it would need replacing. Anyway today it seems like the wear rate is only about half what he expected, so there’s probably five more years left, still. There is no clinical need to do anything, but if it gets painful he thinks I should consider getting it resurfaced too. I’m in no hurry as it will cost a lot and I need to save up first!

Anyway that’s the main news of the day delivered. I’m on the train back to Gatwick now, then on to Dublin. It’s been nice being back in the UK briefly, but there’s lots to do in Ireland and I’m looking forward to getting stuck in and making the most of the summer!

 

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

Decided to treat myself to “proper” lunch (i.e. not sandwiches and a Thermos of coffee) after surviving for 5 years Café in Southampton John Lewis.   Interesting view of the cruise ships reading to depart, belching out clouds of acrid smoke
London early this morning.   Nice to see Big Ben back again.
Interactive map

(With elevations corrected at GPS Visualizer)

Total distance: 8420 m
Max elevation: 29 m
Min elevation: 3 m
Total climbing: 86 m
Total descent: -79 m
Total time: 03:43:19
Download file: Southampton 1 and 2 compressed corrected.gpx

You can read earlier and later days’ blogs below

Previous day’s blog
Next day’s blog
Ireland home page

 Save as PDF