We’re having a lovely time – but you might not quite wish you were here!
Every year, at some point in August, I sit and write a blog from holiday and, as usual, the
Button family are in Provence in the south of France.
I have to tell you straightaway that this holiday has proven particularly dangerous for us as
the potential perils of trips abroad are brought into sharp focus. It all started well as I
followed my own advice and shared the weight of our luggage evenly over three bags so
there wasn’t a single really heavy piece of luggage to hurt my back.
I got everyone to wear comfy trainers for travel through the long day from Bristol airport to
Marseille and on to our little holiday villa. We managed to get through this first day and
began to relax into the holiday – but then the trouble began.
First, my wife Jenny slipped getting into the pool to leave her with a peach of a bruise on her
bum. Then, on the same day, my dad slipped down the stairs and hit his back on the same
step.
Taking a tumble when you’re a grown-up is often a cause of serious injuries. When you are
four-years-old, like my youngest son, you are designed to bounce and can, indeed, fall
multiple times a day and carry on like nothing happened. When you’re 78, like my dad, then
a fall is much more severe and the bruise and cuts over his spine looked nasty.
Initially, there is plenty you can do to help after your first assessment – making sure that the
patient hasn’t suffered a fractured spine and is safe to move and doesn’t need A and E, then
getting them to rest up with an ice pack. We continued to keep an eye on him throughout
the day and into into the next, to check he was improving rather than regressing.
Thankfully the cuts and bruises were the worst part of his injury and, with some light work
from his handy live-in chiropractor, we carried on with the trip – although we looked at the
pool steps with a bit more caution!
The holiday continues as most trips like this do with lots of ice creams, sunbathing and
dragging the kids round ancient monuments in the vain hope that they somehow absorb
some culture into their bones, in between moans about the heat and their incessant need
for more refreshments.
During one such fabulous walk around a Roman amphitheatre in Vaison-la-Romaine (look it
up, it’s amazing), it was my mum’s turn to join in. By the very nature of this large
amphitheatre, there were a lot of steps to walk up and down in the heat and, by the end of
the morning, I noticed that my mum was limping. On further investigation, she admitted to
having pain in her knee.
I stopped her limping and got her to sit under one of the many Cypress trees. After batting
away the immediate pain of my children moaning about the heat (why have we stopped and
when can we have an ice cream?) I managed to test mum’s leg and look for the source of
her medial (inside) knee pain. Sure enough it was a common injury called a medial collateral
ligament sprain. You can test for this quite easily anywhere – I have done it countless times
on a rugby pitch.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have my kit bag with me. However, it isn’t usually a serious injury, so
I helped her limp to a nearby restaurant, put some ice on it and even managed to get the
kids their ice cream. As soon as we got back to the villa I had just the thing in my bag – some
kinesio tape.
There is some skill attached to putting this medical tape on. I have been on many courses to
find out how to do it just right but, if you get stuck on holiday, try and buy some from a
pharmacy and go on YouTube to see how to apply it.
As I write this rather detailed ‘postcard’ we have left the hills of Provence and are staying by
the beach in Ramatuelle. The sun is shining and so far the Buttons seem to be recovering
from their injuries. Fingers crossed we make it back with no more hiccups!
I hope everyone is enjoying the summer, although I do realise that the weather back home
is not that great. Health and healing also come from getting some rest. Best wishes from the
seaside.
