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An accident waiting to unhappen

...#knee2 some 45yrs later

So today is "trick or treat", but in my case the treat is knee surgery to hopefully enable me to walk more than a few steps without pain.

Let's rewind about 45yrs... I'm working as the touring sound engineer for a musical theatre show "Elvis!" which, following a successful tour around the major UK regional theatres, has secured a series of stadium gigs across Scandinavia. Now the technical requirements for a stadium are significantly larger than would be the case in a normal UK theatre. We'd hired a much bigger sound system. On a touring show like this, everything packs into large "flightcases", heavy wheeled boxes that stack up conveniently on an articulated lorry or three for easy transportation between venues.

It's about 5 in the morning. We've been up all night after the show has come from the previous venue and we're starting to unload. One big flight case has a mind of its own and sets off towards the local lake. The ice is probably thick enough, but who knows, so I decide it's down to me to stop the case from going in the lake. Of course I fail. My right knee is trapped between the flight case and a brick wall. Anglo-Saxon ensues. But I'm twenty-something, I'm invincible, and I pay little attention.

Over the years, I figure out that twisting that knee is a bad idea. Then, without warning, in 2012 one morning I can't walk at all. I crawl down the lane outside my cottage in Buckinghamshire to the sports Physio at the end of the road. He gets me back vertical and sends me round to the doctors. X-rays reveal "historic damage" - a complex tear, in fact.

The medical advice was to grin and bear it for 10 years or so. Because we don't want the replacement to wear out before I do! So here we are some 13 years later, and it's time for the op.

Added 3 weeks later...

It's been a huge success. I'm off my crutches and cleared to drive. I can twist my right knee. It's going to take a while to get everything completely back to normal, but it's looking really positive. A huge thank you to the medical team at the Park Royal Elective Orthopaedic Unit and at Chelsea and Westminster who made this possible. Amazing.

Tags: anecdote, mistakes
Posted by The Soho Geek on October 31, 2025