Cathy's Operation

Cathy has battled with a painful back since being diagnosed with scoliosis of the spine at the age of 15. In latter years the sideways tilt of her spine has increased, and an operation to straighten it at Stanmore Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital was arranged. This took place on 22 December 2009 where metal rods were screwed to each side of the spine to straighten it by 70%. The surgeon was unable to straighten it completely but was able to remove arthritic spurs on the base of the spine which had caused her acute pain and was the main reason for the operation. Unfortunately during her time in hospital she contracted E Coli and did not leave Stanmore until 17 February 2010. I stayed at the hospital for the first 3 or 4 weeks and then commuted for the final 4 weeks (a 100 mile round trip) - about 4000 miles in all and during that awful winter!

Since that time Cathy has had continual muscular and nerve pain which is normal after such an operation, and the surgeon said that the recovery actually will take 12 - 18 months. She is able to walk 20 - 30 minutes every day and finds hydrotherapy one of the most beneficial exercises. She has also lost 2 stone.

Below you will see photos of Cathy before and after the operation. Also, there are photos of a different Jaguar I have bought - an S Type. It helps Cathy to have a smoother car to reduce jarring to her spine. The car is brilliant with a V6 2.7 litre twin-turbo diesel engine and is so silent and smooth. As you will gather, I'm a Jaguar fan!