Classified?

The thing I've noticed about the NHS, apart from the unreliable quality of care and general shabbiness of its buildings, is that it operates on its own version of the need-to-know basis.

Usually that means you get to know only that which you need to know, at the time you need to know it.

My experience of the NHS is that they operate more by telling you only some of what you need to know at the time you need to know it.

Which I guess is why I have no idea whether, at the moment, I am allowed to walk around lots on crutches, or if I'm supposed to walk only a bit, and whether it's OK to walk without my crutches (which I have been doing because I'm very stable now).

Today I was at a first birthday party (doing an entertainment slot of action songs, I love doing kids' parties!) and one of the guests was an orthopaedic theatre nurse. The last party I went to I met someone who works in healthcare as well. I seem to be attracting these people right now!

Anyway, this lady told me I should be "completely non-weight-bearing for six weeks".

Really?

"Oh yes," she said. "The bones in the foot are very small and they need to heal."

So now I'm totally confused.

Am I supposed to be resting still? My surgeon just told me to elevate my feet when I'm sitting but he didn't say how much sitting I should be doing.

I thought I was erring on the side of caution by mostly not walking anywhere, but now I wonder if I shouldn't be doing that?

The orthopaedic theatre nurse lady did say it was OK to be using crutches, so I'm thinking maybe I should just be keeping my weight off the front of my feet, and if so, I'm probably OK as I have been mostly doing that. (Apart from a few exploratory times when I've put my weight down through my whole foot. And to be honest, it's felt fine.)

Hopefully that hasn't done me any damage.

But how much easier would this process be if I'd been given some actual information, and comprehensive information at that?