Six years ago, November 1st 2015, Nick had a horrendous accident while cycling, smashed his shoulder and ankle and totally wrote off the car that hit him. 

A week last Sunday, October 31st, while cycling with the club, he touched wheels with someone, fell off and broke his hip. The other hip, that is; not the one he broke 15 years ago, while cycling, of course. He claims it didn’t feel too bad at first, so, refusing all offers of help, he got back on his bike and set off to ride home, stopping in Nogaro to call me when he realised he could go no further. By the time I got there, he’d diagnosed a broken neck of femur.

We went to A&E at the local hospital, where the staff were very amused by us turning up with his pyjamas, toothbrush, etc, but where his diagnosis was confirmed.

It being Sunday, the surgeon wasn’t around, but we were pleased to learn that Nick would have the same surgeon this time as last. Monday was a bank holiday, but the surgeon appeared in the afternoon; he’d operate on Wednesday.

For me, Wednesday was the longest day ever; Nick went to theatre at 9am and the anaesthetist had told him the op would take about an hour, so I called at 11, but there was no news. I called again throughout the day, until he eventually got back to the ward after 5 pm. What a relief!

So all is well, they found some evidence of osteoarthritis in the joint, so gave him a replacement hip.

He was allowed to come home on Wednesday, looking very thin after 10 days of hospital food. Kieran came over, cooked us delicious, highly calorific “smash burgers”, and left us with his deep fat fryer.

Nick’s making amazing progress and hopes to be off his crutches soon. He hasn’t mentioned getting back on his bike yet, but I’m sure it’s not far from his mind.

Every day since he came home we’ve had so many visitors and have had to start asking people not to arrive with cakes, biscuits and other edibles as we’ve had to freeze some of the gifts that friends have brought round, even a packet of chocolate muffins, left on the door handle – from whom we haven’t been able yet to discover!

One friend has even invited him to a village lunch on Sunday, a great piece of babysitting, which will allow me to do the craft fair where I’d booked a stand months ago.

I can’t say the last 12 days have been much fun, but it could have been far worse and Nick will soon be back to full strength – the bionic man rides again again!