Case Study - John Chatterton

Coastal Walk

Before the operation...

In February 2000 I had a hip re-surfacing operation at Birmingham?s Royal Orthopaedic Hospital after years of discomfort and little walking other than to the pub and back. It occurred to me after the successful operation that the dream I had cherished for years might now be possible.

After the operation...

John O?Groats to Lands End by the road, used every year by countless cyclists on charity events and the occasional naked rambler is officially 864 miles. I set myself certain rules such as crossing at the lowest bridging point giving me an overall mileage of 5,000 miles for my journey.

The ?good? hip was feeling the strain after 3,000 miles and a pit stop was required to return to ROH for resurfacing this hip too! The operation in March 2006 was, as with the first, a real success thanks to Ronan Treacy and his team at ROH.

In all the journey from Lands End to Lands End took 328 days at an average of 15.25 miles per day, with the projected mileage of 5,000 miles.
Over 2,000 hours of walking and the vertical equivalent of climbing up and down Everest about 12 times.
The South West Coast path plus the 20 or so estuary detours inland from Poole to Minehead and the Pembroke coast path accounted for over one fifth of the distance.
There are 600 styles on the Pembroke path alone and although my hips stood up to the constant pounding on rough terrain, minor mobility problems made fences and styles the biggest challenge.

My motto when times were tough, like during the 12 hour battle across the wastes of Knoydart or the endless flood banks around The Wash, was ?I?ve started so I?ll finish?.

John?s walk around Britain raised money for orthopaedic research. Further donations are welcome to John Chatterton 32 Windermere Road, Moseley Birmingham B13 9JP. John is planning on writing a book of his experiences.

Surgeon Summary

This is a good example of how a resurfacing procedure worked for john and enabled him to fulfill his lifetime ambition.