Val Stones, a retired Headteacher from Shepton Mallet, Somerset, shot to fame when she appeared on the Great British Bake-Off in 2016, gaining the nickname ‘The Cake Whisperer’. Then hip pain blighted her new life.
“There isn’t a day goes by that I’m not proud that I can stand tall again. I was actually almost an inch shorter on the side that I had my hip replaced on, and now I can stand straight again.”
Val Stones, Practice Plus Group Hospital, Shepton Mallet hip replacement patient
I was a little bored in retirement so decided to try out for Bake-Off and it was tremendous fun.
Everyone on set saw that I was a fitness fanatic; I always had my pedometer in my pocket and would compete with the crew to get my steps up each day and we’d run on the spot for fun. I’d gone to the gym for 27 years and had always run and cycled.
Bake-Off transformed my life and opened up so many incredible opportunities. I was travelling the country making appearances at festivals, and supporting charities.
But it turned out that over the years of being a fitness fanatic, I had also ruined my hip.
“It turned out that over the years of being a fitness fanatic, I had ruined my hip…when I was baking, the hip pain was just as bad and I was working through the pain.”
Val Stones, Practice Plus Group Hospital, Shepton Mallet hip replacement patient
Hip pain was always there but I put off seeking help because I was so busy. In the years following Bake-Off it got progressively worse, until the pain got to such a degree that it was waking me in the night, and I couldn’t turn over. Walking was becoming difficult and I’d have to hold on to someone. I also noticed that my walking had changed, that I was limping. I had a kind of swaying movement.
If I was wanting to dance, and I love dancing, that was difficult. When I was baking, the hip pain was just as bad and I was working through pain.
It got to the point where I was having to consider turning down appearances at festivals and charity events. I had opened up this whole new world in retirement and my hip pain was closing it down for me. I could see myself deteriorating every day.
By the time I sought help, a short waiting list was really important to me. I chose to go to Practice Plus Group Hospital, Shepton Mallet because of its shorter waiting times, but also because I knew several people who had been there who raved about it.
From the first time I walked in, I felt I was being treated as an individual, and it felt like a small hotel with one big family in it. They confirmed I needed a hip replacement, and I was booked in.
They treated me with such care and respect. I’ve even got a list of all the nurses and occupational therapists and people who helped take care of me.
When you’ve had the operation, nobody can tell you exactly how you are going to be and the pain is uncomfortable, but it is never beyond what you can cope with, because the pain management has been carefully put in place by the hospital, and if you follow the regime, you’ll be fine.
I also knew that I could ring the ward and somebody would be there to talk me through what I was feeling uncomfortable with. On one particular occasion, a nurse rang me back again before she left her shift so that she could be sure I was okay, which I thought was absolutely fantastic.
I managed quite well on doing the exercises I was given and I knew if I was in any difficulty, I just had to ring the physio team here and there was always somebody to say, well, try that or do that, and they invite you in if they need to see you.
There isn’t a day goes by that I don’t get up and smile, because I’ve slept without pain. There isn’t a day goes by that I’m not proud that I can stand tall again. I was actually almost an inch shorter on the side that I had my hip replaced on, and now I can stand straight again.
And my family have said, Mum, we’ve never seen you standing so tall.
To anyone who thinks they might need a hip replacement, I say don’t wait, don’t think, ‘Oh, I’ll last a little bit longer yet’. I did that. And when you are in pain, in the dark at night, it’s time that you had it done and got yourself better.
It’s so worth it.
