Broken ankle-2 years later

Posted on June 2, 2008 by Christi

Well I just thought I would let everyone know that almost exactly two years ago I had a trimaellor ankle break which I never thought I would walk again from. Slowly over the past two years I have re-learned to walk and run on it. It has gotten better with time. Two weeks ago I decided to see how healed it was. We went to Disney World. Which if you don’t know you walk ALOT….. As I told my husband this was a great test to see how it would hold up to all this walking. It did amazingly well. There was only one time that it twinged enough with pain that I took an hour break to put it up. Otherwise I just kept going and it was fine we went to all the park (even some twice all day long for one week and it held up really well. It still gets swollen here and there and it still lets me know its not perfect but I figure since I still have metal down there and since it was hanging off my ankle at one point I can’t complain.

1,654 thoughts on “Broken ankle-2 years later”

Vivian on March 25, 2009 at 5:29 pm said:

Thanks to everyone on this site for the information you provide. I have not made any progress in PT and when I do all they ask, wind up with foot up for several days, ice packs…you know the drill. Since this break happened on Nov. 29th I expected to toss my wheelchair a month or two ago. I guess the plate and 11 screws they put in are helping to stop my movement, but my foot is very numb when I try to flex it an one side doesn’t move at all. I am wondering sadly if the pep talks are just that and after 6+ weeks of PT why this is not getting better. I’m also having alot of pain & heel does not want to go down.
Dr. says I am lucky to have my foot and keeps telling me he expected this. When should I get worried about motion not coming back? I really expected some progress by now. Sorry to be a whiner! Only those of you who have “been there” know the facts.
Houston Wes on March 25, 2009 at 4:25 pm said:

Hello everyone 🙂
I noticed the board being a bit quiet too

LEE congrads 🙂
Loise, I’m w u,.. never seems like the right time to get the surgery to have it out..lol But Lee will be bragging how she got it out of the way when we’re back her 8 mos or a yr later whining about the down time.. I’ll try to make note to get on here to say what’s up & keep u some company Lee 😉
We have the kids coming down this sat for a week (spring break already WoW!) & we’re gonna be busy, but I wiLL look up the board from my phone to keep up with ya & we can talk some trash together. WOW! it seems like just the other day u were paying a driver to assist you. Next thing you know you were up and around.. now back here, BUT you’re coming out this time a freeee bird 🙂 awesome, awesoMe.

Vivian, WelCome to the site. good thing to keep in mind while going through this is the positive outlooks. Now I know at first that may sound like an “easy for you to say” statement, but coming from folks on here I can assure you we’ve found ways to look to just that.

Which part of Florida you live in? I lived down there for awhile – West Palm Beach 🙂

Good thing with this kind of injury is that water sports are good for recovery. Maybe not immediately, but definitely as you are going down the long stretch there are lots of possibilities.

Keep your chin up 😉

Don, good to hear from you.. sorry to hear about the recent injury that got your promotion, but that cool you can just work the one job 🙂

I’ve put on about 20lbs since I got done to Texas. And it is HeaLthy weight. I’m at the gym working my entire body real well. It feels GreAt.

Til Later,
Wes
trac on March 24, 2009 at 10:46 pm said:

Lee, Lois, everyone! Nice to see some good news posted here. Lois, way to go — way to get up and try skiing again. Can only try, right?

Lee, so glad to hear your surgery went well. I was thinking about you. I’m doing the opposite of you — I’m going in w/o metal and coming out w/metal. 🙂 But, I know exactly what you mean by not be nervous and just wanting it to be done. I am so ready for my surgery on the 10th. I am nervous — but not as much as I just want it over with. Clark’s help, and a few others I’ve talked with have calmed me down about the fusion, and the tendon transfers — I have confidence in my surgeon. The only part now that makes me fret — is wearing a heavy fiberglass cast in the middle of a Midwestern summer! I’ve worn one the last 2 summers. Nothing like heat and humidity to make the cast even more uncomfortable and itchy…

Otherwise things are good — I’m hitting the wall, you know, that wall where you try to address your future with your new physical state, and it is creating some blues. But, mostly, it is good. Springtime is always nice.

I hope everyone else is well and back up and around soon.
Take Care & Peace!
trac
Louise on March 24, 2009 at 5:19 pm said:

Hi everyone!!!

I havn’t posted for over a month, so I thought I would just drop in and say hi to everyone!! It’s so strange…there was a time in my life that this blog WAS my life, and kept me going, so all you new people on, it is a great source of information and comfort! 🙂

I shall say hello to everyone…quite a few posts since my last one, so I wont address everyone individually!

But just to say hi to lee…glad your surgery went well! Good to see that when people have their metal out it goes well. Please let me know how long it takes you to get back to how u were before. I am considering going to the docs at some point to see about taking it out…it will be a year on the 23rd april (Oh my…a year?! Seems like yesterday!) and it is still very restricted and stiff, although I do not notice it day to day now, which is great!! Now there is no ‘good time’ to have the metal out though, as I am starting to apply for childcare related jobs, so thats never good, but we shall see.

I noticed it on sunday, after taking about 35 kids into a soft play area, and chasing a runaway around the outside a few times, and hurtling over chairs and stuff that were left around! My word…it swelled up later that day, and I had to ice it again…havn’t had to ice for a few months now! lol!

Not a lot else to update on really…my trip to norway was great…attempted skiing (rather unsucessfully!) just getting on with everything really! Last few weeks of my degree, thank goodness, and only 6 more weeks until I go to Thailand! Oh yes.

Anyway…hope everyone is doing well…tread carefully!!

Louise xx
Lee on March 24, 2009 at 3:49 pm said:

Hi all – very quiet here on the board. I thought I’d check in and give an update on last week’s surgery.

All went really well. I was surprisingly not that nervous going in – just eager to have it all done. I was under for 3 hours. Dr. took out all the metal and decided no bone graft was necessary, nor were any new screws or plates. So I am now metal free! He replaced 2 lateral ligaments and found a torn tendon, thought I still don’t know which one. He fixed that. Scoped the ankle joint and removed a lot of scar tissue and bone fragments left over from the initial fractures. And that was that. Woke up with a nerve block from the knee down, so no pain until about 4 am the next morning, and went right home. Slept most of the day and night. Now I’m in the splint totally non-weight bearing for about 3 weeks while all the repairs heal. He’ll take the stitches out on April 1 and decide if I go in a boot or cast for 2 weeks. Then I think I’m in a boot for another 2-3 weeks.

I took vicodin for 3 days, and now just a little advil when it feels sore. The 2 days post op were sore – I stayed in bed with foot elevated 2 feet on pillows. But now, up every day and crutching around. I’m moving around well, little swelling, and doing pretty great. So different than the first fracture!

So that’s my update. I’ll keep you posted as the healing and PT get going. I really hope my main source of pain was the torn tendon and fixing it will be the cure that gets me back to my usual activities.

Take care all. Would love to see folks on the board when I’m stuck at home for the next few weeks.

Cheers,
Lee
Don on March 19, 2009 at 1:34 pm said:

Greetings ankle breakers.

Long time no see. Thought I would stop by and say hello to everyone. I have been away for awhile because I have switched jobs as of late. I am now the manager at the plumbing supply where I worked befopre and have given up the night time security job. 1 job for the first time in 23 years. This happened because in the begining of January my broth in law who is the head of the company went down on a ladder nad broke his femur. Had an operation and a bar put inside to repair it. This was on a sunday, when I came to work on Monday I went hey tere is no one here running the place so I opened it up and started doing it. After 3 weeks of that and doing the second job he said why don’t you stay here full time and stop the other job. So that is where I have been.

Glad to see you are all getting along and improving and still giving advise to new people. Things for me are still the same no more improvement but no more falling behind so I guess that is good.

I will try to get back soon and check in

Don
Lee on March 16, 2009 at 4:01 pm said:

Vivian,

Your fracture sounds much like mine. My fibula was in many pieces, though the first was abut an inch above the protruding ankle bone, so maybe not as difficult to regain the walking. It does take a long time. The worse the break, the longer it takes. i can feel all of my hardware (which is why it’s coming out on Thursday) and it took me a long time to walk once the boot came off. I was using a cane 50 6 months after my fracture. It gets better each day, but depending on how it all heals, there may be limitations.

Stay with the PT and be patient. Anklequest is right – it may take you a lot longer than others. I was driving again at 12 weeks, but certainly not walking well for many after that.

Take care and keep posting.
-Lee
Anklequest on March 14, 2009 at 10:27 pm said:

Vivian,
Am so sorry to hear of your misfortune. Like the rest of us, it will take time to get over the trauma and get back to walking. If your surgeon says it was a horrible break, take him at face value and assume that it was. That being the case, it may take you much more time to get back on your feet than others on this board. Patience is probably called for. The fibula break sounds really bad. I have an 8 inch plate too but my break wasn’t nearly as bad as yours. I was more of a twisted splinter type of break which started up above the ankle about 2 inches. Also, I had a lot more swelling on the inside because I had a lot of damaged tissue there with several pins. So we all are different, and all react differently as well.
Anyway, all the best, let others help you as much as possible, and try to be patient. Your PT will be very important in your case, to help you feel that you can walk without harming yourself.

Ankelquest
Vivian on March 14, 2009 at 9:00 pm said:

I slipped while getting back into a boat in Florida and had a Trimalleor fracture of the right ankle with fracture of the fibula as well in 5 places. They put in a plate (over 7 – 8 inches and 11 screws. A friend reminded me that at least if I am cremated when I die I do have “scrap value”. This was in November and I still am not walking. I can do a little with the walker, but then the next day I am in so much pain, & huge amounts of swelling. I have been doing PT and they say am at a -10. Any encouragement on how long this healing process will take? Surgeon says fibula not fully healed (I lost iover 30% of bone)but safe to walk on as I am able. He says it will probably not be a fast process as it was a horrible break. I keep hearing people say 10-11 weeks and I am discouraged. It is numb across top and I can really feel the plate & screws. I appreciate any thoughts on this from those of you who have been through it.
Hina on March 13, 2009 at 8:55 am said:

Hi Anklequest,

Your question to me dated 10 March …
“I am assuming your pain has now greatly diminished? On the inside, outside? Was your leg swollen where the plate was?”

The weight bearing pain – that sharp pain when you moved your ankle past a certain degree (ie driving and using the excelerator (manual car)has diminished.

When the metal was in the foot – I had stiffness around the ankle especially when I lapsed with the foot exercises and now the foot feels lighter and free and flexible.

Yes I do have the swelling around the stitching outside and inside where the plate was. I had internal stitches which will take upto 6 months to heal. I do get the numb feeling at the top of my foot running from the ankle to the middle top toes. I’ve been told by the consultant that this will gradually get better – I hope 🙂

Regards
Hina
trac on March 12, 2009 at 11:39 pm said:

Lee, definitely, will do! That would be great.

AnkleQuest, yes it seems that it can almost definitely be traced back to my nursing home stay. We are going back to retrace, and there was very little movement of my knee. I should’ve received PT/OT 3 times a day, but rather received it for about a half hour, and then the nursing aids were to come in and move my leg at intervals, plus make sure it was kept straight. This did not happen. It remained bent, which allowed for the bones in the knee to grow together in the bent position. The other thing we are finding out is that I am one of those that the nursing home kept for an over extended period of time (7 months) purely because I had good insurance. I kept meeting people with orthopedic trauma who spent time on rehab units and went home much sooner. My current surgeon said I should’ve gone home after 2 months, no later.
But, hindsight is just that, right? I will admit that now I am moving forward I am angry — and am doing what is necessary to file the correct complaints with the state. There are other reasons as well. And, I have found that this nursing home has not passed a certification in the last 5 years. Nearing a shutdown twice. So, this time, the rehab center I am headed to is indeed a rehab center.

But, it sounds like I’ll be in a cast of some sorts throughout summer. Yuck. Casts in summer are just, well, yuck. 🙂

Take Care —
And, I really hope you catch those Fatsos —
My cousin is right there with you, he keeps me
laughing w/his stories of “underground demons”
(he’s a landscaper)

Peace,
trac
lois on March 12, 2009 at 9:59 pm said:

Anklequest, if you do end up with additional Fatso’s you can send them up here to the frigid north. I have a bone to pick with those little critters this year, (and not just an anklebone). I can show them what winter is really about and they are welcome to join me in freezing their little bottoms off. lol, Lois
Anklequest on March 12, 2009 at 8:47 pm said:

Hi Everyone!
I know we all consider ourselves basket cases in one way or another, but truly Trac and Lee are worse off than the rest of us. Both have a difficult road ahead. Trac, I am so glad you have a plan now. It seems like lack of a good rehab plan after your accident did you great harm. Lee, I am amazed to hear the extent of what you will go through and certainly you will be in our thoughts in the immediate days ahead. Do keep us posted.

Fatso, the goundhog living under our deck, showed up in the yard two days ago. March 1st was a bust. But now it looks like winter is over for Fatso even though we still have night frosts. I sure hope three little fatsos don’t show up this year and that we don’t have a yard full of groundhogs.

Anklequest
Lee on March 12, 2009 at 11:44 am said:

Trac – It would be fun to meet if you get out this way! Let’s keep it in mind.

cheers,
Lee
trac on March 12, 2009 at 1:45 am said:

Lee, Nice to hear from you! Thanks for that update on your friend. My physiatrist and I are creating a plan for rehab after the fusion, so that we can get to it as soon as possible. It feels good to finally be going into a surgery w/a proactive plan. I will be interested in hearing about your surgery, as I am having some bone grafts done as well as two tendon transfers.

Lois, your comment about finally being away and then being drawn back in made me giggle. We, too, are having a freeze — tonight it is supposed to be -3 degrees.

Good Luck on your surgery, Lee!
I know exactly what you mean when you say you want this behind you. I have an airline ticket to your corner of the world for late summer. So, I can’t wait to get a move on, got to see some Bay Area Baseball…

Take Care Everyone —
trac
Lee on March 11, 2009 at 8:01 pm said:

Debbie – just a note on your question to Lois about timetable. So, I was non-weight bearing for about 12 weeks, though I think in the last 4 or so of those I was weaning off crutches and “walking” in the boot. At 12 weeks, I took off my boot and began driving again. I was limping around for quite some time after that. Each step was a mystery – would it crack and crunch? Hurt? Feel ok? I never knew. By 5 months, I managed to make Thanksgiving dinner for 12 with some help, but paid dearly for it the next day. Outside of the house, I used a cane until about 6 months post injury. Now, on the verge of another surgery, it looks to most of the world as if I am walking normally. It’s been 8 months, in fact, yesterday. But, it still hurts sometimes. It still swells. And some mornings, I can’t get down the stairs the “normal” way – have to do one foot at a time. Other days, it feels pretty good. And I am still doing PT 2x per week. So, you can see, it takes a LONG time to get to “normal”, but you will see slow and steady improvement. Just this weekend, I was painting a wall and all the up and down on the ladder really made me sore, but it broke off some scar tissue inside (big loud crack, short spurt of pain, then lots of better movement!), and I feel great this week. I have great flexibility and movement this week. Go figure. I saw 3 foot and ankle orthos who said it takes a full 12-18 months to recover fully from a trimalleolar fracture, and the worse it is, the longer it takes. Be patient with yourself. You’ll get there, in time. PT is incredibly important, as is regular strengthening. It sucks that I’ve done it all and will need to do it all again in a few months, but it’s worth it if I get improvement. So, keep at it. You’ll get there!

Cheers,
Lee
lois on March 11, 2009 at 3:10 pm said:

Lee, I am so glad to hear from you and am wishing you all the very best next week. I also glad that you are getting this done after all the frustrating complications you have been through. It sounds as if they are determined to ensure every detail is taken care of properly this time. I was not even aware that they could do ligament transplants. Well, I don’t need to tell you, but you have a huge cheering section on this blog and that’s what we will be doing next week, is cheering you on. All the best to you Lee. Lois
Lee on March 11, 2009 at 1:23 pm said:

Hi to all! It’s been a while since I’ve posted (thanks for calling me out, Lois), but I have been reading along and keeping up.

Trace – i have a friend who had a fusion last year, while she was 5 months pregnant. she did great. Her ankle had collapsed after a horrific fracture in a ski accident. It was her 3rd surgery, and as she said, she was just done. I think she’s about 10 months out from the fusion and doing really well. Her walk looks almost normal, and being an Ironman Trialthlete, she’s feeling really good about being able to exercise on the elyptical machine and ski again. I guess she has special pads in her shoes and ski boots that let her foot sit in the right position. Of course, yours will be different with the knee issue, but she said the pain was manageable and rehab was work, but worth it. I think there can be a good outcome with a fusion. I know there may be one in my future too – so I was looking for those good stories.

So, I am having surgery #2 next week – Thursday the 19th, 6:30 am, 8 months and 2 weeks after my initial injury in July 2008. It’s a complete overhaul. They are removing the tibia screw, b/c the screw head has caused a problem with the tib tendon. Hopefully, that will alleviate the pain I’ve had all along the bottom of my foot for the past few months. He’ll fix up any damage the screw might have caused to the tendon. They will also take out the fibula plate and screws, and if anything has not yet healed, replace it with a smaller plate or graft. They will scope the joint and remove scar tissue and bone fragments that seem to still be in there, and then get back to the posterior malleolus, which had a non-union and see if it’s stable enough to leave alone. If so, all good. If not, they will do a bone graft from my hip and see if they can get it to grow some bone. And finally, I’m getting 2 new ligaments from some kind soul who donated their parts before death. Dr. says 3 weeks in a cast, 3 weeks in a boot, longer if they do bone grafting. The no-driving thing will kill me again, but we got through it last time, we’ll do it again. I’m really nervous, but ready to have this behind me. I’m so hoping that it will be the last on this ankle. And we’re ready. I’ve got a freezer full of food for my family that I’ve been cooking for weeks now, the shelves are stocked with supplies, and I have help coming for 2 weeks. The rest will be on our own.

So, that’s my update… hi to Clark, Anklequest, Wes, Pam, Lois, Louise, and all my old friends. Welcome to the new – I’ll be getting to know all of you well in the coming weeks/months, as I’m sure I’ll be here every day to pass the time healing on the couch.

Cheers,
Lee
lois on March 11, 2009 at 12:18 pm said:

Hello to each and every one of you lovely people. Every time I think I am sort of saying good bye to this site and moving on, something else comes up and I get pulled back into it again. lol I don’t mind, I have really enjoyed it.

DEBBIE, thanks for your questions. My year was up two days ago, March 9 2008 break and March 10, 2008 surgery. YIPEEEEEE. You on the other hand are still very early into this at four months. Your bones have mended but the re-hab part of this is just starting. By re-hab, I mean the gradual day by day retraining of your ankle and leg to do the normal things it used to do. I think it is important for us to tell ourselves that it will take a year, or set some reasonable kind of time frame, so that you do not pressure yourself. Gradually over that year, you will see small almost daily improvements as you go about your normal activities. (but you will also notice a few frustrating set backs) Remember, I only broke my fibula, although I such a number on it that it was described not as broken, but as shattered. My ortho surgeon corrected my husband on that. But that may make my experience and time frames different from yours. I do recall that in November, eight months post break, having great difficulty walking down stairs in a lodge where I was staying. Pre-Christmas shopping in December, nine months post break, was possible but left my ankle tired and achy. Now at a year those things would not be a problem. Push yourself on, but treat yourself gently in the process. You are worth it.

Hey, Wes and Anklequest,,, I do not want to hear about 70 degree weather, or about snow having melted. We are still in an arctic deep freeze like nothing I have experienced in March during my lifetime. Unbelievable this year. The warmest place in British Columbia was still well below freezing yesterday. The wind chill factor has not helped either. Blaming it on the ground hogs who said we were getting another 6 weeks or so of winter. Anyone have a good recipe for groundhog stew??? lol. A real run on the travel agencies this March, with people who wanted to be planting gardens, not shovelling snow, getting so fed up they are bailing out on short notice to warmer climes, like Arizona, Hawaii, etc. I guess this is on of the winters, that one day we will look back on and say… where were you in the winter of 2008/2009.
Take care everyone. Lois
Anklequest on March 10, 2009 at 8:59 pm said:

Debbie,
Someone working on their feet for 12 hours should not go back to work for at least 6 months if one has a trimalleolar fracture I was told. Of course this would vary greatly from person to person. I still limp somewhat after 3 years and would not be able to be that long on my feet even now.

Hina,
I am assuming your pain has now greatly diminished? On the inside, outside? Was your leg swollen where the plate was?

Houston,
You are headed for a very tough program if it is a
Rad Tech program. Those students usually are not able to work who are in our program because it is so intense. There’s a lot of clinical hours in addition to class time. It is,however, a great gateway degree to lots of great possibilities so well worth the sacrifice of being poor for a while. I happen to be a good friend of the person who is (was?) the national director of the Rad Tech Board. Anyway, all the best if this is where you are headed. You cannot go wrong. It’s the first stop if you have a broken ankle.

No more black ice, the snow is gone!!! However, the mud is very slick & slimmy.

Anklequest
Houston Wes on March 10, 2009 at 12:42 pm said:

Ok.. may have to switch studies a little bit…

The Surgical tech program interferes too much with my work schedule (considering the traffic is horrible here). But I found a niCe healthy alternitive. Radiological Associate program at HCC… It takes two years, but works well with my schedule. There’s a greater need for radiology techs with more hospitals being built all around Houston and this will open a lot more doors over the long run. And pay right out of school is better than the surgical tech program, so the extra 11 months will be welcomed.

Thanks Anklequest & Lois =)
Its amAzing how far Ive gotten with OUT the drugs..

I do quite well with the working out.. I don’t run often, but I do the aqua class mon,wed,fri mornings for an hour.. I ReaLLy feel the work out on the ankle but being in the water helps to take some of the pressure off the recouping.. best of all, I don’t have swelling problems after the keeping up with the water exercises.

Hope everyone is enjoying the snow up north =) Its 70 when Im up in the morning before the suns even up =) I just sit outside and enjoy the birds..

Be SaFe up there..
I’ll take a swim for you all 😉 Pools are open here

Wes
Debbie on March 10, 2009 at 10:41 am said:

Lois,
I was reading your entry from 3/2 and saw you wrote “you no longer limp and can walk down the stairs unaided’. At around what point did this happen? I ask because I am 4 months today post break (Right malleolar), have had the long screw removed and have been granted permission to drive. I still have a VERY pronounced limp, pain with every step, move extremely slowly and take steps one at a time. I was told yesterday by the Dr that for every 1 week of muscle loss it takes 3 to regain it. I want to go back to work but 12 hour shifts on my feet seem way off. I am resuming therapy this week even though my Dr. didn’t think it was necessary I think it helps.Anyway I was hopin g you could share your timetable Thanks, Debbie
Hina on March 10, 2009 at 1:16 am said:

Hello Anklebreakers,

I broke (in places)and dislocated my right ankle on 1 June 2007. I had 6 pins and plate placed on the fibia and 2 long pins placed on the tibia. I was in plaster for 6 weeks and a long and painful recovery thereafter – especially retraining the foot to full functionality.

I had the hardware removed 1 Dec 2008 and now I’m so happy. During recovery I spent a lot of time trying to deal with the pain caused (possibly by the long pins) around the inner ankle. My hospital consultant said even with the surgery the pain may not go away and its the chance I took. Because for various reasons the operation did not take place for a year and half – the bone in the fibia started to grow round the plate, therefore the surgeon had to cut this off first.

I have been through all the pain and problems that you all are suffering from. This site has helped me tremendously – and I wish to thank all of you for sharing your good and bad days.

The ankle structure is complex so do seek advice and read other blogs and listen to your heart.

I wish all of you the very best of luck.

Hina
lois on March 4, 2009 at 6:29 pm said:

CLARK, Thank you for returning to help TRAC out, and a warm hello to you. ANKLEQUEST, thank you for contacting Clark. TRAC, all the best to you through all of this, and yes, congrats on getting your own place. WES, you really are sounding good these days. It sounds like you are going to have a very busy next 9 months, but good for you, it should all be worth it. SUSAN, hello. PAM, I missed returning your nice hello before. So Hello Pam, good to hear from you. You really are busy aren’t you, the ankle, the kids, the job AND an MBA. Impressive. LIZ have not heard from you recently, so I suspect you are getting better and busy with other things; like nephew and grandma. LEE, you have been quiet too, hope you are well, but know you have more medical coming up. So thinking about you as well. Hello to all the newer people, and you guys please keep posting and helping each other out. Those of us who did our breaks a while ago, will likely begin to drift away as we become more active and busy with our lives. We will pop in from time to time (as Clark has) if we feel we have something to offer or if we encounter some new problem ourselves, but we really do need you newer breakers to offer the support and encouragement to each other to keep this blog active and meaningful. Hugs to all you guys. Lois everyone. Lois
Clark on March 4, 2009 at 5:08 pm said:

Hello Trac,
Pain? Pain is really something else. Differant for everyone. Some can take a 10 out of 10, and some faint at a 3 out of 10. Differant for everyone. I was lucky, when I fell, the damage was so complete that the pain circut never made it back to my brain. Perhaps nerve damage helped, but I never felt any painn until after XRay and they moved my dislocated ankle around for the pictures. Then it hurt a bit, and I took a shot. Next, another shot of Fentynl, waking sedation to relocate the dislocated ankle, and then back in the ER, and finall off to surgery by 600 PM or, as this was an all day event, and woke up the next day with the doc telling me that it was one of the worst breaks he had seen, and doubted a good outcome (they have a way of making bad news sound tolerable) and then it hurt. 3 more surgeries as I said earlier, to finish it off with the fusion, and then starting all over again, for the last time.
I can imagine that getting it done will be a step forward towards getting well. That’s why I chose the fusion, as it was elective for me, but would have to be done someday soon, and I was tired of the interuption in my life.
I had, and never have had, any swelling issues. I woke up from the fusion in another velcro boot, my “exo-skeleton” which really supports all of the ankle and is adjustable for swelling. Just readjust the straps. And as we know Velcro came from the 1947 Roswell UFO crash (thanks, Aliens) it is strong, won’t let your ankle slip, and I swear by the boot, in fact even sleep with it, a pain, but necessary for me. As my ankle is too fragile or would cramp if stuck in the wrong direction, which it would under the covers on a cold night, and then really hurt, more the whole lower leg thing. Not just the ankle. My ankle is still rather dead to most feeling, except pain, but that is more manageable, and as I said, after 10 months I can hobble around the house with no boot or brace and just my foot, so progress is coming, slowly.
The reason I wear the boot at night is because of emergency, some fluke fire or whatever and the need to get out quickly, and can’t do that without the boot or brace for protection. Imagine trying to fasten the boot with a fire in the next room. No thanks.
I live alone, and have always been alone throught this, which sucks, but just the way it is. Except for my dog and cat, we three bachelors. It is hard, but you make it. The boot, with crutches, and now the shoes and the brace, really help. I was ambulatory immediately, moving from the bath to the recliner to the bedroom with no problem, having already had 3 prior operations so no problem.
I have no knee problems right now, but have had both ACL and MCL’s on each knee replaced, for 3 operations each both knees, back in 1982, my right knee retirement injury, and in 1991, my left knee injury.
So I can imagine how hard it may be with a knee injury, but a rehab facility will really help. Just no fun fighting over the remote (kidding!) Grab it and don’t let it go.
When are you going in for the fusion? I predict that you will do fine. Pain will probably be no more than you have already experienhced, but as I said, I think it is the inner bone pain from the screws (sounds like we will have similar fusions) that hurt me the most. But it goes away after a few days, four days for me, and then on pills.
Anything else don’t hesitate to ask. You will be glad that it is done and you can concentrate on healing the rest of your injuries.
For me this was a 2 year delay from what I wanted to do, move to the north coast try to decide whether I will be Great White food, of Cougar or Grizzly. But I won’t give up easily. At least I will be able to smell the Redwoods. So beautiful up there.
Take care,
Clark
Susan on March 4, 2009 at 12:35 pm said:

Trac, It is good you will be able to talk with Clark about your ankle fusion. You certainly have been through the mill and it seems it will be quite a bit longer before you’re through the next stage but I am thinking about you. Good luck with the op – chin up 🙂
Susan x
trac on March 4, 2009 at 11:54 am said:

Thank you Clark. I am a bit nervous of the pain, only because, right now, I haven’t any nerve responses in my leg, so I don’t feel much pain (actually, this is quite lucky, because otherwise I would feel quite a bit). You said you recovered at home? My dr. is having me go to a rehab center (actually a nursing home) for recovery. He said it is too difficult at home, at least for the first month or two. Did you have someone at home to help you? I have severe swelling in my feet and legs, did you? Did the surgery help at all with this? I know how my leg reacts to a cast, so I’m prepared for the swelling w/in the cast, which is not pleasurable.

I am nervous about this one. Prepared, and getting more prepared, it has to be done, I could’ve waited, but figured I should get it out of the way, right? But, thanks so much for posting that, it helps so much to hear from someone who has had it done.

I will probably post more questions when I have them.

Thanks to everyone — it sure has made all of this easier. Well, ok, not easier, but a sure lot more comfortable. 🙂

Take Care!
Peace,
trac
Clark on March 4, 2009 at 12:54 am said:

Hello Trak.
Hope this finds you doing well, and based on reading your last several entries, sounds like you are adjusting, and that is important in getting well and healing. But, differant for everyone. Subjective, not objective. Whatever you get comes from within you. You have been in a serious situation, perhaps worse that most, and you are dealing with it well. That’s all that anyone can ask.
As far as the fusion goes, let me very briefly tell you my short history.
May 18, 2007 I slipped on a loose rock while my dogs were swimming in our local lake, Lake Oroville. Major 5 bone break, simply called a TriMallealor fracture, meaning the Tib, Fib, and Talus were fractured and spiintered as well as the mellaloi were broken off and seperated (the outer ankle bones that we can feel and that show in picures, the bumps) but they can easily be tacked back up and they reattach, unless you get a non union, a non attachment. And I had that with my Tib mallaloi (sp) whatever it is called. Just would never heal.
First op placed a plate and screws on the Tib side, inside, and 45 days later late Sept. had the fib side , plate and screws added, and 45 days later, still non alligned, added a very painful Achilles back of shin plate, behind my calf and over my Achilles Tendon, with plats and screws. The most painful to date, stayed 5 days, now full of metal, and went until April 2009 until I had it fused. Arthitis prevention. Very painful up till then, and then waited 7 months until the 4th and last operation, and went for the fusion, to opt out any very painful arthritic conditions later, which the doc said were all but guaranteed.
The fusion, in my case called an Ankle Arthrodesis, look it up on google, removes the tip of the fib, and then, in mycase, all hardware, plates and screws, were removed from the tib and fib side, with the Achilles plate remaining, and then two large about 6 inch by 1/2 inch wide (not quite) stainless bone screws are screwed up through the bottom of the foot, past the Calcanium, up into the bottom of the talus, and into the tib base, and locked up tight. Done.
For me it was the most invasive and painful of all four operations, perhaps because of the invasiveness of the screws tearing up the nerve and bone tissue. I was delerious for the first 4 days, and then weaned onto pills. Just saying that for me it really hurt, and lasted about 4 days, until I was weaned off the shots and onto pills, and then off home. Still take several Norco 10’s a day, but not always, and after a year I expect the pain to level off to a managable several pills per day, but just a guess so far.
Non weight bearing for awhile, but after 3 months or so you can, and when you graduate from crutches to a cane, you feel like your’e getting there. The pain decreases at a normal rate progressively, and soon you will find yourself walking without the cane for short hops, and in the boot around the house, even for me, sleeping, and then finally into an ankle foot brace which sits inside the shoe, braced with metal stays up the side, velcro fastener around the calf, and then start getting used to walking, at your own pace. My dog CJ, a chow with attitude, and I walk about a mile and a half daily in the local Bidwell Park, which is to Chico CA like Central Park is to Manhattan. College town.
The ankle is always there, it is always there, the first thing you feel when you stand up, take a step, etc… and at times for me is numb, and then full of pain, never feels good, just OK, and I still sleep with the boot, as it will probably always feel somewhat fragile. May not have time to strap up in an emergency. Can’t drive with it, but my left foot is working and cruise control pushbutton driving is a big help. Get the permanant Disabled plates, which also helps, and continue on. It gets better.
We all know what a gift a broken ankle is, after healing just a nuisance for some, life changing for others, and we all get thorough it.
I asked the doc to amputate after the second operation but DO NO HARM prevented that, and the fusion and brace and cane is the best that I came out with, but I have adjusted, and it is now who I am, and I am getting by alright. You have to adjust, and with the seriousness of your accident I know that you already have done much adjusting and going on. But you just have to keep on keeping on, and you go from there.
And perhaps that is the best I can ask for, for me. It seems to be OK.
Hope this helps. Anything more specific just ask.
Take care. Get better. Continue on.
Clark

Best wishes to all out there. Ankleqest, my good friend, and Don, Sandra, so many others that it is hard to recall, but I wish you all good healing.

Take care,
Clark
trac on March 3, 2009 at 11:03 pm said:

Hello!
Thank you to all, for contacting Clark. And your information on his fusion. On April 10th, I am having a “rt tibia talar calcaneal fusion and tendon transfer”.
At least I believe that is what the dr.s writing reads… I do know that the surgery will be intensive. He mentioned a bone graft from my hip.

Anklequest, you are correct, it is actually my knee that is preventing my being able to walk w/o aid. They are thinking by doing the fusion that it will strengthen my leg, allowing for driving and stair climbing.

My dr. reiterated with me today that I need to continue to remind myself that I will (probably) not walk again, and if I do, it will be for short distances.

I am nervous about the surgery today — but will be very nervous come, say April 9th… 🙂 Oh, and the surgery means another 2 month nursing home stay…yuck.

On the good side, I got my own apartment, finally! But, on a humorous note, it is across the hall from my mom (so that I can still use her washer and dryer) and my brother is going to move in with me, to provide help.

So, all is pretty good.

Take Care of Yourselves!
And, it is so good to hear so many people are doing
well.
trac
Anklequest on March 3, 2009 at 10:27 pm said:

Hi Wes,
All the best with your new studies. Surgical tech sounds better to me than the oil business, although there’s probably more $ in oil. Your posts sound “normal” now compared to when you were having all that pain, and so too, it is great to hear you are running, lifting weights, etc. Please do be careful on the motor cycle! And how are things going with the teen aged son?

About Clark! Lois & Wes, thanks for mentioning him. Trac, I just tried to call him. I didn’t get an answer but will try again. He did have ankle fusion and I know three months later he was out walking his dog with a cane, for I saw a photo he sent me. I didn’t get an answer but will try again. He’d also met a women who had ankle fusion 15 years ago and barely walked with a limp. Said she could do almost everything. Trac, I know your knee is involved with your situation, so i hope that doesn’t complicate your future ability to walk.

Well I hit the “3 year” mark. 3 years ago I was in the hospital. It was very cold and snowy then too, like right now. How am I doing? Well, Lois is doing better than me. I don’t have much swelling anymore but I do have pain, probably from arthritis. It does limit my walking up stairs, which I am doing less and less Of. I now use an elevator when I can, and i use to not do that.

OH, Clark just called back!!! He will be posting.

Regards to All!!!
Houston Wes on March 3, 2009 at 12:47 pm said:

Hi all..

TRAC & ANKLEQUEST I’m echoing what Lois said, Clark was the first that came to mind. I havent seen him post in awhile but believe Anklequest has contact with him? Maybe you (Anklequest)may be able to shoot Clark a hello from all of us here =)

LOIS I came down to the Houston area in search of getting into an oil job. To be able to put money back to go to school. My mom and step dad were real encouraging in just getting going even if I gotta struggle a little, so I went for it. The first step, anyways. I let them know about my ankle, even though its been doing so well I’ve been up on it walking, running all around full days. There are two new hospitals here and 4 more being built. Prime oppertunity and fast programs to get those supporting families into the work sooner.

This is a position sitting as a surgical tech, the more my ankles able to handle there are positions standing with more moving around.

Its a 9month school and 4month internship at one of two real good hospitals in the area. Its Mon-Thurs 8-1, leaving afternoons and Fridays to still build teeth and evenings for studying.

Anyway… back to studying.. I start in 2weeks..

Wes
lois on March 2, 2009 at 1:58 am said:

Wes, Louise, Trac and everyone else (old and new) just wanted to say hello. Well, we are still buried in snow,,, and it’s March 1. Had yet another snowfall over night and this morning, but it has warmed up this aft and evening. Thank goodness. I have NEVER seen such a long stretch of snow in my life. We have had snow for a solid three months now,,, so Louise,,, as you have found out it’s not easy or fun getting around in the stuff – especially when you are protective of an ankle… . Believe me, I think all of us who are around snow and ice are very protective of our ankles. But Louise, be nice to your roommate, Wes is correct Karma will get her eventually.

Wes, nice to hear from you. I was surprised to hear that you are going back to school. I thought you had indicated that there were lots of jobs in Houston. What are you planning on taking? Make sure it is something that you can do that will be easy on your ankle.

Trac, you are constantly on my mind. Now another surgery. It sounds as if it might be for ankle fusion? I do not know who in total has had that operation, but Clarke was one but he has not posted for eons now. I also believe Ana was thinking of having it done, but I don’t know if she did or not. I also think Anklequest mentioned someone else once in one of her posts. Hopefully someone will respond to you. Please keep us informed because even people who do not post regularily seem to follow this blog, so hopefully someone will get back to you.

Anklequest, I wish I could send you pictures. With all the snow, I guess the deer go further afield looking for food, so we have had them as visitors every few days, sometimes even bedding down for the night in the next yard. Although they look very healthy, I have taken to throwing apples onto the beach and into the vacant neighbours yard when the deer are not here, (I don’t want them to associate humans with the food) They are so darned tame, I could probably hand feed them, but I think becoming too tame is dangerous for them. They are such beautiful animals. We have had larger groups, but two days ago we had six of them all afternoon, sometimes coming right up to watch us watch them through our lower level windows.

I am now 8 days short of the year that my ortho surgeon said it would take for me to recover. What a year it has been as all of you who have gone through this injury are aware. I still have my circular stainless steel plate and six screws in my ankle. But.. I no longer have a limp, can run short distances (like across busy streets), can carry even very heavy bags of groceries, no longer snap, crackle or pop, can climb ladder rungs, can stand on my toes, can dance (at least a little) can walk down stairs completely unaided (but I do still hold that railing only to ensure that that now 12 pound puppy will not again come flying down behind me and whack into me sending me falling again into another ankle breaking ordeal) So at almost one year, I would estimate that I am at 98 to 99%. I think the two issues that still remain, are a mild pulling/burning sensation on the scar area of my outer ankle, and the consciousness and protectiveness I have about that ankle. (Sound familiar Louise?) As for the pulling/burning, for the most part I find that I can and do just ignore it. As for the protectiveness,,, I think perhaps that is a good thing. Mostly, I am just relieved and grateful at the progress that this past year has brought. I am also grateful for the support from all of the participants on this blog for helping me through it. Lois
trac on February 28, 2009 at 1:42 am said:

hi!

Not much change in my woods — but wanted to say hi.

Things are ok. Getting ready for another surgery — so I wanted to see if anyone on here has had an ankle fusion and what it was like.

Thanks!
And, as always, here’s to healthy, happy healing!
trac
Houston Wes on February 27, 2009 at 11:11 pm said:

LOUISE I wouldn’t make comments at anyone that’s gone through breaks.. carma aLwaYs seems to catch up … your flatt mate may be playing with fire… lol .. Its almost as if someone is making comments saying they dont really get the whole picture: how this could take so long or be so bad.. and in turn wind up going through the same if not a simular challenge to “help” them understand… danger danger.. =)

Ok.. I’ve been going to the gym 4x a week and ran across an aqua class that is helping a LOT… & I’ve finally been able to start getting a good amount of wight on the bad leg when working out. I used to run and could leg press over 800lbs.. so not being able to even hold up my own weight has been a long sad trek. I worked out with 270lbs 3 sets of 10 every other day for 2 or 3 days depending on which week I was in. Best thing, no pain.. no swelling,.. not even the next couple days.. I just hit the hot tub regularly and use ‘whey protien’ to help my muscles to rebuild…

Anyhow.. I’ve been plugging away trying to get things in order to go back to school… been studying and getting my thinker back up to par so I can going in on top and make it through top off class as well..

Wes…
Michelle on February 25, 2009 at 6:17 pm said:

Nik – Yes, my foot was a reddish color for weeks, but has returned to a more normal color last couple weeks or so. No issues with difference in skin temp however.

I have a question for everyone out there: Has anyone every developed a varicose vein around the surgical site? On my inside ankle where they inserted some pins via “stab” incisions, there is one spot that is raised up like a purplish bump and it is so sensitive. I’m worried surgeon may have aggravated a vein during surgery. He even told me there is a major vein in that area. Think it’s called saphenous vein.
nic on February 25, 2009 at 5:48 pm said:

The one screw in my ankle on the inside will eventually my doctor said cause problems he thinks. its pretty close to skin and may limit my mobility however its not in the near future to have it out i have to work out all the other issues first i have alot of pain in top of my foot shooting little zaps of pain when sitting and everything is sooo stiff. my toes only bend a little they dont move singlely all at once or nothing. hoping in time that changes. does anyone elses foot always warm? like really warm? and color is very different like more pink than the other..
Susan on February 25, 2009 at 5:36 pm said:

Hello all,
Nicola, Glad you enjoyed your trip and that you managed to get about ok. I have a screw which is quite noticable on my ankle bone when the swelling is down but I’m trying to ignore it for the moment. I don’t want to take any more time off work to have it removed so I’ll just have to get used to it. Plus I think I am as big a scaredy cat as you!!!
Michelle, I have found that the pains move about my ankle / foot / leg (I am 7 months post break) and change from week to week. I am also getting a lot of clicking around the ankle bone area which can be quite disconcerting at times. I have figured there are a lot of things going on which I don’t understand but if I check each week with my physio and she doesn’t seem too concerned then I’ll go with the flow! I am feeling quite a lot of pain around the ball of my big toe which may be wear and tear, arthritis (I’m 51 :() or simply because I was in cast for 8 wks and non weightbearing for a further 2. Physio did a lot of manipualtion this morning and she felt a lot of snapping and crackling going on in there as far up as the middle of my foot which, as far as I know, wasn’t affected in the break, so I’m hoping it is something that will work itself out.
Still have a lot of stiffness ( and squeamishness ) around the wound. Can anyone tell me how long to expect this? I have been advised that metalwork should stay in but wonder if this is hindering my recovery … I know it’s early days yet.
Ho- hum…onwards and well…onwards I suppose!
All the best to everyone.
Michelle on February 25, 2009 at 4:58 pm said:

Nik – I’m curious as to why they want to remove one of your screws. I’m about a week or 2 ahead of you in my recovery. Was doing pretty good and started PT a few days ago and now I have pretty constant pain on the lower inside ankle. That area has always been more sensitive, but now it’s actual pain – about a constant 2 without walking and a 3-4 when walking. I’m worried I hurt something doing some of the exercises. I’m wondering if there’s a screw in there that’s aggravating the situation.
Barb on February 25, 2009 at 4:51 pm said:

Hi I posted on the other board. I broke my ankle in 2000. the plate always hurt finally decided to get it out. had it taken out feb 10th, went back today 7 got the stitches out. doctor said before a cast boot for a month, today said no boot want you to learn to slowly put weight on it. i go back in a month said i should be able to walk on it by then. any answers from other people that have had hardware removed would be great.
nic on February 25, 2009 at 3:52 pm said:

Hello all ankle busters!!
well I am now 7 weeks post break just got back from my trip and it was awesome flying wasnt hard at all had the socks that helped and airports were very accomadating as well as the hotel in vegas. rented a scooter so it wasnt as hard. I can now walk a little bit more on it now.. took alot for my brain to allow my leg to drop!! still not a lot of movement to allow me to lift off from that foot doesnt bend alot and still no feeling on bottom which makes it hard to walk succesfully. swelling is coming down alot still there after acouple of hours down…ankle is very hard feeling not puffy swollen like i thought it should be.. its very hard… and sensitive to the touch… but am doing stretches and massages myself trying to help it along… hope all is well with everyone…and did anyone ever answer regarding removal of a screw? i have one screw they are thinking of taking out .. does it hurt? do they put you out for it?…how long healing? ..am nervous… really nervous!!
Debbie on February 25, 2009 at 9:36 am said:

Hello everyone, I have not posted since Feb 1st because my computer broke. Just what I needed in the middle of all this! Anyway I had the long screw removed from my ankle on 2/19 at week 15 after my break. Now I am back to non weight bearing for 2 weeks in order for the incision to heal properly. Not bearing weight is so hard now that I had resumed it and was getting around OK. I still have not driven since 11/09 and am about going crazy with this. when I saw my Dr. and asked him about resuming PT he said I will not need it anymore, walking will strenghten the ankle. I don’t know about this because I could really tell a difference when I was going three times per week. I work as a nurse 12 hour shifts on my feet and have no idea when I will be able to resume this. I am shooting for April 1st but don’t know if this is realistic. Anyway hope everyone is doing ok and very glad I have seen no creepy crawly bugs around!
linda on February 24, 2009 at 2:13 pm said:

Hi can anyone tell me how long recovery time ws after removal of screws and plate, I broke my lateral maleous July 08 and still in pain and swollen am going to have it removed work in the NHS UK and am worried about more time of work. thank you.
BJ on February 23, 2009 at 4:33 pm said:

I don’t think I’ve posted here before, but the comments about hardware prompted me to post.

I broke all three bones in my ankle (talus, tibia & fibula)and dislocated my foot on May 11, 2008. My doctor said I really did it right! I had 11 screws and 1 very large plate – all removed on October 28. I debated about having them removed so quickly, but after reading various pros and cons decided to go with it. Plus, my doctor was all for it. He said that as long as the hardware stays in the bone stays soft because it continues to relay on the hardware for strength. As for age, I turned 52 in November so that didn’t seem to have any affect on his recommendation.

Well, anyway, I’m glad I did it. I almost immediately had more flexibility and less swelling. I still have some trouble going down stairs – sort of walk crooked and land heavily on the good foot – but, for the most part, I am walking without a limp.

I’d say I’ve about 90% back to normal. My ankle and entire right leg are still weak – ankle not stable on uneven ground – but, the only pain I have is actually in my foot. Oddly, it starts between my big toe and the next toe and run up the top of my foot. It gets worse when I drive more than even a few minutes. Really odd. I’ve gotten cortisone shots and other steroid treatments (topical with direct current), but nothing seems to help much. Hopefully, just time will make that better.

Anyway, to the new breaks, it does take time. I can’t believe it’s been almost 10 months since my break. But, my doctor told me that one of the best things I did was go back to work – even though my husband wheeled me in and out every day for several weeks because it was too far to walk with crutches from the available parking. And, when my handicapped parking sticker ran out at the end of November I didn’t ask for another. I knew I needed to be walking.

Good luck to everyone. If you have any tips on my foot thing, I’d love to hear them!
hellen on February 22, 2009 at 6:18 pm said:

Lois, Anklequest
Many thanks for the feedback. My surgeon had said that it was OK for me to have a shower .. i suppose with the expectation that the wound would have closed within a week of taking the cast off. He said to dry it properly since bacteria like moisture but cleaning it was important. I scoured the Internet for info on post surgical wound care and looks like there’s different professional wisdom on this. There seems to be general consensus that a few days after surgery the wound should be kept dry but after that professional opinion varies.. wet versus dry. I’ll be in touch with my surgeon tomorrow to verify proper way forward.
Louise on February 22, 2009 at 5:21 pm said:

Why hello all anklebreakers old and new!!

I posted a comment on here a few days ago, but it still says it is awaiting moderation, so I have re-posted it again!!
Quite a few posts since I was last on here I must say!

Wes…reading about the roach makes my skin crawl! Eugh…I hate most creepy crawlies, and I dont do roaches, spiders, even worms creep me out a little! Yuck! Hope u dont get any more then hey? And well done on your running around the lake too!

Nicole. Congrats on getting your cast off. See it wasn’t that bad was it?? I personally wouldn’t worry about the numbness. I had a patch of total numbness on the top of my foot, which is still a little numb, but is slowly coming back. (Break and dislocation on 23rd april 08). It is all the nerve damage I guess. Keep wiggling those toes, and you should start to notice a change soon hopefully! The ankle will also loosen up quite a lot soon too. About the flying, I flew just over 12 weeks after my break, but I had only been walking on it for about 10 days, after a small op, and I flew London to New York, and I was ok! Make sure you take some anti-inflamatories, and get some good quality flight socks to help with the swelling! As long as you move around the plane every one to two hours, and wiggle your feet around a lot, you should be good to go! How long is the flight? Mine was about 9 hours….but i was slightly further down the road than you, being at 12 weeks I guess….

Michelle and Gemma. Good to hear you both had good news too!

Hello to everyone else as well!

As for me…I got back on sunday from my holiday in Norway!! And what a lovely time it was there. I really enoyed myself, although had some very scary moments with ice and snow. It was rather cold there…Im sure some of you guys from the northern states, and canada are familiar with snow and ice and coldness, but being from the southern part of england, do not get a lot of snow or ice here, and it was quite a new experience for me! ARGH!!!

Firstly, I drove on the wrong side of the road, in the snow, so was very chuft with myself for doing that! Secondly I returned to the uk with all limbs in tact, and working well…again rather pleased, and thirdly, I attempted skiing! :S

Ok, so it sounds more amazing than it was! It was cross country skiing, not downhill, but still!! This was terrifying for me! So I put the ski’s on, went straight down the hill, into a snowdrift, and fell over, jarred my ankle a bit, and cried!! Mostly out of embarassement, and humiliation rather than anything else, but it did hurt my ankle a little bit! I then got in a huff because I couldn’t do it, took the ski’s off and walked, more embarassed by the fact I made such a scene, and returned to the log cabin with mascara streaked across my face, looking like a total idiot! ha ha.

I tried it again later that day, and the next day with a bit more sucess, and less of the dramatic-ness, and it was quite enjoyable! My friend tried downhill skiing, but I decided to give it a miss! I was more scared about doing anything to my ankle rather than anything else, which is a shame because I know I would have given anything a go before, but oh well. I wont be booking up on any winter activity holidays any time soon! hee hee.
The ice also made life very difficult! I was in Bergen in Norway, and the whole pavement and road was covered in ice, and there were children slipping and slidding on it, laughing as they fell over (it was a downhill road too!) I looked at the road in horror, and realised there was only one way down, so in terror I clung to a tree at the top, waiting to be rescued!! Unfortunatley, no one came to rescue me, and my 2 friends nearly died laughing when they turned round and saw me clinging for dear life to this tree! So I had to make a slide for it, and glide to safety at the side of the pavement which was not icey! Was very scary!!!!!!!!!

I dont think anyone else seemed to understand what it is like to think about the ankle the whole time, and get scared about falling over as much as I was. I got by ok though, and survived to tell the tale. it is obvious now that my flat mate is getting rather annoyed with me and my ankle as when I was telling her about the ice she then said “Oh and were you like… “ohhhhh….my ANKLE! I cant move because of my ANKLE, help me because of my ANKLE!!” (In a whingy voice). I thought that was rather rude of her to be honest, but it is obvious how some people do not understand unless they have had a major injury like that….once the cast is off, it is meant to be better then according to them, but we all kno thats not the case!!

So…I wish you all a good rest of the week! Tread carefully, and enjoy your weekends too!!

Louise xx
MARIA on February 21, 2009 at 2:47 pm said:

Thanx Pam! What kind of break did you have & how old are you. people keep telling me that my age (51) & the fact that I broke all three bones (talus, tibia & fibula) the fibula in two different places may be the reason they want to wait 18 mos. They’re so many people that have had hardware taken out in way less time. I don’t understand.
Pam on February 21, 2009 at 12:13 pm said:

Hi Maria- I broke my ankle May 4, 2008 & my ortho took all my hardware out Dec. 18, 2008. He wanted to wait a year but I was having way to much pain, discomfort, horrible swelling & barely any flexibility so he agreed to take it all out early. I work in the health care field, in a family medicine clinic & when I was contemplating getting the hardware removed prior to a year I consulted with one of my physicians who has done a lot of research in ortho. He said there is no reason that I have to wait a year, especially because of all my pain. I trust this physician/friend that I decided to go through with it. My physician friend gave me a tip, he said I have to remember that Ortho’s DO NOT do the research, Family Medicine doctors do- he made a very good point! This physician answered more of my questions than my ortho did when I was recovering from my break. I do have to say that I am very glad I got it out when I did. Good luck! Let me know if you have any other questions.
Pam
MARIA on February 20, 2009 at 11:37 pm said:

Hi Pam, Please tell me about your break & how long after surgery they took your hardware out. Thanx!! It’s been 1 year since my break and my doctor will not take my hardware out for 6 more months. I’m having pain & still limping plus now I’m having problems with my hip because of my limping. I’m soooo frustrated!!
Pam on February 20, 2009 at 9:30 pm said:

Hi everyone- Anklequest, Louise, Liz, Lois, Lee & anyone else I may have missed who have been on this site for a long time & hello to anyone new! It has been a while since I’ve posted anything- been a bit busy with work, my kids & being back in school for my MBA.

I am now 9 weeks post surgery from having all of my hardware removed from my ankle (plate on the fib side with 7 screws & a plate on the tib side with 2 screws & a pin) and I have to say, it feels “great”……I can’t believe how much more flexibility I have in my ankle & very minimal swelling. One of my colleagues commented to me the other day at how well I was walking now that I had the hardware out. I’ve been doing therapy on my ankle & I can already tell it is getting stronger and stronger each day.

For all the “new” ankle breakers, it is very tough in the beginning & you feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel but it “does” get better. I can still remember thinking will I ever be able to walk normal again or would the numbness in my toes every go away & over time it does. This site was such a support system for me when I was healing from my break that I highly suggest you stay with it.

I hope everyone is doing good & healing well. We’re in for 4-7 inches of snow up here in WI, I just hope it misses us…
Anklequest on February 20, 2009 at 6:25 pm said:

Hellen,
I agree with Lois. I had an open wound for more than 6 months & had to keep it covered, not touch it, not use antibiotic creams,etc. I just changed dressing regularly with nothing on it. I wore a double garbage bag which was duct taped to my foot while showering.
Anklequest
lois on February 20, 2009 at 2:12 pm said:

Hellen, I think you should call the surgeon’s office and get some advice on what to do with the infected incision area until you can get in to see him. I say that because in my case, I was not allowed to bathe or shower for 8 weeks,,,post surgery because the surgeon said if I got water anywhere near that incision IT WOULD BECOME INFECTED. So, it would concern me that your attempts at good hygiene by cleaning it, may in fact be making it worse. I would call the office and ask for interim instruction until you see him. All the best,,, and hello everyone else. Lois
hellen on February 20, 2009 at 12:56 pm said:

Hi everyone

It’s now 4 weeks post surgery of a broken ankle — ice skating mishap. Six screws and a plate were used to fix the break. I had a cast on for only one week post-surgery.. my surgeon said the surgery was successful enough not to warrant a cast. So the cast was only to prevent the incision from infection since there was a little of discharge. After the cast was removed, i had the stitches removed and wore a band-aid over the part with the discharge and was told to keep it dry and take it off after a week — which is what I did. But the part of the wound with the discharge hasn’t healed yet in fact as of today it looked worse than before with some scabbing. This freaked me out so I went to first aid
and they say their might be slight infection so I was given strong antibiotics. I have an apt next Tuesday with my surgeon to check the wound.
Question, has anyone experience mild infection and recovered from it.. i’e it didn’t advance to serious infection that required additional surgery? Very worried about it, would welcome any tips on killing the infection beyond the penicillin and washing the wound daily.
Louise on February 19, 2009 at 10:33 am said:

Why hello all anklebreakers old and new!!

Quite a few posts since I was last on here I must say!

Wes…reading about the roach makes my skin crawl! Eugh…I hate most creepy crawlies, and I dont do roaches, spiders, even worms creep me out a little! Yuck! Hope u dont get any more then hey? And well done on your running around the lake too! 🙂

Nicole. Congrats on getting your cast off. See it wasn’t that bad was it?? I personally wouldn’t worry about the numbness. I had a patch of total numbness on the top of my foot, which is still a little numb, but is slowly coming back. (Break and dislocation on 23rd april 08). It is all the nerve damage I guess. Keep wiggling those toes, and you should start to notice a change soon hopefully! 🙂 The ankle will also loosen up quite a lot soon too. About the flying, I flew just over 12 weeks after my break, but I had only been walking on it for about 10 days, after a small op, and I flew London to New York, and I was ok! Make sure you take some anti-inflamatories, and get some good quality flight socks to help with the swelling! As long as you move around the plane every one to two hours, and wiggle your feet around a lot, you should be good to go! How long is the flight? Mine was about 9 hours….but i was slightly further down the road than you, being at 12 weeks I guess….

Michelle and Gemma. Good to hear you both had good news too! 🙂

Hello to everyone else as well!

As for me…I got back on sunday from my holiday in Norway!! And what a lovely time it was there. I really enoyed myself, although had some very scary moments with ice and snow. It was rather cold there…Im sure some of you guys from the northern states, and canada are familiar with snow and ice and coldness, but being from the southern part of england, do not get a lot of snow or ice here, and it was quite a new experience for me! ARGH!!!

Firstly, I drove on the wrong side of the road, in the snow, so was very chuft with myself for doing that! Secondly I returned to the uk with all limbs in tact, and working well…again rather pleased, and thirdly, I attempted skiing! :S

Ok, so it sounds more amazing than it was! It was cross country skiing, not downhill, but still!! This was terrifying for me! So I put the ski’s on, went straight down the hill, into a snowdrift, and fell over, jarred my ankle a bit, and cried!! Mostly out of embarassement, and humiliation rather than anything else, but it did hurt my ankle a little bit! I then got in a huff because I couldn’t do it, took the ski’s off and walked, more embarassed by the fact I made such a scene, and returned to the log cabin with mascara streaked across my face, looking like a total idiot! ha ha.

I tried it again later that day, and the next day with a bit more sucess, and less of the dramatic-ness, and it was quite enjoyable! My friend tried downhill skiing, but I decided to give it a miss! I was more scared about doing anything to my ankle rather than anything else, which is a shame because I know I would have given anything a go before, but oh well. I wont be booking up on any winter activity holidays any time soon! hee hee.
The ice also made life very difficult! I was in Bergen in Norway, and the whole pavement and road was covered in ice, and there were children slipping and slidding on it, laughing as they fell over (it was a downhill road too!) I looked at the road in horror, and realised there was only one way down, so in terror I clung to a tree at the top, waiting to be rescued!! Unfortunatley, no one came to rescue me, and my 2 friends nearly died laughing when they turned round and saw me clinging for dear life to this tree! So I had to make a slide for it, and glide to safety at the side of the pavement which was not icey! Was very scary!!!!!!!!!

I dont think anyone else seemed to understand what it is like to think about the ankle the whole time, and get scared about falling over as much as I was. I got by ok though, and survived to tell the tale. it is obvious now that my flat mate is getting rather annoyed with me and my ankle as when I was telling her about the ice she then said “Oh and were you like… “ohhhhh….my ANKLE! I cant move because of my ANKLE, help me because of my ANKLE!!” (In a whingy voice). I thought that was rather rude of her to be honest, but it is obvious how some people do not understand unless they have had a major injury like that….once the cast is off, it is meant to be better then according to them, but we all kno thats not the case!!

So…I wish you all a good rest of the week! Tread carefully, and enjoy your weekends too!!

Louise xx
nicole on February 18, 2009 at 3:38 pm said:

Hello all.. update:
I am now on week 7 after accident i have returned to work no on modified 4 hour days and its not as easy as i thought it was.. i do have a desk job but its very sore on the back.. i need to continuosly stand and stretch.. my foot swells up alot but I started PT on monday and am learning how to just stand on my foot.. wow.. its tough.. feels like its going to just bust out from underneath me.. still dont have alot of movement as far as bending up and down and still no feeling on bottom of my foot but with work am sure will return slowly
it was scary at PT when he was like oh just stand on it.. i was a little aprehensive and was kinda like ” you want me to do what?”… sleeping at night is soo much better without a cast and for sure dont miss those days!! i leave this weekend for Vegas and have a scooter booked and waiting for me.. am a little nervous about how the flight will be its only 4.5 hours but am worried about swelling and being in pain however I do have a front see so hopefully will be able to somewhat prop my leg up!! wish me luck!!
hope everyone is doing good… and healing fast!!
here’s to keeping both feet on the ground !!
nicole
Houston Wes on February 16, 2009 at 9:05 am said:

lol.. My wifes terrified of spiders too, but she had her 1st roach experience a little over a week ago. She had me smash it with a shoe & I hit it HaRd! they are like little millitary cased bugs I swear. she saw one in the middle of that same night & I told her hit it with a shoe. she did.. & I told her it didn’t sound hArd enough of a hit. Sure enough when she grabbed some toilet paper & went to move the shoe it went running out from under it FaSt! She eventually decided she HaD to go to the restroom & whil sitting she saw one come out from under something & she just kept saying “just staaaay, don’t come this way & I’ll be done real soon”.. it had a different mentality, it ran full speed right at her. I think she woke the whole house & I heard the bathroom falling to pieces..lol.. She read about them & told me they run equivalent to us running 220mph + and she could hear them on the floor like fingernails tapping on glass..

They make spiders seem fRieNdLy now..lol

As for the numbness, it takes a loNg time., the key is once the blood flow gets going better, so keep with the PT & in the meantime- pampering as suzan said is GooD. I even went & ‘splurged’.. I got a (im gonna butcher the spelling) perafin wax.. If your brave enough to go back on the posts to last Sept. on the 27th was our anniversary & I was only weight baring about 2 weeks & took her to a spa to be pampered & to get a foot massage myself & parafin wax..

Honestly I don’t really think one thing or another technically HeLped it or HurT it.. but passing the time & focussing on the tiny hopes goes easier if you can keep busy while lost in the time process. its slow.. but the more you keep with the little things: stretching, heating, cooling, PT continual, those ‘tiny’ improvements add up over time.

Its only been 7 months since my surgery & with constant working on the ankle & movement I’m not to full dorsoflex but am able to jog outside without looking funny, play basketball, walk on it all day & though kinda tough feeling in the evening is only as if I did a real thorough workout, I don’t swell or have pain the next day..

take care of it with stretches & pampering.. even little massages you give it will help it become tougher tiny bit by tiny bit.

going to this water excersice class after I go lift some weights, hope everyone had a good V.D. lol..I find that hilarious the initials match up.. okok..I sound like my teens now..

later,
Wes
nicole on February 15, 2009 at 11:39 am said:

Susan,

Thank you for the message… i know i am just getting impatient and nervous that the feeling will never come back!! i am also getting nervous as it has been almost 7 weeks since break.. and its been one week out of cast I start my physio in 2 days and am supposed to be going away in less than a week. Flying is making me nervous.. its only i think 4 hours however still get nervous.. hope it will be ok.. and pray for a little feeling on the foot!!
Susan on February 15, 2009 at 11:14 am said:

Nicole, I wouldn’t worry too much about areas with numbness at the moment. I think we forget that although the bone has healed there is still a lot of nerve, tendon and muscle damage which will take a very long time to heal properly. My physio told me that internally fixated ankles are notoriously slow to recover so don’t expect to be back to normal overnight. When my cast was removed I had a lot of pain so I had a long soak each morning in a nice warm bath, with lots of bubbles so I couldn’t see my wound! I would then gently massage the whole area and do some stretches and rotations of my ankle as it felt easier in the warm water. I also massaged literally jars of creams and lotions on both my legs for a bit of pampering but this also helped to desensitise the area and get things moving again. It seems to me that when one area heals and the pain goes away another area starts protesting and so on.
Went out with hubby for a Valentine’s meal last night and put on my heels (1 1/2 inch) for the first time since last July. I must admit I felt very vulnerable and a bit sore so I won’t be doing it often but it was good to be a bit ‘girlie’ again 🙂
Wes, I’d never heard of a tree roach so I checked out an image on Google – yeugh! It reminded me of one night when I was still in my cast and I was sitting on the sofa with my leg elevated on the footstool. My daughter jumped up, screamed and ran out of the room and I knew it must be a spider – we are both terrified of them! Well, this one was HUGE – with a 3 – 4 inch leg span and it ran out from underneath my chair! I don’t know how I did it but before I knew it I was sitting on the back of the sofa screaming my head off with my bad leg up in the air and there was no way I could reach my walker to escape from the room. David was at work so Gail had to finally ‘deal’ with it … which was not pleasant… or I would have been marooned there until midnight. I know they are God’s creatures but frankly they give me the creeps:( Luckily they only seem to surface around September / October so it’s not a regular occurrence.
Hope everyone had a great Valentine’s Day. Sx
Houston Wes on February 15, 2009 at 3:31 am said:

AAHHH!!
Ready to get the creepies…

I was excited to post that I have been setting my ankle against the wall of the hot tub (the fibula side that is sooo sensitive) and keeping the foot just above the bottom of the tub, allowing the foot to slightly float and move the pin point on the wall.. ouch for a couple months.. but has gotten it justt about bullet proof =)

And I was excited to post that I went out dancing this evening for Valentines and even after running the other day, water aorobics the next morning and walking through house after model house today… I still was able to dance with no problems..

I figured Id go to bed and write this cool news in the morning..

Yet here I am, 2 AM wIDE awAke.. heres the creepy story..

Wife fell asleep and I had so heart burn so was just suring the internet while laying awake in bed next to her (for those who dont know, I have a phone with a slide out keyboard and surf while laid up in bed). While laying there I could here my moms cats pawing at the door, so I got up and scared them off..
Once again, I heard them pulling on the door trying to get in, I got up a second time and shewed them off. I heard them again and figured Id ignore them and theyd stop…
Welll after a couple mins they did… but then I heard something coming from what I thought was the shelves to the side of the bed…

a rustling noise.

I thought the cats had opened the door, ours anyways, he always was able to get the doors open I think hes now OCD about doors being opened. I held the phone up aiming at the door but it was still shut

and I sTiLL heard the noise from my left… I shined the light over to the shelves thinking I was going to spot something but saw nothing..
that is..
until I moved the light ONTO THE BED!
just hanging out ON the BED less than 4 inches from me was a 1.5 inch tree roach!!!
I don’t care if theyre a tree roach, house roach, water bug or whatever you wanna call them… HeLL no I couldnt believe this.. I slid it so fast across the bed into the wall across the room and stunned it
AHH Im getting the hebi jebies just TYpinG about it now an 2 hours later..

I turned on ALL the lights, murdered the 1 and told my wife she had waited toooo long to get everything off the edges of the walls and out from under the bed so I could spray.. My step dad had given me the spray after shed seen a FEW in our bathroom which is IN the bedroom.. I told her if I DID spray the bathroom i HAD to spray the room at the same time or they would just ‘migrate’ to the safer place.
Well her slacking off I figured would bite HER in the butt and she would forever keep clean

Instead it happened to me! I had her check every empty bag, shoe, dirty clothes then move it out of the room so I could spray tONIGHT =)

Sure enough after getting the game plan for the spraying down we grabbed the spray and it was down to the last part of the container.. He had gone around spraying the whole house, as he thought we had already done all of our room.. go figure.. of CoUrSe we’re gonna have them coming to the one room that HaDn’t been done..
So anyhow I sprayed every nook and crany then sprayed it again.. I even got under, around, between everything, then flipped the matress up and even nailed under and IN the box springs.. so we’re both up now on the lap tops awaiting the room to dry.. or .. not be so strong smelling.. its not really bad smelling.. but will make ya cough if you dont let it settle..

Ive nEVeR had a roach problem EvEr when I lived down here. I keep newer homes, spray appropriately BeForE I even move in and keep clean and food out of the bedrooms… this is a first and LAST for me..

Water Bug anyone?

YUCK!!
nicole on February 14, 2009 at 11:57 pm said:

michelle,

the amp amp means ampersign & — that symbol when it converts to your email to print the blog it doesnt convert the symbols it spells out the abreviation of the symbol word so perc would be % and amp would be & etc.. etc.. had me puzzeled too!! lol
Michelle on February 14, 2009 at 11:25 am said:

OK, this has been bugging me … not related to ankles at all. What does it mean when I see “&amp” typed into many of the posts? Is that some sort of abbreviation for something or is it just a typgraphical glitch? Also, it bugs me that, despite the fact that the most recent posts are now at top of page, we still must go to bottom of page to post a new comment. OK, done complaining. Happy V-Day everyone!
Houston Wes on February 13, 2009 at 11:03 pm said:

lol.. of CoArse I send this through THEN the other one apeared from nowhere lol

NiCoLe
the pains very normal. my Dr said look at it this way, even a sprang could knock some1 out 4-6 weeks internally, a bruise from something that severe could take way longer & the bruising from a break hUGe.so that & having minimul circulation has it sitting in limbo unable to heal while all the bodies energy is going to healing the bones. it takes awhile.. masaging as much as possible (as your tenderness will allow) & stretches as well will gradually bring it around.. could take up to a year to get full fealing back or to know if there are spots that may never gain it back. I thought mine was toast.. but it kinda got moving a lot more quickly here just over the last month & a half. getting all the feeling back that is.

night all,
Wes
Houston Wes on February 13, 2009 at 10:38 pm said:

ok..so I posted last night but it said pending & I don’t see it today =(

will keep this 1 short 2 see if it works.

you can see from my bad typing skills I’m able to load the page from my phone once again =)

ok
DEBBIE sorry it took me awhile 2 get back. I would go to the mall & walk on the carpeted part with a cane, all the while practicing ‘faking it’ to look like the motions of the other foot. and picking up the cane @ times to see/feel what areas could use the masaging & heat to work it out better.

using a wobble board truly works magic- 25 rotations ‘attempting’ 2 get the edge down all the way around while sitting in a chair, then reversing rotation & then putting the weight aloud on to the wobble board while standing & do 2 sets 25. anytime I notice I’m in pain or begin limping, I pull out the wobble board am I’m walking so good it fools every1.

=) gonna try 2 see if this post goes through.

Wes
nicole on February 13, 2009 at 6:31 pm said:

Hello,

I am hoping that is what is causing the little to no feeling in bottom of my foot… the top of my foot is very tight and sore making my toes very hard to bend i know its only been 2 days since cast is off i am just over eager i guess however not pushing it physically just mentally!! i still get the sudden sparks of pain in bottom so thats gotta be good i suppose… am soaking my foot every night to get all the grossness off… lol and i can now sleep in bed and even on my side which my back is thankful for not sure if its good to do that but i cannot sleep another night flat on my back .. hope everyone is being safe and healing fast…
Houston Wes on February 12, 2009 at 11:58 pm said:

HELLo HeLLo =)
Sorry I take so long to look over and respond to any questions.. WoW.. nice fancy new site 😉
Thank You Christi and Computer genious 🙂

DEBBIE
I used the wobble board to get rid of my limp. rotations on that and also going to the mall (carpet is easier on the ankle) and just practicing too.

So here we go..
I RAN today 🙂 actually RAN around the lake..
I had been doing it on the treadmill for awhile now and noticed when Id have to run back into the house real quick I didnt run… I HoBBle bounced my way in lol.. so I figured it was looking so smooth considering the treadmill takes the shock so it doesnt look awkward. That had me decide it was time to do it for real. That way I could practice as I did when I walked and also it would actually loosen it up from continuing to work out.

ThEn.. I thought a good thing to do would be to dribble the basketball around and do some lay ups.. Im no b ball star by no means.. but it is a bit second nature and kept my mind off of the fact that I was jumping and landing on and from both feet. It was gReat and I made it look smooth.. I didnt jump as high as I used to but I did get air and was able to eventually make more shots as I tried to have less focus on the ankle.

I of course only now am doing this as I have been going ot the gym regularly and practicing it in the hot tub and stretch stretch massage stretch while in there too 😉

I’ll update all later.. Im still getting things rolling down here, looking at places and enjoying nOT having to shovel snow

Wes
Lee on February 12, 2009 at 5:01 pm said:

Gemma, Michella – Congratulations! Great news for both of you.

Nicole – Give your foot a little time to recover from being in the cast. It might have been pressing on some nerves and they just need some time to get back to sensation. Most of mine eventually came back, though I do still have little spark-like sensations in some of my toes.

Trace – Thanks so much for the update. I’m curious about your diagnosis. So, no more surgery, except maybe an ankle fusion. What about the knee? Will it always be bent? Does that mean you’ll be in a wheelchair, or what are the other options? It sounds like you’ve moved away from the amputation? I hope for you the best possible outcome and am thinking about you lots. Do stop in and let us know what else is up.

I have no ankle related news. Waiting to see the Dr on 2/23, and schedule my next surgery. Still sore, still having pain, but looking forward to getting it all taken care of and putting it behind me.

Cheers,
Lee
nicole on February 12, 2009 at 3:19 pm said:

hello all just a quick question not sure maybe i asked this already if so i cant remember the answer
i got my cast off yesterday after 6 long weeks.. slowly its moving a tiny tiny bit.. still very little feeling in bottom of foot is this something that is common?..pad of my foot under toes is little to no sensation… arch of foot is very sore… hoping i am not the only to experience this and will return with work….??????
lois on February 12, 2009 at 1:52 am said:

Michelle, Gemma, and Nicole…. HUGE congratulations to all three of you…. you are on your way now, and the worst is behind. You should be able to share good “learning to walk again” tips with each other. I’m excited for you guys,,, Good going. Lois
Michelle on February 11, 2009 at 5:24 pm said:

I now 7 weeks and one day post break (tib & fib) and I am writing to share good news and hope. I started gradual weight bearing little over 2 weeks ago and graduated from walker to crutches at that point. When I returned to doc 2 days ago I figured I was at about 75% weight bearing. He said everything looked good and that I should continue to wear walking boot for 1-2 weeks after I lose the crutches. I’m to return to doc in 4 weeks at which point he said he would re-evaluate and order PT b/c I would be 100% WB at that point. That’s all good news, but the even better news is that the same aft I returned from my doc appt I started trying to walk with just one crutch which I found, to my delight, was quite easy. I continued to use one crutch yesterday and this morning and was feeling so strong and confident I decided to walk with no crutches whatsoever – and I’m doing great!! I’m so freaking excited to be mobile and have the use of both hands once again. I have been doing some light cleaning and laundry this aft and starting to rearrange my house back to a “normal” order such as putting my cats’ food and water dishes back down on the floor from my kitchen island where they’ve been since my break. My kitchen is started to look so nice and uncluttered! Anyway, I just had to toot my own horn a bit and I hope my progress gives hope to some other folks out there! My only tiny issue (which I belive I read other complain about as well) is some tenderness/hypersensitivity on the inside ankle where the doc did what are referred to as “stab” incisions to insert some pins/screws. That area is a little sensitive – especially one particular spot where there is like a tiny bump. When I’m wearing my boot, it will sometimes get a little sore at that spot. Doc said there is a main vein and nerve in that area that are apparently a little irritated by the surgery. Hope it resolves itself. I read one post that said to massage it which I have been doing with Vit E oil. Also, so happy that nearly all the snow and ice have melted here and that temps are above normal. Wishing happy healing to everyone!
Gemma on February 11, 2009 at 4:52 pm said:

Im back to share the good news, Docter did routine exrays and advised me that I am a very lucky person. The bones have healed extreamly well and considering the extent of the injury and the statistics before the operation of serious talus injuries (hawkins type III) I will be able to walk again YIPEE.
To be on the cautious side I am remaining non weight bearing for a further 8 weeks on the docs advise but hey its 26 weeks today since the operation so what is another 8 weeks.
There is a hawkins sign on the exray showing a healthy blood supply to the talus so fingers crossed for 8 weeks time.
Went to the physio department who have now given me different exercises to do ready for when I go back and relearn to use two legs.
How hard I found it to just put my injured ankle on the floor panick mode set in god help me when they ask me to stand on it.
Im sure there will be some funny times ahead learing to walk again.
Just to add that I have been advised that I will be left with a limp and a deforminty in appearance of the ankle but hey I will work hard at working.
There is hope for everyone who suffers with broken ankles and I thank god that I found this site as I have been through some dark periods of no hope. Reading other experiences and advice helped me to get to this point so I will keep reading and recovering.
Thanks to all you guys.
Gemma
nicole on February 11, 2009 at 4:08 pm said:

susan ok thank you if not you can email me directly at [email protected] am eager for tips and info
thanks again
Susan on February 11, 2009 at 3:01 pm said:

Nicole, Glad to hear your news. I tried to leave 2 ‘lengthy’ blogs giving you helpful advice but they didn’t appear so I’ll test with this short one and if it works, I’ll give it another go 🙂
Susan x
nicole on February 11, 2009 at 1:51 pm said:

GOOD NEWS!!!
just got back from my 6 week appt… cast is off!! and OMG my leg is skinny!! the blister i had is almost gone….pheeewwww
still dont have alot of feeling on bottom of my foot you can touch it and i feel nothing.. hoping once moving it will return.. it is very stiff.. more so than i was expecting… still feels like cast is on .. but swelling in my toes is already coming down been like 5 hours now.. so thats good !! DR told me to start putting weight on it once muscles are stretched didnt put anything on it.. no boot aircast i got nothin’!! scary!! anyone have any good tips on getting it loose!!

nicole
Gemma on February 10, 2009 at 5:02 pm said:

Hi everyone, the sites upside down lol, the new look is great.

6 Months today since the accident, 6 months tomorrow since the operation and going for a check up on the ankle in the morning (fingers crossed).

Hope everyone is staying strong and healing well will update tomorrow on what the Docter says in relation to the talus injury.

Take care
Gemma
nicole on February 10, 2009 at 11:24 am said:

Tomorrow is also my 6 week post surgery date as well… happy anniversary!!
i am excited and very nervous about appointment tomorrow… my foot is still in cast and feels sooooo hot… like sweaty and sensitive feels like the skin is irritated alot…i hope there is no complications under there and its normal… i wont sleep tonight i know i worry too much.. am afraid of a set back to this healing process… and am afraid i will have to go into yet another cast… not sure what normal if any time frame for casts but i cannot take it any longer.. the unknown… the pain… the helplessness…
Howard on February 10, 2009 at 12:28 am said:

I am 6 weeks post sugery tomorrow. The toe stifness is something i deal with now. I still can’t bend the acutal toe but I’m getting there. Range of motion up and down is slowly coming but i’m confident. The pain is almost gone. Except for the ocassional pain that runs through it. But I don’t think that will ever go away. My leg and foot are LITTLE. But its coming around. It does not look deformed. Does look dehydrated. At first my foot skin was real tight but now it’s loosening up.

Hope that helps
nicole on February 8, 2009 at 10:33 pm said:

Louise,

thank you for your response i am always a “baby” when it comes to the doctors… before all this i had never even as much as need a stitch in 30 yrs..so this is all a little frightening for me… i tend to get myself soo worked up and sick to my stomach before i go.. the cast removal makes me more nervous for whats underneath…is it healing ok?.. i have a blister that is the size of a small orange on the inside of my heal that i hope has gone down or away.. fear of him having to work on it.. makes me nautious …my foot is so dry my toes are flaky and cracked underneath which is very sore have been using cream but they are still pretty swollen and stiff.. i have a rod up my leg and i believe 4 screws in my ankle broke on both sides and middle and bone up my leg. dr mentioned posibly removing one of the pins however when will that be?…its been almost 6 weeks since break i cant imagine him removing any time soon.. do they put you out for that?.. eeekkk just dont want to have to do anymore! i get this cast off on 11th and am supposed to go to vegas on 20th i still hope i can fly with not too much pain.. i have a scooter booked upon arrival so that i am not worried about its flying that makes me nervous.. i feel like it wouldnt be as bad once out of the cast at least then it has room and you can see whats going on .. now it is a mystery whats underneath feels like little people in there tapping and pulling and burning my foot… which i think is the dry skin and sores… anyway sorry so long … not sleeping well at all very uncomfortable…
nicole
pie lady aka trac on February 8, 2009 at 4:51 am said:

Hello!

Nicole, I had that with my cast a few months ago. I think it is normal. Just keep it elevated. Seems forever, huh? Yea, I know, sometimes time would go so slow while waiting for an appointment.

Lois, thanks! Yea, it seems every time I was excited to get the news it was bad. But, I learned early on with this accident, if I get bad news, I have to dig deeper, cause somewhere, there is some good. And, there always is. Such as, I found this site, while searching out the latest surgery. Turns out this site has been one of the biggest helps of all. Because of the accident, I was forced to cancel my planned move. This allowed for a relationship I really wanted, but was afraid of, to grow very deep, and in order to make it through all of this, it grew, deep, honest and strong. I learned how to not be a big baby about pain. I also learned everyone’s pain is relative.
I also learned that you can take your body for granted. And, I learned that apparently, I make darned good pies. And, mostly I learned that people really do want to help and it is very rewarding for both of you to let them, but only if you do quite a bit for yourself.

It is crazy, but, the look on my Dr.s face when she told me, was one of those looks that rattle the core of you, that core you don’t want rattled often. And, when she said, “You may not ever walk properly or without aid, again.” I said Thank You. Because, it meant that I could finally get a move on. No more wondering about surgery, no more waiting until I could walk, no more wondering if my ankle will ever heal. So, today, I signed the papers and in the fall, I will start a completely new graduate direction. Geriatric Law and Social Justice. Who needs a feisty redhead more than senior citizens?
(I already got the “great, I’m hanging w/Ironside” comment…)

So, I need to decide about the ankle fusion, but, they said there was no need now, not really. But, we may do it in a year or so. Because I do have the ability to stand, somewhat pull myself a few steps. I’ll keep working at it. And, never giving up the swimming.

Sorry about this long posting that was sort of off topic, and not really about my ankle, but it really helped. So, thanks!

I do wish I could show you the x-ray — it is really cool — everything is wonky…

Here’s to continued healing and peace while we all do it.
trac

Oh, and Quebec City is back on!!! Yay! I can’t wait to go back.
nicole on February 7, 2009 at 6:48 pm said:

hello!!

quick question was curious if anyone out there that has had a cast (fibreglass) up leg and down foot just below toes had alot of discomfort in toes its been almost 3 weeks now with this one… 5 days left until next appointment.
however my toes are very swollen still on occasion. and stiff i have been doing the bend and pull stretches which arent very fun but still hurt is this normal? feels like a bunch of elastics almost jsut kinda snapping on bottom of my foot
toes still have alot of color are warm to touch just stiff very stiff and kinda bent looking the big toe and one next to it….. anyone else have this so i can put my mind at ease as just another part of the package deal!!

thanks nicole
lois on February 7, 2009 at 12:20 pm said:

Hi Trac, I’m glad you posted as I was concerned about you; for good reason it would seem. You have just suffered through this for such a long time with so little positive reward. I am sure it does not feel very fair because it just is not fair. Hang in there nice lady. We are thinking and hoping for you.

Hello to everyone else. Lois
pie lady aka trac on February 6, 2009 at 12:06 am said:

Hello!

If there is a post from me, that I just can’t see, please let me know. Happy Late Birthday, Liz! Hope everyone is getting the answers they are looking for from their appointments. I have gotten a semi-final answer regarding my situation. They said I am at my final level of mobility. Because of my knee.
So, I’ve been away for a while, getting angry. And, then coping. And, crying to Bruce Springsteen, because that is what I do. But, at least I have some mobility, I can stand, just I am 20 degrees away from full extension, so my leg does not stand flat on the floor. There are many reasons why they can’t repair. I understood and they showed. It was cool. It was so cool to finally know. And especially, to see it all. It put a definition to everything.

Well, take care!
And, as usual, here’s to happy, healthy, healing!
Peace,
trac
pie lady aka trac on February 5, 2009 at 11:51 pm said:

a test
Susan on February 5, 2009 at 6:42 pm said:

Lois, thanks for your comments – my experience was certainly interesting and is now proving to be a great conversation piece! I can laugh about it now (perhaps laugh is too strong a word)and am constantly reminded that there are people much worse off than I am.
Nicole,I have had 3 casts removed and that in itself doesn’t hurt but the vibrations of the ‘saw’ are a bit wierd and unsettling:)Grit yoru teeth!
I am now into almost 7 months post break and 4 weeks back at work and finding it quite tiring. I took a few backward steps – no pun intended – and was again having a sore, swollen and discoloured foot at the end of each day. Rest, elevation and ice packs, as well as pain killers, helped greatly although I still limp quite badly after sitting for some time and take several steps to get into my stride. I had come off all meds but was advised to go back to taking paracetamol in the morning, at lunchtime and at bedtime to manage the pain and this seems to have had some effect.
Liz, I find the same as you with the socks!I also have an odd sensation over the plate and screws which makes me quite sqeamish. At first it felt really raw and I couldn’t bear anything touching it, even my bed sheets. However, I have done some research on sensory differences through my work and knew that I could de-sensitise the area by regular massage. I did this daily, very gently (and gingerly) at first, using lots and lots of thick Nivea Cream and then over the weeks used slightly more and more pressure. The area is still a little sensitive but beautifully moisturised 🙂 One medic told me that it could be 2 years before I feel that it is my own leg again.
Sorry, can’t find who asked about hip pain while lying down but I had that too. Sometimes it seemed like every bone in my body was protesting at my poor ankle. I slept propped up on 4 pillows and with 4 pillows supporting my whole leg for at least 3 months. This was the only comfortable position I could find. I still have aches and pains in other areas e.g. shoulders from using the crutches, and twinges here, there and everywhere. I find that the pains in my ankle dot around here and there from day to day but I just put this down to different parts going through the healing and strengthening process.
My stamina is not what it was pre-break 🙁 I have been attending physio gym class once a week and can feel the difference as far as mobility is concerned although dorsiflexion is making slow progress. I have found the wobble board and sponge beam really beneficial but I am only managing 10 minutes on the bike, 10 minutes on the treadmill and just 3 minutes on the stepper before I am absolutely whacked! No doubt this will improve in time.
We also are suffering snow and ice at the moment which, being Scotland, is not unusual but to me it is really scarey!! I am walking sooooooooo carefully just now until my confidence comes back. I have taken some of the children in my class out to the playground to look at the snow and make an excuse to hold on to their arms for a bit of support!! How sad is that? I keep thinking about all those poor souls who will be coming to grief in this cold snap – prospective bloggers perhaps?
I am grateful for the updated site though, as has been said, finding it strange with the new posts at the top but as we all know…….we can adapt!
Hope everyone has a great weekend.Sxx
Louise on February 5, 2009 at 4:50 am said:

Nicole…it does not hurt in the slightest to have your cast taken off.. it tickles more than anything else…I was in agony, but due to being tickled. I couldn’t stop laughing, and it was really hard, not to kick the lady taking it off, as it tickled so much!! I am super ticklish though, so yeah. As has been said, the noise sounds like it’s going to hurt, but do not worry at ALL, it’s fine!! 🙂
Also regarding the swelling, and elevating, I just propped mine up on a pillow on the sofa, and this worked ok for me, so I wouldn’t worry too much! As long as the swelling reduces thats fine!

WHen my cast came off, I was still non-weight bearing for another 4 weeks as I had to have a pin taken out before walking, but as soon as I had had that taken out I was told to walk on it straight away, and loose the crutches in 7 days! (this didn’t happen quite as quickly ha ha!) but when MY cast came off, I didn’t have anything put on it, just freedom!! 🙂 It did feel weird to start with, all loose and floppy, but you do get used to it! Good luck!

Louise xx
lois on February 4, 2009 at 10:21 pm said:

Hello everyone. Many thanks Thomas and Christi for updating the site. Cute little caption pictures for us all too. Only one handsome guy in the whole lot though… Thomas. Christi, I hope and suspect you are doing well at this plus two year point.

Nicole,,, My ortho surgeon would not tell me what would happen at the end of 8 weeks when they cut off my fiberglass cast. He said it would depend on how well the bone had healed. So, they cut the cast off,,, WHICH DID NOT HURT ONE BIT,,, sent me for xray,, and after checking it, to my joy and shock announced that my bone had healed really well, and I needed nothing. (I only broke my fibula, but I really shattered it, and split it vertically four times and had bone chips everywhere) (also 64 at the time, so not exactly young) I know he would have re-cast it had it not been properly mended,,, but I do not know under what conditions they put people in a boot. Is that when there is ligament or tendon damage??? As for elevation… I made good use of an old love seat… . I could wedge my casted leg between the split in the two back cushions and along the back of the love seat. The elevation was just the right height and wedged in, my leg would stay put for hours, even when I napped. Try not to fret about this upcoming appointment. But thinking back, I guess that’s easier said than done. I remember my ortho’s office nurse telling me she did not know what he planned to do to me or if he would remove my cast… and I remember blurting back at her that he did not know what I would do to him if he didn’t remove it. Anyway, we had a good laugh,,, but she commented that people in leg casts really do not like them do they?? Nope we sure do not. I was so happy when he told me that mine was off for good that the tears just started flowing. Its probably a good thing I could’nt jump up yet, or I might have kissed his feet. Perhaps someone on here can tell us, under what conditions do they recommend the boot??? Is that for ligament damage???

Hello to everyone else. Happy healing. By the way, where is Trac lately??? Trac, Trac,,, where are you??? Missing you.

Still lots of snow here, but a hint of spring in the air today. But those darned groundhogs said another six weeks. Does anyone have a recipe for groundhog stew??? lol.

I am doing well,,, still trying to catch up from all those months of chores not done.. or not done properly. Take care all. Lois
Kim on February 4, 2009 at 9:47 pm said:

Nicole,
It does not hurt at all to get a cast taken off. THhy use a saw that does not cut through skin, so while it may be intimidating to listen to the saw, there is no pain involved. I have had roughly ten different cast taken off, not with this injury but with others and have never felt any pain. My osn who was ten at the time had one taken off his arm and felt no pain either. So good luck and just relax. It is also normal to go from a cast to an aircast. Good luck and let me know how it goes!!!
KIM
nicole on February 4, 2009 at 5:52 pm said:

hello everyone

question: does a cast hurt to be removed? am having my cast off one week from today will be 6 weeks and its fibreglass and I am a little bit of a wimp when it comes to pain and am really nervous about the removal of the cast procedure

any help out there or confidence someone can lend me?

nicole
nicole on February 4, 2009 at 5:48 pm said:

hello all

just have a question for everyone i know they recommend to evelvate your foot 3 ft above i think..which honestly is pretty high when your only 5ft2 but i at night only evelate on one pillow and a folded small blanket does anyone else find the elevating process annoying?…too high…too low… it hurts your upper leg muscles and knee… any other suggestions?…or is it just suffer until cast is off?.. i have been in cast now for 5.5 weeks one week from today i go back to surgeon i am hoping he doesnt put yet another cast on… as i start back at work the following monday… what is the normal process??? going from cast to air cast or boot?..or nothing? thanks to anyone who can help me out am extremely nervous about next appointment and getting cast cut off.. its fiberglass i hope it doesnt hurt to come off …..

hope all is healing well
nicole
judy on February 3, 2009 at 6:54 pm said:

Hello Everyone,
I too am troubled with swelling and tenderness. I am being told this is normal but I just can’t believe it.
I have to wear a sock when I go to bed because I can’t stand my ankle to touch the bed.
I has a blue tint and swells on both sides.
My break happened Sept. 23, 2008
Does anyone have any advice for me?
Hope you all are doing well.
Louise on February 3, 2009 at 4:50 pm said:

Oooh…whats going on with the website?? Its odd…not sure if I like the posts going the wrong way round?! But Im sure we will get used to it! lol!

Liz..I also get the swelling, so I notice a massive sock mark around my leg..its rather irritating, although GENERALLY speaking does not affect me toooo much I guess. Better than it was, but still…I notice boots get tighter on me as the day goes on.

And as for the snow….the whole of london’s transport came to a halt. The entire bus service was cancelled, underground delays…glad I didn’t have to go up there! lol!

Louise xx
Lee on February 3, 2009 at 3:05 pm said:

Liz –

Happy birthday – hope you had a great one!

Hi to all – no news form me, just checking in. Glad to see the site is working better now – thanks Christi and Thomas!

Cheers,
Lee
MARIA on February 3, 2009 at 10:07 am said:

HELLO TO ALL
I HAVE THIS WEIRD THING GOING ON WITH MY LEG, MY WHOLE LEG JUST ALWAYS FEELS WEIRD & I CAN’T LAY ON MY RIGHT SIDE LONGER THAN 2 MIN.
BEFORE MY HIPS STARTS HURTING. HAS ANYONE EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE THIS??? I’M WONDERING IF THERE IS SUCH A THING AS YOUR BODY REJECTING SOMETHING FOREIGN?????
THANX! HAVE A GREAT DAY 🙂 (RT ANKLE BREAK W PLATE & 7 SCREWS 2/08)
Kim on February 3, 2009 at 9:42 am said:

Liz,
HI, I too have swelling after I am on my foot for periods of time, it has been almost 9 months since I broke my ankle a ti rt foot. I also have the tenderness you are talking about. My doc has told me for months now that it is normal only for me to find out that it is not. I had to have a CT scan last week and am going to have a nerve test done this Fri. I will let you know what the doc says, I go back on the 16th to find out what is really going on.
Hope you are having a great day and thanks so much for the post, it really helps to know that you are not alone in your aches and pain.
Hope everyone else is having a super day also!!!
KIM
LIZ (Trimal, rt ankle DOI: 5/21/08, DOS: 6/2/08) on February 2, 2009 at 10:20 pm said:

I just have to get used to the newer posts being on top instead of at the bottom. 🙂
LIZ (Trimal, rt ankle DOI: 5/21/08, DOS: 6/2/08) on February 2, 2009 at 10:18 pm said:

Thanks Louise! I had a great birthday. Wes, lol, I remember I time when I thought 30 was old. Not anymore!! I’m thinkin’ 30 is looking better everyday. 🙂

So, not much has changed with the ankle. One thing that does concern me is the swelling. It has been 8 months since I broke my ankle and the darn thing still swells up on both sides. I notice it especially when I wear socks that have a tighter cuff. When I take my socks off I have a large indention where everything below the sock line is swollen out. Anyone else experience this? How long does it take for the swelling to eventually stop? I’ve also noticed that my ankle is really tender in spots, especially near the metal… almost like a bruised feeling when I rub on it. I go back to the ortho. doc in 2 weeks for a check-up. I guess I will mention all of this to him then.

Hope everyone is doing well. Have a great week! It seems like the new site will load much quicker. Thanks Christi and Thomas for fixing it for us! We’re so grateful to have this site!

~Liz
Thomas on February 2, 2009 at 10:02 pm said:

Good news all, the site has been updated and comments are broken out into pages with 50 comments per page. That should considerably speed up the loading times.
Christi on February 2, 2009 at 8:37 pm said:

Hey I talked to my husband that is also the cool web techie guy and he is going to resolve the comment issue. Thanks for bringing it to our attention! Hope you all are hanging in there and healing day after day.
anklequest-2 on February 2, 2009 at 4:26 pm said:

Welcome to the new anklebreakers.
For your information, this site now loads very slowly as there are so many posts so folks are not posting as often or posts disappear. Hopefully we can get a new site. Lois and Houston Wes have tried to get in touch with the WEB manager or Chisti. Can anyone else offer any suggestions?

Louise, I just read about the snow at Stonehenge and London & saw some photos. Those of us use to a lot of snow, like me, should still feel badly for you as it is difficult to get around in for all of us when not prepared.

Finally, A colleague of mine broke his leg today sliding on ice in a grocery store parking lot!! Watch for that ice!

Anklequest
Louise on February 2, 2009 at 4:17 pm said:

Why hello fellow ankle breakers!!!

Liz! Hope you had a great birthday!! I know what you mean about it kind of leveling out…we both did ours at a similar time I believe…well kind of, I did mine 23rd april, so similar times I guess! 🙂

Debbie. Hello. I wasn’t 100% if it made a lot of difference having the long pin out, because I wasn’t allowed to walk on it at all until the pins were out, so at that time the flexibility was improving everyday by itself, but overall, I guess it would do. I still have a plate and 5 or 6 pins in it, which are staying in for the moment, but dont worry about having them out…if its anything like mine, it was so easy it was unbelievable…a real D day for me, as I was allowed to walk on it for the 1st time that day since I did it! 😀 Was the BEST!
As for bending the knee I still do have more of a problem with that than on my other leg, and I have found it has just loosened up a lot in time, and as I said, I did mine on the 23rd april, and I can squat down quite easily now to talk to children, and get stuff out of cupboards etc. I was told by my physio to get a towel put it round the ball of my feet and pull up towards me….stretch it out in the morning efore going anywhere, and just sitting down and standing up, (doing seated squats) will help over time. It really frustrated me to start with, but now it’s not that bad, although my flexibility is deff less in that ankle than my good one, but hey ho! As is life! 🙂

Dave, my ankle is similar to what your describing…achy and does not move any more. Its not painful so much, and generally doesn’t cause me any problems too much, but just annoying really!

Well….we have SNOW!!!! AHHHH! Its AMAZING! I live in portsmouth Uk, right on the south coast, and we do not ever get snow…it wasn’t like we were snowed in or anything today, but yep…it was snowy all right. Britain has got the heaviest snowfall in the last 18 years over the last few days!! I love the snow, but was PARANOID I was going to slip and fall walking from my car to work today! I didn’t although felt my feet slide slightly on quite a few occasions! :S I also managed to totally loose control of my car, and spin it, and ended up on the pavement! :S oops! No damage thank goodness. Our tyres and cars are just not made for snow in the uk. Oh well…good practise for when I go to Norway! i am off on friday…so excited! 😀 although a little nervous about the coldness and ice/snow etc, and the whole skiing malarkey, but its a challenge…if you dont try things you will never know! 😀

Anyway…hope everyone is having a great week, and not in too much discomfort!

Louise xx
Dave(Alberta Canada) on February 1, 2009 at 3:13 pm said:

Deddie;
I had a long screw revoved form the tib and fib and i really didnt experience any more flexibility with it out . i broke mine on aug 25 / 08 and had my screw removed dec 15 but was not allowed whieght bear until it was removed . its been a total of six mons and i still have only 35 degrees of total movement and cannot come past 0 degrees for dorsi flexion so i think that is wat causes my limp . does anyone else have the problem of limmited range of motion after 6 months? i no it gets better but its soooo slow u can hardley tell . my ortho says he will never take my other 2 plates and screws out . i broke both bones and disslocated so he says they r better left in . i dont think by the way it feels i will never have good dorsi flexion . as far as pain i really dont have any i just cant get it to MOVE!!!!! lol . any one else have this problem and does it go away and how long does it take? im only 28 i wanna b able to walk like normal and not worry about takin my kids place cause they can forsure out run me now and they no it lol .
well walk crfully on the ice and snow i dunno bout the rest of the world but we sure have alot of it in alberta lol
Dave
Debbie on February 1, 2009 at 12:44 am said:

Hello Everyone,

Wes, with regards to walking with a limp. How long after your break did the limp go away. And did you do something in particular to help this along? i am 12 weeks post break, was told I can weight bear, am going to PT 3times a week and definitely have a pronounced limp.

Louise, I am having my long screw removed on 2/18 this will be week 14. Once it’s out did you find you have much more flexibility? I think the tight muscles is what is causing my limp. I still cannot bend my right knee when trying to do squats. Any suggestions on how to loosen these up?

Thanks to everyone who posts, so many of my concerns have been answered.
Debbie