Adding to the two medical-problem threads already posted…
So I broke my ankle real good on April 1 (yes, April Fool’s day.) I was in surgery Wednesday and recovering Thursday - they needed to line up the pieces to that it’ll heal properly. (And I had no idea how much of a bitch recovering from surgery was.) I’m a good deal more normal now; I can hobble around with crutches and I don’t get ludicrously exhausted.
Any Dopers have experience with this kind of injury? Got any tips on how to heal best, both for mending the injury, getting things done while I have to crutch around, and regaining strength later on?
Ouch. I have broken both ankles in the past (not simultaneously) but those were hairline fractures - cast for ~6 weeks, go really easy on it for a while afterwards.
Talk to your doctor and/or physical therapist about rehab, definitely. I assume that you’ll be in a cast for about 6 weeks (that seems to be average for a broken bone). Take it real easy on the crutches (IIRC you are supposed to bear the weight on your hands, not your armpits) until you are used to all the silly little things like how to go up and down stairs, carry stuff while moving (backpack!), change levels (standing-sitting-lying down).
Showering can be real fun with a cast on - I had to get in the tub, stick the cast over the side to keep it from getting wet and use a combo sponge bath/handheld shower nozzle. You may want to keep a garbage bag and some rubber bands handy whenever you go out in case it starts to rain and you have to keep the cast dry. You can’t get regular pants on over the damn thing so sweats, shorts, sport pants with leg zippers, a good kilt, etc. may be in your future…
Dunno how old you are but my words o’ wisdom from age (37) and experience (both breaks and many twists and sprains) is to really avoid the urge to do a bit more than your doctors recommend - I can’t stress enough how much better it is in the long run to deal with the hassle of a proper recovery now (even if it takes an extra couple of weeks) than to try and rush it and wind up with long-term problems. PT exercises can be a drag but they should be done correctly.
The youngest guy on my team here at work took a .45 slug through the foot (on his honeymooon, yet) and was trying to speed up recovery - a couple of us who have been through breaks really leaned on him to take it easy; a little more trouble now prevents a lot more down the road.