I'm going to get to walk (err toddle) again!!!!

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
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(I had shattered my fibula falling on the ice back in April, had a plate, and some bolts and screws put in).

I’m so excited!! I had my 6 week check up yesterday (Monday the 19th).

The doc says the Xrays look good, and all is a go. I can gradually start adding weight and using one crutch, and by the end of the week I can start walking a bit.

It feels kind of weird too (I know this isn’t possible, but as if I have slight residual memories of learning to walk as a baby).

I know that there were some others on the board who’d also suffered through similar “breaks”.

Please share your stories!!

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Bravo, that’s great news! No personal story, tho (at least not yet…)

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Congratulations!

I broke mine in December, so I remember that feeling very clearly! I still have problems with mine; I wish they’d given me some sort of rehab program to do rather than just turning me loose. :frowning:

I’m still afraid to step hard on it, but you’ll get used to it. Oh, but doesn’t it feel good to scratch?!

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No personal story, but congradulations and best wishes!

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Woo, that is exciting!

When I was a freshman in college, I injured myself pretty badly in a bike crash. I was on crutches for ages, and couldn’t bend my right knee for months. My college campus was extremely hilly and had many many stairs, so this made life loads of fun!

One day, I woke up and my knee was healed. I could bend it. I didn’t have to limp anymore! I was so thrilled, I showed everyone in my dorm my amazing ability to bend my knee and walk up stairs. For some reason, they were less excited than me.

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Congrats! You are one lucky person! I did much the same thing, as I mentioned in an earlier thread, only it took almost a year before I could walk without crutches. By the time the cast came off (I didn’t have a cast at first; I had the joy of an external fixator, aka Ilizarov device, aja “halo,” which on the bright side meant I could wash my leg, but which on the down side meant I had pins going ALL THE WAY THROUGH my ankle like a shish kabob and out the other side. It was really icky), the injured leg was skinnier with the cast than the non-injured leg was without the cast. It was basically bone, flab that was once muscle, and a little skin holding it all together. It takes time to build the muscle back up; make sure to exercise your full range of motion.

Good luck, and don’t overdo it at first! You have probably lost more muscle strength than you realize, and you’re going to be sore for a while. Heat and ice packs can be your friend. So can a good gentle massage.

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Oh, well. I was “lucky,” mine was a completely crushed bone, so rather than a set and cast I got an operation and a plate, screws and a bolt, I had a splint on for nine days and then…

At my first check up I got a Darth Vader lookin’ removable walking boot thing. I had a great doctor, he had me exercising and stretching 5-6 times a day after he removed the staples and the splint. Do I only had to be “itchy” for the first nine days after my operation.

I really pushed hard, some of the classes I teach are dance classes, and I REALLY want to make sure I’m in good shape before the fall semester.

Gosh, I’m sorry you didn’t have a bit more sympathetic doctor. I took my first “walk,” more of a hobble really, without crutches, last night. I was SO excited.

Wednesday was great too, for the first time I could carry a glass of water without having to play “find a counter” all the way from the cooler to my desk.

It’s so silly to be excited about such small things, but boy did it feel great!

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Oh Eva you poor thing!! I remember you telling me how hard it had been for you when I first broke my leg. Man, what an ordeal for you!!!

You’re right about the overdo part too. I was SUCH a good girl, stayed off of it, and on the couch for 6 weeks!! UGH! Finally I couldn’t stand it and took my wheelchair to the gym so I could at least do weights. Even with just upper body my ankle swelled up like a puffer fish and turned purple! I was so depressed! Back to the couch.

I’ve been up and hobbling for a day and a half now, and not a sign of swelling. I’m hoping to be back in the gym by the end of next week.

Thanks for the update on your situation, I so hope your ankle gets well soon.

I’ve heard so many ways this could have gone, and I’m utterly grateful that I made it through this fairly well. I really appreciate your story.

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giggling!!

Yeah, I’ve noticed that too. What’s wrong with people? You’d think they’d been walking for ages.

Oh…hehe

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I broke my nose once, and I haven’t been able to walk on it since…

Hope you heal quickly

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congratulations on regaining your feet, CanvasShoes! why does that look weird, now that i typed it?

i slipped just stepping off a simple stupid curb back in November 2001. 10 screws, a plate and a pin later, they put together the ends of the leg bones that make up part of the ankle joint. :eek:

what followed had to be the about the worst time in my life. no weight on the leg at all for at least a month. (you haven’t seen paranoia until you try to hobble to the bathroom during the night, start to lose your balance, TOUCH THE FOOT TO THE FLOOR, then fall onto the bed (and husband!) so as to not put any weight on the ankle. :eek: :rolleyes:

the only bright spot at the beginning was that the painkillers also killed my appetite. too bad i weaned myself off them as soon as i could. :smack:

after the cast, i got what i referred to as my Frankenboot – two-part molded cast/boot that could be used as a walking cast once i was allowed to put a little weight on the leg. (had to go buy myself a thick-soled pair of shoes to wear with it, so i didn’t list to the right because of the humongous sole it had.) from there i eventually went to a lace-up ankle stabilizer with an elastic brace that wrapped around it. it could actually be worn with normal shoes! happy day!

i have to admit, i still have a bit of resentment about my husband’s attitude during the whole ordeal. he was bitching and moaning about having to care for the horses all by himself all the time. meanwhile, i’m crawling up and down stairs on my hands and knees (MUCH easier, in the long run, than “hopping” up and down with crutches), cooking dinner, doing the grocery shopping as soon as i’m allowed to drive, BRINGING IN THE FRIGGIN’ GROCERIES BY MYSELF (since he’s not home yet. try THAT on crutches, dear, then whine to me how bad it is having to clean stalls)…

oops. slipping into Pit territory here. well, let’s just say it was a long haul. physical therapy started in late January and ran until close to June. my ankle still swells up when i’m on my feet for hours on end or do lots of walking. so i just take a cane with me now, if that looks to be a possibility.

so you have my deep, DEEP sympathy and understanding. if you need to complain, feel free to contact me. the fears, the annoyance, the feeling of “when will it all be RIGHT again?” … been there, done wore out the t-shirt. :wink:

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That’s fibulous! :smiley:

I haven’t broken anything (yet) so I can’t speak of any experiences… but I’m excited for ya.

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Had an ankle operation a couple years ago, rebuilding the ligaments. Rigid 1950’s style plaster cast for 2 weeks, then another 2 in fiberglass before they’d let me touch ground with it. I remember seeing the poor pathetic remains of my once-muscled leg when they unsealed it from the cast. Nothing much left of it. Sure felt great to be up and about without that damn walker, and better yet when I got to retire the cane and could walk like normal people do!

Congratulations, biped!

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Before I got into the radiology field, I had no idea how much hardware can be installed in the average person. I’m still amazed by the things that the orthopods can do with screws, nails, plates, pins and rods.

Watching them do it is another matter. They do things that would make the Marquis de Sade faint.

Anyway…welcome back to bipedal locomotion, Canvas[sub]plaster,plastic[/sub]Shoes.

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Yay, CanvasShoes!

I’ve never broken anything, probably because I was a nerdly kid who hated sports and I’ve only been around 20 yrs. However…

…I can sympathize with anyone who’s ever been in the hospital. I’ve been in twice for about five days each (different reasons though) and neither was any fun at all. Hospital Visit #1 was for a video EEG, which involves sticking electrodes to the victim’s- sorry, patient’s- head and leaving them hooked up for several days while a video camera records the patient 24/7. The idea is to catch a seizure on EEG and video. My range of movement was limited to the length of the electrode wires, which weren’t nearly long enough. Thankfully, the nurses would unhook me to let me get to the restroom. It was SOOOO great to walk freely again- and wash my hair! Hospital Visit #2 was worse, but I don’t really want to go into that right now.

Anyway, good luck on the road to recovery!

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Congrats on being ambulatory once again. Keep us posted on the rehab.

I’m at the two week mark after a tibial plateua fracture (broke the tibia right at the knee). I’m slowly going insane at not being able to do normal activities…four of the five voices in my head agree that I already am insane. Four more weeks and I get to learn to walk again…

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After close to 8 weeks into my healing process, I’m realizing, from folks here and out IRL, that I’m a very very lucky girl.

Too many people have to have many operations and also face longlasting consequences.

I’m happy to announce that I’m actually back in two shoes now!!! Though I still use “the Darth Vadar Boot” for when I have to be on my feet a lot.

akennett, Boy do I remember that. Now that I’m back on my feet? It didn’t seem that long, but while I was schlepping around on crutches and occasionally wheelchairing? UGH!

Almost every time I get up now, even if just to get water, I say “OH! I’m so happy I can WALK”!!

I hope I hang onto my slightly more mellow attitude. Being disabled, even if only temporarily, made me very grateful for what I have, and it forced me to learn to not be little miss dash in and out of everywhere, and to slow down a little and learn that it wouldn’t kill me.

Lachesis, (great name!! from mythology? Or Piers Anthony?), anyway, I really related to your story, all of it, the appetite killing pain relievers (my poor boyfriend, you should have seen his face the night I looked up and said “grab something for me to throw up in, QUICK!!”), the falling, (I had SO much trouble navigating in the dark), everything about it.

I’ve really appreciated people’s own “broken bones” stories, both now, and when I first hurt it.