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Ankle injuries

Christy

Angel Diva
So I have a non-displaced closed fracture. I had initial xrays, the podiatrist looked at them this morning and said come back in 3 weeks for another round, and we'll see how it's going. I have a boot and they told me I don't need a knee scooter or crutches, but I've heard the knee scooters are an easier way to get around the house. Thoughts? It's kind of a pain putting the boot on and off, and they were frustratingly non-specific about how much I should be standing in it. "Don't go crazy" was the quote. I can do "light walking." Would a scooter be easier if I needed to cook, for example? Or can I stand in the boot long enough to do that? I noticed @Jenny said crutches were torture.

I'm trying to figure out if I can live without my husband so that he can go on our Alaska trip with my SIL. Sure I can have friends and family deliver a meal or whatnot (I mean, I can also just order) but so far he is doing a lot of, bringing me a glass of water, bringing me the laptop, feeding the dog, etc.

I just read through Jenny's old ankle thread--oof! Glad mine isn't that bad.
 

ski diva

Administrator
Staff member
Glad you're not stuck in some awful sort of cast, @Christy. Did the doc give you any sort of recovery time line?
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
@Christy … I ordered husband a knee scooter for Achilles #2, and it was a waste. Maybe a legitimate DME rental would be better, but the el cheapo that made sense to buy was SUPER susceptible to any uneven floor, so it actually felt scarier than crutches (I tried both before sending his non-weight bearing butt anywhere on either one)

It would have worked at work (his first day into the office after rupture was the day everyone went in to take everything home for the pandemic…. Whomp whomp) but was pretty useless outside a large, smooth flooring area.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
@Christy … I ordered husband a knee scooter for Achilles #2, and it was a waste. Maybe a legitimate DME rental would be better, but the el cheapo that made sense to buy was SUPER susceptible to any uneven floor, so it actually felt scarier than crutches (I tried both before sending his non-weight bearing butt anywhere on either one)

It would have worked at work (his first day into the office after rupture was the day everyone went in to take everything home for the pandemic…. Whomp whomp) but was pretty useless outside a large, smooth flooring area.

There's a medical supply not too far from me that rents them, and I presume they are decent ones, but we too have a mix of flooring (wood with rugs) so maybe it wouldn't be the best.
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Glad you're not stuck in some awful sort of cast, @Christy. Did the doc give you any sort of recovery time line?

No, just that they will do xrays again in 3 weeks and see. The practitioner in the urgent care I saw yesterday said maybe 5 weeks, but I know she isn't the expert.
 

Iwannaski

Angel Diva
There's a medical supply not too far from me that rents them, and I presume they are decent ones, but we too have a mix of flooring (wood with rugs) so maybe it wouldn't be the best.
Yeah… the med supply probably have more stable ones, but don’t go too fast the first time. I almost went right over the handlebars, and I had both feet functional. Husband, at 6’4” did not feel like going flying headfirst was the best way to recover, and I concurred.
 

vickie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I'm trying to figure out if I can live without my husband so that he can go on our Alaska trip with my SIL.
It takes only one day to figure it all out. If you do that while your husband is still there, it will be easier as you'll have backup for the things you don't plan for.

When I fractured my knee, I thought I'd have some help, having helped the other party after two surgeries (even though he had an adult son living with him). I think the defining moment was when I had to call the drug store to verify they had crutches in stock, hobble to my car, then ask at the pharmacy drive-thru if they could possibly handle the transaction so I did not have to walk in on a fractured bone. That was Christmas Eve.

I used crutches and a wheeled office chair to get around at home. I could load up the chair with supplies -- meals, water, shopping bags with books and things -- and push it along as I crutched my way to the couch.

The key really was to minimize the number of times of getting up by combining events -- go to the bathroom when I let the dog out and refill my water container on the way back to the couch.

Since the doctor did say "limited walking", you probably shouldn't carry extra weight when you do walk. You probably need something as support whether that's crutches, scooter, or wheeled chair/stool.
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
Funny, in the glow of being all healed, I don’t remember the crutches as torture anymore, lol. But if you can put weight on it, and you’re working at home anyway, I don’t know that I’d run out to get the knee scooter, either. Depends on how much open space you have, as well as your flooring. I did rent one from the med supply store.

One crutch isn't bad to use - in fact, it kept my gait more even than going without, even when I wasn’t putting much weight on it. That might be a decent compromise around the house. Probably not much help walking Reggie, though.

No way you could take crutches and still go on the trip? Anyplace you’re going wheelchair accessible?

Now I'm curious what else I whined about when I was recovering - gonna go read my old thread!
 

liquidfeet

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So I have a non-displaced closed fracture. I had initial xrays, the podiatrist looked at them this morning and said come back in 3 weeks for another round, and we'll see how it's going. I have a boot and they told me I don't need a knee scooter or crutches, but I've heard the knee scooters are an easier way to get around the house. Thoughts? It's kind of a pain putting the boot on and off, and they were frustratingly non-specific about how much I should be standing in it. "Don't go crazy" was the quote. I can do "light walking." Would a scooter be easier if I needed to cook, for example? Or can I stand in the boot long enough to do that? I noticed @Jenny said crutches were torture.

I'm trying to figure out if I can live without my husband so that he can go on our Alaska trip with my SIL. Sure I can have friends and family deliver a meal or whatnot (I mean, I can also just order) but so far he is doing a lot of, bringing me a glass of water, bringing me the laptop, feeding the dog, etc.

I just read through Jenny's old ankle thread--oof! Glad mine isn't that bad.
Are you allowed to drive? That will play into how well you'll do without hubby.

I have a friend who recently stepped off her front porch without intending to, sideways, and she broke a bone in her foot. It was a non-displaced fracture, as is yours. I don't know which bone, but from her description it sounds like the navicular.

At first, at Urgent Care, she got a boot. Then in two weeks she saw an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in foot injuries. She was told by that doctor that the boot was overkill, and that it would be better to use an ace bandage (or some more modern version of an ace) to hold the foot together. So that's what she's doing. She was allowed to put as much weight on it as she could without generating pain. Crutches have not been necessary, although for a few days she used a cane.

So pain was the determinant of what she could and could not do. If it hurt, she stopped. If it didn't, she continued. She's healing, with some day-long set-backs followed by painless days afterwards. Progress is intermittent but continuous. She drives, but only for short periods, trying to avoid pain. The bone is clearly growing back together at its own pace. Thankfully she did not rip any ligaments or tendons. Just a bone.

Maybe something in her situation will sound familiar to you and give you some things to ask your doctor about, @Christy.
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
@Christy - went back and reread my injury thread. Was very interesting to see the things I had forgotten about. Note, I mentioned the crutches were torture on the first or second day I had them - it did get better, I promise.
 

Eera

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I had a compound tib/fib that involved many screws and plates. I used a mechanics' wheelie stool to get around inside the house - just sat on it and scooted. Could not get up stairs with crutches so just used to sit on bum and back up one at a time, then hopped around the top floor. Everywhere else was crutches - they hurt the first couple of days under the arms but got used to them.
After 12 weeks they still hadn't removed the cast and I was weight bearing on it (and my leg had shrunk to an extent it was wobbling around anyway), so cracked the shits and cut it off myself with a plasterer's knife and some tinsnips.
 

fgor

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Ahh, I'm sorry to hear about your injury, heal up soon!!

I had an unpleasant ankle break a few years ago (though not as bad as @Eera - eek!). I was going to be non weight bearing for 8+ weeks and I had to meet up with an occupational therapist at the hospital before I was discharged, and they lent me some things for the house. One of those was actually just an adjustable tall stool that I could use in the kitchen to sit on while I was preparing and cooking food. That was honestly all I needed in the kitchen. I didn't bother with a knee scooter because my house is pretty small and I thought crutches would be easier to manoeuvre :P

Under-arm style crutches seem to be more common elsewhere, I've actually never seen them IRL in new zealand. Here I've only seen the elbow crutch style. Honestly they were torture in the end!! They were fine for the first month but having my weight on my palms all the time got really painful. I tried taping padding to the grips but in the end nothing helped except not using them, so I was really thankful when I was allowed to start weight bearing again, haha. It sounds like you're weight bearing from the start though, so I don't think you'll have that issue :smile:

Carrying things was my biggest problem and I'm liking some of the ideas in this thread like using a wheely chair to put items on.

Once I was weight bearing, pain was the determinant of what I could and couldn't do as well, same as what @liquidfeet said - basically, for me, "discomfort" was fine (and unavoidable at first) but "pain" wasn't fine and should be avoided.

Anyway enough rambling. Again, good luck for a speedy recovery!! :hug:
 

Christy

Angel Diva
Thanks all.

Are you allowed to drive? That will play into how well you'll do without hubby.

No driving in the boot, but I live in a city and anything can be delivered, or, friends/neighbors can drop things off. Our dog walker is scheduled for the weekdays, and our dog will still be happier at home with me getting no walks on the weekend than at the kennel.

The dr said that I really don't need another device to take the weight off the bum ankle, that the boot will protect it. I think I just need to get used to hobbling in the boot and not fret about putting weight on it. I like @vickie 's office chair idea for moving items around.

It's likely 6 weeks in the boot then 4 weeks of limited activities. I know this is nothing compared to the injuries many divas have had. I have had major surgeries (hysterectomy, detached retina repair + 2 follow up surgeries) and lots of minor athletic injuries but no breaks or tears. I'm just super sad it happened this time of year, my very favorite time to hike and be outside (late summer/early fall).
 

alison wong

Angel Diva
Wish I had knee scooter when I broke my ankle 20 years ago. No such thing existed back then.

I had a tear on my R ankle, 1 degree less severe from requiring surgery (per my Ortho surgeon). I was on a cast for several weeks, remembered driving home myself after they put a cast on. It was quite challenging, afraid I would mistake gas for the brake or vice versa. That time, working from home was not an option, so I drove everyday to and from work w/ the cast.

I applied for a temporary handicap parking permit, it was nice to have the convenience of parking.

@Christy - do you plan to apply for a handicap parking permit? Will you be required to have PT after? If so, how many more weeks?
 

Christy

Angel Diva
@alison wong good question about PT! No one has mentioned it. Maybe they are waiting until my next x-ray in 3 weeks to drop that on me.

I can't drive in the boot, so I won't need a handicapped permit. If I go somewhere with my husband, he can drop me off.
 

vickie

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh, you're dredging up the good memories now! Crutch to the car. Remove brace. Drive to the DMV. Put brace on in parking lot. Crutch in to get my handicapped permit. Good times!
 

Jenny

Angel Diva
DH had to drive me everywhere for months. Thank goodness his work was so flexible. We didn’t bother getting a handicapped permit because we already had one in my uncle's name. We'd ordinarily have never used it without him, but I was clearly qualified, just too lazy to go get it for myself.

Does your ankle hurt much, @Christy?
 

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