I broke my ankle!

cruisermaiden

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So everyone knows we got snow here in the South (Atlanta) on Sunday. The kitties and I hid inside all day from the cold and it was very nice.

Well yesterday (Monday) morning I woke up and checked outside and noticed the whole parking lot for my apartment complex was covered in black ice. My car was burried in 6 inches of snow I called work and told them I wasn't coming in because since I am originally from here in Atlanta I don't know how to drive in ice. My boss informed me that the roads were clear and he had no problem getting into work so I was allowed to come in late, but I did need to come in since my counterpart (who lives in an area that was even harder hit by the snow) had already called in and only one of us can be out at a time when the office is open.

So - I went outside, started my car to warm up and worked on scraping off all the ice and snow. Right when I finished scraping and went to walk around the back of the car to get in - I slipped in the black ice which I had already walked over at least 3 times. I fell onto my left ankle and ended up on my back underneath the exhaust pipe of my car.

My cell phone was inside the car and I was lying (with wet hair, by the way) in the ice with my ankle pointing the wrong direction. So - I started screaming bloody murder (actually, I just screamed "Somebody help!" over and over) until one of my neighbors finally came out, turned off my car and got my phone so I could call 911.

Turns out I have a Tri-Malleolar ankle fracture, and I've fractured my Tibia and Fibula about 3 inches above the ankle, with dislocation. They set it at the hospital and sent me home, I go to meet with the Orthopedist on Thursday to find out about the surgery which I'm going to need next week once the swelling goes down.

From what I've learned so far I'm going to need at least 3 plates and around 20 screws to put my leg back together again. I won't be able to bear any weight on the leg for at least 8 weeks, and it will be months of physical therapy before I will walk again.

As my apartment is on the second floor, I have been temporarily moved to my father's 1 story house and my mother is staying at my place. She brought my kitties over to see me today which has helped a lot. My parents are on the way right now to pick up a wheelchair and shower chair from a friend who had a similar injury recently, which will help a lot since these crutches are killing me! My boss has already hired a temp to do my job in my absence, which I'm not sure if I should be worried about or not.

Anyway, I just thought I'd stop in and say hello, and let everyone know what happend to me this week! I hope everyone else is having a better one than I am!
 

snake_lady

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OMG how awful, and scary for you. Thank goodness one of your neighbours heard you and was able to help. for quick healing.

I'm so sorry this happened to you. It reminded me of a few years back. The houses in my neighbourhood are all roughly the same (except mine) and in the front where the driveway meets the sidewalk to go up onto the porch of the house, is where the eavestrough drains. (silly).... one of my neighbours fell on the ice and rammed his leg into the house breaking it in several locations... It was awful. A complete fluke that he happened to fall and hit the house hard enough to have multiple breaks in his leg. (not sure the proper terms, but he had several breaks in both the lower and upper leg bones, several in his ankle).

Because of his fall, alot of my neighbours have rerouted the eavestrough so that this doesn't happen to someone else.

Ice is scary.... I'm more scared of ice than feet of snow (driving, walking).

Again, many for quick healing. Please do keep us updated, ok. I'm glad your parents are there to help you out.
 

ut0pia

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Oh my god I am so sorry this happened!!! I got tons of caution from my parents to be careful in the snow but I kept thinking it's not a big deal- your story gives me a different perspective..I hope you get better fast!!! Lots of vibes
 

kittieshasme

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Ouch!
for successful surgery and a quick recovery.

I hope your boss feels guilty, since he insisted you come in to work.
 

lil maggie

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OH I'm sorry to hear that! Geez, that had to hurt like all get out!! I'm sure they gave you something but are you still in any pain?
for a quick recovery!
 

laureen227

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freak snowstorms are bad for ankles - last March when we got ours, one of the 2nd grade teachers broke her ankle [albeit not because of the snow, just on the same day].
sending healing & for your ankle!
 

natalie_ca

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Ugh! How awful! I can't believe you boss would tell you that you had to put your life in jeopardy. So what if there wasn't any snow, there was ice, especially black ice, which is deadly!

Sorry to hear about your ankle
Back in 1990 I fell on black ice, not once, but twice and broke my ankle. The surgeon said he had to take the bones out, assemble them and put them back in again and hold them in with a plate, 6 screws and a pin. The metal is still in there.

I was not put into physio at all after my cast came off. I went back after 2 months and insisted that they put me into physio because I couldn't bend my ankle at all. After a year they only managed to get me 5 degrees of movement. As a result I still have problems managing stairs and I can't wear high heels anymore. I am unbalanced on anything over 1 inch in height, and even that is a challenge.

A tip for after your surgery. Make sure you keep that leg elevated above heart level as much as possible! They will be closing the incision with staples and you want to reduce the swelling as much as possible as you heal so that the skin doesn't grow over the staples. It will make removing them so much less painful.

When I went to get my staples out, they were pretty easy to come out because I had kept my leg up most of the time. On the other hand there was a girl there that had surgery on her ankle the same day I had mine and was there getting her staples out too. She was in college and had continued to go to school and her leg was down a great deal and was swollen while healing. She was screaming and crying when they were taking her staples out because the skin had grown over top of many of the staples.
 

mrblanche

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The orthopedist I went to with my broken wrist said when we have an ice storm in Dallas, he always sees a bunch of breaks that day.
 
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cruisermaiden

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Originally Posted by lil maggie

I'm sure they gave you something but are you still in any pain?
I am still in a decent amount of pain. The meds they gave me to bring home are Narcotics (Lortab 10) and I am always afraid to take them unless the pain is absolutely unbearable because I am afraid of getting hooked on them.

A lot of it is psychological though. I am a VERY independent person and suddenly I'm back staying at my parent's house unable to move at all without assistance. That is probably the hardest thing for me despite the pain.

Thank you all for your kind wishes and vibes. I will let everyone know what the orthopedist says tomorrow.
 

zorana_dragonky

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That is so terrible! If it were me, I would be so angry at my boss for insisting I come to work. I know the economy is bad, but a job is not worth your health and well being. I know you couldn't have expected something like that to happen, but wow.

Many for your recovery, and much sympathy. I would be more upset about being in my parent's house and not being able to move without help than the pain, too. I understand.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

I am still in a decent amount of pain. The meds they gave me to bring home are Narcotics (Lortab 10) and I am always afraid to take them unless the pain is absolutely unbearable because I am afraid of getting hooked on them.
Do you have a history of addiction? If not, you have absolutely nothing to worry about! It's a horrible public stigma, take painkillers and you must be some sort of drug addict.
I hate that people have to deal with feeling like they're doing something wrong when they're not - it's simply not fair at all.

As long as you follow the directions on the bottle, you're fine. You broke you're ankle after all, it isn't like you'd be taking them for the fun of it! Don't sit there in pain, there's not need for it. Though... Lortabs are incredibly weak, I'd be surprised if they help - acetaminophen (tylenol) may help just as much. But again, no matter what you take be careful with doses, follow directions and don't take more than is recommended.

Take care of yourself, be careful getting around, and that this heals up quickly for you.
BTW, what type of shoes did you have on when this happened?
 

myfamiliars

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Ouch! You have all my sympathy. Frankly, I agree with the others who said your boss shouldn't have put you in that position. What if there was no one around to hear you? Snow and black ice are nothing to take lightly--I should know because I live in MN. Plenty of vibes heading your way, and I hope you have someone to help you out while you're going through this.

As for the meds, do as strange_wings says. Take the pills according to the prescription, and you should be fine. Take it easy and cuddle up to your cats. They will help your mood tremendously.
 
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cruisermaiden

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

Do you have a history of addiction? If not, you have absolutely nothing to worry about!
No, I have no history of addiction. I am horribly afraid of becoming an addict though, I am like this with everything. Pills, alcohol, etc. I guess it is just my personality. I am taking the pain pills as needed and the anti-inflammatory on a timed schedule. The pain is not unbearable without the meds until I try to move, then it is. I appreciate the reassurance!


Originally Posted by strange_wings

BTW, what type of shoes did you have on when this happened?
I was wearing the shoes I normally wear, a pair of Dr. Scholls leather loafers. It was a new pair I just bought last week, so they still had good grip. Like these: http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...ct_id=10040022


Originally Posted by myfamiliars

Take it easy and cuddle up to your cats. They will help your mood tremendously.
Unfortunately my cats are at my apartment where I cannot go because it is up a flight of stairs. My mother has been staying with them at night and she brought them to see me (at my Dad's house) yesterday. My Dad has two other male cats who do not immediately accept my boys, so we have decided to put off bringing them here more long term until we know from the surgeon tomorrow how long I will be away from home. If I will be here for more than a few weeks, we will bring them over and do a formal introduction with everyone so they can stay with me!

Once again, thanks everyone for your thoughts. I will let y'all know what the doctor says tomorrow on what I do next! Everyone - stay off the ice!
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

No, I have no history of addiction. I am horribly afraid of becoming an addict though, I am like this with everything. Pills, alcohol, etc. I guess it is just my personality. I am taking the pain pills as needed and the anti-inflammatory on a timed schedule. The pain is not unbearable without the meds until I try to move, then it is. I appreciate the reassurance!
I can understand. My father is an alcoholic, as is my grandfather on my mother's side, and probably several other family members... I won't touch the stuff.
I've learned it's probably impossible for me to become addicted to painkillers, I feel no "buzz" or even loopy feeling from them at all - if they do anything.


Make sure you eat when you take that anti inflammatory, they can really tear up your stomach and you'll likely be taking them for a while. Even if it's a small meal, don't skip it and think taking the med on an empty stomach is ok. (a side note to everyone, don't take a multivitamin on an empty stomach either
)

Another thing I've seen people do is equate addict to dependent. Being dependent is not the same as being addicted. I'm somewhat dependent on a medication to raise my blood pressure, but not addicted to it. For many it's the same with painkillers and other medications - they need them to help them function, not because they love taking medications every single day. So, again, never be hard on yourself - and that goes for anyone else reading.


As for the shoes, I wondered because so many people try to wear silly shoes and walk around on ice. You had decent shoes, but bad luck.
 

myfamiliars

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Originally Posted by CruiserMaiden

Unfortunately my cats are at my apartment where I cannot go because it is up a flight of stairs. My mother has been staying with them at night and she brought them to see me (at my Dad's house) yesterday. My Dad has two other male cats who do not immediately accept my boys, so we have decided to put off bringing them here more long term until we know from the surgeon tomorrow how long I will be away from home. If I will be here for more than a few weeks, we will bring them over and do a formal introduction with everyone so they can stay with me!

Once again, thanks everyone for your thoughts. I will let y'all know what the doctor says tomorrow on what I do next! Everyone - stay off the ice!
Aw, that is so sad! I'm glad you're doing what's best for your babies, but you must miss them so! Here's hoping that if you do stay at your parents for very long, their cats will accept yours.

Please do keep us posted.

Good luck, and I hope you feel better soon.
 
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cruisermaiden

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Ok crew - I went to the doctor yesterday afternoon.

First they let me see the X-rays, they were pretty scary. The bones in my leg are basically snapped.
Then they unwrapped the splint and the bruising wasn't any prettier.

The orthopedist has decided that the ankle is too unstable to wait until next week for surgery because I could do more damage to it very easily the way it is right now. I am scheduled to go in tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9AM to have it reassembled surgically.

If the swelling has gone down enough tomorrow they will put in 2 long plates and 2 shorter ones, and I don't know how many screws. If the swelling isn't down enough to complete the final surgery, they will attach an 'external fixation appliance' to the bone, and then go back in another week to do the permanent surgery.

Anyway, I'll be in the hospital through Sunday/Monday. I will come back when I get home and let everyone know I am OK.
 
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