Post Op Week 14

Not many changes from last week. Continuing with PT / Scar Tissue Release, can't run yet, but hopefully soon. Will now reduce my updates to once per month and I will keep you updated.  Always feel free to comment with any questions my dear readers. Thanks and happy healing. :o)

Post Op Week 13

Hello everyone. I just got a Mac Book Pro so playing around with the new computer. So I am back on my feet both emotionally and physically. I am doing Yoga and swimming and physical therapy regular. Tried Accupuncture, honestly didn't do much for me. However I experienced some body work specializing in Scar Tissue Release, and it did wonders for me. I can't recommend it highly enough. I signed up for all the available sessions and looks like it will be very therapeutic in the long process. 

Post Op - Week 12

Physical Therapy is going well. Getting my range of motion and focusing on building strenght. Trying Accupunture today for the frist time. Also bought shoes Naot and Naturalista as  those are the only pairs that fit me at this point. It's a long process, but I am so thankfull for being able to walk and drive now

Post Op Week 9 & 10

Hello fellow healers. It has been a tumultous few weeks and I have not been able to post. I moved back to my own place which at this juncture in time is lacking the internet connection so I can only post at work. So I started PT and had my 2nd appointment this week. I am walking with a slight limp and using stairs. The stretches in PT really help with the range of motion and managing pain, which is what I strongly reccommend for you all who are considering PT. Absolute must as soon as you can weight bear.

X Ray - 2 months Post Op Visit

The Fracture lines are still visible, and that's considered normal, OS gave me an okay to walk
Next follow up in two months

Post Op - Week 8

I am walking. :o)
Well... that's a bit of a stretch, but i am limping. No crutches, no boot. I had a check up and the doctor said the bones are healing really well and was rather impressed that the scar tissue is healing so fast.
 I use Bio - Oil for scars and take Graphite internally (from a health food store), also Arnica for swelling and bruising. I can't drive till next week when i am comfortable to slam the breaks if I have to.
 The x - rays should arrive sometime this week from my visit yesterday and as soon as they do i will be sure to post them here. Hope all of you are hanging in there. I am returning the wheel chair and crutches this week and starting PT next week.

Post Op - Week 7

One more week to go before fingers crossed I can start walking. Went for a swim this weekend and used a stationary bike for 40 minutes. Scheduled my first PT appointment for the 14th of March. Waiting now till March 8th when i hear good news hopefully.

Broken Ankle Post OP - Week 6

Just checked my claims. Thanks for Tufts health insurance everything was paid for including the home visits after surgery, however the total cost for the ORIF / and outpatient and inpatient hospital stay was $75,000.00
 I am weary about starting to walk again though, a little scared. Got the prescription for PT which will start as soon as the doctor is going to give me the green light."

Broken Ankle Post - OP Week 5

Today my friends got me out to some shopping in Harvard Square and a hot pot for lunch. It was nice going out and seeing something other my office or the living room for the past month and a half. Getting used to crutches, cooking in my spare time, watching films. Nothing out of the ordinary except i can't walk. Waiting till March 8th. Hopefully then i could start to weight bear. Seems like a long way away, but hoping it will be here before i know it. I got some Epsom and Dead Sea salts to mix into baths and will try it out. Using Bio-Oil for scarring and Mederma, we will see how the results progress.

Broken Ankle Week 4

Today I am 4 Weeks Post Op. 1/3rd of the way through the process.   (hopefully)My last appointment went well. Got a copy of my xrays which you guys can all obtain by calling the Radiology department at your clinic. I was told to only touch down weight bear till March 8th 2011   Then they will see and let me know if I can put weight on my leg. After reading every available link on homeopathy and swallowing so much arnica and symphytum, i have decided to take it easy and just stick to Calcium and a Multivitamin. Nothing eventful...just stiffness in my leg as I wake up. I am still doing the exercises and even attempted to take a shower standing up today, not there yet, but feel like I have more energy every day. Okay...this is not for the squeamish...yesterday i pulled out a dissoluble stitch from underneath my skin. It was the most disgusting feeling i have experienced yet from this injury. Nurse said not to worry about it as long as there is not much bleeding. I had no clue i had dissoluble stitches in my body on top of the regular ones or should i say underneath. Don't recommend going through the experience but nevertheless it's like everything else is in the past. Hope you are all hanging in there. Till next week.

X Ray - 1/5/11 Day of the Fall and today 1/28/11

Taken 1/28/11

Something to make you laugh.

This was a comment from Squido

"Well had my 6 week x ray today and talked to doc (GP). I was wondering why I had so much pain still. Doctor showed me that the 1 plate with eight screws has only 6 to be counted and a hole with 1 screw sitting 1/2 inch away. The doctor said to phone OS right away and not to put any weight on ankle. I knew there was something wrong, now I know. I always new I had a screw loose just didn't think it would be in my ankle, ha ha. "

Have my OS appointment tomorrow. Will keep my fingers crossed. Can't wait. Updates will follow shortly. 

Broken Ankle Week 3 - 20 Days Post Op

Today is my first day at work. I am sitting with my foot elevated at the office. Feel exhausted but everything is managable. Found it difficult to concentrate for a few hours but hopefully in time will get into the swing of things.  Everyone here is really supportive. This coming friday is my appointment with my Orthopedic Surgeon (OS) that's when we will know how the bones are knitting together.  I am keeping my fingers crossed and will update this blog as soon as I know any new info.

Video of ORIF Surgery

Exactly what they did

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKeJd0j2J4E

Broken Ankle Week 3

Today is the beginning of my 3rd week of recovery. I stopped taking all pain medications all together and it's just calcium / vitamins for me.

My PT started me on a new exercise. Rolled towel underneath my leg. I have to extend the leg and push on the towel as if I am pressing grapes into wine. Today did 100.

The back muscle of my leg is beginning to atrophy, which is normal and will be regained in due time. If anyone else experienced this please let me know.

There is a wonderful store Cambridge Naturals close to where I am staying and I highly recommend the following remedies: Arnica for bruising both in a cream form and taken orally and Symphytum also known as Comfrey helps in rapid knitting of the bones.

Any other suggestions, recommendations are always welcome. For all of us in the same boat, lets hang in there...time and appropriate care helps heal. Happy healing.

Broken Ankle Week 2

This week started with a shower. It was nice to be clean and ready to face the week. Swelling is going down significantly. Physical Therapy has me on the following excercises: Wiggling my toes every hour. Pumping my ankle back. Stretching my leg with the belt. Raising my leg in the air 20 times 3 times a day. Bending my leg at a chair, which so far is the only painfull excercise. I am continuing doing walking laps in crutches in the hallway. Diet is consisting of a lot of milk, bananas, sardines, spinach soup and chocholates. If I do gain weight and heal my ankle it will be a small price to pay in the recovery process. I am taking tylenol, daily food based vitamins, Glucosamine/Chondroitin for healhty joints and Calcium with Vitamin D for quicker absorbtion. When I left the hospital they gave me two air casts because my leg was so swallen. I am normally a size 6, but the swelling was so bad that they put on a Large Air Cast. This week as the swelling went down i downgraded to size Medium. Also as the swelling went down my leg is more sensitive. I can feel my whole foot and the bruising on my leg is significant, but every day it's going down in size by little bit.

Broken Ankle Week 1

I broke my right lower leg/ ankle on January 5th 2011. Happy New Year! Slipped on black ice after a night of trivia. Was rushed to the hospital and had to have the ORIF of my right distal tibia and fibula the next day. This blog is to record my symptoms / feelings week by week for anyone who broke a leg. I know that each person will have their own individual experience. This is mine.

Week 1 . Day after surgery, lot's of pain. Would push the pain button and couldn't sleep. No appetite just pain medications. Could sense the tingling on my toes of the operated foot.  The next day 7th - Laid in Bed all day, noticed needed less and less pain medication. In P.M Got crutches and attempted to walk in the hospital room in crutches. 8h of January - released from the hospital. Trip home went okay. No stairs just an elevator so no problem. January 9th - Started physical therpy and started doing laps in hallway. January 13th - a week since my surgery. Took my first needed shower. I was floating in a cloud of stinkiness, it was one of the best showers i have ever taken. My friends got me a shower chair and a  removable shower head, which came in quite usefull. Stopped taking Oxycodin as it was giving me hallucinations. Can manage my pain by taking tylenol regular strenght at 10 a.m and 10 p.m. and can bend my knee 85 degrees.
This injury is really going to teach me patience. Taking everything one day at a time and appreciating each day as it comes with whatever it has to offer.