May 16th, 2019 started off as a day full of promise… and yard work. It ended up being the day I went from being independent and strong to (temporarily) losing every and any ounce of independence I had. We (my fiancé and I) planned on getting some landscaping stuff done, and to keep the dogs occupied and out of the yard, we put their little pool up on the deck. Which, hindsight is always 20/20, and this was just a pretty dumb idea but made sense at the time.
Broken Ankle: The Injury and the Aftermath
Long story short, the deck ended up getting all wet and became slippery. I was wearing shoes with zero traction (thank you Birkenstocks) and in a split second pretty much shattered my ankle. As I fell, I heard the break and when I looked at my foot, it was facing a different direction than it should have been. I knew instantly it was bad, and life was going to change drastically for a while.
What happened is called a trimalleolar facture, a fracture of 3 different bones in the ankle/leg joint. Essentially, what that means is that every bone that anchors your foot to your leg is broken and the foot is disconnected from the leg. It’s the worst fracture you can get, and in addition to that, I had an additional fracture on the back of the ankle/foot that was “crunched up” in a bunch of pieces as well.
The pain was so horrific that they had to start an IV to get me fentanyl right there on the deck as they did a reduction (the first of two that needed to be done that day) to put my foot back the right way. That pain didn’t stop or get better for about a week and half, even though it felt like years, and even though they were rotating IV morphine and fentanyl at the hospital and loaded me up with a pain pill regime to take down a horse.
I got home from the hospital with a plan to see the surgeon the following morning, and at that appointment surgery was scheduled for May 22nd. The pain was so severe during this time and my ankle was so unstable that every time I moved, got up, with each hop on the crutches, any bump we drove over in the car… I was screaming and sobbing in pain.
I felt bad for me, but I felt worse for Justin who had to watch me be in anguishing pain without being able to do anything to make it better. I also couldn’t sleep, except for maybe an hour after I took each round of pain meds, so adding the exhaustion that set in after about two days from being up and crying constantly didn’t help my cause much.
We (ok, Justin) picked up a used knee scooter during this time but I had to wait a few weeks to be able to use it, because prior to surgery my ankle was just so unstable that it hurt worse to have it hang off the knee scooter than it did to use the crutches. Everything during this time was difficult, especially not being able to carry anything, go up the stairs, or take care of myself. Not only was the pain all consuming, but losing my independence was an even worse kind of pain for me and would continue to be over the next few months.
Using crutches meant I couldn’t carry anything, and when Justin wasn’t home, I had to learn how to really plan out and think through every single trip off the couch I was going to take. I started using my backpack to bring back my water bottle, or any food I needed had to be put in a container that could then go in my backpack, meaning plates and cups couldn’t be used. I felt so guilty that in those first weeks I couldn’t help with any of the cooking, cleaning, caring for the dogs, or pulling my weight around the house. I couldn’t even get into the shower myself.
Justin’s immediate future changed just as quickly as mine did when my injury happened, and he had to take on all of those responsibilities on top of working full-time and now caring for me and our two dogs. He even slept downstairs on a chair for weeks to make sure he was close to me in case I needed to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night or needed pain meds. And in that first week and a half when I couldn’t sleep, he stayed up with me. While I felt awful that he was doing this, he was simultaneously my light and biggest blessing during all of this.
Trimalleolar Fracture Ankle Surgery
The morning of surgery I was so, so nervous and scared. It was partially the surgery and being intubated I was worried about, but it was also about what my life would be like after. The only thing I wanted was to be “normal” again and have my life back. At one of my appointments, my (wonderful) PA asked how I was doing and I burst into tears, which happened more than once a day anyway, and through my sobs said “I *sob* was just *sob* in *sob* Poland *sob* by myself *sob* 2 weeks ago *sob*”. I just couldn’t believe this was happening to me.
The instant loss of one of my favorite qualities about myself was devastating but going into surgery I just was thinking about all of the simple everyday things I so easily took for granted prior and was wondering if I’ll ever get back to just being me. Going to the store, driving, daily walks with my dogs, running up the stairs to grab something or flip laundry… all of it things I wanted so badly to be able to do again.
After surgery when the pain block wore off, I felt like someone had taken a chainsaw to my foot. Painful is not a powerful enough word for what I experienced. There were periods where I thought I was going to pass out because it was just so horrific and intense. Every time my surgeon or PA called to see how I was doing that first week, I would always burst into tears because I didn’t have the words to explain just how much pain I was in.
I was in a huge padded splint/cast and told underneath all that padding was 3 long incisions, one on each side of my ankle and one going along the back from my heel halfway up my calf. Inside of those incisions my surgeon placed 3 plates and 12 screws. I couldn’t feel ice packs through the huge cast, so they had to be placed under my knee instead.
After My Broken Ankle Surgery
Around a week/week and a half after the surgery, I was in less pain than I had been since my injury first happened, and was starting to wean off the pain meds. The cast came off around this time (5/30) to let the incisions have some breathing room and I got a boot to wear when I was moving around. I didn’t need to wear it as long as I was laying around with it propped up, which is about all I did for 2 weeks straight. I was able to put ice on it once the cast was off and that helped quite a bit.
Because of this, my swelling started going down quicker than anticipated, which I think helped with my healing. However, with each follow up appointment (which were very frequent), I was continually crushed by being reminded of how long it would be before I was cleared to bear weight again, and eventually walk again. Especially with my wedding coming up in just two months.
It was going to be at least another 6 weeks before I would be cleared to walk. During this time, life honestly just got really hard and pretty dark for me. I missed being able to just get in the car and drive to where I wanted to go by myself. My outings consisted of Justin going through the painstakingly cumbersome process of getting me out and into the car so I could at least take a drive to Starbucks to get out of the house and then repeating the process of getting me back into the house. I either sat on the porch, or laid on the couch.
I got to know my mailman and FedEx driver better than I thought you could know a mailman. Even once I started using the scooter, the physical exertion of doing anything made me extremely tired and completely worn out. This was so emotionally challenging for me and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t cry over something at least once a day. My body had just gone through a pretty intense trauma, and my mind was really unhappy about it.
Getting in the shower one night caused me a total emotional breakdown because everything had to be so planned and thought out. My every move, Justin’s every move as he tried to help me, where everything needed to be, and then my fear of slipping and the logistics of where my one good foot needed to go to prevent that, and THEN how badly I felt that Justin had to do and get absolutely everything for me that I needed. I was so frustrated, overwhelmed, upset and just tired of everything having to be this hard and being this much of a burden.
I was not the person I was just a few weeks ago, and even though I tried to be positive about it, it got harder and harder to do so and I hated that everything was such a challenge when I was so used to just doing everything for myself, and doing it so easily.
Post Surgical Depression
During this time period, we also had a ton of crappy life stuff pile up on top of us too. I was trying to plan our wedding that was happening in July but couldn’t actually do or go anywhere and thought about just cancelling it almost once a day because I was so sad about my injury was going to impact our wedding day, and knew I wouldn’t be walking by then. I had to cancel our pre-wedding trip to NYC that was supposed to happen the first week of June, and cancel a trip to California to see my best friend a few weeks later because my surgeon said I wasn’t able to fly for at least 10 weeks. Justin’s best friend died, and while we were back in Justin’s hometown (a 6 hour drive that I couldn’t help with at all) at his funeral, I got a phone call that my uncle died. Then two weeks later, my Nana had a stroke the week before our wedding.
This all just 6 months after Justin’s younger and only brother passed away. I truly had just spiraled into a place that didn’t look anything like me or my life and I was angry and sad. Every week it seemed as if something new and awful happened like clockwork. I was angry all of this was happening to us at the same time, but more than anything, I was angry at my stupid broken ankle because I wasn’t able to help or do the things I would have had I been able to walk, or be the support to Justin or my family I would have been if I wasn’t so consumed with trying to recover or so limited by that recovery. It felt like I was drowning in waves that just kept crashing into me, not able to get a breath before the next one hit.
Post-surgical depression is a real thing, especially prevalent in orthopedic surgeries that inhibit movement and activity. I was/am already dealing with some PTSD stuff from Tyler’s passing, and was really not mentally ready to gracefully handle something like this type of injury and surgery with zero notice that it was going to happen to me. Being laid up is SO unlike me, and like I mentioned, two weeks before this happened I was in Europe for a month by myself, as an example of just how much I value my independence.
Not being able to be active isn’t something I know well, and I got really depressed that it all changed in one split second. I found myself just so irrationally angry with people I’d watch walk down the street as I sat there, thinking about how they just don’t even know how great they have it to be walking on their legs like it’s NO BIG DEAL! I can laugh about it now, but I was so miserable and just… down. So much so that I couldn’t bring myself to work or even open my laptop. I didn’t want to talk to anyone or see anyone either. It was rough and I was physically and emotionally exhausted and beat down.
I knew it was temporary, but it didn’t make it much easier in the moment. It was so hard to feel stuck in my house with no motivation or ability to do anything but stare at the four walls for days on end. It also made me incredibly aware of how difficult this world can be for someone who is differently abled, too. Everything we did had to be planned out to a T. Do I need the scooter? Crutches? Or both? How far is the parking from the door, what car do we need to take depending on what I need to bring? How long will we be gone and what medications need to come with? What clothing options do I have for where we’re going or the weather that Justin has to get from upstairs being I can’t get pants on over the cast? Is the elevator close by, or is there a ramp near the main door? He’ll have to drop me off at the door to get me out and then go park because there’s no parking space without another car next to it?
Things that were no big deal if you had two working legs, like parking on a street next to a curb, for example, were now big productions for me, as well as making sure every place we went was easily accessible to get into (which, surprise, this is not often the case). The pain was pretty much gone 3 weeks after surgery, but that’s when the laying around thing became really the most difficult, but it was usually an easier option than trying to go do anything either.
Because of the combination of not doing anything all day, and just how bad I was feeling emotionally, I started to have a really hard time sleeping. I wasn’t burning off any energy during the day and I ended up just being up all night or sleeping for a few hours, being up for a few hours, sleeping for a few hours, so on and so forth, which made feeling normal even harder because I was so tired but also unable to sleep, pretty much ensuring I couldn’t be productive at all either. Continuing the cycle of just feeling really, really crappy about the whole dang situation. I’m not saying this to make you feel bad for me, I just hope to give an accurate description of what my recovery has been like.
Driving, Rehab and Walking After Breaking My Ankle
Once I got my stitches taken out, I finally felt like we were making some progress. I still couldn’t put any weight on my leg, but it meant that my incisions were healed enough to be a sign to me that we were moving further away from the injury and closer to being healed. It also meant I could take a shower without the shower-cap-for-the-leg plastic contraption I had to wear to prevent the incisions from getting wet. It was the grossest, but also best shower ever! Because my foot hadn’t touched the ground in so long, so much dead skin came off but it was the first time I had felt actually clean in like 6 weeks. Thank the lord!
I also had this idea in my head that once my docs told me I was full weight bearing again, I’d be just… back to walking! Back to being myself! Of course, I knew/thought it would hurt and that I’d need PT, but I guess I just thought that would be for some ROM (range of motion) work and I overestimated what my capabilities would be. Because even when I did get the all clear to put weight on it again, which happened on July 2nd, I still couldn’t walk. My surgeon even told me, “just because I say you can walk, doesn’t mean you can walk.” Welp, didn’t see that one coming.
At that appointment, what I really wanted to know also was about driving. When could I drive?! That is one of the things I missed the most. Driving myself just meant freedom to me, and not being able to meant that I was still dependent on someone else. So the day I was cleared to be FWB, my surgeon also told me that I was cleared to drive based on studies of reaction time vs. length of time post-surgery and that my ROM and strength with my foot flexing forward was good, but that he couldn’t be the one to make that decision for me. I had to be the one to decide that I was comfortable and confident that I could react and control the vehicle. I was super nervous about this and waited a few days after that appointment to get behind the wheel.
At first I just practiced with the pedals and going backwards and forwards, and then around the block, and then for the first week after that I avoided the highway and just took the back roads. My first time on the highway my calf muscle tightened up and spasmed a bit because my right foot was the one this happened to, my leg had atrophied so much and not been used for holding down a pedal for so long, so that was a bit scary, but it went away quickly and never happened again.
But pretty shortly after that, I was back behind the wheel with no limitations and on the road to freedom! What’s interesting about this is that I still couldn’t walk unassisted and was in so much pain when I put weight on my leg, but I could drive just fine and when I was, it was like my ankle wasn’t even broken and I hadn’t just had major reconstructive surgery.
Also, at that appointment, I was cleared to begin swimming laps, water walking and getting back on my Peloton bike (but taking it easy on the bike). That week I began physical therapy, but I also signed up at the YMCA and could not WAIT to start doing some activity again. At first, I was told to only do 15 minutes in the pool, and truly that’s all I could handle.
Because I still couldn’t walk on my own, I was wearing a brace, my boot and using crutches. This meant that the process to get to the pool to only spend 15 minutes it in looked like this:
Put on brace, boot and get crutches and make sure I have everything I need (including swim shoes for the traction being I can’t walk well) in a backpack. Get out to the car. Sit down in the driver’s seat and hurl the crutches into the back seat. Take off the boot, and the brace, and take my other shoe out of the backpack to put on to drive. Drive to the gym. Park and take off the shoe, put the brace back on, the boot back on, put on the backpack and get the crutches. Hobble incredibly slowly into the gym and to the pool. Pull a chair as close as possible to the edge of the pool near the ladder to get in and out. Take off boot and brace and put on the pool shoes. Lower myself down to the ground and half crawl-half scoot over to the side of the pool and get in. Swim or water walk for 15-20 minutes.
Get out (carefully and nervously), dry off and fearfully make sure EVERYTHING is dry before trying to walk because I’m so worried about slipping on water being that’s how this happened in the first place and repeat the process to get home. This was a 2+ hour process for just a few minutes in the water, and it was exhausting, but it was so worth it and I was determined. I could do something on my own!! I was focusing on healing my ankle! I increased my time in the water every 3 days by about 5-10 minutes, once I was able to see how my ankle felt the next few days to make sure I wasn’t overdoing it.
I had to do this process of putting on all my “gear”, getting to the car, taking it all off, driving, putting it back on where ever I went, too. I got pretty good at it, especially during the week my Nana was in the ICU and I was up at the hospital 2x a day.
I could feel myself getting stronger each day, even if just a little bit. The pain and swelling returned once I was FBW again, but that was due to not using it in so long, the muscle atrophy that happened to my calf, and increased with activity as the day progressed. The swelling made it feel like how your foot feels if it falls asleep, like pins and needles, but you can’t get rid of it. Even if I lightly tap my shin bone, I can feel the pain from the swelling in my toes.
I wasn’t taking my strong pain meds anymore, but I did have to start taking ibuprofen or Tylenol at night before bed. However, I finally was able to sleep in my own bed again after sleeping downstairs on the couch, so I could be close to a bathroom that was accessible for me and my scooter. I went from using two crutches with the boot and a brace to just using one as a cane with the boot and brace.
Each day kept getting a little easier, with a little less pain. Like I previously mentioned, the swelling increases as the day goes on and as I use it, so the pain I still have is always towards the end of the day and is always correlated with the amount of swelling. Sometimes I can’t even get my shoe on that foot because it blows up to the size of a football.
Road to Recovery
After getting the all clear to be FWB on 7/2, I reduced the number of devices and equipment I needed to walk or do daily activities over the next few weeks. 7/20 (my wedding day) was the first day I was able to stand unassisted long enough without the boot or brace for support to take a shower standing up (goodbye shower chair! I will not miss you!), and then quickly after that was getting rid of boot and brace and crutches.
By the 22nd I wasn’t using a crutch as a cane support, and then by the 25th I was walking without the brace or the boot. By the 31st I could go up and down stairs normally again instead of one step at a time. I still have a pretty significant limp, but like everything else, it’s getting better and a little less noticeable a little every day.
I’m still getting incredibly tired and worn out with activity, and can’t stand for more than a few minutes at a time, which makes a lot of things like cooking, cleaning, and standing in lines difficult still. But my capacity is getting better and better, and I’m feeling better and better. My balance is still a bit shaky and I can’t walk very far, but I’m happy with the progress I’ve made, even if I can only stand on the one foot I had surgery on for a few seconds. I’m still a bit embarrassed when I go anywhere in public because of my limp and how slow I am, but that embarrassment is usually overshadowed by how thankful I am to be out of my house and doing the things I want or need to do. Who knew getting gas at the gas station was such a privilege!
I’ve done a lot of naturopathic things to encourage and support my healing and recovery, and will outline all of those things in a separate post. Overall though, what I needed was time. Which was the hardest thing to give myself when all I wanted was to feel like me again and have my “old” life back. However, this injury has changed a lot of things about me and given me a new perspective and appreciation for both my health and the people in my life.
I’m still a bit angry that this “set me back” so long and at all of the things that happened during this time that I wasn’t able to take part in, or be there for. But overall, I’m incredibly blessed and lucky that I have the support system that I do in my now-husband, the wonderfully talented and amazing surgeon and PA I have and the friends and family that sent food, checked in on me, and made sure we made it to the other side of this. Things are looking up and I’m so grateful for the support (and patience) from my community.. You guys! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Timeline of Ankle Surgery Recovery:
5/16 broke ankle, couldn’t walk
5/22 Ankle surgery and put in hard cast
5/30 Hard cast came off, incisions re-bandaged and put in a compression sock and boot
6/24 Stitches came out
7/2 Cleared to be FWB, begin PT and light exercise (stationary bike and swimming)
7/5 Driving practice in the driveway and around the block
7/7 Highway driving on my own
7/14 Walking a few steps with boot and brace, but needing crutch/es to get around the house and in public, still using scooter for long distances
7/20 Able to take shower standing up without use of shower chair with no brace/boot to stabilize ankle
7/22 Using just the boot and brace to walk
7/25 Walking on my own, without brace and boot, but with a limp
7/31 Walking up and down stairs normally, instead of one step at a time
8/13 Walking with a barely noticeable limp
9/30 Walking normally with no pain. Swelling only with a lot of activity
10/20 12 days walking around Europe with little to no issues or pain
11/10 Last follow-up appointment with surgeon
04/15 (upcoming) First post-injury solo international trip to Switzerland to hike
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Phyllis says
I had surgery for bimalleolar fracture on 4/1/2020.
I have a plate and 7 screws on the outside of my right ankle and 2 screws on the inside of my ankle.
It has been 19 weeks since surgery and I am very frustrated.
I have pain in the ankle every day. I still have a significant limp because of the pain and swelling and lack of range of motion.
I can feel some of the screws and the lower edge of the metal plate below my ankle bone. In fact, I do not wear sneakers as the sneaker rubs on the lower edge of the metal plate over my ankle bone and causes discomfort.
I have not even been able to go for a mile walk. There is no way that I would consider wearing a hiking boot on my right foot due to the metal plate. I am very concerned about getting back to an active lifestyle.
I am looking for information:
Has anyone had issues with the metal plate rubbing on your sneaker or shoe?
Has anyone had experience with removal of the metal plate in the ankle?
Katie says
Thank you for sharing your experience. I suffered the same type of fracture walking downstairs in my home and just had surgical repair. Hearing it from someone who’s actually been through it versus “informational“ websites has really been helpful.
paleobailey says
I’m so glad it was helpful, but gosh I’m so sorry this happened to you. Wishing you a speedy and full recovery! <3 - B
Leslie says
Bailey, you are a rockstar. The detail you provide (actual milestones and your emotional state) is so helpful. I had a similar accident 3 weeks ago and am so lucky to have found you and your blog to shepherd me through this. And I love your dogs. One small question, what did you do about work through this? And Justin (like my husband) deserves an all-expenses paid something! Like you, I am extremely fortunate that my partner is so supportive and available to help. Thank you and all the best!
Sarah says
I came across your post, like several comments above, looking for information on trimalleolar fractures. I fell taking my dog outside – I stepped off the patio and onto the grass and my left ankle rolled. I must have planted my right foot to balance (the details are a little fuzzy because I went into shock), but I heard a cracking noise that will haunt me for a long time and next thing I know, I’m laying next to my neighbor’s fence, yelling for help, with my poor pupper standing over me, very confused. I knew immediately that it was really bad. My husband called 911, and fortunately we are only about a mile from a university med school hospital, so they got me in quickly. My ankle was very unstable and they couldn’t do a closed reduction, so I was admitted and the next morning, they did an external fixation to hold everything stable until the swelling went down enough for the ORIF. It was a little over two weeks at home with the x-fix, and I had the ORIF surgery. I’m just over two weeks out from that and I’m still grappling with how much my life has changed. I’m so lucky that I have an awesome partner who has been great through all of this, but accepting that much help is so so difficult. I am trying not to push myself too much and risk lengthening my recovery time, but I would love to cook dinner, or go for a drive, or take a shower standing up, and I think having a good strong drink would be amazing, but with the amount of acetaminophen I’m taking, I don’t want to damage my liver. It’s all so hard. I’m glad you made it through and shared your journey. It makes me hopeful that in a few months, this will be mostly just a memory.
Carolina says
I suffered the same injury, but also fractured other ankle too. Your story makes me feel I am on the right track. I do feel totally dependent on my family. I get the cast off tomorrow and transfer to a boot, 7 weeks post surgery. NWB on one ankle, hoping for good news.
Katie says
Thank you so much for this article! I fell on our trampoline and ended up with a trimaleolar fracture in my left ankle on the same day as you this year (5/16/20) and surgery on 5/22. So your timeline is extremely helpful to me! Right now for me 4 weeks after surgery, the depression is real! I am so ready to be back to normal!
Meera says
Thanks for sharing your story – it makes all the difference to read about people who have gone through this and to know that it will improve. I’m five weeks out from surgery for the same nasty break (tri); from a simple family bike ride gone wrong. The post surgery pain and incisions are healed; but there’s still a lot of low grade pain and discomfort and very limited range of motion. It IS depressing to be tired and in pain a lot, and the recovery timeline seems sooooo long. But it helps so much to read your story. I hope you’re doing well now.
Sonja says
Hi, I found your blog by searching trimalleolar ankle surgery. I’m currently recovering from the surgery myself. I can’t find your post on the naturopathic things you did to help your recovery along. Would you please give me a link to it? Thanks
Theresa D. says
Thank you so much for this post. Almost every single thing you said resonated with me and felt like I was writing it myself! I’m hoping to have my staples removed tomorrow for my ankle break and was searching for a timeline to see how long until I’ll be able to drive etc. what I’m leaving with is a wave of relief that all of my moments of weakness and anger are normal with my own ankle break. Thank you so much for your post!
Amy says
I am almost exactly one year behind you having my trimalleollar fracture of my left ankle on 13 May 2020 with surgery the next day. I feel very lucky that I did not have to wait for surgery, as that sounds painful. I was in the hospital for only 48 hours, no doubt things were compressed due to the pandemic.
Thanks for the pictures of the incisions and for describing the recovery process. I am improving every day which is encouraging. I will share this with my fiancé so he too knows what to expect going forward.
Alena Zolotaiko says
Thank you so much for sharing your story and what you have experienced. I got the same injury in my left ankle just two weeks ago, in such a stupid bicycle accident. Still cannot believe how and why it happened. You me article gives me a bit hope that I will be able to walk normally at some point again. Hope, you are feeling good now and the leg doesn’t bother you.
Carla says
Is anyone not able to knell on their effected ankle?
Phyllis says
So glad that I found your blog.
I had surgery on 4/1 after trimalleolar-fracture.
4/14 – hard cast and staples were removed, then foot is in removable boot
5/12 – next appointment
I am getting so frustrated sitting around and not able to do anything.
Wondering how you are doing now that it has been about a year since your ankle surgery. Are you able to walk pain free? Do you still have any swelling?
Rosie says
Thank you so much for writing this! 🙂 I recently returned home to South Africa due to the COVID-19 crisis and then broke my ankle badly a week into my self-isolation! Luckily my surgery went well and I am now staying with my mom while I recover but reading your post made me cry with relief! It is so comforting reading your story and reminding myself there is light at the end of the tunnel!
Nonee says
Hi, Needless to say, I came across your lovely motivational essay after doing an online search for trimalleolar fracture experiences. I just came home after a similar surgery and am waiting for the effect of IV pain medication to wear off. I only picked up codeine of all the prescriptions and am hoping it will work. My only concern is my age , 49 years, hopefully the old bones will heal well. I have been on strict bed rest before for both my pregnancies, so I am hoping I have learnt from those times?, but again it is covid 19 time and we all have parents and children to take care of . Now my fragile old parents are caring for me as they are under lockdown, but they have ranch home, which helps. Not to mention my job, which as a nurse was on my feet all the time!:) submitted FMLA today. Thank you for taking the time to write your article and giving that timeline. It is truly very helpful and appreciated.
Jessi says
Thank you so much for this. I broke my ankle in 3 places and was non weight bearing for three months. Finally got the go ahead for full weight bearing today, and I was so freaking crushed that I couldn’t do it. I can stand, but taking a step is excruciating.
Maria Little says
Ive read your post now three times about your ankle trauma. I fell 1/21 , surgery 1/23. Two plates, nine screws and loss of ME! Thank you for sharing your recovery challenges. Maybe I can see light at the end of my deoression. People think I’m just going to heal and hop up! I wish.
Frankie says
Thank you so much for posting this!!! I had the same surgery on December 3rd and have been struggling through different points of the process, especially the post depression that isn’t talked about and the struggle to re-acclimate back at work to the role and pace that was once normal before the accident. I’m so sorry you also had to go through it all of that because it is so traumatic and awful but I have to say it was so comforting reading all of the specific things you talked about and for the first time since the accident I actually felt less isolated in the experience and that finally someone else knows exactly what it has been like and gets it!!! Thank you!!!
laura cton says
I am a 58 year old woman, 32 days post surgery for repair of the trimaleolar ankle fracture I suffered on Christmas Eve. I guess I was lucky after reading about those who had to wait for surgery and suffered severe pain after surgery. My pain was excruciating upon my fall and until I was given dilaudid in the ER and throughout the night until my surgery the following morning, on Christmas. Post surgery, they kept me overnight and I never really had to ask for pain relief, they were on it. I was switched to Tramadol and Oxycodone the following day and sent home with a script for each and have not needed to use all of them, I currently take Tylenol, but the discomfort is minimal at this time. I have been practically living in my recliner (I call it my nest), I am bored to tears, I watch tv, but don’t really care what’s on. I went back to work for a couple hours a day last week and although it’s tiring, it’s good for me. I keep my foot up most all the time. I find this to be the most inconvenient, frustrating thing that has ever happened to me. I keep telling myself I’m lucky it wasn’t my neck and I have a new respect for anyone who suffers from any mobility issue. I am anxious, I want to be me again, I will go to every PT appointment, I will do every exercise, I will take every vitamin, I want to walk my German Shepherds in Maine this summer. I’m scared of the road ahead…I hate being tired and dependent and not driving my truck. I will be patient, your stories have prepared me. Thank you for sharing.
Paige Looney says
I just found your blog via a search for trimalloelar fractures and love your story! I fell, going down white marble steps on Christmas day in London just after we finished Christmas tea at The Langham! It was horrible, of course, and I was taken by ambulance to a hospital where they soon after set my ankle. I found out very quickly that the UK is stingy with pain medicine! That night, I was in so much pain. My surgery was tentatively scheduled for the next morning, as long as my swelling was okay. They would give me morphine with a syringe every 2 hours and it always wore off after an hour. It was excrutiating. Thankfully, I was able to have surgery the next morning. My 2 daughter stayed with me, but my husband had to leave on Dec. 26, our scheduled day to leave and the same day as my surgery. I was able to leave the hospital on Dec. 27 but they highly advised us not to fly for a minimum of one week, so we flew out exactly one week later. We were, fortunately, able to upgrade our seats and fly business class/first class home. Layover in Chicago, then home to Orlando. All flights were right on time. I was lucky to find a wheelchair with a leg extension on UK Amazon, delivered to our hotel and used it for my post op appointment and airport. The hospital in London was a disaster – They sent me home (hotel), accidentally, forgetting to put my pain meds in there. When I was ready for them at 11pm, we discovered this and my daughters had to Uber back to the hospital late at night, 20 minutes each way. Also, they had me on a morphine drip after surgery but I had to dispense it, meaning, I could not sleep! I could dispense 1mg every 5 minutes. Once I got to Orlando, I saw an orthopedic doctor the day after I got home. They did x-rays and a new cast. I had all the images from my surgery in London on a disc for my doctor to view. I now have less than a week in a cast, then I will be in a boot. I don’t wish this on anyone .. it has really been horrible and I can definitely feel the plate and screws in my foot still. I read that someone actually was able to get the hardware taken out, but I think that is rare. I am dreading the arthritis/osteoporosis that is supposed to come with this injury as told to me by my doctor. I am 50 years old. Best of luck to all of you!! Be strong <3