Hi!

I am Barb, from the U.S., Michigan to be exact.

I dislocated & fractured my ankle on September 7. (Tipped my motorcycle over in the garage LOL) Went to ER, x-rays, in 4 minutes they put it back in place, gave me a splint and sent me home. Three days later I visited the orthopedist. He assumed I would have pins put in. I asked if it was absolutely necessary and he hesitated and said no, but talked about arthritis and possible fusion later down the road.

I opted to not have surgery. I have 3 breaks, 2 in one (the bigger bone, tib or fib?) and one in the smaller bone. Screws or pins would have reinforced. Two of the breaks or fractures, are horizontal, and one vertical.

Until swelling went down some, he sent me home and I went back the next week for my lovely, Santa-like, red cast.

I wrote that for around 4 - 5 weeks and back in and given an air cast and partial weight on that leg. The breaks are healing fine on their own!

This is week 8 and I have one more week before I go see him again and I have NO idea what my next "step" will be.

After about 6 1/2 weeks, I finally quit getting bummed about being on crutches. I'm used to it, calluses on the palms of my hands and all. At least with partial weight bearing, I am able to give my upper body some relief from the strain of crutches. I don't cook, I can't do laundry, I can't clean my house. My husband has been a huge help. It was hard on him at first and he was quite resentful, but it is part of his every day life now. I also have a friend coming to do a lot of the housework every couple of weeks. I missed 11 work days and then returned. I could not drive with the plaster cast, but with this air cast and wearing a shoe, I am once again behind the wheel. Hooray!

I have been without the plaster cast almost 2 weeks, and I still have a lot of swelling. Are you finding that is normal? I really don't have pain in my ankle, but do get pins & needles in toes and bottom of my foot.

A PT assistant did tape therapy, I think that helped a bit.

PT has not been mentioned yet.

Anyway, this forum has helped me, so thought I would share my story.

When it happened, my foot was sideways. The pain was immediate & intense. The girls in X-ray laughed at me, said they had never seen a foot in that position LOL Once I got over the immediate pain, I was okay. I think I have a high pain tolerance.

I do get bummed, doing that to my body, but I guess that is why they call it an accident.
Barb