Broken Ankle Diary... Day 24

by - Tuesday, February 04, 2014

So, I finally used a calendar to figure out what day of my broken leg I was really on, and if you count the fateful day, today is day 24.

I've been spending most of my days lately reading blogs, forums and message boards on broken bones to try and Dr. Google myself into a) a diagnosis and b) the maximum recovery time.

I leave for Iceland in 69 days.  I need to be walking by then.  I don't care if I'm not walking properly for my trip to Vancouver in 43 days... but I need to be mobile for Iceland.

It would help if I really did know what I did to my leg... I could sure be a better "doctor" if I really knew what was wrong!

For those that stumble upon this blog to follow the story of a dislocated ankle and broken tibula, here are a few sites that I've enjoyed (well, as much as one can enjoy reading about medical procedures and broken bones) reading (from a patient perspective that is):

MyBrokenLeg.com
- Forum for broken lower leg bones with fixation Part 1 and Part 2

I'll say now that my story seems to be a bit of an anomaly in the fact that I a) got surgery within hours of my fall (and didn't have to pay a cent thanks to my free Canadian healthcare!) and b) have had absolutely no pain (discomfort at times, yes... but absolutely no pain).  But reading other people's stories can give you and idea of what to expect (I'm looking ahead to the physical therapy stage already, which I've decided will happen as soon as this cast is off in 20 days) when you become PWB (partially weight bearing) and FWB (full weight bearing).

Things I have found out in the last few weeks...
- if you're a smoker, it can take your bones upwards of twice as long to heal as a non-smoker
- ibuprofen is actually not good... while it can help with the swelling, something in ibuprofen blocks something in the bone from healing (I'm not good with science... just trust me on this one)
- the mental game is often tougher to deal with than the physical... in the stories I've read online, learning to trust your body again takes a lot of work!

Sending all healing thoughts to my ankle area right now...

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