Not the day I planned… but I got an ambulance ride!

[ycbm]

So glad you’re getting back to normal. I’m desperate to see the X-rays with the plates and pins. I was saying to my mum that I wish they filmed the ops coz I’d love to watch it ?

I get this cast off in 2 weeks but have got to go into a normal one then for 4 weeks. Then after those 6 weeks non-weight bearing I’m going in to a boot and will start physio. I’ve been given some exercises to keep my quad strong so I’ll start those this week when I’m feeling less knackered.

I’m absolutely washed out just going to the loo at the moment.

I'm wincing more at having to do 3 months in casts/boots than I was at your description of the reductions. Thank goodness it's winter, I guess, but poor you!
.

 

[Red-1]

I would have a look at vitamins too. I had an awful vitamin D deficiency, making me rather ill and now, I discover, vitamin B12 too. I had awful neurological symptoms, including numb legs and collapsing whenever I did any work on a horse, and the GP was quite dismissive. Turns out he shouldn't have as I was recovering from major dental treatment at the time, and was having gas and air pretty much every week for 6 weeks, for a long time each time. It is a known thing that nitrous oxide depleted vitamin B12.

I would make sure you have a good vitamin supplementation regime.

here is an article about vitamin D and surgical outcomes... Vitamin D and Anaesthesia - PMC (nih.gov)

It is easy and cheap to supplement, and it may help.

 

[scats]

Continued wishes for a really quick recovery, scats.

You've had a similar break to that which my late Dad did when in his early 50s. He was trying to push my mum's car off our drive in the snow in the infamous 1962/3 winter. He knew what he'd done, and lay on the ground directing everyone including the ambulance drivers!

He was back working in the operating theatre propped up on crutches before long ? - I don't think that health and safety would permit that nowadays! Though he had lost the sideways stablising ligaments in his ankle, so he always had to be careful not to roll an ankle on rough ground, the break healed well and didn't give him on going problems. He lived for nearly another 50 years.

Your Dad sounds like he was amazing! What type of surgeon was he?
The surgeon did warn me that I won’t get away without some long-term problems, simply because of the type of break. The tib might not heal properly apparently, due to the joint involvement, but we’ll cross that if we come to it. The ligament that holds your ankle joint stable has also completely gone, with no guarantees it will heal properly. I’m prepared that I might have a permanent limp and early onset arthritis is a high possibility.

I found it frustrating to get told so many different things. In trauma, they told me it was a bad break but a clean and easy break. It would take months rather than weeks but they weren’t too worried. Then the orthopaedic specialist came and said he wanted to do a CT to get better info about it and he’d come back and chat about it after that. So had a CT, but then they needed my trauma bed asap so I was chucked out. We did ask the nurse if my CT had been looked at and she said yes all fine.
So two days later in fracture clinic, the rather rude doctor who hadn’t read my notes told me that after surgery I’d be in a boot within 2 weeks so it really wasn’t going to be a major issue (when I said I was concerned about a 2-3 week wait for surgery). I told him what the trauma doctors had told me and he just sort of laughed a bit sarcastically. So I came away optimistic that recovery might be quicker than expected.

So surgery day rolls around and I meet my surgeon and he sits down to talk to me and tells me that I’ve done a very unusual and complex break, one they rarely see and surgery will be heavy going because of the sheer amount of fragments that are in the joint and the fact I’ve broken through the middle of the joint. He asked if I was aware I had done a life changing injury. I wasn’t really, because that was the first time anyone had sat me down and talked properly about it. I’d read the CT notes off the computer screen in fracture clinic but had no idea what any of it meant and the fracture clinic doctor was so rude and unapproachable. No-one had told me anything other than I’d broken my lower leg and my ankle.

I think that’s what I find so frustrating, the fact that no-one seems to sing off the same hymn sheet and you get told so many different things. You come away from every encounter having been told something completely different. ?

 

[catembi]

Sorry to hear - that must be so frustrating.

How are you feeling now? Are you starting to be able to do a little bit more for yourself or is it too early for that? I hope that your pain levels aren't too bad. My toe surgery (very minor & virtually off the chart minor compared with yours) is on 28th so I will be joining you on the sofa for a week.

Hope you have a good, positive day!

 

[scats]

Sorry to hear - that must be so frustrating.

How are you feeling now? Are you starting to be able to do a little bit more for yourself or is it too early for that? I hope that your pain levels aren't too bad. My toe surgery (very minor & virtually off the chart minor compared with yours) is on 28th so I will be joining you on the sofa for a week.

Hope you have a good, positive day!

Im ok thank you. Pain is easily controlled with paracetamol, ibuprofen and an occasional low dose of codeine. Any pain I do get is more the cast rubbing on the skin/incisions rather than deep bone pain. It does swell and throb when I get up, but nowhere near as bad as pre-surgery.

I had to help out yesterday with the Guinea pigs, so I was in a chair and occasionally on my crutches for about an hour. Guinea pigs had to move to a new set up coz they’d started fighting (all happened the days before surgery, so new cages had been ordered and they’d been temporarily split to the two halves of original cage). I got quite worn out and my foot went huge, so once pigs were settled into their new set up (2 huge cages in an L-shape so they can see and touch but can’t fight!) I had to go and have a lie down and pop some pills.
Today I’ve managed a shower and I hayed and fed the Guinea pigs while my mum went and chopped their veg and sorted the tortoises breakfast.

I don’t feel the steadiest on my crutches if I’m honest. My balance on one foot has never been very good so I’m quite wary of venturing too far. I’m really frightened of breaking anything else- not from a pain perspective, just the general dreadful upheaval to everyone around me. It’s really made me aware of how much my lifestyle, whilst I love it so much, is a nightmare for others to pick up the pieces. Sobering stuff.

 

[GoldenWillow]

I've just had a massive catch up with this. Very glad you've had your surgery and are now back home. So sorry you're going through so much. It's nothing on the scale of yours but I hope this might help. My medial ankle ligament is snapped and now can't be fixed, I have tears in two other ligaments and my ankle is classed as unstable. I did this in 2015 and although I have to keep this in mind with what I do and make sure I do my physio exercises it's not to bad. It does ache and I have been told early onset arthritis is likely, although as I have arthritis in so many other joints what's another one.

Hope your recovery goes smoothly and take care.

 

[scats]

It was quite amusing in the anaesthetic room coz they were asking how I’d broken it and I told them about falling off. They started asking about the horses and how long I’d been riding for etc. One of the younger anaesthetists said she was never allowed to ride a horse because her Dad was an orthopaedic surgeon and said the injuries he saw from equestrian injuries were some of the worst he dealt with so he banned her from ever sitting on one! We must be mad really ?

 

[Cragrat]

The communication is truly appalling, and quite worrying. It makes me wonder just how many mistakes are made, or people are upset, needlessly. I realise there is rarely time for whichever professional you are sat in fron of to have read all your notes, and the huge system of large hospitals and specialised doctors means you rarely see the same person twice.
Incredible detail seems to be written up on paper notes, but not all of it ends up on the computer. Then not all computers systems talk to each other.. Doctors temd to skim over the notes once they are in front of you - or on a zoom with you. It's a problem I'm coming across time and again with my mother, and it could have caused far more problems for her than it already has if I wasn't constantly checking, repeating, checking, correcting with every professional.

I am glad you are stuck back together - but do keep nicely pestering at each stage to ensure the professional in front of you actually knows the all the relevant details!

 

[Supertrooper]

It was quite amusing in the anaesthetic room coz they were asking how I’d broken it and I told them about falling off. They started asking about the horses and how long I’d been riding for etc. One of the younger anaesthetists said she was never allowed to ride a horse because her Dad was an orthopaedic surgeon and said the injuries he saw from equestrian injuries were some of the worst he dealt with so he banned her from ever sitting on one! We must be mad really ?

So many doctors I’ve met have said this to me about horse riders and the accidents we have

 

[Tiddlypom]

Your Dad sounds like he was amazing! What type of surgeon was he?

Eye surgeon . Probably the best speciality for a surgeon with limited mobility, as once he was lined up in in the right place he didn't need to move/hop around during the op ?.

He was a proper old fashioned senior consultant of the sort that they don't make any more. He made it his business to know every member of staff in his small specialist regional eye hospital from the cleaners and porters upwards. He would always enquire after their families. So it all ran really well.

 

[Peglo]

It was quite amusing in the anaesthetic room coz they were asking how I’d broken it and I told them about falling off. They started asking about the horses and how long I’d been riding for etc. One of the younger anaesthetists said she was never allowed to ride a horse because her Dad was an orthopaedic surgeon and said the injuries he saw from equestrian injuries were some of the worst he dealt with so he banned her from ever sitting on one! We must be mad really ?

when I was seeing my orthopaedic surgeon before my knee op he asked what hobbies I had. I told him I liked running and had horses and he said horse riders will always keep him in a job ? I told him it was actually netball that wrecked me knee. He wasn’t a fan of running either ?

my sister works in theatre up here and was gutted she wasn’t allowed to work the day I got my surgery as I was the first person to get an ACL reconstruction up here and she wanted to see it. She lived through my injury with me and would have taken pictures for me when I was in surgery if she was allowed.

so glad your home and surgery is done. Hope you have a decent recovery now.

 

[little_critter]

I was so lucky when I broke my wrist, it just didn’t hurt at all. To the extent that I was adamant it couldn’t be broken (despite it looking rather wonky)
When it was reduced I had an injection (nerve block maybe?) and gas and air. I honestly didn’t feel a thing (didn’t bother with the gas and air after a few gulps)
At one point, when I had 3 people playing tug of war with my arm I asked them what we were waiting for. Apparently they have to pull and hold to allow everything to stretch a bit.
My shoulder was the bit that I found most painful, it wasn’t injured but I guess landing in my wrist jarred my shoulder.

 

[scats]

I was so lucky when I broke my wrist, it just didn’t hurt at all. To the extent that I was adamant it couldn’t be broken (despite it looking rather wonky)
When it was reduced I had an injection (nerve block maybe?) and gas and air. I honestly didn’t feel a thing (didn’t bother with the gas and air after a few gulps)
At one point, when I had 3 people playing tug of war with my arm I asked them what we were waiting for. Apparently they have to pull and hold to allow everything to stretch a bit.
My shoulder was the bit that I found most painful, it wasn’t injured but I guess landing in my wrist jarred my shoulder.

The last 2 breaks I did I didn’t realise and was quite shocked when they were x-rayed. There was no doubt about this one though- I heard it go and when i went to lift it, I could feel all my bones insides sort of crackling ?

 

[Trouper]

Scats I am with you on the feeling of instability with crutches. I had managed to bend the exposed end of the pin in my toe before I even left hospital trying to practise their crutches stair routine (devised my own toddler shuffler for stairs after that).
What I found much better was a walking frame - https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9353394?clickSR=slp:term:walking frames:4:1271:1
OH ordered one the day I came home and it was delivered that evening. They are not too expensive and, despite having to be strictly non-weight bearing on my foot for 6 weeks, I found I could scoot around quite safely. They are also very light so can be thrown around with gay abandon!!

I hope you will think about giving the hospital some feedback on the conflicting information you were given. That was just not acceptable. I know it feels as if nothing we say or do can influence the way the NHS behaves at times but it may help to put this on the record at least.

 

[scats]

Scats I am with you on the feeling of instability with crutches. I had managed to bend the exposed end of the pin in my toe before I even left hospital trying to practise their crutches stair routine (devised my own toddler shuffler for stairs after that).
What I found much better was a walking frame - https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9353394?clickSR=slp:term:walking frames:4:1271:1
OH ordered one the day I came home and it was delivered that evening. They are not too expensive and, despite having to be strictly non-weight bearing on my foot for 6 weeks, I found I could scoot around quite safely. They are also very light so can be thrown around with gay abandon!!

I hope you will think about giving the hospital some feedback on the conflicting information you were given. That was just not acceptable. I know it feels as if nothing we say or do can influence the way the NHS behaves at times but it may help to put this on the record at least.

Thank you for sharing that link, a couple of people on the broken ankle groups I’ve joined (?) have suggested using a frame so I think I might get one ordered. I don’t trust myself on crutches at all, I’m really quite frightened of falling.
The physios in hospital showed me how to do stairs but I’m too scared to be honest as it felt like such a huge and tiring effort and I was aware that one caught toe and I was over! So I go up and down them on my bum. We have a little chair at the top of the stairs so I lift up onto that and then I find I can stand up from there.

 

[nikkimariet]

Jesus wept. Owch. Speedy recovery.

 

[Skib]

some of the worst he dealt with so he banned her from ever sitting on one!

That is why I didnt start riding till I was 61. When we married, OH gave up smoking and I promised not to ride.

 

[planete]

That is why I didnt start riding till I was 61. When we married, OH gave up smoking and I promised not to ride.

Promised not to ride? Oh my, you must have been madly in love! I am both admiring and shocked to the core.

 

[scats]

Promised not to ride? Oh my, you must have been madly in love! I am both admiring and shocked to the core.

Yeh, don’t think I could do that for anyone to be honest! Though I am going to be mindful of not riding daft ones from now on, because the impact this has had on those closest to me is pretty big.

 

[ycbm]

I hope you will think about giving the hospital some feedback on the conflicting information you were given. That was just not acceptable. I know it feels as if nothing we say or do can influence the way the NHS behaves at times but it may help to put this on the record at least.

If you do do this, I would consider also asking why it was reduced, twice, with inadequate pain relief. When my double broken wrist was reduced, they put a tourniquet on my arm and filled the arm full of anaesthetic. I couldn't feel a thing but it was fun watching them do a tug of war with it, with the one at my shoulder hanging on to the furniture! I can't help wondering why that couldn't also have been done with an ankle.
.

 

[Skib]

Promised not to ride? Oh my, you must have been madly in love! I am both admiring and shocked to the core.

But I had never ridden regularly in the modern way. In those days (1950s) it was different and teenagers could go for an occasional treat, a hack on a lead rein on Epsom Downs, including canter. My mother bought us smart jods and caps for this.

It was a battle between her and my father. My father loved boyish girl riders in breeches. My mother's father prefered his horses to his kids and she wasnt keen for me to be horse obsessed. I was horse obsessed but never had a voice of my own.
Since I had never ridden regularly as a child, and we were living in Sudan with no H & S it wasnt hard for me to agree not to ride. OH agreed not to fly.

I began to ride properly when I was 61 and am still riding. A very safe share.

 

[little_critter]

If you do do this, I would consider also asking why it was reduced, twice, with inadequate pain relief. When my double broken wrist was reduced, they put a tourniquet on my arm and filled the arm full of anaesthetic. I couldn't feel a thing but it was fun watching them do a tug of war with it, with the one at my shoulder hanging on to the furniture! I can't help wondering why that couldn't also have been done with an ankle.
.

Same experience here.

 

[scats]

If you do do this, I would consider also asking why it was reduced, twice, with inadequate pain relief. When my double broken wrist was reduced, they put a tourniquet on my arm and filled the arm full of anaesthetic. I couldn't feel a thing but it was fun watching them do a tug of war with it, with the one at my shoulder hanging on to the furniture! I can't help wondering why that couldn't also have been done with an ankle.
.

It was quite barbaric when I think back but in fairness to the doctors, my allergy to drugs does concern them and I genuinely think it’s fear of causing me a seizure that made them decide to just go for it without pain relief. That and the fact my foot was attempting to shuffle off this mortal coil, I really think they weren’t left much choice. Though why I wasn’t given gas and air, I’m not sure.
Even last week having surgery, absolutely everybody knew I was the lady with the drug allergies and every new person I met read my allergy notes and made some sort of “good grief, you’re in trouble for pain relief” kind of comment.
They attempted to give me something in recovery when the pain from the tourniquet was pretty horrific. Oxy something? They gave it me 1ml at a time, every 5 minutes, but my blood pressure dropped even more and even lying down I started to go dizzy, so they had to stop. That was another one added to the list, just in case.

 

[ycbm]

It was quite barbaric when I think back but in fairness to the doctors, my allergy to drugs does concern them and I genuinely think it’s fear of causing me a seizure that made them decide to just go for it without pain relief. That and the fact my foot was attempting to shuffle off this mortal coil, I really think they weren’t left much choice. Though why I wasn’t given gas and air, I’m not sure.
Even last week having surgery, absolutely everybody knew I was the lady with the drug allergies and every new person I met read my allergy notes and made some sort of “good grief, you’re in trouble for pain relief” kind of comment.
They attempted to give me something in recovery when the pain from the tourniquet was pretty horrific. Oxy something? They gave it me 1ml at a time, every 5 minutes, but my blood pressure dropped even more and even lying down I started to go dizzy, so they had to stop. That was another one added to the list, just in case.

Well we all knew you were speshul ?

 

[scats]

I’ve got my next check-up through for Friday 2nd December at Aintree. Think that’s stitches out, x-rays and cast change. It’s given me something to countdown to, so that’s good.

I was absolutely exhausted yesterday, fell asleep after lunch and then went up to bed and fell asleep around 8.45pm. I’m finding I’m wanting to go up to bed around 7pm every night. I seem to hit a wall and get very washed out around that time so it helps to be in bed where I can just fall asleep if need be.

It’s interesting how much energy the body must use to heal itself. I don’t have much appetite at all at the moment (so not like me!) and the weight is quite noticeably dropping off me. I do make sure I have 3 meals though. I’ve got that much chocolate and cake in the house from friends, family and neighbours but I haven’t got the appetite to eat it. My Dad, on the other hand, is having a whale of a time! ?

 

[Titchy Pony]

Nice to hear you've got something to count down to. Perhaps you need multiple advent calendars ( just pull out the extra chocolate) so that you can use them to count down to all the important recovery event? Get as much sleep as you need and hopefully your dad will leave you a bit of chocolate and cake for when you feel like eating it!

 

[Britestar]

I lost just over a stone after my accident. Have even managed to keep it off!

 

[scats]

I lost just over a stone after my accident. Have even managed to keep it off!

I was so worried that I was going to gain weight but the reality is quite the opposite. Having to make myself eat really.
I wonder how many calories it takes to mend a few broken bones?

 

[Izzwall]

I can relate to your injury journey so much! I got badly injured September last year and every post you write I have my utmost sympathies. It's utter crap! The guilt you feel when everyone around you is having to do everything for you, watching them struggle at times covering your lifestyle (horses) as you sit there feeling useless. Every task taking 50x longer, the tiredness, the hopelessness, I felt it all too! Pressuring the hospital to listen to you!! I'm a laid back person, often too much so with no assertiveness at times and I lost my shit eventually at one of the fracture clinic doctors. I feel awful about it now but I had so many failings on my injury I just lost it. I got my foot crushed bringing in a clients horse. Knew it was broken so drove to hospital (what a muppet), they xrayed it, said nothing wrong and to start walking on it after 24 hrs. Sent me on my way with no crutches or pain relief. 3 days later it was worse, went back to hospital. They wouldn't do anything but at least got pain relief. Foot got even worse so 24 hrs later was back in hospital again where they CT scanned it. Massive break, lisfranc ligament which stabilises the foot snapped off taking the bone with it, needed operating so casted up and fracture clinic 5 days later to plan operation. Turned up at fracture clinic, had a similar consultant to you, completely dismissive, said nothing wrong with foot, cut my cast off and put me in an air boot. Told to come back 4 weeks later to check healing. Next appointment saw different consultant, said it was a major injury, if no improvement in 4 weeks they'll pin it. No improvement in foot so was gearing up for an op, saw dismissive consultant again who said nothing is wrong, ignore the pain and get walking on it. Doesn't want to see me again. Asked him if having an MRI scan may help, he said no and if it did show anything his advice would be the same, ignore the pain and get walking normally. I couldn't work for 7 months and couldn't put a normal shoe on until I hit the 5 month mark.

Fast forward to today and my foot is a mess, it's deforming, I can't run, can only wear one pair of shoes, riding hurts and can't walk near as much as I did. Got a second opinion few months ago from a top foot surgeon at the hospital, he MRI'd it and basically my foot dislocates when I walk, my navicular joint got pushed to dislocation and now has post traumatic arthritis. Seeing my surgeon this Friday and its looking like my foot will have to be pinned, plated and bone grafted back together. 3 months no weight bearing and having to go through all that again makes me want to cry ? if only they listened to me that whenever I walked it felt like my foot was going to callapse!

My main advice is celebrate the little wins! As you heal and you can do a little more each day it really spurs you on! I'll never forget the day I walked one step and when I managed to put fuel in my car all by myself ? or doing an entire shopping isle with one crutch! Hang in there! The mental side is sometimes tougher than the physical part.

 

[scats]

I can relate to your injury journey so much! I got badly injured September last year and every post you write I have my utmost sympathies. It's utter crap! The guilt you feel when everyone around you is having to do everything for you, watching them struggle at times covering your lifestyle (horses) as you sit there feeling useless. Every task taking 50x longer, the tiredness, the hopelessness, I felt it all too! Pressuring the hospital to listen to you!! I'm a laid back person, often too much so with no assertiveness at times and I lost my shit eventually at one of the fracture clinic doctors. I feel awful about it now but I had so many failings on my injury I just lost it. I got my foot crushed bringing in a clients horse. Knew it was broken so drove to hospital (what a muppet), they xrayed it, said nothing wrong and to start walking on it after 24 hrs. Sent me on my way with no crutches or pain relief. 3 days later it was worse, went back to hospital. They wouldn't do anything but at least got pain relief. Foot got even worse so 24 hrs later was back in hospital again where they CT scanned it. Massive break, lisfranc ligament which stabilises the foot snapped off taking the bone with it, needed operating so casted up and fracture clinic 5 days later to plan operation. Turned up at fracture clinic, had a similar consultant to you, completely dismissive, said nothing wrong with foot, cut my cast off and put me in an air boot. Told to come back 4 weeks later to check healing. Next appointment saw different consultant, said it was a major injury, if no improvement in 4 weeks they'll pin it. No improvement in foot so was gearing up for an op, saw dismissive consultant again who said nothing is wrong, ignore the pain and get walking on it. Doesn't want to see me again. Asked him if having an MRI scan may help, he said no and if it did show anything his advice would be the same, ignore the pain and get walking normally. I couldn't work for 7 months and couldn't put a normal shoe on until I hit the 5 month mark.

Fast forward to today and my foot is a mess, it's deforming, I can't run, can only wear one pair of shoes, riding hurts and can't walk near as much as I did. Got a second opinion few months ago from a top foot surgeon at the hospital, he MRI'd it and basically my foot dislocates when I walk, my navicular joint got pushed to dislocation and now has post traumatic arthritis. Seeing my surgeon this Friday and its looking like my foot will have to be pinned, plated and bone grafted back together. 3 months no weight bearing and having to go through all that again makes me want to cry ? if only they listened to me that whenever I walked it felt like my foot was going to callapse!

My main advice is celebrate the little wins! As you heal and you can do a little more each day it really spurs you on! I'll never forget the day I walked one step and when I managed to put fuel in my car all by myself ? or doing an entire shopping isle with one crutch! Hang in there! The mental side is sometimes tougher than the physical part.

Your story is absolute shocking. I can’t believe (actually, sadly I can) that you were treated that way and left in that state. I really hate to moan about the NHS but there is so much wrong with it and the failings are really quite horrendous. The more I hear from people, the more horrified I feel. When you end up in the system for something urgent, it really hits home what a mess the whole thing is. No-one communicates with anyone else, there are some completely arrogant medical professionals out there (but equally some lovely ones) and you are, sadly, just a number in the end of year data sheet.

I hope they are able to fix you properly and that the recovery isn’t too bad x