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

[scats]

And I’ve burst a blood vessel in my eye, so my transformation into a Terminator is looking scarily accurate right now ??

 

[Goldenstar]

I used goals , and I learnt that you need to do that the same way as you I increased gradually by using a pedometer .
The temptation when faced with a day out is huge I don’t think however you have done any harm and I think you will be ok by tomorrow.
On a trip out you learn to look at the step count and think mmm better take a break .

 

[Goldenstar]

Oh dear, the eye as well sometimes it’s just one thing after another .

 

[scats]

I used goals , and I learnt that you need to do that the same way as you I increased gradually by using a pedometer .
The temptation when faced with a day out is huge I don’t think however you have done any harm and I think you will be ok by tomorrow.
On a trip out you learn to look at the step count and think mmm better take a break .

Definitely. I’m annoyed with myself now, but you live and learn.
I felt normal and it was amazing. Last time I went into to town I was in a wheelchair, so to walk around on my own in a shop was bliss. I’m not sorry I did it to be honest ? I’m just frustrated that perhaps I stayed too long.
The only good thing is that where I can really pinpoint the pain is not directly linked to any of the bone breaks, so I think it’s soft tissue. Not that this is good, but my fear is messing up the healing of the bones at this stage and I don’t think I’ve done that.

 

[Goldenstar]

If it swells more than usual put it up for while every couple of hours .
You did better than be I arrived in Hong Kong and decided it was a mistake my whole leg went up to twice it’s normal size and BA lost my baggage .
You won’t have damaged it .
all will be fine .

 

[scats]

Ankle is feeling great this weekend and I have completely ditched the crutches in the house (boot and no boot!) and am just using 1 crutch out and about (always with the boot).
I’m not doing too much without the boot, but I do potter to the loo in the night without the crutches and I am managing fine. The weird heel pain I had has now gone and the morning stiffness, although still there, is not as crippling as it was.

Was planning on grooming again this week but I came down with some sort of flu virus on Thursday that has knocked me off my feet so I’m taking another week. Honestly, I’d take the discomfort from the smashed ankle over how I feel with this virus any day ?

 

[scats]

Little update as I reopened the salon today. I’m only grooming 2 dogs a day for the moment, as I’m also back mucking out so I don’t want to push my ankle too much and set myself back
Managed ok, very sore now, because no matter how much you try to stay sat on a stool, the reality of grooming is that you’re all over the place! But I did it. Then headed to the horses to muck out and now home with a very fat ankle, elevated.

Still getting over a bad virus/sinus infection, but definitely feeling better than I did. Feel like this is a big step in getting back to some level of normality. I’m back at the hospital on the 10th for more X-rays and to decide what the next step is.

 

[Esmae]

Well done you. Now don't get too flushed with success and overdo it. You've come a long way and done really well.

 

[luckyoldme]

Well done Scats!
It's so hard at the stage you are at because it's hard to know if the pain is because you've overdone it or if it's just because it's being worked again .
You've had all that extra pressure of being self employed and having horses too!
It's bloody hard going .

 

[Kunoichi73]

Well done, you're doing great! But don't overdo it! ?

 

[ycbm]

That looks incredibly good.
.

 

[Fjord]

Well done! Make sure you rest it when you can, don't get too carried away!

I bet it feels great to be getting back to some sort of normal.

 

[horsemad99]

I am worried I’m boring everyone ?
But no doubt some poor soul will search riding broken ankle on Google one day and if this pops up and helps them out a bit, then it’s been worth it.

@scats - you have fulfilled this aim!! I had been following your journey on the forum and after managing to dislocate and fracture 3 ankle bones a couple of weeks ago (falling down stairs) I immediately thought about this post. I have re-read everything with a different mindset and it has provided me with invaluable information and hope. Thank you for sharing the good and bad times - I really wish you all the best in your recovery. I am currently 1 week post op and on the count-down to the 2 week check-up!

 

[catembi]

Well done Scats - glad you're back to grooming! Another big step towards normality!

 

[scats]

I am worried I’m boring everyone ?
But no doubt some poor soul will search riding broken ankle on Google one day and if this pops up and helps them out a bit, then it’s been worth it.

@scats - you have fulfilled this aim!! I had been following your journey on the forum and after managing to dislocate and fracture 3 ankle bones a couple of weeks ago (falling down stairs) I immediately thought about this post. I have re-read everything with a different mindset and it has provided me with invaluable information and hope. Thank you for sharing the good and bad times - I really wish you all the best in your recovery. I am currently 1 week post op and on the count-down to the 2 week check-up!

Hey! Oh gosh I’m sorry to hear about your accident! When I was laid up that first week, I googled broken ankle experiences and a couple of blogs popped up that weren’t particularly relevant to me as an equestrian, so I’m so glad someone has been able to make use of my ramblings.

Got everything crossed for your 2-week check up, that felt like a big milestone for me. I promise that although it feels like it goes slowly, you’ll look back and think ‘gosh that flew!’.

I’m in that frustrating phase now of wanting to be a step ahead, and having to remind myself that I’m so much further forward than even a week ago. I’m desperate to drive, because that’s blocking my independence, but just over 2 weeks ago I was struggling to walk without crutches, let alone anything else. Now I’m whizzing about and haven’t touched a crutch in ages. It’s a mental battle as much as a physical one, but equestrians are made of tougher stuff than most!

I hope you have got people to look after you and that your recovery goes smoothly xx

 

[scats]

No stopping me now! I’m walking mostly bootless around the house.

 

[ycbm]

No stopping me now! I’m walking mostly bootless around the house.

Look at you go!

5k park run on Sunday then ???

 

[cauda equina]

Fantastic!

 

[AmyMay]

You’ve done so well ??

 

[scats]

Just home from second physio session, which was 12 minutes long ? My plantar flexion angle has increased from 130 to 160, which she said was pretty impressive. Dorsiflexion is the same as the good foot now. Side to side is still a bit stiff, as were heel lifts, but she does think the swelling I have this evening might be making that more difficult. She watched me walking in the boot and said I was spot on. Essentially she said I have rehabbed myself to the point that she couldn’t really offer any more suggestions at this stage so she said to see what the surgeon says when I go back on the 10th and possibly book in for one more session with her afterwards.

 

[Rumtytum]

Excellent news! Well done, you must be so pleased ?

 

[Fjord]

Oh wow, that's brilliant!

 

[scats]

Excellent news! Well done, you must be so pleased ?

Im very pleased, but currently in that weird phase of half having my life back and finding that almost more challenging that not having any of it (if that makes sense ?).
I’m now grooming 2 dogs a day and then I head to the farm in the afternoon to muck out, but not doing any of the bringing in/turning out etc (can’t go in wet or mud in the boot). Being greedy I know, but I just want control of my life again. I want to drive, I want to do the 6am starts and turn my own horses out, I want to have a coffee with my cat and not worry I’m holding my dad up, I want to be able to manage grooming more dogs… I know I’m being totally ridiculous and I’m so, so close to whatever normal is going to look like, but the more within reach it is, the harder it gets. I’m sure there must be some psychological reasoning behind that!

In other news, I have enjoyed relative pain free times with my back over the last few months, but the moment I started grooming, I was crippled again. I’m back to waking up every hour in excruciating back pain and not being able to move in the morning until I’ve dragged myself into a sitting position for ten minutes, amid gasps of agony. So realistically, I’m not sure whether I need to rethink how many dogs I groom, or days I work, but that’s just a big load of thought stuff that I don’t think my brain can deal with right now.

 

[scats]

Little update for anyone interested. I go for my next lot of X-rays a week on Friday, when I hope (fingers tightly crossed!) that I get the go ahead to go out and about minus the boot.

I haven’t touched the crutches for about 2 weeks and I am not using the boot in the house at all. I do have a slight limp, more from lack of flexion than pain. I still use the boot out and about and yesterday I managed a walk with the dogs at the sand dunes! Coped fine with the terrain.


My back is still causing me problems but I’m hoping it will settle back to its ‘normal’ level of pain, which I think it will. As soon as I’m driving again, I will get back to the Chiro.

Really hoping I can ditch the boot and drive again after seeing the surgeon. I have tried to behave, albeit I’m not actually meant to be walking bootless at all, but I have built it up carefully. I’ve been back at the farm mucking out every day, though still not going in and out or the field at this point, and I haven’t ridden yet. I plan to get back on Millie once the boot is off, probably just some short hacks to begin with.
I’m not sure what the plan with Polly is yet. I think if I do bring her back into work, we might stick to a couple of days a week in the school and just long rein out hacking (once I can walk properly) because she can be stupid when ridden on a hack and I really can’t afford to take any chances again after this. But there’s no rush anyway, she lives her best life regardless.

Amusingly, I can no longer kneel on the floor because I can’t flatten that joint due to the syndo screw. I discovered this yesterday when trying to clean out the tortoise, whose enclosure is low to the ground. I laughed my head off when I got stuck on the floor!

Roll on 10th feb!

 

[Esmae]

No stopping you now. Well done love. Good luck on the 10th.

 

[Rumtytum]

Great news! Looking forward to hearing you are boot free on the 10th!

 

[scats]

Pottering around the farm this evening while finishing off and saw this propped up in the corner of my spare stable, like some sort of weird monument…

The boot that met it’s sad demise in the back of an ambulance ??

 

[Rumtytum]

Ooooo ?

 

[ycbm]

Pottering around the farm this evening while finishing off and saw this propped up in the corner of my spare stable, like some sort of weird monument…
View attachment 107018
The boot that met it’s sad demise in the back of an ambulance ??

It's not a useful as it was. ?
.

 

[scats]

I feel like I want to do something with it, as a sort of weird souvenir ?