Bimal fracture with dislocation and ORIF-recovery timeline?
Posted , 3 users are following.
Hi first post here and would love some insight .
8/4/22 I slipped and fell on some stairs and had a serious fracture and dislocated ankle. i shattered my fibula into more pieces than they could count, fractured/displaced tibia and badly dislocated ankle . Ortho said they normally only see injury like this from jumping from a bridge or a very serious car accident. Lucky me did so while watering plants on my back porch 😦
After waiting for swelling to get better had ORIF on 8/11/22. I go back to hopefully get stitches out and put into a cast on 8/24/22.
I've been told to expect cast for 6 weeks and then transition to walking boot for several weeks. they said to expect to be NWB for at least 6 weeks.
ortho said it will be a very long recovery. they said i may possibly have a permanent limp. I am terrified i will never get back to normal. We are generally active people who love travel, walking hiking. i have 3 young kids. We've lived all over the world and a chunk of that time i lived my daily life without using a car. i am so worried i will never get back to a place where i can walk all day comfortably. We planned to do the Camino de Santiago in a couple years, and i fear thats no longer possible.
to further complicate things my youngest has been granted a make-a-wish trip this November to go to Disney World. We cannot reschedule. Last time we went to disney we averaged 9-10 miles a day. i will be 10 weeks post surgery, so I'm assuming I will still be limited in what I can manage. How do i do this disney trip since i will still probably be hobbling?
sorry for the long story and vent. try to stay upbeat for my family, but inside im full of worries
0 likes, 5 replies
je34918
Edited
One view of my broken ankle
pennie12643 je34918
Posted
hello, no helpful hints but I'm in the same boat. I fell off a ladder painting on 7/30 and have a bimalleolar fracture and dislocation of the left ankle. Reading everyone's experiences i feel fortunate that they kept me overnight from the ER and i had ORIF surgery the next morning. I have a plate and 9 screws . I Went back last Monday (2 weeks post surgery) and they removed my 29 staples and gave me the option of a boot or hard cast. I'm 58 yo and the boot was on offer bc i think he thought i was too old to try to do something stupid and walk on it. i am NWB Until i go back to surgeon on 9/19 for another xray and he said he would likely progress me to start PT And light WB At that time. i can take the boot off for showers and at night the boot is very heavy and no picnic either. I Basically go from the bed to the potty chair to the wc and back to the bed.
i dont know how you are doing it with small kids. My teenagers are having to help me here and i think my husband may have a nervous breakdown because i did everything!
Anyway im just comiserating!
jacqueline07362 je34918
Posted
In a similar boat here too. 58 yrs, slipped when hiking with the dog, broken in 3 places with dislocation, surgery the next morning. Had my surgery 8.8.22
I've been told by my dr that I have a long, painful road ahead of me but that if I keep at it, work hard and stay focused, there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to get back to hiking in about 6 months. I sure hope he's right. I got my stitches out last Friday and am in a boot. I find the boot pretty excruciating, especially at night. It makes my toes and ball of foot go completely numb, with stabbing pains. One of my drs said to try creating a wedge under my heel with cotton or paper towels. to help relieve the pressure on the front of my foot. That did seem to help a little and then I try every couple of days to remove a piece of cotton to start getting my heel down in the boot. I tried removing it when on the sofa or dramatically loosening the straps while sleeping but my dr's assistant just told me to try to keep it on 24/7. i'm not exactly sure why but am guessing has to do with keeping the foot in a 90 degree angle.
I've been doing flex/point and rotation exercises plus stretching with a yoga belt. I have my first PT appointment tomorrow.
No kids but my husband developed epilepsy with grand mal seizures about 4 years ago so he also can't drive and I'm constantly worried he'll have a seizure and I won't be able to help him. I've had a caregiver in here a few times to help but man, it is EXPENSIVE at around $350/day. So grateful for family and friends helping out.
I sure hope you get to Disney with your kids. I wonder if Disney could provide a wheelchair for at least part of your visit? Like for when you get tired towards the end of the day? I am also super active with hiking and cycling. Just want my life back!
Good luck and please post updates or anything you learn!
pennie12643 je34918
Edited
JAcqueline, I'm a week ahead of you and the same age. My surgery was 7/30. I also still have pain in the boot but surgeon said I could take it off in bed. My pain is generally much better except at night. right now i just identified the tightness across my ankle as it feels like an old bicycle chain in there. I swear at night i can feel every screw.This sucks so bad! I was also super independent and its awful. I tried a scooter and it made the top of my shin hurt but i had 29 staples and maybe my incision just isnt healed enough. I know this is a mental game now but sometimes i think im failing itI go back to the surgeon 9/19 .
jacqueline07362 je34918
Posted
Hi Pennie
So sorry to hear you're still having awful pain. It sounds like your injury is worse than mine with all those staples?! I had stitches but no staples. With the weather finally getting cooler my swelling is getting better and with it the pain. In fact, I've had very little pain the past few days.
I did my first PT appt on Saturday and she was impressed with my ROM. I've been doing circles, point/flex 20-30xs, 2-3xs per day and she felt that was really helping me with ROM - said it was good I'd started early and not waited for PT. On the boot: she also recommended I put an arch support in there - said that can help with the pain. I'm still icing 2-3 times per day and keeping it elevated as much as possible.
Do you have an extra cushion on your scooter? That's helped me tremendously. Obviously another expense but it does help.
I'm supposed to go on a 5 day business trip this Monday. Ugh, not looking forward to that at all but can't seem to find a way to get out of it. Thank goodness for a ton of miles! I used extra miles to purchase a whole row so I can keep my leg up the whole time.
Totally agree this is a mental game at this point. But we can do this and get our lives back, I just know it!!! Both my surgeon and my PT said, Look this is going to be tough work but with focus and commitment there's no reason why you shouldn't get back to your normal life. I'm sticking with that right now! Good luck!