Transitioning to WB after ankle surgery

I broke my right ankle while hiking at Chimney Rock the weekend before Thanksgiving, while on vacation out of state with my family. I had surgery on December 1, ORIF right trimalleolar fracture. 4 breaks in fibula and 2 breaks in tibia. I have 1 plate and 12 screws. Spent 2 weeks in splint NWB and 4 weeks in boot NWB. At my 6 week post-op appointment last week, Doc said I could switch to crutches with partial weight bearing. He said i could try 1 week with 2 crutches and then 1 week with 1 crutch WB as tolerated. And he said when I go back in 2 weeks (8 weeks post-op), I could probably switch to sneakers and could be FWB walking and driving. After being NWB for 7.5 weeks (including time before surgery), I was shocked and excited to hear i could be "back to normal" in 2 weeks!

So the first week, i used my 2 crutches and put my foot down with what i thought was appropriate weight. It felt different but didn't hurt. Yesterday, I switched to 1 crutch... or tried to. OMG! I couldn't do it! I guess because my doc seemed so upbeat about me transitioning to WB, I assumed it would be easier to switch to 1 crutch. Nope. My boot leg felt like dead weight and i couldn't move it with 1 crutch. I felt so defeated. After pouting for awhile, I realized I'd probably been using too much arm strength the week before on 2 crutches and not enough weight on my boot.

Last night and today, I'm back to 2 crutches but I'm trying to not really use the boot side crutch. And I'm trying to use just 1. It's slow moving but I'm working on it. I don't have pain. I do feel discomfort as foot isn't totally "thawed." But i really think much of this is mental for me. I'm scared to death of rebreaking the ankle. And that fear keeps me from putting on more weight, I think, as I practice walking. Right now, my gait is jerky when i walk with 1 crutch. I find myself moving healthy foot quickly in my gait.

How long does it take (I know its different for everybody) to move from jerky 1 crutch walking to a smoother, natural gait? (I'm not in PT. He said i might not need it but will check next week and move to PT if ankle is weak.)

I finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. But I'm getting frustrated with the difficulty of transitioning to 1 crutch.

Happy to have found this forum to see that others are going thru the same experience as me.

Thanks!

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