I need help headed to alaska from the lower 48

[GrammasCabin]

Originally Posted by gobrien

Yes, I just broke my leg about 10 days ago. It didn't hurt unless I tried to move it. There is no way I could have dragged myself to a safe point, I was dizzy and chilled. I never knew what a big baby I was until then.

Oh No! I am so sorry, what a miserable way to spend the winter. That's my worst fear 'cause medical care here is almost nil and I don't bounce back so good anymore. Breaking a bone scares the heck outta me, you poor baby!

My 20 yr. old grandson sliced his thumb a week ago, went through the tendon and had to be shipped all the way to seattle for a surgeon. He has to be down there for 6 weeks in order to save his thumb. Thankfully his parents & siblings live down there or it would be an impossible expensive ordeal. Medical emergencies suck in remote Alaska.
The aweful part is he just landed an awesome job at the mine on Admiralty and is still on probation. It's pretty much guaranteed he'll lose it, he did this on his week off at home. I'm just sick for him.

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by GrammasCabin

Oh No! I am so sorry, what a miserable way to spend the winter. That's my worst fear 'cause medical care here is almost nil and I don't bounce back so good anymore. Breaking a bone scares the heck outta me, you poor baby!

My 20 yr. old grandson sliced his thumb a week ago, went through the tendon and had to be shipped all the way to seattle for a surgeon. He has to be down there for 6 weeks in order to save his thumb. Thankfully his parents & siblings live down there or it would be an impossible expensive ordeal. Medical emergencies suck in remote Alaska.
The aweful part is he just landed an awesome job at the mine on Admiralty and is still on probation. It's pretty much guaranteed he'll lose it, he did this on his week off at home. I'm just sick for him.

I'm lucky it was just my fibula right above the ankle and not my hip or femur. It doesn't really hurt that bad but I can't really do things very easily, can't carry anything unless I stuff it in my clothing. I was carrying my 2 year old grandson down the circular stairs in the dark and thought I was at the bottom, so I missed a couple stairs. He didn't even touch the floor which I am very pleased about. I just cussed and said ow so he didn't know I was hurt. Glad his mom was there though because I couldn't decide if I needed an ambulance or not. I thought it was just a bad sprain. I'm sorry about your grandson, I hope they give him a second chance. If they don't maybe Pogo would hire him, that's in between Delta and Fairbanks.

[bongo]

So sorry about your leg, gobrien, but good save of your grandbaby!

[Glitch]

Originally Posted by gobrien

Yes, I just broke my leg about 10 days ago. It didn't hurt unless I tried to move it. There is no way I could have dragged myself to a safe point, I was dizzy and chilled. I never knew what a big baby I was until then.

I broke my leg in a fall once, decades ago, but I did not know it at the time. I was still able to use my leg, it was just very sore. However, by the next day my leg started to swell, and by the second day it had swollen so badly that it split the skin from my ankle to my knee. On the third day I had an x-ray and found out that I had a hair-line fracture of my tibia. Now I know why they use casts on broken limbs. It is not such much to keep the limb immobile, which is part of it of course, but primarily to keep the limb from swelling to the point where it splits the skin. In the bush one can splint a broken limb easily enough, but preventing that swelling is not possible without a cast.

[LadyAuke]

Originally Posted by Glitch

I broke my leg in a fall once, decades ago, but I did not know it at the time. I was still able to use my leg, it was just very sore. However, by the next day my leg started to swell, and by the second day it had swollen so badly that it split the skin from my ankle to my knee. On the third day I had an x-ray and found out that I had a hair-line fracture of my tibia. Now I know why they use casts on broken limbs. It is not such much to keep the limb immobile, which is part of it of course, but primarily to keep the limb from swelling to the point where it splits the skin. In the bush one can splint a broken limb easily enough, but preventing that swelling is not possible without a cast.

Actually, they typically wait until swelling has gone down to cast, because if they put it on swollen, it will be loose later, and they don't want to have to recast. There's also the issue of possible circulation loss or clot formation if it's too tight- it really doesn't take much to cause permanent nerve damage.
Usually if you have a broken bone you are splinted and put you on high dose NSAIDs which bring the swelling down quick. Then when it's back to approximately the right size, you get cast.
Just fyi, of course. Hope everyone's various broken bones are feeling ok!

[gobrien]

Originally Posted by LadyAuke

Actually, they typically wait until swelling has gone down to cast, because if they put it on swollen, it will be loose later, and they don't want to have to recast. There's also the issue of possible circulation loss or clot formation if it's too tight- it really doesn't take much to cause permanent nerve damage.
Usually if you have a broken bone you are splinted and put you on high dose NSAIDs which bring the swelling down quick. Then when it's back to approximately the right size, you get cast.
Just fyi, of course. Hope everyone's various broken bones are feeling ok!

They did not cast me at all, I am wearing an orthopedic boot. They attached it really super tight and it hurt a lot so I loosened it a bit. I hope that I am not hurting myself by doing that.

[LadyAuke]

Originally Posted by gobrien

They did not cast me at all, I am wearing an orthopedic boot. They attached it really super tight and it hurt a lot so I loosened it a bit. I hope that I am not hurting myself by doing that.

No, you are probably not. More and more these days they are doing orthopedic boots with broken ankles because they're much easier for the patient to deal with, plus you can continue to use them for support when you start walking again. It's hard to judge how tight it should be when you're putting one on a patient so you can and should adjust it as much as you want. It should be snug enough to restrict movement but not so tight as to be painful. If your toes start to feel cold or tingly, or if your foot gets numb or starts to throb, it is too tight. A good sign that it's too loose, on the other hand, would be if you feel pain from the break every time you re-position your leg.
Hope that helps. Remember to stay off it as much as possible and apply ice every few hours as needed. I find that ibuprofen has worked the best for me for pain when I've broken bones- but if your doc gave you something stronger you should take that unless you get unpleasant side effects.