Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
So many things to learn from here from everyone's experiences. From this place I realize that everyone heals very differently and everyone has different struggles on their road to recovery. I look to many of the contributors here as inspirations & for comfort. I also have a wonderful close friend who was a hit & run victim years back with horrific injuries, but you would never guess if you met her, to provide encouragement & perspective.I've definitely had many low moments. I am now 6wks post second surgery to correct the original. My injury occurred early April after tumbling down the stairs with my youngest. I have rod, plates, pins & screws, a bionic leg indeed. I have gained almost full ROM in my ankle & knee. I am happy to be at the next stage of partial weight-bearing & starting the strengthening. I have been dreaming about starting the walking stage & have been a little taken aback (but not too discouraged) to feel the "unnaturalness" of trying to walk on the bad leg. I have tried to use this time to my advantage that my normally hectic life prevents: to really watch my children grow, to reconnect with friends, to read, to reflect on this blurred life that I had called mine and to breathe. Don't get me wrong, I still get those bad moments at times but they do not overpower me as they once did.
A good time for introspection while hopefully temporarily handicapped. I tend to look around at all the loved ones who are also coping with a parent ( Dad in my case ),husband, wife or a child or somebody close and having to care for them. We often don't appreciate them enough. Mood swings are common and often one tends to get impatient. I think it is important to take a step back and chill. I have read many stories of insensitive comments that you would not make if not in this situation.
We will all get better, some slower than others and with our ups and downs as we make progress into independence again. It is important to keep the faith and trust. I am a relative newbie on this site though I have been quite regular at mybrokenleg.com.
So many things to learn from here from everyone's experiences. From this place I realize that everyone heals very differently and everyone has different struggles on their road to recovery. I look to many of the contributors here as inspirations & for comfort. I also have a wonderful close friend who was a hit & run victim years back with horrific injuries, but you would never guess if you met her, to provide encouragement & perspective.I've definitely had many low moments. I am now 6wks post second surgery to correct the original. My injury occurred early April after tumbling down the stairs with my youngest. I have rod, plates, pins & screws, a bionic leg indeed. I have gained almost full ROM in my ankle & knee. I am happy to be at the next stage of partial weight-bearing & starting the strengthening. I have been dreaming about starting the walking stage & have been a little taken aback (but not too discouraged) to feel the "unnaturalness" of trying to walk on the bad leg. I have tried to use this time to my advantage that my normally hectic life prevents: to really watch my children grow, to reconnect with friends, to read, to reflect on this blurred life that I had called mine and to breathe. Don't get me wrong, I still get those bad moments at times but they do not overpower me as they once did.
heya. went for my 2 week check up today. doctor seemed fairly happy. next check up in 4 weeks. i asked him about physio and when i should start but he said there was no need. just wondering what kind of exercises the physio gives or what muscles or parts of the leg it is specifically for. he said once i am weight bearing and rotating the ankle when resting that it wont be neccessary!! also im just wondering about driving. my injury happened 2 weeks ago today and i feel like i could drive now! how long did everyone else leave it before getting behind the wheel?? all in all fairly happy. in and out in less than 2 hours!!
on April 7th 2008 i was playing basketball at my college gym and i broke my fibula. They also said that the space in between my ankle where the joints are was too wide and they needed to fix that. I had to get open reduction internal fixation which i now have 8 screws with a plate on my fibula and one big screw going through the bottom of my tibia and fibula to tighten the space. I am now in my cast and am going back to the hospital on Thursday to check up and get a new cast im guessing. I hope all goes well and that im on the right track for recovery and that i will be walking very soon. Thanks to all the people posting, i have been reading them and they are helping me a lot and keeping me positive. I see that NEL is a very great help and responds frequently and gives positive vibes. I heard that the fibula isnt too important so i should be fine and it would be 6-8 weeks in a cast im hoping more towards 6!!
I had the same treatment...I had 9 screws and a plate...I had one of the screws removed at a later date..This screw was going through my tib and fib 2 keep bones alligned..I had a fracture dislocation of my left ankle...Stayed in hospital for 2 weeks after the op...Its 3 months since my break and Im walking with 1 crutch...My main problem is my lack of Range of movement...Its pretty bad..I do the excersises but still no improvement after about month nd half of excercises and walking...My therapist seemed concerned about it but my OS doesnt...She thinks i may need hardware removal but its only been 3 months...I kno from reading this thread that ROM is generally poor for all and Nanny has explained this to me but my foot feels like ther is NO WAY it will move past the point which Im at now....So frustrating...I really want to run and play football....I feel lyk i could as my only issue my range of movement...Anybody have these problems??Can you still play sport with limited or less ROM than the other foot?Any info would be helpful!!
I started to day too after 8 weeks. I broke my tib/fib and lateral malleolus ( fib at the ankle ). Have a IM nail bit no cast. It may be takinglonger for you since you may have gone the non surgical route. All walking is still with the "boot" as bones have not healed. Not much pain after a full days work
I had that external Fixation surgery and after a week I had surgery to put in the large plates on outer sides of tib/fib so I did have surgery but I'm beginning to think if you get the "rod" vs. plates you get to walk sooner? After about one month, I switched to Calif. doc from doc in Vegas where I had the surgeries and at that point Calif. doc put a cast on for 3 weeks in attempt to straighten/flatten out my foot for walking (but then decided I wasn't ready for walking after looking at new xray). They just have me wear the black boot for protection at this point (didn't put another cast on) Next appt. I'm going to ask doc to show me my xray and one that is totally healed so I can see the difference. I look at mine and don't know what I am looking at anyway. The good news this week, I started using crutches -- was too scared of falling and messing up leg and starting over again. Crutches not too bad! I'm almost tempted to figure out how to drive with my left foot after 16 weeks of this!
heya. went for my 2 week check up today. doctor seemed fairly happy. next check up in 4 weeks. i asked him about physio and when i should start but he said there was no need. just wondering what kind of exercises the physio gives or what muscles or parts of the leg it is specifically for. he said once i am weight bearing and rotating the ankle when resting that it wont be neccessary!! also im just wondering about driving. my injury happened 2 weeks ago today and i feel like i could drive now! how long did everyone else leave it before getting behind the wheel?? all in all fairly happy. in and out in less than 2 hours!!
Hey Pearsanta....what did you break? I broke tib/fib with rod and screws surgery. Doctor thought it would be best to start physio to get my other muscles working before it totally becomes small due to atrophy. Not to go against your doctor but depending on the extent of your injury and how long you are NWB, it might be a great idea to do some simple exercises so you're leg muscles don't deteriorate more than they need to.
I'll wait to see what the extent of your injuries are before suggesting some exercises.
Everyone, I am now working on the 14th week. I am not going to PT anymore but working on the Wii Fit plus still doing all the exercises my PT gave me. I went to Kentucky Horse Park this weekend for three days and did ALOT of walking. Didn't do too bad except for Sunday morning whenI didn't do much of my exercises to loosen up the calf muscles. But it worked itself out as I took it slow. I started taking prescription IB about 2 weeks ago, once in the morning and sometimes at night, My OS prescribed them for me (800mg) for inflamation so I do not think it has bothered my bone growth as I waws healing very quickly. I am also taking 2 calcium pills a day to help. My PT told me that the pain around the break (theone that feels like shin splints is the growth around the break and would go away) I am went back to work at 6 weeks as the my OS said I could and do whatever I felt that I could do but I took it slow. I am now back doing my summer job which is cleaning our schools. I get tired and sore but feel good considering it could have been longer the way my doctor told me in the beginning, considering I had a compound fracture of the Tibia and fibia two inches above the ankle, fractured the fibia below the knee and fracture my kneecap all the way across at the bottom. Had a SS rod inserted with two screws at top and two at bottom. I go back to him on thursday to see what else he says. I have been swimming which helps so anyone with a pool, see if you can get in.
Just curious...........how long was your hardware in before it had to be taken out? And what type of symptoms were you having?
It was 6 months after they first put it in. It was always like a strong dull ache and I could not flex the foot without terrible pain. The deep ache was all the time it never went away. A dull, slow, deep ache! YOu know my wound was not healing too great either, but the dull constant ache was the real problem.
I didn't drive until 6 weeks. Even though I could put weight on it, the docotor was afraid that if I was to have to brake suddenly and it hurt, it might make me wreck or something. By the way, I broke my right leg, of course, which didn't help. My doctor had me doing ankle pumps and ankle rotation as soon as I got home from the hospital. Then i set up therapy the second week per his orders. Can't believe he doesn't think you need therapy.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I had that external Fixation surgery and after a week I had surgery to put in the large plates on outer sides of tib/fib so I did have surgery but I'm beginning to think if you get the "rod" vs. plates you get to walk sooner? After about one month, I switched to Calif. doc from doc in Vegas where I had the surgeries and at that point Calif. doc put a cast on for 3 weeks in attempt to straighten/flatten out my foot for walking (but then decided I wasn't ready for walking after looking at new xray). They just have me wear the black boot for protection at this point (didn't put another cast on) Next appt. I'm going to ask doc to show me my xray and one that is totally healed so I can see the difference. I look at mine and don't know what I am looking at anyway. The good news this week, I started using crutches -- was too scared of falling and messing up leg and starting over again. Crutches not too bad! I'm almost tempted to figure out how to drive with my left foot after 16 weeks of this!
