To call in sick?

Taking time off sick when injured is not a sign of a poor work ethic ffs. And it would be illegal for OP's employers to fire her over this.

The Man certainly has his slaves on this thread, I have to say... 🙄

Coming in late, OP, to sympathise and tell you to buy hydrocolloid plasters for the grazes, they make a massive difference. I was in a similar state for slightly different reasons 6 weeks or so ago. To start with I've got plantar fasciitis in one foot so that's painful all the time; and some pain in the opposite knee too. And then I fell over and hurt the other knee (basically flayed all the skin off one side of it), elbow and forearm on the same side (big grazes) and one deep dink in one of my hands. No fracture but generally it had me in the position where everything was painful.

Happily I happened to go to Sainsburys to try and find some plasters and the first ones I saw were large, very slim, hydrocolloid ones. Pricey, but absolutely worth it. Cleaned myself up, applied a bit of Savlon and then those. They make a massive difference. First, at least it you're caucasion, they are much less visible than a regular plaster; second, they stop it scabbing over in the same way, keep it moist and it heals much better. At least once those are healed you won't be in pain in so many places at once. Others have given advice on the fracture/ sprain but what I would say on that is, we got similar (but not as rude) treatment as you when daughter (who has dyspraxia) fell and hurt her foot - I now know it wasn't broken but the pain was certainly bad enough to have been but we got dismissed. They weren't even going to give us crutches until I insisted as she literlaly couldn't weight bear at all and couldn't get around. SHe struggled with the crutches (as I said, dyspraxia) and ultimately I had to take her back and insist on a boot. In her case that made things much better and she was suddenly mobile - I got things from Amazon called Even Ups which you strap to the bottom of the trainer on the other foot to even up your height and hence gait whilst wearing a boot. After a week or so booted I then got her a surgical shoe from Amazon which meant her foot was immobilized but her ankle wasn't, meaning she maintained a lot of mobility whilst the foot healed. They only gave me the boot though after the second visit to A&E after she hadn't been able to walk at all for a week and was in a lot of pain, and after a second set of xrays made them believe it 'could' be a slight fracture (a surprising number of fractures are missed on the first go, I now know from my GP friend, especially in kids). Anyway as I said, others have advised on your type of fracture but if you continue a long time in pain, do go back to some kind of medical establishment again.

OP, I fell down some steps last October and had the same type of fracture. Essentially, when you fell the ligament came away and shaved bone of your ankle
I can confirm it's very painful. Take a Co-Codamol, elevate. I wasn't allowed to weight bear for 2 weeks, so was on crutches and ended up having 3 months off work. I'm on my feet the entire time I'm at work, and couldn't work until my ankle was completely better.

You've had some very unkind and unsympathetic replies. You did the right thing by going to A&E. This type of fracture is treated like a bad sprain, you don't need to wear a boot etc.

I didn't just have the fracture. I had severe bruising to the fractured foot, soft tissue damage to the other, damaged ligaments and bruising on my legs, thighs, arms. You will likely come out in bruises OP, in other places and your body will ache and be sore for several days.

Hi OP I have nothing useful to advise but wanted to wish you a quick and pain-free recovery. You have been stoic and calm, in spite of what you are suffering, in the face of some downright nasty comments. I have seen a side of Mumsnet here that I didn’t know existed. I hope you are ok and can take heart from the supportive ones on here. Good luck!

Oh bless you @iminpain . I remember falling and cracking ribs when I was in my late fifties. The shock was horrible. I went to work the next day (teacher ) because I was too shaken to be able to send in cover work and I only lived a few minutes from the school. The head saw me and sent me home. I thought I’d be better by Monday, but by then the pain had kicked in, went to GP who signed me off work for two weeks. I still get residual pain years later. Do whatever you can to rest now is my advice x

Good grief, Wanker Wednesday spilled over into two days.....what the hell is wrong with people?!

Is there a UK shortage of empathy pills or something?

My sister broke an ankle and sprained both of them over the years, and says the sprains were far more painful than the break.

Utterly ridiculous

OP - I thought it was a fracture as soon as you said you felt sick. Nausea often happens with bone breaks.

I had a small fracture at the very tip of my tibia and it was hell. Fortunately the paperwork said it was a fracture. The a & E visit said torn ligament though but I was referred to my local hospital as I was on holiday and they review the xrays and said fracture.

Might be worth double checking what has been put on medical record. It will be on the NHS Patient Access online.

The OP has only had one week off sick with this employer and that was after surgery. If she tries to do too much too soon after this injury to her ankle she could have long-term side-effects. If she rests it tomorrow and over the weekend she could be well enough to go back to work on Monday. Three days off work after a bad fall and a sprain/fracture is hardly malingering!

Tturn up - you won’t regret it. There is a recession plus many redundancies coming and it would be good to have a reputation as someone with a decent work ethic.

Get one of these bandages in the meantime - I got one given to me in fracture clinic but you can buy them from chemists
https://www.boots.com/boots-tubular-support-bandage-size-e-10146377?traffic=paid.shopping&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=19965642474&gbraid=0AAAAA-AdmwQau3yVOlznbue17VbM76y9h&gclid=CjwKCAjwqonVBhA4EiwA9wYJ3RWIOT56SzHmSbDkR8IhmfnLWv-SbMY1zpwrA7zHWrcUYw5h61RCcRoCq_IQAvD_BwE

I broke a bone in my foot once and they put a cast on at A&E but then I got called back in and they cut it off and said I didn’t need it. After the initial swelling went down I used my walking boots as they laced up over the ankle and gave me support to stop it rolling. I found a walking pole useful for walking and for encouraging people to offer me a seat on public transport and not bump into me when I was walking slowly.

Hi op. Hope your ok. I'm sorry ppl on this thread seem to be quite rude.

I just wanted to say that I had a fractured ankle bone after a low speed bike crash. At first I got discharged as no fracture and then I had to go back or they called me back and told me I had cracked a bone although there was nothing they could do. So maybe call back a&e or fracture clinic.

Hi OP. I hope you're at home and resting yourself and your ankle? Please do look after yourself. Ignore unhelpful comments on here. You sound like a really lovely person. If anything, maybe you're a bit too concerned that others/employers may think you're malingering. You're not. Look after your ankle. Work will wait.

I’m 51. I sprained my ankle 3 weeks ago dancing at a Techno festival. I had a few days rest and it flared up again last Wednesday when I walked 4km and then it was better. Then in Saturday I walked around 3km and it flared up again. I went out on Sunday night and it got worse. I can’t put weight on it. I went to a&e and it is ligaments and tendons that were injured again with not enough rest from the first injury.
I’ve been put on bed rest with foot elevated this week. Told not to work because sitting at a desk will not help it heal.
Zinc bandage to stay on for 4-5 days.
One cannot always just work through it, otherwise it will never heal.

You'll be shaken up. What work is so vital that you can't go home if that's closer and reassess the situation. Ignore the person telling you otherwise. Hope you're ok

OP I can totally understand how you felt after your fall. A few years ago I slipped down a bank, no broken bones or skinned knees but a few bumps and bruises. I spent the rest of the day lying on the sofa in shock and pain. Soaked the aches away in a warm bath and felt better after a decent night's sleep. You've received some awful comments over the last few days. Hope you're feeling better soon

I'm a fair bit older than you OP - I'm 65 - and I fell over in the street at the beginning of June. I was in the middle of the road and unable to get up and a young man had to get out of his car to help me. I went to the minor injuries clinic the next day because I was developing enormous blood blisters on my knee. I had a deep haematoma but, as far as the xray could tell, no fracture. Fourteen weeks on my knee is still black from the bruise, there's a large area which is completely numb and I can forecast the weather by my aches and pains but today for the first time since I fell the swelling in my ankle has reduced enough for me to put shoes on.

Please ignore the posters who have been so rude and dismissive. Shock should not be ignored and minimised.

It really has op, people can be so utterly nasty when they're sat behind a screen.

You've been shaken up, stressed, shocked and in a lot of pain, its normal to feel that way. Give it a few days, rest up and some tlc

I fell off my bike on the way to work in a way that left me similarly injured and shaken up. After I'd recovered (I was very shaken) helped by some bystanders by the side of the road I went to work. I should have gone home. In my case i was badly bruised but also in a state of shock. When I did eventually get home I went straight to bed and immediately fell asleep. It may seem like nothing but I think your body just needs rest when something "shocking" like that happens. I hope you are okay OP and that your colleagues give you some TLC and space to make a decision on work or no work as you see fit.

You took that way too personally

Op hasn't said anything wrong

I sprained my ankle badly last year. I got in the car drove down the M6 whilst it was still swelling up.

I was sitting for most of the day when I reached my destination, so didn’t think it would be a huge problem.

Except, I ended up having to have physio, because instead of resting the sprain, I pissed about driving and walking on it and made it worse.