Broken ankle and living alone.

[enthusiasmcurbed]

Hello all, I well and truly broke my ankle. Both bones at the sides and shin at the back. I'm back at home, I live alone and I just can't cope hopping on one foot with a Zimmer frame. I keep falling. Any ideas how I can improve things other than 1; chopping foot off, 2; getting foot chopped off or 3; getting foot chopped off. Grrr

How have you got on today EC, have you managed to get some food? Hope you got some sleep through the night, everything seems worse at two o'clock in the morning.

I broke my tib, fib and ankle last year, then fell over with a Zimmer frame and dislocated my elbow which had to be operated. I think, like a PP who said she was dyspraxic, that Zimmers and crutches are not suitable for everyone. I used an ordinary typing chair for the first 3 months as I didn’t have the strength to use a wheelchair. After that I used one crutch on the bad side for 6 months, gradually reducing. A leg/ankle break is life-changing and a huge challenge, but you can and will get through it. I found www.mybrokenleg.com useful. My experience of NHS physiotherapy was atrocious, it was not worth the pain and effort of getting to it, so ask for appropriate exercise sheets & equipment and do it yourself if possible. Do PM me if you need to chat or rant, and good luck 💐.

Thank you everyone. It's a nightmare. I've always been very independent so I'm finding this very hard. My right leg is getting stronger though and my bingo wings are reducing. Little things.

I broke my ankle in 2 places & had orif surgery 2 weeks ago. We bought a wheelchair off gumtree (local selling site) never used for £45. I struggle to use crutches as am 55 yrs old & a bit overweight 🤦‍♀️ So use frame & hop. I’m not very agile either so struggle and I’m only 2 weeks in 😢

Ouch! But these suggestions for getting around are great.

The real problem for me was the bath. My bath was walled on 3 sides, and my broken right leg was sticking out of the bath on the non walled side. Getting in was ok, but with my leg up I didnt have the strength to get out and because of the layout of the bath and how clumsy my leg was I couldn't change position. At that time I lived alone and had stupidly left my phone in the other room. I spent about 40 minutes being stuck, imagining being rescued by firemen after a freezing 24 hours of weeing on myself and drinking from the tap. The thought of that embarrassment eventually gave me the strength to heave myself out. So keep your phone with you at all times! Or use a plastic chair inside the shower with your cast well wrapped, but be careful because that gets really slippery.

Hope you feel better soon!