Broken ankle in 3places. Please share your stories while stuck in hospital

[Borisjohnsonshairbrush]

Fell 10ft and dislocated it too....
I need surgery and just awaiting CT results to determine the swelling. Absolutely gutted.

Oh dear sorry to hear that - I've never broken mine but sprained it very badly. It's horrible. Sympathies! And don't be me, do the exercises the physio give you I have permanent damage because I didn't. Take it easy

I'm still hospital now. Getting v tearful from anxiety and not knowing,!

OK. Broken leg veteran here (tib/fib/ankle), broke them in Mumbai, had them operated there then flew back to UK. The immediate loss of one leg is incredibly difficult to get used to, you will be told that crutches are easy, but they are not for everyone. I was better with an old lady walker personally. The ankle was the most painful part of my three breaks, and still is, but codeine is your friend. It worked for me. My breaks all took 6 weeks plus to start healing, but i had learned to walk with an elbow crutch (just the one). Physio exercises are important too. If you can, elevate and ice it at home and Netflix is your saviour. Tell yourself that you will be walking again by September, and although this seems a world away, life will go on and you will recover. Good luck x

If you take codine, make sure you increase your fluid/vegetables/laxatives as codine can bung you up.

Good luck, hopefully there will be a cancellation and you will be seen quicker.

I also preferred a zimmer for when I was non wait bearing. Don’t feel you need to take crutches. I then went to crutches when I got the boot on.

Honestly it’s a ball ache but you will be fine. 💐

Not broken it myself, but someone I knew said that the best bit of equipment they used was a little scooter for one leg as they were able to get around quite quickly without putting pressure on arms and the bad ankle.

I had a triple fracture and dislocated tib, fib and talus. I did mine from slipping on mud, the consultant was impressed by the damage I'd managed from a standing start!

Elevate, elevate, elevate. As high as you can. It really helps the swelling and pain. I was in a lot of pain after one of my surgeries (pregnant so minimal pain relief) and the relief when a nurse got more pillows and stuck my leg a mile in the air was immense.

Yes to upping fluid and fibre.

When I got home I had a knapsack for phone charger etc, and a litter picker-style grabber to get things from the floor.

Have you seen The Americans on Disney+? I'm binge watching it at the minute, its very good. Or if you're too sore to focus, the True Spies podcast is interesting to have playing in the background.

Good luck

Hi there, I broke my leg when I was a child. The excitement of being able to use a toilet after the physio taught me how to use my crutches!

I have a happy memory of going into a posh department store. HUGE queue for the ladies, but one was designated disabled so the toilet assistant called me past everyone to go straight in.

Apart from the odd twinge and a slightly shorter right leg, everything is back to normal now.

Thanks guys.

I'm hoping I can go home tonight and come back for the surgery. The ward I'm on isn't pleasant xx

@Thebookswereherfriends

Not broken it myself, but someone I knew said that the best bit of equipment they used was a little scooter for one leg as they were able to get around quite quickly without putting pressure on arms and the bad ankle.

But how would that work? Are you talking about an electric scooter? How would you stand on it? You'd be very unstable, I would have thought.

OP, that sound horrific. What's your home like? Do you live with someone? Do you have young children? Do you have a downstairs toilet?

3 bone ankle break 11months ago. Hope you’re ok.. literally 1 day at a time...

Elevate, aim foot higher than heart. If you can get swelling down will speed surgery date🤞

I was hopeless with crutches so if you can get a zimmer too might be worth it.

Canvas tote useful for carrying stuff but take all help offered

Never mastered stairs with crutches so did on my bum.. chair for shower was godsend.

I had plates & pins which I had taken out last week.

It really gets better. Always happy to chat about.

Hope you’re ok 💐💐

A positive -when I tore a ligament in my ankle everyone said ‘oh, bugger, recovery from a break is much easier’ This included an orthopaedic surgeon and various physios. I wish you a very speedy bone break recovery!

@HollowTalk the scooter my colleague had was at about knee height so she sort of knelt in it with her busted ankle sticking out behind her and it had handles for her to hold. So like a kid walking with one foot on a regular scooter but the platform bit is higher. It looked way better than the horrible crutches I had.

Oh and if you are on crutches you see the world at a slower pace and people are nice. People are happy to help, they just feel awkward approaching you. So ask. Worse thing is they say no rudely and you hit them with a crutch (kidding!) I didn’t need 2 crutches for stairs but it was easy to find someone to carry the other one.

And a daypack makes life easy as you’re hands free.

@Borisjohnsonshairbrush

Thanks guys.

I'm hoping I can go home tonight and come back for the surgery. The ward I'm on isn't pleasant xx

I'd be surprised if they let you leave with a break in situ. I had to stay in for 4 days for the swelling to go down before they rebuilt my ankle/lower leg bones with metal work. Thankfully discharge was pretty quick after that, I just had to show the physio I was capable of using the crutches without falling over!

Don't be brave with the pain, take whatever they offer unless that's an issue for other reasons

Keep it elevated as much as possible, it needs to be at least above the level of your waist. This helps reduce the swelling and helps with the pain too.

Once you're getting close to being discharged as an outpatient ask about ongoing physio. My hospital offered water therapy to get me weight bearing properly and then intensive physio sessions that were like circuit training for ankles! The result is I have almost a full range of movement and limping is only really reserved for the cold months when flexibility struggles.

Also don't be a stubborn goat like me. I was determined to still do things like normal but with a backpack etc to carry things. Just don't. Rest as much as possible while it's healing and save the endurance for when you need to start building the strength back up. Accept any and all help offered!

Hope it all heals well for you.

Something like this.
Vive Mobility Knee Walker - Steerable Scooter for Broken Leg, Foot, Ankle Injuries - Kneeling Quad Roller Cart - Orthopedic Seat Pad for Adult and Elderly Medical Mobility - 4 Wheel Crutch (Black) amazon.co.uk/dp/B00WA6C3YI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZHK75WHJW264DNAAYMNH]]

Sorry, that link doesn’t work very well, but google knee Walker.

I've begged them to let me home just for tonight. You cant have visitors and the cabin fever is horrific xx

I did a similar thing. Broke ankle in 2 places and dislocated it. Have never known pain like it. The wait for surgery to put the metalwork in felt like an age! Was in hospital for 3 days and it was awful as I couldn't move or use crutches v well etc. No downstairs loo at home so needed a commode. Honestly the worst few months ever. I'd give birth again rather than that!
You have my sympathy, OP.

Definitely consider a zimmer or knee scooter. Think about a little back pack you can use around the house. You don’t realise how annoying it is to not even be able to take a biscuit, bottle of water, the remote from A to B. Get a shower chair and a kind of plastic condom to roll over your leg when you are ready to wash again. Good luck!

I broke mine after getting up from having my legs tucked under me, going numb, I went down like a ton of bricks with a loud crack. I was in my touring caravan at the time. I had brilliant service from the ambulance service & A & E, did it at 7.21pm, ambulance there by 7.35pm, in hospital by 7.55pm & back in the caravan in bed potted up by 10.00pm. Mine was a double spiral fracture of my fibula, I was none weight-bearing for 3 weeks, useless on crutches due to dyspraxia, I had a zimmer frame until I could put my pot on the ground. We went to Meadowhall while I was in pot & I booked a disability scooter, I called in the bank to draw some cash out at the machine, I managed to trap my pot between the scooter & the wall, tried to reverse but hit the forwards button & trapped my pot even more. The first time I had my pot changed I nearly threw up when I saw my leg & foot, it was jet black with bruising. I was in pot 12 weeks & on crutches for a further 12 weeks.

If you have a zimmer frame, tie a carrier bag on the front to put anything you need in & get a travel mug for drinks so you can just put it in your carrier. Get yourself a raised toilet seat (Argos sell them) I got showered sat on the side of the bath with my pot leg wrapped in towels outside the bath. Also get a leg pillow to keep your leg up in bed to reduce the swelling.

Get a waterproof cover and a grabber

You can usually stand and rest your (bad) knee on a chair so you can do stuff like wash hands etc

Get a really nice body scrub for when the cast comes off, the flaky skin is the best thing ever and it feels SO good

I'm an emotional wreck today.

I'm usually very sporty and go to the gym everyday.

It's really suck in what's happened

It’s tough op, but you’ll get there

I would be cautious on the knee scooters, it depends on where your breaks are, mine was a spiral cork screw so was broken towards the back and I couldn’t use the scooter as the weight of the plaster on the break when I knelt on it was agony.