Broken Ankle - Student DD

[Violetparis]

My DD went back to uni last week, she's in one of the sports teams and has had her ankle broken in a bad challenge. She is back home after surgery. She's supposed to be doing a project this year which involves being on her feet. Just wondered if anyone else had had similar and how was it dealt with by the uni ? Also would appreciate any tips to help support my DD and any practical advice. She is very upset about missing out and struggling with the stairs and not being able to shower, wash her hair etc.

That sounds tough. You can get special shower caps for washing hair, they’re used for bed bound patients. You kind of put the shower caps on and rub the outside of the shower cap. A small thing but it may make her feel a bit better.

I had a similar injury about 10 years ago.
You can buy a shower stool in Argos for about £25 and if you get a waterproof leg cast cover (Amazon £10) she should be able to shower sitting down.
Sorry I can’t help with the uni side of things.
It should be a quick full recovery once the cast is off.
All the best to your daughter x

She needs to put in an extenuating circumstances claim and speak to her personal tutor about it straight away

Thanks everyone, really appreciate it. Have ordered some shower caps and she has emailed her tutors. Our shower is over the bath so not sure if she can even get in to sit on a stool but will have a look at them.

You can get a seat that sits over the bath, try googling “bath board”

Like https://www.mobilitysmart.co.uk/aquarian-4-slat-bathboard?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=24143562235&gbraid=0AAAAAD_BxPHSNtqP8qRupJHHhOSKs369J&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIspbtm92ElwMVWZtQBh0f1CgCEAQYAiABEgLXvfD_BwE She can even sit with her broken leg outside the bath

The uni will almost certainly have an alternative to the project for those too ill/unable to do it.

contact her tutor and let them know.

Thanks @LIZS and @Octavia64

When I broke my ankle as a newly married graduate student my husband lined up some chairs next to the bath so I could lie on them and dangle my head into the bath and wash my hair.

Physio is an absolute game changer for regaining strength and function. Recovery from a broken ankle is longer and harder than you think but things get a lot better after the first few miserable weeks.

I broke both of mine badly at various times during uni

kneeling on a chair is helpful if she wants to stand to do something (chair under bad leg knee)

definitely a limbo for the shower/bath - I managed to lift myself into the bath with my arms and same to get out but depends on strength really. I sort of sat on the edge and slid in, then drained the water before I lifted myself out by hooking a leg over the side of the bath

hair washing - kitchen sink with the kneeling on a chair or can she kneel by the side of the bath? Hairdressers are often helpful, a local one washed my hair twice a week free of charge after I had surgery and couldn’t lift my arms

Oh and when she comes out the cast, get her some nice bath stuff and a body scrub. There is nothing better than exfoliating the leg after and seeing all the crap come off!

Thanks @theblame I would never have thought of kneeling on a chair, I think that might work.

Is she allowed to put her foot down? Ie is she weight bearing or not? How long for? Currently have my DS home with his second ankle break so am an old hand at this.

@WorkingItOutAsIGo she is non weight bearing, any tips on how to help her would be greatly appreciated. Hope your son recovers well soon.

Could you hire a kneewalker? Might help her participate in her project.

When I had a cast on I bought a waterproof leg cover thingy (sorry, can’t remember the actual name), and that worked perfectly for a shower. The top is properly tight and waterproof and lets no water or moisture in at all.
And yes to a board across the bar if she can’t stand long enough to wash her hair. Between that and the cast cover there’s no reason she wouldn’t be able to still shower and wash her hair normally.

Sorry to hear that: it makes life very difficult indeed. We have bought a shower stool - he can only manage to shower once every two days and needs help as the bathroom floor when wet is very slippy for crutches.

the next essential purchase is a toilet surround - buyable on Amazon, as it's very difficult to move up and down on one leg safely.

stairs are very difficult/dangerous and ideally should be limited and only navigated on their bottom or with help.

my DS first did this at uni and his uni weren't able to move him to accessible accommodation, so his choice was to defer or to do what I was able to do but most couldn't: I rented a flat for a month in his uni town with a lift and he stayed there with me and I drove him to lectures, to halls for meals etc.

being non weight bearing is really difficult and I am afraid you need to be really realistic about how hard your DDs studies and uni life will be. And they need time to heal and rest too.

She’s an adult now, she submits the evidence to the uni and gets the relevant accommodations made

Cant advise from the injury perspective but from the uni perspective she needs to apply for extenuating circumstances alongside her absence forms and submit the relevant medical evidence. The University will then adapt the way she is examined so that she can complete her studies. This may mean adapting the standard examined work or examining her via a different method (e.g. viva/ essay/ presentation on the same topic but approached from a slightly different angle). The University will have experience of doing this fairly routinely so try not to worry about the academics at this stage.

We found my son's university relatively limited in its ability to help him, but he certainly made sure that he applied for all the appropriate extenuating circumstances, although I don't think it really made up for the amount of studies he lost.