to think my DH is crazy for thinking about cutting his own plastercast off his broken ankle?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

My DH fell on New Years Day (while out jogging) and broke his ankle. We spent the day in A&E and he got a plastercast which he said he has to have on for about 6 weeks. To help you understand, my DH hates hospitals like anything, I'm not sure why but he just cannot stand hospitals and doctors or anything medical. He has a tendency to faint when he is getting anything medical done (eg when blood is taken and he even fainted getting his eyes tested once!) so I think his fear of hospitals is more a fear of fainting and looking silly. I have tried to help him with this, shown him techniques to prevent the fainting, tried to reassure him etc but he still hates hospitals.

So he has now had his plaster on for 4 weeks and when I asked the other day when his appointment is to remove the plastercast he said '29th Feb' with a smirk, then said he will be going to the local hardware shop for a saw or something so he can take it off himself!!! He is not joking either. He is adamant that he does not want to go back to the hospital so I said if he tries to remove it himself and severs an artery then tough! We are meant to be going on our first family holiday in 2 years at the end of Feb and I'm just worried he will do something and we either won't be able to go or he will do lasting damage to his leg cos he hasn't let a dr look at it again.

Argh he is so bloody stubborn!

AIBU in thinking he is a total idiot?! Any advice?

What GloriaSmut said! He might need another cast, you can be in a cast for months. At the fracture clinic they will need to xray the leg to see if it was mended and if not they will put on another cast.

The other thing to bear in mind is, he will probably need physio depending on how severe and where the break is. People usually see the removal of the cast as the end of the recovery when in fact it's more likely to be the begining. It can be VERY sore once the cast is removed and swell like fuck too.

I cut my own cast off when I was 17 - not with a saw though, I used a claw hammer and wire cutters. I'd broken my foot and the appointment to have the cast removed was the same day I was supposed to be going to a festival which I had no intention of missing, even for something as important as my health

At the time I thought I'd got away with with it, but I'm now suffering from pain in that foot during cold weather or if I walk for long distances. Tell your DH to see his GP for some kind of sedative because it's really not worth risking long term problems.

I did it too.

I cut off (well, soaked and hacked) a cast off my ankle and lower leg, so that I could have a bath.

I do have a mis-aligned bone now, quite visible, but not painful.

I couldn't face the saw thing again either.

I found the saw thing fascinating and found the plaster room to be a really reassuring place to be.

Does he realise that when the cast comes off his muscle will be very weak and about half the size of the other leg, he will need to walk gingerly at first and get physio.

What is he scared of?

And if he is worried about fainting, my fracture clinic had chairs like at the dentist. I DID faint when I had my staples removed - they are very used to it.

Glad other people mentioned the insurance thing - they will definately exclude him if anything happens abroad (and possibly just cancel the policy completely even if its unrelated)

He is risking major long terms problems - just because its a clean break doesn't mean that it's not a potentially unstable joint.

Also - sorry to be so negative but having experienced broken bones - he might not be able to travel comfortably in a plane. Also ankles are difficult to get going again - his ankle might be solid and unable to move at all. Joints are bastards to heal as they normally have so much movement in them. I would be very very surprised if once his cast is off he'll be able to just get up and walk without a course of physio.

As I said, not trying to be negative, just realistic.

Just to update on my stupid DH, I came home today with the plastercast lying on the floor minus the body attached.

He had bought a pair of wirecutters over the net and cut the plaster off himself!!! Luckily no injuries resulted but I still think he is stupid for doing a DIY job. Despite me previously trying to discuss his fears in an adult fashion, he refused to speak about it and took matters into his won hands. He has also bought himself some walking boots for support so is limping about in them at the moment.

He also still refuses to go for an Xray, saying he 'knows' it's healed.

Must have X-ray vision your OH-clever :o

Oh well, just leave him to it. Being male he probably likes the fuss your making. He is a prat though.

Hope he doesn't cause long term damage.

Oh well, you can't legislate against total fuckwits. Personally, I'd be roaring but then he's the one who'll be dealing with disabling consequences. My commiserations to you.