To ask for your ‘positive’ broken ankle stories

[Saladmakesmesad]

Posted something similar the other day when it had newly happened but hoping for a bit more traffic here, hope that’s ok.

I broke my ankle in a fall/blown by the wind down a steep path on Saturday. All traumatic and painful, A&E etc. Went to fracture clinic on Tuesday and they said it’s a Weber B fracture at outside and back and ‘borderline’ for surgery but too swollen to do anything with so put in a hideously heavy back slab cast for a week and then re X-ray and decide ORIF (repair) surgery or not.

I’ll be non weight bearing for at least 6 weeks (and that starts from when I get my proper cast on I think - which could be a couple of weeks away if I have surgery. I’m struggling with the crutches as I have a crap back, I’m struggling with the thought of the weeks of pain and debilitation ahead (we don’t have a downstairs loo) and having stupidly googled I’m now struggling because it seems like every ankle break ends up in months of pain, complications and misery.

If anyone has any fairly straightforward ankle break stories, please share them to balance the evils of Google!

Forgot to add, mine was stable and I could partially weight bear in a boot after a week or so, starting at 10% or so (basically on crutches but you could rest the foot on the floor rather than hold it up) Could take the boot off if resting foot up on a stool and wiggle toes etc quite early on in terms of keeping mobilisation. I think if it’s stable it makes a big difference

@Saladmakesmesad I found it mentally really rough, from being a very active, busy, full time working person to being stuck on a sofa with no guarantee from the consultants what my future walking ability would be (remember - this was a very severe break) What I found helpful was to look for positives every day ie doing X was easier today than yesterday, my pain is a little better than yesterday, I’ve managed to do X today which I couldn’t do a few days ago etc etc So I forced myself to look for progress rather than focusing on what I couldn’t do (I didn’t nail this and there were many tears but if defo helped my mood I think)

Also second the Zimmer frame, felt much more secure than on crutches, bought a little basket thing off amazon so I could transport stuff around in it

I don't think you want to hear about my ankle.

Best of luck op

I’d suggest you have surgery if that’s recommended - appreciate that it’s a scary prospect but the plates, pins etc (or whatever they do) will strengthen your ankle and make a recurrence of the break less likely. I found the surgery ok. I was in pain for about 2 days (at most) after it, then not at all.

I’m really tempted by a Zimmer frame (things I never thought I’d say at 35... ) Don’t think I could knee scoot (or certainly not yet) due to that angle putting pressure on the back. I’m actually tempted to hire a wheelchair but need to measure our cottage doors first.

I wish I could go back in time and not go for that walk.

@Allsizes8to14 You’ve been through so much! I do feel humbled by your kind of story as obviously it could have been much worse. I like your idea of recording the positives. I’ll try to write stuff down.

I broke my fibula badly around the lateral maleous......not sure if it was a Weber by or not.

The actual fracture wasn’t too bad. I only managed 2 weeks in a cast, non weight bearing and Removed it, had a walking boot for a couple more weeks.

That was last Easter. I’m fairly pain free now, aches a bit at times but I’m running, etc. My fracture has been complicated by the fact I have a growth in my fibula which was found on mri. That needs removing and I think it’s what causing some of the ongoing issues.

@posterSaladmakesmesad
I broke my ankle in 3 places a few years ago. I had plates and screws on both sides of my ankle with another set of screws inside. I can feel the plate on one side if I prod it but otherwise, it's just a sensation but not painful.
I got around downstairs by having the rugs taken up and using an office chair to scoot about on in the early days. This meant I could take a drink or whatever from kitchen to living room without spillages.

I got up the stairs by using my 'bad' knee as a foot a couple of stairs above my proper foot. It worked really well and I could get up pretty quickly. Getting down was on my bottom for safety. But I discovered that I could pull a laundry basket behind me using my back as a brake. It just sorts of slid down so it wasn't dangerous. I had a basket that wasn't too big or heavy so I could manage it on my lap in the wheeled chair.
It took about 6 weeks for the cats to come off and then several weeks of physio which was great for getting me back to normal. I don't have a limp and my muscles didnt get wasted.

@redcarbluecar Oh I will definitely have it if they say it’s needed. I just hope they re X-ray and say ‘Actually that’s all looking pretty stable’ (I don’t rate my chances though.) Thank you for your encouraging words about the surgery too..

Mine wasn't a straightforward break but it wasn't too awful to deal with. Broke tib and fib and dislocated ankle slipping over on ice. 9 day stay in hospital waiting for swelling to go down enough to operate, pinned and played. 6 weeks non weight bearing on crutches, then gradually walking with then without crutches. I was warned 2 years to get back to normal and it was, but I was pretty much basic functional by week 10.

My broken leg.com is a good forum website.

A wheeled office chair would be useful at home. You really do have to readjust your expectations- crutches are for very short stretches of movement only. I found a rucksack and flask useful.

@VivaLeBeaver When you say you removed it - do you mean yourself?

The Dr I saw said it managed conservatively (without surgery) it will be 6 weeks non weight bearing. I’ll see a different doctor next week as I was on holiday.

They actually took two x rays because they suspected a second break and I think that’s when they spotted the back but. Weirdly, the bit that hurts the most is the inside bit where there’s no break. Though the bruising is totally around the broken side (none at the back).

Ouch - you have my full sympathies. I've had a Weber and an ORIF on my ankle and spent about two weeks in hospital all in as the surgery wound ended up getting infected. I too slipped on a wet surface and at the time it was a real pain but healed pretty quickly and I was walking with crutches soon after. They said 6 weeks to me too but I was up on crutches after 3.5 and walking with only one crutch at about 5. Didn't drive for a while though as didn't feel confident at all.

However I used my time in hosp and recuperating at home to do lots of reading and stern talking to myself and since coming out I have lost 2 stone, made peace with a family member and as soon as I was cleared by the docs, I started training to run a very very slow half marathon from never having done one before. This was before the first anniversary of the accident. Haven't done it since, mind, but I did it to prove to myself that I could.

Plus when we flew to Spain in the summer we skipped the security queues as I had my crutches still just in case. They can still come in handy!

I can't feel the metal in my leg anymore under the skin but occasionally when it's really cold it gets a little stiff.

The tricky thing at first was going to the loo and having baths and it was some time before I could do those unaccompanied. I remember having a bath with my bad leg dangling over the side of the bath. Maybe flannels or wet wipes? I also got a long pillow off Amazon like those big long maternity ones which helped with getting comfy for sleep. Also get someone to make a flask of hot tea/coffee for by the bed if you're bed bound. Saves endless shuffling about to the kettle.

Fingers crossed you have a relatively smooth experience.

I broke mine a few years ago, properly snapped all the bones right across, smashed the ends of the bones, all pinned and screwed back together.
I had surgery the next day, back cast for about a week? (can't remember, may be 2)
then a proper cast. No weight bearing in the cast.
cast for 6 weeks, then a boot and crutches.

I'll be honest, those first 2 weeks were hell. I had 3 kids, youngest was 3, dh had to go away the day after I came out of hospital, my mum came every day for 6 days and then she was going away (ironically to stay with my brother and SIL as she was due to go into hospital)
My church was amazing and everyone rallied round, brought us food and came and put kids to bed.

Those first 2 weeks I slept all day on the sofa and then crawled upstairs at night. (couldn't use crutches on the stairs). It was really painful, and sleep was crap
Things improved A LOT once I got a proper plaster on. It was more comfortable, less heavy and it felt more manageable.
I found crutches exhausting and diffcult for the first 2 weeks, but improved a lot once I had a cast on.

At the beginning someone said to me - allow 3 months. I burst into tears, but they were right. It took a few weeks after the cast was off before I was able to ditch the boot, and then suddenly it was fine, fixed, strong, healthy. A bit stiff and I had to do lots of exercises to stretch it out, but since then it has been totally fine.

It does get better. My first ankle break story might entertain you if nothing else. I fell down stairs (20 stairs, platform, 20 more stairs) in one go and heard a pop and landed sat on my ankle. Parents came over (I was at uni)
Mum "I don't think it needs hospital"
Dad "WTAF, it is facing the WRONG WAY"
They drive me to hospital over the countless speed bumps with me howling in the back. Get to hospital, dad shoves me in wheelchair with leg out, and pushes me into a&e so fast he smacks my broken ankle off the wall
Later on they take us into a room (me, off my face on drugs) and tell me I have a calcaneonavicular bar(?!) in my foot

When I break the second (other side) , the doctor very seriously tells me I have a calcaneonavicular bar.

Me "oh, both my feet match then!"

That one I have no idea how I did it and I walked on it for a week. A&E said they would x ray but it probably wasn't broken. Post x ray I say I am just making a phone call and they come out and tell me I am going nowhere without a cast as I have multiple breaks and to sit down and not move
I had to ring my dad as I had driven myself to a&e, he gave me a bollocking before I went for wasting the doctors time
Dad "just a sprain then? WTF have you done now? It's in plaster? Are you taking the piss? Jesus Christ you're a walking liability"

I won't tell you what he said when I needed spinal surgery

really tempted by a Zimmer frame (things I never thought I’d say at 35... ) Don’t think I could knee scoot (or certainly not yet) due to that angle putting pressure on the back

Yes, I ordered one from amazon, and had to return it, the pressure on the back of my ankle was too much due to the break there, I think they would work great if you’ve not broken the back of your ankle.

The hospital just gave me a zimmer when I asked. Just call and ask and have someone collect, or ask when you’re next in. Genuinely so much easier than crutches, because of the stability. You can keep the crutches and decide what to use when, or switch them over, when you go Partially weight bearing.

@saladmakesmesad

The fracture pattern determines whether or not surgery is recommended, nothing you can do to influence that....

Mine wasn’t a break but I had a really terrible fall and tore tendons and it was very painful for months,

I actually hired one of these for a while as I can’t use crutches due to a problem with my arm. It was a life saver.
mobilityhire.com/hire/walking-aids-hire/budget-knee-scooter-hire

Sorry just seen you say that won’t work for you! Not with it this morning x

(As demonstrated by the unmumsnetty kiss ^. I need a coffee)

Op thanks for writing this post and to everyone who has shared their stories. I am on day 9 of a hospital stay with a broken tib and fib and am hopefully having surgery today. They have had to wait for the swelling to go down. Have been told whilst it’s a bad break if everything goes according to plan things will be back to normal. Best of luck to you

Oh op, I hope you are feeling ok.

I broke my ankle and tore all the ligaments six years ago. I had an op to have pins, a big plate and wire put in. I was non weight bearing for 8 weeks. After the first couple of weeks the pain was manageable and I was able to do things again with the kids and my husband instead of being crazy from the pain, sleeping or a bit wired from the painkillers.

I actually had quite a traumatic fall and the paramedics weren’t very nice to me and I remember them trying to get me to walk to the ambulance, my leg was literally pointing the other way and an open fracture! The mind baffles lol. When we got to hospital they asked if they should take me to minor injuries and the doctor said no, resus and in my head I was like ‘see!! It is bad!’ I was sedated as in so much pain. You sound like you didn’t have to go through much of that so already you are doing so well!

I had all the metal out my leg last year and it feels a lot better now. I have full range of mobility again and it’s almost like it never happened. Whilst I had the metal there were things I couldn’t do like bounce on a trampoline so that was something I enjoyed after I’d healed up from the second op.

My dh put a bed in the living room for me and we had a full bathroom downstairs that I could use. We had a portable shower seat thing put in the shower and also a portable handle thing for the toilet so I had something to use there. Tbh I didn’t go out much as the crutches were hard work and we had three little kids and dh didn’t need to be worrying about me and all the babies lol.

I hope you recover quickly and are back to normal ASAP. Rest up, but keep moving! I hope your family will be looking after you.

Spiral fracture after I slipped whilst coming down a mountain. Miles from home. Was threatened with op and being in hospital but went home and after swelling went down they decided not to operate. My H had left me the week before. I was home alone. Did stairs on my bottom, carried hot drinks in a flask. Watched a lot of telly. It was utterly miserable. But I learnt how to be more comfortable on my own, and 6 weeks passed really quickly in retrospect. You will get through this!!

Op, I had a similar experience and bought a wheelchair off eBay for 40 quid because I also struggled with crutches and my house is very spread out downstairs so getting around was a pain.

You’d be amazed at how flabby you can get though, don’t stay in it all the time

Not a broken ankle but a spiralised tib/fib fracture very close to the ankle which was repaired by putting a titanium pin down my tibia. I was 12 weeks non-weightbearing but hired a wheelchair and was still able to work (including a week away in a hotel - ground floor and unbelievably lovely hotel staff who met every need including the removal of a giant spider) at the very end of that period. Recovery was pretty textbook.

I do remember feeling absolutely desperate when they first told me how serious the fracture was, how it was a life-changing injury etc. It has continued to affect my confidence with balance, especially on uneven walking surfaces, and I'll certainly never wear heels again, but I wasn't a big heel-wearer anyway and I am very much on the cautious/anxious side so I'm not sure that reaction is typical.