Broken ankle with kids

[cedricsneer]

I slipped and fell on Boxing Day, breaking my ankle. Not a particularly bad break - local minor injuries tried me with a boot but decided I needed non weight bearing so put me in a temporary cast until I can be seen at the fracture clinic.

I have 3 ds 3-8 and am very unfit. I have very little core strength, am overweight and finding crutches so difficult. My good leg gets tired so quickly and I am aching all over. Stairs, the toilet and getting up from low seats is torture and I have already fallen twice on the bad leg (putting all my weight on it) because my crutches got stuck in clothing on the floor.

I have cried tears of frustration at how helpless I am. We live on the boundary of catchment so not easy to cover school runs and my poor dh is having to do everything for me. I will be nwb for at least 6 weeks and I am so weary already . Dh will have to go back to work (working from home a bit) after ny. My mum can help a bit (although I hate relying on people).

Does anyone have experience of managing stairs, young dc and not weight bearing? Please tell me it will get easier. My poor kids will be so bored.

Oh you poor thing, broken ankles are a nightmare. I've been there a few times. Can you do stairs on your bum and then turn round towards the top so that you can kneel to get up? Come down on your bum too.

Mending bones takes a lot of energy so it can be surprising how tired you feel. I had risers for my chair to make it higher and a sort of seat that went over the loo to make it higher. Ask if you can be referred to Occupational therapy for this kind of thing.
All the best.

I broke my ankle badly (had to have surgery and have it pinned) when my DS's were 2 and 5 and I was pregnant with ds3. We hired a nanny in the end because I couldn't do anything.

That's probably not what you wanted to hear. Sorry. Hope your situation isn't as bad.

I broke mine badly (also had to have surgery) almost 5 years ago.

DS1 was 4yo and I was 32 weeks pg with DS2.

I only had an upstairs toilet so organised a commode for downstairs.

Called in every favour to organise lifts/babysitting for ds1 because I couldn't do it myself.

DH's work were good about him taking ds1 to preschool then coming in late so I only had collections to organise.

Loads of telly for ds1, sending him to play with neighbours/cousins/friends etc

Things got much easier once I could stand on 2 feet. I think it was maybe 4 weeks non weight bearing after the surgery and I was on crutches for about 9 weeks all in IIRC.

Limbo waterproof cover so that you can shower. Stool in the shower on a rubber mat.

I have heard of people using an office chair to rest their knee on to get around. Would you get on better with a frame rather than crutches? Stairs are manageable if you are shown the technique. It is hard to describe on here, I'll see if I can find a video. I tried hauling myself upstairs on my bum and it was really tiring and not something I could have done long term.

Online shopping for things that are really easy to cook. Premade food is your friend.

Take all the pain relief that you are allowed. Pain is exhausting.

Do you live anywhere near me?

I live in edinburgh mawbroon. Thank you all for the advice. Mostly it makes me feel less pathetic and that I'm coping really badly. I can kind of live on one floor unless I want to leave the house. Can't imagine walking further than the end of my corridor on crutches - does it get easier? Will my fitness improve?

not coping really badly

I second office chair, dragged myself around on one for weeks. However no kids and at the time was living in a flat so no stairs, sending lots of sympathy

Yes to the office chair tip, I think you can get knee 'scooters'. I also had a frame rather than crutches last time. Much easier around the house. In fact I had two, one uostairs and one downstairs. Had a commode too last time. I agree that you need to call in any favours you can. Mine were 2 and 7 the first time and telly was a godsend.

I've PMd you cedric

And how did you wash hair? Shower stool and limbo ordered but it will take ages being Xmas and ny.

Get a Zimmer frame. Crutches suck!! Tie a basket or canvas bag to the front of it to carry things around. Do you have access to a wheelchair? If not, use an office chair to scoot around in.

I didn't have to manage a full flight stairs just 2 steps up from our drive to our porch using crutches and DH had to help me balance myself.

I was pretty out of shape, too. I did physical therapy right away to help build up my arms and good leg so I could be 'safe' on the zimmer. They should be able to give you some strengthening exercises.

I have short hair so just did it in the shower. DH did it for me over the bath before my Limbo arrived.

I've never tried dry shampoo, but would that be an option to tide you over?

I did manage to go a fair distance on crutches and once I was weight bearing I ventured out a bit to stop me going crazy. A cup of tea in Ikea was the highlight of the week!

I also found another MNer who was in exactly the same situation and we emailed each other back and forth with updates and moans which helped a lot. Our babies ended up being born 1 day apart!

We live in an old farmhouse and our master bath has a claw foot tub and shower combo. There's no way I could get in plus I had bandaging due to surgery to fix the fracture. DH put an old camping chair (the canvas kind) sideways in the tub and would lower me into it with my legs dangling outside. We wrapped my bandaging in plastic to keep it dry. I was able to bathe myself and wash my hair that way.

How are you doing cedricsneer ?

Bless you, I broke my ankle (not as badly as yours) just before Christmas so understand how you feel. My core and upper body strength was terrible but has improved a bit so I'm starting to manage to get around on crutches. I go up and downstairs on my bum and wrap my leg in cling film and bin bags to shower and bath (with a lot of help from DH). My DS is a bit older than yours and has been quite a help with fetching and carrying bless him. I hope your feeling a bit better.

You can hire K9's which was a godsend for my friend.

There are lots of places to hire wheelchairs from to go out in - british Red Cross can be a good starting point.

You may have a community rehab team in your area - the occupational therapists can organise chair raises, commodes, shower stools, perching stools for bathroom and kitchen, temporary rails around the loo to make getting up and down easier etc. Please do ask. - ours is accessed through our council's central communication centre.

I broke my ankle initially 8 yrs ago, have had several surgeries, eventually ending up with ankle fusion last year, which resulted in 12wks non weigh bearing- a frame and a knee scooter were my best friends! Along with toilet raiser, shower chair and a perching stool in the kitchen. I am overweight, but I lost quite a bit due to the exertion of just getting around, and also the fact that getting up to get a meal or snack during the day when I was alone was too much bother lol. If you are continuing to use crutches, good soft hand protection on the hand grips are a must, or you will soon get blisters. The best thing I found were the elasticated fluffy covers off of small handled windows cleaning tools. I put some pipe insulation over the crutch handgrips first, then the fluffy outer cover, it made using them a lot more comfortable. Investing a few pounds in a long handled grabber, like litter collectors use, is worth every penny, we still continue to use ours, finally- Internet shopping is your best friend. It wasn't readily avaliable when I first broke my ankle, but now it makes life so much easier! Hope you heal soon. xxxx