DH leg in plaster

[grumiosmum]

DH fractured a bone in his ankle & will be on crutches for 6 weeks.

He had an operation to fix it a week ago & is insisting that he needs to stay in bed resting, with the foot elevated on pillows, at least until he goes for a followup visit to the hospital in another week's time - 2 weeks following the surgery.

I think he should be trying to be a bit more mobile now, & want to stop bringing him breakfast & lunch in bed (he does come downstairs for supper & to watch TV a bit afterwards). He insists he needs to fully rest to get better as quick as possible.

Which of us is right? Anyone else been through similar?

He is not even doing any work on his laptop, just watching sports videos on YouTube. He is self-employed so no money coming in.

Thanks

My DD fractured a bone in her leg and was on non weight bearing crutches for months. She was back at work one day later - it would have been the next day but her workplace had to do a risk assessment on her job first.

Surely he needs to minimise the risk of blood clots and so should be moving around a bit?
My DSis was in a similar position recently, non-weight bearing and on anti-clotting injections but she was encouraged to move around after a couple of days. She also spent time working on her laptop with her leg elevated.

I was back at work a week after I was out of hospital following a broken femur. Was non weight bearing for 6 months so long journeys out I used a wheelchair as the brace was locked straight but normal bits like walking around supermarket I was just using crutches

What did the hospital say? Were you there for the discharge advice? If not, I'd be ringing the ward and explaining you are concerned about conflicting information and can it be clarified what he's to be doing at this point, especially regarding clot prevention.

However if he can get downstairs he can come down for breakfast.

Whether he can work, only he knows.

Also, if he's self employed, does he have any income protection insurance to cover this sort of thing? If not, might be worth looking into for the future. God forbid something more serious happens and he is out of action for longer.

Ridiculous. He broke his ankle, not his brain. He should be up and about the house and def working on a computer. The only caveat is if he is on strong painkillers. Try ‘breaking the wifi’ for a day and see if the boredom shifts him.

It's a balancing act - I overdid it and ended up being sofa bound for 3 weeks as I'd made the break worse.

He is giving himself injections to stop blood clots and wearing a stocking.

I was there when he was discharged, advice was a bit vague. Post-op leaflet said complete rest for 2-3 days after the surgery - we are well past that now. I also thought a bit of movement is a good thing.

We won't be able to get critical illness insurance, it would be far too expensive given DH's age & other factors. He is doing a bit of work on the laptop but thinks he can't go to meetings - and critically he's not looking for new clients because he thinks it's too difficult.

I think I will minimise the support - continue to prepare his food, but insist he comes downstairs for it. Then after the appointment at hospital next week hopefully they will encourage him to be a bit more active. Any time I suggest it I get accused of "putting pressure on him."

No painkillers.

Good cautionary tale from MrsMozart

grum I really was an idiot - decorating the bathroom, so on and off a chair (as couldn't get the airboot onto the stepladders), yomping across fields (horses), and generally treating it as an annoyance rather than finding a balance and letting it heal.

I think your plan sounds solid.

He's being a lazy fuck. I broke my tib and fib, had them pinned and plated. Couple of days rest in hospital then up and about round the house on crutches, doing chores as much as possible. Had to chuck washing down the stairs and drag to the machine with my crutches etc, couldn't hoover, but bought a stool for the kitchen so I could cook, wash up etc. Back at work the following week. I was non weight baring (sp?) for 8 weeks.

I had the injections and stockings too

The injections and stockings do not absolutely remove the risk of a blood clot they just lower it. The best way to prevent a clot is to get moving. Also the longer he stays in bed the more difficult he's going to find rehab/physio as he will be deconditioning every single day he spends not doing anything, so he's actually probably slowing down his recovery by staying in bed. I'd second turning the wifi off!

Thanks all for the advice. He has hobbled down to the sofa & is watching the Grand Prix!

And if he wants anything he can wobble along and get it (just no decorating!).

I'm with hour husband. I broke my ankle in two places last year and it's an absolute bastard when you're non weight bearing. You can't put your feet down and you risk swelling if you don't keep it elevated. In addition moving about on crutches is not easy.

Keeping your ankle elevated is the right advice. I don't know what the fuck some people are talking about on here, but breaking your ankle and being non weight bearing is a total and utter bastard.

@Bluntness100 weren't you advised to be mobile? I was. They said elevate it when resting but try and move as much as possible to prevent blood clots.

And you are right - it is an utter bastard. I'm a single mum though so had to get up and get on. Wasn't trying to paint myself as some sort of hero!!

How is yours by the way now? Mine has limited movement and still gets swollen despite regular physio. I'm also very cautious now and have just got back to running on a treadmill. Not confident to run outside yet because of the terrain!!

My wife broke her ankle and after a week had to have it reset and recast as she managed to shift the cast. This in turn pushed the bone into a funny position it set her back about a month. She spent 2 weeks practically bed bound afterwards then used a wheelchair for another 2 weeks. However the doctor said without the rest her leg would have taken much longer to heal.

No, ,i was advised to do no more than x amount of movement in x amount of hours and to keep it elevated and let the bones knit.

If i did too much it swelled up and caused discomfort in the cast. I also found crutches very difficult to use and used a zimmer for thr non weight bearing period. It for me was difficult to do anything. Even going to the loo was difficult.

A year on mine still hurts occasionally. I am on the treadmill and was quite early on, about five months after I did it.

Mine was a corkscrew break. The leg twisted and my foot stayed in place breaking my ankle like a corkscrew.

So I've empathy for the husband. I'm generally quite fit, and I found all the hopping about a night mare.

However the doctor said without the rest her leg would have taken much longer to heal

Yes this is what I was told and the doctor was correct in hindsight. You just need to let it heal. Once you're in the walking boot it's easier, but the non weight bearing period is awful.

At one week I had just changed from an open front plaster to a proper plaster.

I was in a lot of pain and on very strong painkillers. I could hardly stay awake never mind move about at a week past. I was in hospital for several days after the operation.

Maybe I had a different type of break from your DH. It was my ankle and I have a large plate and screws in it now. I was on tramadol, diclofenic (sp) and some others for about two weeks. In hospital I had to have a nerve block after surgery and the pain meds where pumped into my body from a locked box on the side of my bed and I was on oxygen too. I couldn’t have worked or went to meetings at a week or two later.

And I was non weight bearing in a cast for about 8 weeks or so.