I thought it was about time I updated my blog, it was easy to keep up with whilst I was sat on the sofa for the first 5-6 weeks with my leg elevated to find the time, but since I have been more mobile and working from home I just don't find the time!
I am 2 days away from hopefully having my cast removed for good. I visited the fracture clinic approximately 3 weeks ago and the consultant said he could still see a slight fracture line on the inside ankle bone, so thought it best to put it back in a cast to protect it and to be safe. He also said the cast would be slightly different in shape and I would get a boot to wear with it which would allow me to start weight bearing. I asked him about using crutches and he said within 3 weeks I needed to go from 2 crutches to 1 and then to none by the time I returned. I must admit I flinched with pain at the thought of putting weight on it, but within a day I was walking on 2 feet using 2 crutches, and within 3 days using 1 crutch, which actually slowed me down. I was nervous the first time I put weight on it and it was little more than a shuffle. However nearly 3 weeks later I am able to walk well on 2 feet, with the boot over the cast to give me a flat sole to walk on. I still need to take it easy and rest it regularly but I have been able to start working from home full time now.
It was great starting back to work as I had got very bored, even though I enjoyed my coffee mornings and cooked breakfasts with friends, I missed making a contribution to Training for Travel and have managed to agree terms to work from home until I can drive again, so I am now enjoying working on some interesting projects such as designing resources and training material for the new Functional Skills qualifications which start this year as well as assessing learners by telephone.
Its been a long 9 weeks and I like to think I have done everything right. I rested well at the start, and I have also eaten healthily. I have taken Vitamin E supplements to help skin and soft tissue healing, which as worked wonders on my face too! I have also take calcium/magnesium supplements for my bones and also collagen supplements which help with soft tissue growth. I have tried to do some exercise from home both upper and lower body but its no replacement for what I was doing before! I cant wait to swim at the end of this week, in actual fact I am happy to just float around the pool, its the full body immersion in warm water I am looking forward to most!!
Returning to running is bottom of my list at the moment as I have read about metal plates on leg bones causing stress risers above and around the metal work, which can cause stress fractures. Back to square one almost! I will try walking on the treadmill at the gym, but will probably start on the cross trainer as its non impact on joints. First of all though lots of swimming, and pool walking!
The physio will start next week, and am looking forward to the progress, however not so much the pain, as my mum informs me! My mum is now 2 weeks out of her cast/boot and walking on one stick, and having regular physio in Portugal.
I will update the blog once I have been to hospital this week and then put monthly progress as I know other people have read this that have suffered trimalleolar fractures and similar.
Bye for now :-))
Showing posts with label hydrotherapy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hydrotherapy. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Friday, 18 May 2012
Purple casts are the way forward
It is now 3 weeks since I broke my ankle, it seems like a lot longer, but this week it feels like I have made some progress with my visit to the fracture clinic, which I will come back to later.
I had a proper night out this week with my group of lovely friends, I managed to venture as far as my friends Nics house and had a couple of drinks, it was so nice to chill out, get out the house and have a laugh and a gossip. We were discussing our trip to Las Vegas in October to celebrate 4 of my friends 40ths birthdays. Lorna decided it would be a good idea to ring the hotel in Vegas to tell them to expect us in October and to ask about the White Night parties at the Nikki Beach Club which is in our hotel! We have previously done 2 other trips, the first one was to New York in April 2008 and we went skiing in Morzine in February 2010, this is our final 40th trip so we will have to find another excuse to go away over the next few years!
The weather has been miserable most of the week, so much rain all the time. When I do get to leave the house Andy makes sure I wipe my crutches before I come back in! I managed to venture to Next this week and treated myself to a new pair of pumps, which is about the limit of my footwear at the moment. I should have got a discount as I only need one at the moment! I cant wait to be able to wear some different footwear and look forward to the day when I can see my 2 feet properly.
This week looks as though me might get a high of 16c woohoo! At least its not showing rain every day!
I saw a guy on crutches when we were out and without thinking I said to him "Ooh, a crutch man!", Andy said I didn't need to acknowledge everyone else on crutches, like VW Beetle drivers do! Maybe I could invent some sort of greeting where we bang crutches, like a version of the All Blacks haka. OK maybe not.
Its been a sad week in the news with the tragic events in Barford and the father and son that were killed when their boat went over the weir, how the mother will find the strength to carry on is beyond me, but she has 2 children thankfully that made it out of the river alive, only just. It puts things into perspective when you hear about tragedy and sadness in the news, especially when its close to home. The awful weather we have experienced definitely played a part in the events on the river that day, its too sad to think about.
This week I have been busily searching the Internet looking for deals to Florida for Christmas and New Year, once our insurance claim for our cancelled trip is underway we can rebook. We did consider going next Easter but its this years holiday so we may as well go the whole hog and spend Christmas & New Year away. I have found some great flight deals, and the villas we have been looking at are absolutely amazing, with everything you need for a fantastic holiday, Pool, hot-tub, games room and lots more and they are all massive 5 bedroom homes, so I am looking forward to spending my first Christmas out of the UK with my family and the Fitzmaurice family. We are seeing the Fitzmaurice family this weekend so will hopefully decide on dates/villas etc so we can rebook. It would be nice to have it booked before we were originally due to go on 1st June as it will take my mind off it.
I had my appointment at the fracture clinic this week, its so busy in there. Who knew so many people fractured bones! Admittedly a lot of them had a fractured finger, so I think they should have gone to the back of the queue as I quite clearly had the most serious fracture in the clinic that day, only kidding! (I did though). The nurse cut off the temporary plaster and removed the dressings with no discomfort felt. She then left the room for a while which gave me a chance to take a look at my surgery wounds for the first time (photos below, but only scroll down if you have a strong stomach). My ankle shape didn't look too bad, still a bit swollen but no bruising at all. The wound on the inside of my ankle is approx 6cm long across my ankle bone with 11 stitches in, this is where the screws are holding the bone together that was broken in 3 places. This wound was quite tidy and neat compared to the other one, the wound on the outside of my ankle where the plate is inserted is approx 12cm long with 14 stitches in, it was sutured together tightly so was a bit puckered and looked like Frankenstein's neck if I am honest! I had a bit of a cry when I saw them as I have no other wounds on my body and now have these 2 horrid scars in a very obvious place on my body, it just brought it all back to me what a horrible injury I am dealing with. The nurse removed the stitches, which I didn't feel as my foot is pretty numb around the ankle, which the nurse said was due to the nerves being cut in surgery. I was then sent for xray and then Mr Shah, the orthopaedic consultant looked at them to decide the next course of action. He said the bones were all aligned correctly and were showing good signs of starting to knit together, this was the good news I wanted as I know of other people who have had to have further surgery to correct the bone alignment when it hasn't worked the first time. The consultant then put pressure on the sole of my foot to start moving my ankle up!! OUCH!! I expected major pain but again it felt quite numb and all I could feel was some pulling and slight pain near my Achilles tendon. He managed to move it a couple of inches altogether, although it wouldn't go anywhere near 90 degrees so getting my heel to the floor will be the job of the physio and my exercises at home once I am out of plaster. I was sent to the plaster room, where I chose bright purple to cheer me up, and again my foot was pushed up as far as it would go so it could be set as close to 90 degrees as possible to stop the Achilles tendon from shortening too much. This plaster is so much easier to be in, as its lighter and better fitting so makes it much easier to move around in and sleep in too. I am back in a few weeks when I will find out whether I am in another cast or a splint boot, and this depends on the bone healing at that stage.
I have been out for coffee again this week, this is still a very exciting event, believe me! I have also been to the hair salon again for a new colour and I had my colleagues here from work this week for our monthly meeting which I offered to host as I thought it would be a chance to catch up on what was happening. It was lovely to see everyone, but by 2pm I was brain dead and I slept for 90 minutes as soon as they had left. I am hoping to return to work (from home) in 3-4 weeks, but it will be a long while before I can drive, so return to normal service will be a few months yet.
I am getting quite good on crutches now, my balance is better and its definitely strengthened my core. I am more confident on the stairs now, Andy even dragged me round Sainsbury's this week but I did sneak off and find a chair when I got too tired! I am getting a bit impatient now as I am keen to get to the next stage in recovery, and start some physio but the consultant said it wont start until I am out of plaster, logical really!
Anyway, keep smiling, pecker up, best of british etc etc etc :-)
(only scroll if you want to see the pictures!!)
DISCLAIMER. - I will not be held responsible for anyone fainting or throwing up, I warned you!
I had a proper night out this week with my group of lovely friends, I managed to venture as far as my friends Nics house and had a couple of drinks, it was so nice to chill out, get out the house and have a laugh and a gossip. We were discussing our trip to Las Vegas in October to celebrate 4 of my friends 40ths birthdays. Lorna decided it would be a good idea to ring the hotel in Vegas to tell them to expect us in October and to ask about the White Night parties at the Nikki Beach Club which is in our hotel! We have previously done 2 other trips, the first one was to New York in April 2008 and we went skiing in Morzine in February 2010, this is our final 40th trip so we will have to find another excuse to go away over the next few years!
The weather has been miserable most of the week, so much rain all the time. When I do get to leave the house Andy makes sure I wipe my crutches before I come back in! I managed to venture to Next this week and treated myself to a new pair of pumps, which is about the limit of my footwear at the moment. I should have got a discount as I only need one at the moment! I cant wait to be able to wear some different footwear and look forward to the day when I can see my 2 feet properly.
This week looks as though me might get a high of 16c woohoo! At least its not showing rain every day!
I saw a guy on crutches when we were out and without thinking I said to him "Ooh, a crutch man!", Andy said I didn't need to acknowledge everyone else on crutches, like VW Beetle drivers do! Maybe I could invent some sort of greeting where we bang crutches, like a version of the All Blacks haka. OK maybe not.
Its been a sad week in the news with the tragic events in Barford and the father and son that were killed when their boat went over the weir, how the mother will find the strength to carry on is beyond me, but she has 2 children thankfully that made it out of the river alive, only just. It puts things into perspective when you hear about tragedy and sadness in the news, especially when its close to home. The awful weather we have experienced definitely played a part in the events on the river that day, its too sad to think about.
This week I have been busily searching the Internet looking for deals to Florida for Christmas and New Year, once our insurance claim for our cancelled trip is underway we can rebook. We did consider going next Easter but its this years holiday so we may as well go the whole hog and spend Christmas & New Year away. I have found some great flight deals, and the villas we have been looking at are absolutely amazing, with everything you need for a fantastic holiday, Pool, hot-tub, games room and lots more and they are all massive 5 bedroom homes, so I am looking forward to spending my first Christmas out of the UK with my family and the Fitzmaurice family. We are seeing the Fitzmaurice family this weekend so will hopefully decide on dates/villas etc so we can rebook. It would be nice to have it booked before we were originally due to go on 1st June as it will take my mind off it.
Harry Potter Land Universal Studios Orlando
I had my appointment at the fracture clinic this week, its so busy in there. Who knew so many people fractured bones! Admittedly a lot of them had a fractured finger, so I think they should have gone to the back of the queue as I quite clearly had the most serious fracture in the clinic that day, only kidding! (I did though). The nurse cut off the temporary plaster and removed the dressings with no discomfort felt. She then left the room for a while which gave me a chance to take a look at my surgery wounds for the first time (photos below, but only scroll down if you have a strong stomach). My ankle shape didn't look too bad, still a bit swollen but no bruising at all. The wound on the inside of my ankle is approx 6cm long across my ankle bone with 11 stitches in, this is where the screws are holding the bone together that was broken in 3 places. This wound was quite tidy and neat compared to the other one, the wound on the outside of my ankle where the plate is inserted is approx 12cm long with 14 stitches in, it was sutured together tightly so was a bit puckered and looked like Frankenstein's neck if I am honest! I had a bit of a cry when I saw them as I have no other wounds on my body and now have these 2 horrid scars in a very obvious place on my body, it just brought it all back to me what a horrible injury I am dealing with. The nurse removed the stitches, which I didn't feel as my foot is pretty numb around the ankle, which the nurse said was due to the nerves being cut in surgery. I was then sent for xray and then Mr Shah, the orthopaedic consultant looked at them to decide the next course of action. He said the bones were all aligned correctly and were showing good signs of starting to knit together, this was the good news I wanted as I know of other people who have had to have further surgery to correct the bone alignment when it hasn't worked the first time. The consultant then put pressure on the sole of my foot to start moving my ankle up!! OUCH!! I expected major pain but again it felt quite numb and all I could feel was some pulling and slight pain near my Achilles tendon. He managed to move it a couple of inches altogether, although it wouldn't go anywhere near 90 degrees so getting my heel to the floor will be the job of the physio and my exercises at home once I am out of plaster. I was sent to the plaster room, where I chose bright purple to cheer me up, and again my foot was pushed up as far as it would go so it could be set as close to 90 degrees as possible to stop the Achilles tendon from shortening too much. This plaster is so much easier to be in, as its lighter and better fitting so makes it much easier to move around in and sleep in too. I am back in a few weeks when I will find out whether I am in another cast or a splint boot, and this depends on the bone healing at that stage.
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| looks quite normal here! |
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| my skinny leg :-(( |
who said coloured casts where just for kids!
I have been out for coffee again this week, this is still a very exciting event, believe me! I have also been to the hair salon again for a new colour and I had my colleagues here from work this week for our monthly meeting which I offered to host as I thought it would be a chance to catch up on what was happening. It was lovely to see everyone, but by 2pm I was brain dead and I slept for 90 minutes as soon as they had left. I am hoping to return to work (from home) in 3-4 weeks, but it will be a long while before I can drive, so return to normal service will be a few months yet.
I am getting quite good on crutches now, my balance is better and its definitely strengthened my core. I am more confident on the stairs now, Andy even dragged me round Sainsbury's this week but I did sneak off and find a chair when I got too tired! I am getting a bit impatient now as I am keen to get to the next stage in recovery, and start some physio but the consultant said it wont start until I am out of plaster, logical really!
Anyway, keep smiling, pecker up, best of british etc etc etc :-)
(only scroll if you want to see the pictures!!)
 |
| this is where the plate is inserted along the bone |
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| Inside ankle bone where screws hold bone together |
DISCLAIMER. - I will not be held responsible for anyone fainting or throwing up, I warned you!
Friday, 11 May 2012
What doesnt kill you makes you stronger
The boredom has begun to set in now along with frustration. The first area of frustration is not being able to exercise properly. I am finding it hard to read the comments on the Regency Runners Facebook page of the great runs people are having. I have worked so hard in the last year getting my running pace up, and improving my fitness. I managed to knock 7 minutes off my 10k time at the Regency Run in April from the last race I did. I also ran a half marathon in March, raising over £500 for Cancer Research. My race time wasn’t much too write home about, but at least I completed the race and ran it all. I don’t intend doing another half marathon either so that will remain my personal best! Right at this moment in time I can’t imagine ever running again and that breaks my heart. It is my main stress buster and energiser. I actually enjoy running now, whereas I never used to! Plus I have a pair of Brooks Glycerin 9 that cost £100 sitting in my wardrobe, that were prescribed to my gait at Warwick Sports, my left foot gait will have changed by the time I am back on two feet! The second area of frustration are the things I cannot do for myself, such as carrying things around, tidying up, popping up/down stairs, going out to the shops. Every time I try to tidy up in the kitchen or lounge Andy tells me to sit down, but he doesn’t realise I need to feel as though I am still able to do some things for myself. I appreciate every trip I make out of the house, and this week I have managed to go to Neros’, the pub, friends for dinner, hair salon and out for cooked breakfast so it’s been great to feel as close to normal life as I can get at the moment. I am grateful every week for the help of my friends & family I don’t know what I would do without them all. We had a laugh about all the weirdo's in Leamington Spa when we went out for breakfast, we all seem to know them which is quite worrying, and what is even more worrying is that we might end up as one of the weirdos one day! I'll be the one that drags my leg behind me as I wander around the shops trying to find a pair of shoes in 2 different sizes to fit my deformed foot ;-))
I finished reading a kindle book this week that I had started before we went to Cornwall called "She Won't get far her bag's too heavy" by Marie Stamp, its a true story about Marie, who is in her 50's and she decides to walk the South West Coastal Path, having previously done Mont Blanc and the Matterhorn. The South West Coastal Path starts in Minehead, follows the north coast of Devon into Cornwall through Bude, covering our 10 miles section, onto Lands End and back along the south coast to Poole, a total of 630 miles. Its quite amusing as she tells the story of her journey, and how she refused to queue to pay for a jacket potato as it would get cold so she just left the shop without paying, and her exploits of wild camping in random fields on her route. I decided to re-read the section covering Bude and Cracklington Haven to see if she mentioned any landmarks we had passed, or even Dizzard Woods where I slipped. She mentions a section where she walked along a steep clifftop, which I remember was about 10 minutes before my accident spot. Another walker and dog were approaching her and the other dog rushed past her and made her stumble down a rabbit hole, and she thought she had broken her ankle, luckily for her she had just twisted it! Maybe there is a bit of a Cornish triangle there!
I have done a bit more research on my injury this week, to try and find out how long its taken other people to heal and to understand a bit more about my type of fracture. The trimalleolar fracture is also known as a Weber C, there is a Weber A & B too. Approximately 70% of people suffer a Weber B, and only 20% manage a Weber C. The direction I broke my ankle in is in the majority though, as I broke it in supination, as opposed to pronation (see pic). I have made an enquiry about hydrotherapy, where you are in a small pool with water temperature of35c, with a physiotherapist. This allows you to make normal movements but not fully weight bearing, so I am going to book this as soon as I am out of my cast, and luckily there is one in Leamington Spa. I am hoping I can do this as well as the NHS Physio treatment I will start once I am out of my cast. I found a blog the other day by a lady called Charlotte Ord, who is from Godalming in Surrey. She is a well known personal trainer and has featured on lots of TV programmes such as ITV’s The Biggest Loser. http://www.charlotteord.co.uk/ . She suffered the same injury, jumping off a rock and landing badly on her foot in November 2010 and was back in the gym 4 months later doing squats & lunges, she then progressed to the cross trainer and finally running after approximately 6 months. Its great to read a blog written by someone who is positive about making a full recovery, as I like to think I am. She has made a full recovery and says it no longer affects her gait/walk but she doesnt have full flexibility in it. Many of the other blogs I have read have been stories of people who are full of problems, pain & suffering for a year or more after. These people seem to feel really sorry for them self and also don’t seem to help themselves by spending 16 hours a day on the sofa watching TV! I am now doing daily leg exercises by squatting on my good leg, and leg raises on my bad leg. I am also doing abdominal crunches & planks (on one leg!) and I also stretch my legs and toes daily using a resistance band and I am trying to walk a little further with my crutches, still non weight bearing though, this is my arm & shoulder workout! I might try and walk around my road this week! I have set up a forum site this week for people with broken bones as there isnt any such thing, so I need members who have a broken bone now or have had one previously, or a serious knee injury that required plaster! http://www.brokenbones.ning.com/
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| Mine is a Supination break |
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| no excuse for no exercise! |
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| toe stretching! |
My cast is feeling looser each day as my calf muscle shrinks, I can get my hand half way down inside it now and I think I can feel my metal plate!! Yuk! I am keen to see what my orthopaedic surgeon says on Monday and get a more permanent cast fitted. I think I will also feel more at ease to know the bones have been aligned properly and are healing alright without the need for further surgery, so please all keep fingers crossed for me on Monday 14th May!
My mum had her visit to her consultant in Faro yesterday, he was an English speaking doctor and has informed her she doesn’t need surgery at the moment, and has told her she can put a small amount of weight on her foot, but is not to remove the Cam Boot cast to move her ankle around which is what she had been doing. I have recommended some hydrotherapy for mum when she is ready as there are some lovely spa hotels in Albufeira with Hydro pools.  |
| If my therapist is anything like this I am going daily! |
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| Flowers from work |
I am now in week 3 and the time has gone quite quickly, which is surprising. I am hoping the next 3 weeks go quick too as I am keen to get to the next stage at 6 weeks, where I can semi weight bear on my foot as this will make life so much easier. My right shoes are taking too much wear, I will end up with one faded converse in a few months time!
Next week, details of my visit to see the orthopaedic surgeon and my xray results...
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