15 Weeks to Heal

I never in my wildest dreams thought it would take 15 weeks to recover from my broken ankle. I guess I'm lucky that it was a clean break, without infection and that it healed correctly. It could have been much worse. Don't get me wrong, I knew there would be aches and pains for at least a year or two, and twinges for the rest of my life, but I never expected not to be able to walk on that foot for over 3 months.

Just this week, finally this week, the swelling is starting to decrease and I'm able to walk most of the day without a cane, crutches, or much of a limp. The limp is a bad thing, because at my age hips are not the best functioning part of the body, and limping puts a lot of stress where I don't need it. It's not so great for the lower back either.

I've also been able to finally put on my comfy sneakers. I had to buy extra big shoes, because my foot was so swollen, it hurt to wear the sneakers. That was a great thing, as I think the sneakers are making it easier for me to walk too. Who would have thought that that padding by your ankle would dig in so deeply that it would cause too much pain to walk. It's all good now.

And now that I'm back on my feet, it's on to my next life's adventure (or figuring out how to pay the remaining bills). That is until the snow hits and I have to teach myself how better to walk on the ice. That was my 4th fall on the drive this winter. I was lucky I only broke my ankle.

Seven Weeks - Still Healing

Seven weeks. I can't begin to tell you how sick I am of this. I was hoping to post that I can walk, but a death in the family of my ride to the doctor has delayed my appointments. Maybe that's good, because I've figured out how to handle the swelling I'm still having in my foot.

Things are getting much better. If you've never had a cast on for 5 weeks, you just can't possibly imagine the amount of dead skin you accumulate. It took me 4 days of exfoliating to get it off and now I'm peeling. Not sure what that's about, but I think it has something to do with the area being hot from healing and swelling. Even though I'm not allowed to walk or stand on the offending leg, at least I can bring it in the shower and wash it with the rest of my body. That is just like being in heaven.

So live is improving. I made a cute little afghan for my granddaughter to be this week and got my orders done and packed with little effort. I even managed to take my walker outside and sit in the sun for a bit. I never dreamed how difficult just getting out of the door was for people with disabilities. I had to lock the screen door open, because it's just too hard to hang on to the walker, go up and down the little steps AND hold the door open. Crutches wouldn't have been any easier, but I don't use those because I'm still a little off balance from my new and improved blood pressure.

I can't imagine what it's like for people on scooters to get around, although I would like one now to get up the hill to my mailbox. The drive is so steep, I'm afraid I'll tip over backwards trying to climb it. it really is a steep short hill. Maybe next week I'll have both legs back.

I also learned a new trick to get the swelling down. I'm still having soft tissue problems and it's very annoying. I'm hoping it will eventually clear, but the swelling continues. I'm getting it down by strapping an ice pack IN my boot and it's working very well. Now my foot is less swollen by the time I go to bed that it is in the morning when I wake. I'm hoping this will help with the healing process.

Well, overall I'm happy with progress of any kind. I go to the doc, next Tuesday and I hope to get a license to walk. Enjoy your two legs if you have them.

Just Another Manic Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday...

Well, I guess the weekends have been fairly good. Not today really.

There's something about Mercury retrograde that brings all kinds of problems with it. February has been absolutely the worst month I've had in a few years. First an abscessed tooth and following extraction. Then who knows, maybe all the changes to my body from chemicals, made me not as cautious. But I had a bad fall on the driveway.

I assumed it was ice, but I really wasn't paying attention. I had mail in my hands and I was looking around, and all of a sudden my foot flipped up, there was a loud "pop" and I was on the ground. It didn't feel good so I crawled on my hands and knees to the house and called 911. Fortunately my 16 year old grandson was visiting, so he helped me in and get ready.

My first ambulance at the new house. Apparently they had been there a lot for the previous tenant. Actually, in the past 5 years, I have only had the sniffles for a few days at the most. No other heath problems.

It was a very long day in the ER, but to make a long story short, my fibula (ankle) was fractured. On
top of that, I was so hypertensive (high blood pressure) that they were freaking out and made me have all kinds of tests would not let me leave till My BP was down.

I guess my ankle could have been a lot worse, I've heard horror stories. Looks like if it doesn't get displaced, I'll have a cast. I'll know for certain next week. I was happy, but now I hear it's actually a shorter recovery with surgery. Who knows.

I was in a great mood considering, but apparently vicodin can make you feel depressed. I don't like that. I'm going to tough it out if I can and just take some at night to sleep pain free. Apparently pain makes the healing go faster anyhow. I'm all for fast healing.

As you may know I have no car either, although I wouldn't be able to drive it right now anyhow. My daughter's family and my cousins have been helping and I have another friend who will be there too. I really didn't feel too bad about this till I did some reading.  Maybe next reading I do, I'll wait till I'm off the vicodin.