Any Day that You Break Your Leg Before 7:30 AM is Going to Suck

[SeaCat]

I clean my foot along witrh the rest of me, every time I bathe, which is at LEAST every other day or oftener. Should I put my foot in a footbath on a daily basis? And should I change the Tegaderm patch I've put on the problematic one when I wash/soak the foot, or can it stay there until I get it to the orthopedist? It's supposed to be semipermeable.

I'd like to be able to take the boot off in bed. I wasn't told I could, so I wear it pretty much all the time.

Yes, I remember it being kind of stinky when I had my cast removed after I broke my foot in '83. But I'd had to wear that cast for a solid month and it was the kind you couldn't take off to bathe, so I had to take a bath with my foot hanging out over the edge of the tub.

Okay, if you wash your foot every time you bathe you should be okay.

No you don't have to change the Tegaderm when you bathe, only when it peels off.

Press on your toenails. Once on the right foot and again on the left. Does the toenails color change from white to pick at the same rate on the foot with the break?

Now relax, I'm not trying to freak you out. I'm just trying to get as much information as I can without being there. (Diagnosing things over the internet or over the phone is a pain in the ass.) Also I'm not an M.D. or even an R.N., I just happen to have a bit of experience. I have often been proven wrong about things.

I do however want you to have the wound checked out quickly. It is liable to be a minor wound but one aim of medicine is to keep a minor thing minor.

Now you have set me a new experiment. I'll have to take one of my sneakers out back and shoot it so I will know what a dead sneaker smells like.

 

[Roxanne Appleby]

So I was crossing McCormick Rd to get to the stop where I catch the bus every day. JTA recently made some changes in their route, and this stop is not nearly as good as the one I used to take: it's farther away, and instead of getting to walk on all pavement, one has to drag one's feet through a grassy esplanade.

This morning I stepped off the esplanade onto the pavement, and somehow, my right foot twisted under me and I went down in a heap. My ankle hurt like hell and I could not get up; my leg would not support my weight and there was a weird mushy yielding sensation in it that frightened me.

I tried to get hold of my son, who was sleeping at home. No dice. I called my husband, but he'd gotten to work already, he was alone in the office, and couldn't get away until he'd OK'd it with his shift supervisor. In the mean time there I was sitting on the curb with my ass in the grass and my feet in the gutter, and people were just ZOOMING by.

I mean, I wasn't looking like some derelict; I was wearing a nice looking 2-piece dress and heeled sandals (which the doctor later blamed for my fall). And people just sped on by as if office-dressed women sat in the middle of the street all the time.

At last a cop came up, helped me into his car, and drove me home. He offered to help me into the house but I knew I'd just have to come out again so I decided to sit sideways in the front seat of my husband's car (it had a flat, so he'd taken mine). He thought my son ought to at least come out to be with me until my husband arrived, so he rapped on his bedroom window until he woke, looked out the window, saw the cop, threw on some clothes and came out. Maybe he thought I'd gotten busted

Eventually my husband came and we went to the local clinic. They took some x-rays and determined that I had a spiral fracture of the tibia, and referred me to an orthopedist. The orthopedist, whose name was familiar to me because he'd treated my son's broken hand last year and had had an addition put onto his house for which I saw the NOC in public records in the course of my job, had me fixed up with this nifty pneumatic boot. I'm not supposed to put any weight on my foot, and I'm not supposed to drive, for 6 weeks. Weekend after this one I was supposed to carry a fellow soprano in the choir to the yearly retreat in St. Simon's Island (she does not drive; I've been doing this for her for years). Tomorrow I was supposed to have been the testing coordinator for my TKD class, and the following day I was supposed to have had a tennis lesson.

Oh, well...

Fortunately we have a set of crutches from when my son sprained his ankle, and I'm getting accustomed to them, and my workplace has assured me that I can use the elevator. It's a spooky, rattling, noisy, scary-looking freight type elevator that's used to shift presses and those rolls of newsprint that are more than 4' high, but it's never crashed yet and it beats negotiating the double flight of stairs I should have to negotiate to get from the ground floor to where my office is.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Tony.

 

[SlickTony]

Sea Cat. I'm pretty sure the circulation to my toes is Ok. The first day that I came to church with my boot the soprano who recommended I get the Tegaderm bend down and felt of my toes to ascertain that they were warm. About the toenail color, I really can't tell you, because I've got nail polish on them.

What I'd really like to do is dispense with the boot altogether when I'm in bed. What makes me hesitate to do that is if it would slow down the healing process, and besides, I usually have to get up and go to the head before dawn, and I'd just have to put it back on.

I'm probably going to call the orthopedist tomorrow and ask about this latest development.

 

[SeaCat]

Sea Cat. I'm pretty sure the circulation to my toes is Ok. The first day that I came to church with my boot the soprano who recommended I get the Tegaderm bend down and felt of my toes to ascertain that they were warm. About the toenail color, I really can't tell you, because I've got nail polish on them.

What I'd really like to do is dispense with the boot altogether when I'm in bed. What makes me hesitate to do that is if it would slow down the healing process, and besides, I usually have to get up and go to the head before dawn, and I'd just have to put it back on.

I'm probably going to call the orthopedist tomorrow and ask about this latest development.

Polish on the toenails? How decadent.

Yes please do call the Ortho. Tell him/her about the wound and ask about taking the Boot off during the night.

When you do talk to him/her about this make sure to mention the odour and what you have done. Give the M.D. all of the information.

As for the visits to the head, get a damned Commode if you have to. So what if it's embarrasing to have hubby have to empty it. If it helps then so be it. Your health is more important.

Cat

 

[SlickTony]

I managed to hold it in until I had to get up anyway.

I went to sleep last night with the boot quite loose and just about deflated, and didn't inflate it again until I had to get up. The bottom of my foot feels much better than it did. The place on the top, where the incipient sore is, still hurts, but I have a Tegaderm patch and a gauze padding on it. I'm taking a camp stool to work with me so I'll have something higher to put my foot on than a wastebasket lying on its side, which is what I'm using now.

I'll do my best to get in touch with the orthopedist. Anymore, it's very, very hard to get in touch with a doctor by phone. You have to run the gauntlet of his office, which in some cases, may not even be where he physically is. JOI, for instance, has two offices, one downtown and one at Jax Beach, and I believe all calls have to go through a call center of some kind.

The office where my PCP is does not have such a setup, it's all in the same building, but trying to speak with an actual doctor on the phone is even worse.

What I am wearing is an Aircast FP Walker. You've probably seen them begfore but for those who haven't, I'm going to try to post an image:

http://www.aircast.com/images/products/Walking/fp_walker.jpg

As you can see (if the image works) there is a piece that goes on top which I refer to as the greave, because that's what it reminds me of, and no matter how loosely I strap it on, there's always pressure from the top. However, if I leave the greave off, I'm not sure the boot works like it's supposed to.

 

[SlickTony]

When I got to work I called the orthepedist's office and told them about the pressure sore, and I was transferred to the medical assistant. But she was out, so I had to leave a message in her voice mail.

Later on in the afternoon she got back to me and wanted to see me tomorrow, but I needed more lead time than that for the office, so I conceded to Wednesday. It does seem to be doing better. I'm sitting here with my foot up and the boot loosened in front.

I have to work around my son's schedule. I do NOT want him having to miss any classes.

 

[rgraham666]

Sending healing vibes your way, Tony.

 

[SlickTony]

Sending healing vibes your way, Tony.

thanks

 

[SlickTony]

My orthopedist visit went OK. The doctor said I was managing the treatment of my pressure sore(s) OK (the one I thought was developing on top of my foot must have been successfully warded off; he removed the Tegaderm patch from it), although he said it was weird that one should have developed in that particular spot. It helps that the swelling in my foot has gone down considerably, so that at least I can wiggle my foot about in it. I'm supposed to go back Friday week.

 

[neonlyte]

My orthopedist visit went OK. The doctor said I was managing the treatment of my pressure sore(s) OK (the one I thought was developing on top of my foot must have been successfully warded off; he removed the Tegaderm patch from it), although he said it was weird that one should have developed in that particular spot. It helps that the swelling in my foot has gone down considerably, so that at least I can wiggle my foot about in it. I'm supposed to go back Friday week.

Just take it easy, better to wait now for it to heal properly than risk potential long term trouble.

 

[Safe_Bet]

My orthopedist visit went OK. The doctor said I was managing the treatment of my pressure sore(s) OK (the one I thought was developing on top of my foot must have been successfully warded off; he removed the Tegaderm patch from it), although he said it was weird that one should have developed in that particular spot. It helps that the swelling in my foot has gone down considerably, so that at least I can wiggle my foot about in it. I'm supposed to go back Friday week.

Happy for you. The cast still has to be a pain in the butt, though.

 

[SlickTony]

Well, I called the orthopedist and told them about the pressure sore, and for some reason they freaked out and wanted me to come in the next day, but I needed more lead time for the office, so we agreed on Wednesday.

The orthopedist says I'm managing the pressure sore OK, but I can't take the boot off at night; I have to wear it at all times unless I'm bathing.

Last night I took a shower and when I was sitting on the bath chair, I observed my legs side by side. I was amazed at how the calf muscles on the right leg have atrophied in just two weeks. I've been working out one way or another, attending a Martial Arts class twice a week or more, and I work in a three story building. What with that and the fact that good legs run in my family, I had a fairly respectable pair of gams, with sharply defined muscles. Now I've got just ONE GOOD LEG and I am really bummed out. Next time I see the orthopedist I'm going to ask him what I can do to build back up. This sucks!

This afternoon when I was making my way from the car to the house I caught a crutch on the lumpy ground in the front yard and fell down. fortunately, for once I remembered my training in how to fall from my TKD classes and was able to fall in such a way as to mostly spare my foot that I'm not supposed to put my weight on. Even if it did result in my tumbling ass over brisket in the yard in front of the neighbors, who were conducting a yard sale across the cul-de-sac.

My husband decided that this was because of the crutches I was using, which used to belong to my son, who is 6'1" and were kind of tall, even after they'd been adjusted as far down as they'd go. So when he was in Walmart he got me a new set which can be adjusted shorter. Problem is, I had gotten used to the old ones being jammed up under my arms and don't feel any more secure with them than I did.

Did I mention that this sucks?

 

[rgraham666]

Sending healing vibes your way, Tony. *HUGS*

 

[wafflemtl]

Last night I took a shower and when I was sitting on the bath chair, I observed my legs side by side. I was amazed at how the calf muscles on the right leg have atrophied in just two weeks. I've been working out one way or another, attending a Martial Arts class twice a week or more, and I work in a three story building. What with that and the fact that good legs run in my family, I had a fairly respectable pair of gams, with sharply defined muscles. Now I've got just ONE GOOD LEG and I am really bummed out. Next time I see the orthopedist I'm going to ask him what I can do to build back up. This sucks!

I had the same problem when I sprain my ankle and had to be in plaster for six weeks. But you will probably have some physiotherapy and your muscle will come back as if noting happen as quickly as it has disappeared.

 

[SlickTony]

Thanks for the vibes. I hope my muscles will build back up that quickly.

 

[wafflemtl]

Thanks for the vibes. I hope my muscles will build back up that quickly.

The thing is to be patient and not rush the healing. Don't worry you'll be back in shape.

 

[SlickTony]

I seem to be halfway through this ordeal. Last Friday I went to the orthopedist; he said that my tibia was healing satisfactorily; the bottom of my foot where the sore had been looked fine.

I complained about the uneven size of my legs, and he said that was normal and it might take as long as six months to get them even again. That seems unfair--it only took 3 weeks for my right leg to get all atrophied like it is. I asked if I would need any PT, and he said that most people who'd broken their tibias built their muscles up simply by walking--it suits me fine, I'm making a list of places I'm going to walk around when I get out of this boot--but if I felt still needed PT, to get back with him.

I asked when I needed to come back, and he said he didn't need to see me for another three weeks. Now I know I'm making progress.

 

[JagFarlane]

I seem to be halfway through this ordeal. Last Friday I went to the orthopedist; he said that my tibia was healing satisfactorily; the bottom of my foot where the sore had been looked fine.

I complained about the uneven size of my legs, and he said that was normal and it might take as long as six months to get them even again. That seems unfair--it only took 3 weeks for my right leg to get all atrophied like it is. I asked if I would need any PT, and he said that most people who'd broken their tibias built their muscles up simply by walking--it suits me fine, I'm making a list of places I'm going to walk around when I get out of this boot--but if I felt still needed PT, to get back with him.

I asked when I needed to come back, and he said he didn't need to see me for another three weeks. Now I know I'm making progress.

As it turns out your muscles do have a "memory" and will return in time. Point in...Dad used to work out a lot...got out of it a couple of years, and found he very quickly put the muscle back on after working out just a bit.

 

[SlickTony]

As it turns out your muscles do have a "memory" and will return in time. Point in...Dad used to work out a lot...got out of it a couple of years, and found he very quickly put the muscle back on after working out just a bit.

I hope it'll be able to catch up. In the meanwhile my left leg is getting more of a workout than ever because it's doing ALL the work.

This last week I've had some firsts. I've been out places besides work; I've been to Publix and Wal-Mart, where they have handy-dandy electric scooters. All things considered, I'd rather be able to walk unaided, but I suppose if I had to be disabled, these scooters are the way to go. They have a nice tight turning radius--you can turn on a dime. They don't go very fast, but considering how nobody watches where they're going in stores, that's a good thing. There are different brands of them. The one I used at Walmart purported to have a horn, but it didn't work.

Friday night we went to Dick's Wings for dinner. It's one of our favorite places to go when we don't want to spend a bunch of money. And it is relatively disabled-friendly; didn't have a bunch of superfluous and unnecessary little risers to have to contend with. I found that I can get about on crutches after a half pitcher of Yuengling just about as well as when I haven't had anything to drink.

 

[SlickTony]

Well, less than two weeks before, hopefully, I can get out of the boot and start walking again. I can stand on both feet without it hurting but I don't try to walk--the orthopedist said I needed to be non-weight-bearing for 6 whole weeks.

I'm getting calluses on my hands from the crutch handles.

I've got to be able to walk after the 24th. The following week, the company elevator is to be taken down for repairs.

 

[trysail]

How's the healing coming along?