I broke my ankle when I was a kid, it was the start of the summer and I didn't want to miss all the summer water fun with a bullshit cast so I didn't tell anyone, I just ignored it best I could. It healed by itself except kinda crooked, now my one foot points out to the side like a duck and I walk with a little bit of a limp and it hurts a little pretty much all the time.
All in all I'd say it was worth it.

Barry,

I'm very sorry to hear this. 8 days is a long ass time in a hospital.

What Fly says sounds correct to me.

I'm assuming that one of the bones you broke is a weight bearing bone. If so, you'll be off it for a while. I don't know how long. Mine wasn't a weight bearing bone. I know that the conventional wisdom with a lot of joint injuries now is to try and keep your mobility. That's why old dudes who get their knees rebuilt are put in a machine that literally keeps bending their knees for them immediately after surgery. My first broken knee, the doc put in a cast and it basically caused the second break because of inflexibility and complete atrophy of the quad. I couldn't adjust to the demands of normal walking with a bendable knee. I was like a GI Joe figure when the joint got loose.

You will lose your range of motion (ROM) and calf muscle. If all those tendons are torn or nearly so, you'll be starting from scratch. You will probably be prescribed physical therapy. Hit that shit hard. Do not cut corners and try to save bucks. A good physical therapist is as indispensable as a good orthopedist. It'll hurt, but it's worth it. Treat it like a work out. If you can, take your pain killers a bit before so when you do your stretches you might be able to take a bit more pain than you would otherwise. You'll start doing things like 'writing the alphabet' by pointing your foot. Less than that at the beginning but that sorta thing. If your PT is good, they'll start you early and you'll get basically treatment for pain--hydrotherapy, ultrasonic whatnots, and cold/hot compression. If they put you in a boot that inflates different bladders in different intervals, you've won the lottery. Enjoy that shit.

Just be sure to try to walk normally--slow and normal is better than fast and fucky--and GOD DAMN IT, WATCH YOUR FUCKING STEP. There are holes and shit all over the fucking place that you'd never notice otherwise.

That's how I broke my knee the second time.

If you can, arrange with your doctor or insurance agency to have all that metal taken out when you're better. Mine's still in, and it's fucking up my ability to use my quad. You might feel like you take a few steps back by having that surgery, but if that stuff can come out, then your ankle will feel more "normal." Shit, you won't have metal and shit bumping around in there.

Be well.

Thanks Lemuel, there's some good advice there. I've got my first physiotherapy session on Friday, but it's gonna be a long haul. I'll let you know how things go in the next few weeks/months.

I had my cast off yesterday! Now I just have to learn how to walk again....

And how I managed to move house last week whilst an invalid I'll never know.

Barry Shostakovitch wrote:I had my cast off yesterday! Now I just have to learn how to walk again....

And how I managed to move house last week whilst an invalid I'll never know.

Congrats John. Too soon for a marathon?

Funnily enough, three days before I broke my leg I applied for next year's London Marathon.

i broke my clavicle twice. it was pain in the ass. whole month with hand in the same position. damn, i am good.

Barry Shostakovitch wrote:Funnily enough, three days before I broke my leg I applied for next year's London Marathon.

I ran eight miles the day I broke my knee. I was going to run our marathon. Now, I'm fat. Fuck breaking shit.