Clumsy Hiker- My Broken Ankle, and Journey Back to the Trails

(13 weeks post break / 12 weeks post ORIF) I've got my Star Wars themed boot and I'm ready to go! (May the force be with me...) The time had come, and I was packing for my trip to Denver from Michigan. The thought of air travel within a week after the Syndesmotic screw removal was more than just daunting. It was terrifying, frustrating, and did I mention terrifying? I tried to talk myself out of going almost a dozen times in the week leading up to the trip, but in the end, the conference and the money that I had put towards this trip already were the major factors that would guilt me into stepping onto the plane. Thinking about what to pack/what to bring was a stressful thought. I was concerned about swelling and pain resulting from the altitude. I was terrified of blood clots: a major post-surgical risk. I was terrified of being cramped with my legs folded at a 90 degree ankle for two flights. Not to mention needing to pee! My two main food groups: Coffe...

(12 weeks post break / 11 weeks post ORIF) Whatever good luck that a Unicorn Physical Therapist could provide, needed to kick in pretty fast. I would be flying to Denver in 4 days, and to say that I was absolutely terrified to my core would be an understatement. Two feet, firmly planted, on the cold and hard ground. At this point, even though the discomfort in my ankle joint was not as bad as anticipated, I felt about as strong as a wet noodle. Each morning, as I would take my first steps out of bed, my ankle was extremely stiff, and fairly unsteady. As the day progressed, the steps became steadier, but the discomfort remained constant. Near the end of the day, the discomfort would cross over to the threshold of pain (but nothing that some ibuprofen, ice, and elevation couldn’t control). The sole of my foot seemed to have the worst of it. I hadn’t realized how many muscles there were in your feet, until I found out the hard way that I had lost just about every single o...

(12 weeks post break / 11 weeks post ORIF) The hard cast came off this week- and this time it was staying off! The PA and nurse at the clinic were just as surprised to see the fact that I had been put in the hard cast (as I was 2 weeks ago after my screw removal surgery). But alas, I didn’t care anymore- that was done and over with and the last cast was sawed off, leaving behind a trail of fiberglass dust, dead skin, and happiness.  Holy Atrophy, Batman! I also got to take a look at the screw removal incision, which was so thoughtfully placed right along the same incision that had almost fully healed from 10 weeks ago. I guess I was pleased that my ankle would not look like a carved pumpkin, although it was Halloween tomorrow, and I could have used that to my advantage. 3 month old pedicure, on point! Alas, the layers of crusted and Betadine-stained orange dead skin around my entire foot would have to suffice as my scary Halloween-themed post-surgical keepsake. An...

(11 weeks post break / 10 weeks post ORIF) This was it! The last week I would be in a leg cast! Next week, I would be upgraded (downgraded?) to an air-cast/boot! I was excited about the prospect of being able to walk. I was excited about being able to take off the boot to shower, to sleep, to DRIVE!!  11.5 weeks, 6 casts, and 2 surgeries later: And all I got are these stinky canvases! I couldn’t wait to not be a 3-ring circus everywhere I went! I just wanted to be a normal person, going about my daily activities: without people following me around to hold doors, offer to carry things, give me pitying stares and half-hearted offers of assistance. I couldn’t wait to be far from the prying eyes and judgmental stares of colleagues and friends who were not aware of the whole situation. No, I had not been on vacation for nearly 3 months. Far from it! Not only did I have to work full-time (at home and in the office), but I also had to work twice as hard to portray some ...

(10 weeks post break / 9 weeks post ORIF) A couple of days after the procedure, I came to terms with the fact that I was stuck in a cast again. I think the fall colors really compliment my cast... But then again... ...what doesn't go with HOT PINK!? Instead of wondering why, I just focused my energy on complaining about it. I stared at my doc’s signature on my leg, and channeled my anger into action. And by action, I meant planning my recovery goals. I wanted to be able to walk out of the doctor’s office in my air-cast in a week. I wanted to get the official 'go-ahead' to be able to drive myself around! I wanted to begin physical therapy the week I would get the cast removed. I wanted to impress everyone with my Range of Motion (ROM), even after nearly 3 months of immobilization in a hard cast. I was looking forward to being back at the gym and my boot-camp  classes within a month after the cast removal (scheduled to be October 30 th ). I wanted to g...

(10 weeks post break / 9 weeks post ORIF) TODAY ( Friday the 13th ) was screw removal surgery day!! I was ecstatic! I took my 4 th shower in less than 24 hours…I simply couldn’t get enough of the feeling of actual water running down my leg that had been freed from its fiberglass cast (a cast that I had been trapped in for nearly 10 weeks)… I got dressed in my ‘surgery casuals’ and we headed to the hospital. They took me to pre-op and I was adamant about wanting to have the procedure done with local anesthesia. After my first surgery (and the very uncomfortable experience with the intubation). I wanted to avoid being intubated, and asked if I could be sedated and have local anesthesia (or a nerve block) instead. After some convincing (and the anesthesiologists finally realizing that I would only be getting one screw removed, not all the hardware- as they previously assumed), they said that local anesthesia and sedation would be sufficient. Obviously, if they felt the need...

(9 weeks post break / 8 weeks post ORIF) This week was spent counting down the minutes until I would be freed from my cast, and placed into the boot. So excited about the prospect of this, I even decorated my cast (using paint pens) in the cheeriest way that I could think! Bright and beautiful butterflies and flowers speckled throughout my cast, I was ready to take on the world in excitement that this was my last week in the cast! It might be raining, But I'm bringing my own SUNSHINE!   This final week in my cast would also encompass my greatest mobility challenge yet: A 3-day conference where I would be away from home, and navigating a new place around mostly strangers, all the while having to deal with my mobility aids, and all the tedious processes that go along with them. Prior to the trip, I was fairly anxious about being able to handle the challenges that would come along with it. Partly due to the fact that everything took longer for me now th...