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

(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...

(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...

(8 weeks post break / 7 weeks post ORIF) At this point, I was very accustomed to my routine, and feeling fairly independent at home. I even felt very self-assured away from home, and felt confident in my ability to manage myself in public. I was feeling no pain, and minimal discomfort- and was more than ready to move on to the next phase in my ankle recovery. TWO MORE WEEKS! Excited that this was the last cast that I would wear before the boot- I didn’t mind being stuck in it for 2 final weeks. The end of this phase was getting closer and closer- and I simply could not contain my excitement! I was so excited about my orange cast, that I even bought an orange/coral dress to match for an upcoming wedding! Haha! If I was going to be in a leg cast, I was certainly going to make it part of an amazing outfit! In addition, since I didn’t get out much these days- I put on way too much makeup, all my favorite jewelry, and took about 50 selfies throughout the day. If I w...

[7 weeks post break / 6 weeks post ORIF] By this point, I was feeling like things were starting to get back to normal. Or at least as normal as they could be for a life on wheels, a peg-leg and crutches. It's okay to be in awe of how I can  accessorize with my peg leg! Feeling stronger every day, I was itching to do more and more. My biggest hindrance, as expected, was the inability to drive with my right leg in the cast. And that was not going to change for a few weeks- which was too long a time for me to continue to put every aspect of life on hold. I became more motivated to go outside, get back to doing the things that I enjoyed. And stop my steady decline deeper and deeper into my couch… There would be bursts of energy, where I would feel like I could do anything: I would go to estate sales, flea markets, antique stores: strapped into my Pegleg- and maneuvering around crowded buildings, rickety stairs, and uneven floors (pegging around for 2-3 hours at a tim...

It had now been 6 weeks since I broke my ankle, and 5 weeks since the surgical repair. I had not been on my own two feet in 6 weeks, and this really started to take a toll on me. Every single day that I needed to remain in the cast seemed to be a day too long. I was so ready to get on with my life. But alas, it would be 3 more weeks (to complete my 8 week sentence in the fiberglass cast). Go-Go Gadget... Meanwhile, due to muscle atrophy, my legs looked wimpy and pathetic. I especially hated the fact that, in addition to looking this way, I also felt the way I looked… As I’ve mentioned before, the process of recovering from something is a complicated one, which everyone undergoes in different ways. For me, some of the toughest obstacles that came along with this process were the psychological ones. Of course, the physical challenges were obvious, and they were abundant. But that did not bother me too much, since pain seemed to be a tangible concept- and had a simp...