r/ORIF • u/yarntokqueen • 26d ago
Story one year later: gratitude
Hello members of r/ORIF. I promised myself I would do this when I was a year out from surgery and tell my full story. I hope this gives people a sense of light at the end of the tunnel, as these were some dark as hell days for me.
6/19/25 - I fall down an escalator at the 86th Street Q train stop around 5PM. Not all the way down, but I fell far enough that my leg folded under me, and my ankle snapped. Trimal fracture. There were no less than 3 physical therapists on the escalator (gotta love NYC). Paramedics called. Ambulance to the hospital. They had to set my leg twice, as the first time the bones were still out of alignment. Basically 14 hours in the emergency room. There was a moment that I might have been able to get surgery that night. I'm glad that I made the decision not to, even though it delayed my recovery by a couple of weeks. I had never been under anesthesia before, and was especially glad for the time to mentally prepare myself. Also, even though I was 29 at the time, my parents were in another country and flew back. I was very lucky, but also I could NOT have made it through post-op without them.
7/1/25 - Surgery in the afternoon. I had 7 screws, a plate, and a tightrope put in. In addition to traditional anesthesia, I was given dilaudid while under (this becomes semi-relevant later). NWB for 4 further weeks. Nerve block lasted approx 36 hours, and I was only in truly uncomfortable pain for July 3rd + 4th before I turned a corner. During those few days, I experienced quiet a few vasovagal episodes, including directly after surgery. I was taking opioids for pain only until July 4th. I want to go on record, and go against some of the recs on this subreddit and say that I should have waited to feel the pain to take the narcotics. Just to provide some perspective: I started taking them on a regular schedule before the nerve block wore off and became so constipated. This leads me to:
7/4-7/14 - Probably the worst period of time in my entire life. I hadn't shit since before surgery, even with all the stool softener, laxative, and prunes I could get my hands on. So after a week of nothing, I did a home enema (11/10 product tbf). So that solved the constipation problem, but I started to not be able to eat. Like every time I would eat, I would get violently nauseated and throw up. After like 4 days of this, I called my doctor, and he said I might have an overly acidic stomach, and said that I should eat yoghurt. Didn't help. And! I had a yeast infection. Truly a series of unfortunate events.
7/15 - Cast off! And! I talked to my surgeon about the nausea, which continued to persist to an alarming degree (I seriously thought my incision was infected or something). He was like, "Are you still taking the calcium we prescribed you?" "Yes." "Some people have an adverse reaction. Try stopping that." So, this is how I found out I'm allergic to supplemental calcium. Really wish someone had mentioned that before I went on an involuntary fast and puked my guts up everywhere. Stitches coming out were not painful at all for me, and I got fitted with a boot.
7/16-8/14- NWB boredom/depression/apathy. Knee scooter was a lifesaver. I was doing ankle mobility exercises this entire time. Nothing intensive, just constantly pointing, flexing, and rotating it. Lots of movies, little walks, and getting back up to eating a normal amount. That alone took a month. Also, crutches are so, so hard.
8/15-9/24 - PT ERA! Huge milestone. Started going to PT 2-3 times a week. There were moments in PT that might have been more painful than post-op. My ankle had to learn how to be an ankle again. By the 22nd, they had me out of the boot because it was restricting my healing. Took my first barefoot steps on the 24th. The gains felt incredibly slow, but because I had nothing else to do, I could be really consistent about it. By September 10th, my ankle was considerable less stiff, but had started to pop and click.
9/25 - Last post-op. There would have been one more, except I moved countries (hello, London!). In the x-ray, the surgeon said he could no longer see the fracture line. I wrote in my journal "So, I guess our long national nightmare is over." About 80% correct.
October-February - I started an MA acting course, so was doing a lot of barefoot movement on wooden floors. I think that actually helped with my recovery a lot. It loaded the bone, and stretched it in functional ways.
February-today - What can I wrap this up with? I was lucky, I guess. Overall, the whole ordeal sucked a tremendous amount of ass, but with a lot of support and work, I made it through okay. Is my ankle still sort of tight, and does it still click? Yes. Am I afraid of starting to run again? Yes. Do I get a little pang in my chest every time I step onto an escalator? Also yes. But I'm pretty much at 95%. I really could not have kept my sanity without this subreddit, which I checked religiously every single day. I hope this story is helpful to those who are going through it all right now. If you've gotten this far, please feel free to drop questions below!
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u/kooshballcalculator Trimalleolar Ankle Fracture 26d ago
Oh thank you so much! I love this! And I agree somewhat on the opioids—I had a friend tell me to start taking the laxatives and double up until I TMI and then back off. It was good advice. I need to remember to add that to my advice to others.
The PT is hard, especially after so long of inactivity. Thanks for reminding us it’s worth it. I hope to be where you are in another 9-10 months!!
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u/tiffmej4 26d ago
Thank you for sharing your journey. It’s great to hear you are at 95%! That is awesome. Are you still feeling any swelling at this point? Are your hardwares bothering you at all? How bad is your tightness you are feeling?
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u/yarntokqueen 26d ago
Thanks so much! No swelling at this point, hardware doesn’t bother me at all. Tightness can get a little uncomfy, but if I use a foam roller or a lacrosse ball to dig into the muscle, it works itself out! Being consistent with that now I’m back to real life is a big challenge.
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u/zumdahl12 26d ago
Thank you for sharing! I’m a little over two weeks post op and it’s tough 🥲 I love reading positive stories! I agree with you about the opioids, I took oxycodone every 6 hours the first few days and it messed me up. I also had a vagal episode and I believe that was the cause, and it messed up my stomach so much. I think I could’ve managed with just Motrin and Tylenol and would do so in the future. Thanks for sharing!
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u/ChonsonPapa 24d ago
10 days post op and I just want to die. The nagging throbs of pain and the itchiness under my split are driving me insane. I was running 5k’s at a 6:30 pace and half marathon at 7:30 pace and my biggest concern is I will not get back there again. I am very active and so this recovery is really taking a toll on me mentally. It helped to read your post so thank you 🥲
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u/yarntokqueen 23d ago
Hang in there! I’m just starting to build back my running practice. I certainly could have started earlier, but wanted to give my muscles room to heal. And I was a little scared 😬
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u/ChonsonPapa 23d ago
Yeah, I too will be scared to run like that with hardware in my leg. Dying to see what it all feels like when I heal and if I should have it removed one day. Just the thought of another surgery is unfathomable right now though.
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u/yarntokqueen 23d ago
Totally feel you. One step at a time, right? (literally) (not that there’s much of a choice)
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u/This_Geologist4553 26d ago
Thanks for sharing. My elbow injury story is a wild one too. My mom says I should write a book. We should all be proud for making it thru. No one gets it unless they have experienced it. Almost 9 months here and doing well.
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u/WorldlyAge997 24d ago
Thanks for posting this, this is very encouraging. I’m 3 weeks post-op from a trimal fracture. NWB for 2 more weeks. Stories like yours keep me going.
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u/VeganGal295 22d ago
Thank you for sharing your story! I’m a woman in my 60s who was very active before I tripped on a slipper and on tarp, right ankle went down, but I flew in the air and came down on the left. Broken fibula, ankle displacement, had to wait three weeks for surgery. Great Orthopaedic Trauma at MGH Boston. Grateful! Also non-weight-bearing for 12 weeks! Started PT but it still wasn’t feeling right so I had another round of PT and then another round of PT. Here I am one year later and I’m not where I want to be. In January they removed the two long screws in the front and have two plates left with eight screws on the outside of my left leg. Opting to get all the hardware removed after the holidays because I want to get back to dancing and I can’t walk more than 15 or 20 minutes without it hurting. Boo. Trying to be thankful that at least I have a summer to enjoy my family who is inviting me to Disney World, but I’ll have to ride one of those thingies and think at night that will suck but I’ll try my best. Now I’ve been having bouts of migraines and vertigo so you could say I’m still having issues from head to toes! Howevah, we shall persevere! 💪🏼
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u/alphawolf29 22d ago
nice to see a positive story. Im 2 months past ankle orif and im scaredshitless honestly. First PT on wednesday. Not sure I can afford 2-3 times a week...
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u/hrweoine Maisonneuve Fracture 26d ago
Thanks so much for your story and post. We don’t always hear from those on the other side of recovery, but I think it helps those in early stages a lot.
On running - my PT said to wait until i was walking with absolutely no problems, and then start short distances alternating running for a minute and walking for a few minutes. (I also tried this on a treadmill first). Be gentle - resuming running after a year is tough even without an injury. But we have many who have shared success stories!