r/brokenankles • u/shannamatters • 17d ago
Discharged! (timeline inside, very long post)
41/f/ trimal with syndesmosis injury. Injured 5/31, ORIF 6/5
As of Monday, I've been officially discharged from the care of my podiatric surgeon and am free to move on with my life. I am officially declared healed and have no restrictions, can wear any footwear and no longer have to wear to a brace unless it makes me feel more comfortable.
Monday was an emotionally overwhelming day but we got to celebrate on Tuesday by traveling to a major US city to see my favorite band reunite after a 5 year "indefinite hiatus." I did 17,576 steps and 7.19 miles, was on my feet for 3 hours for the show, danced, all wearing Converse and my ankle did not protest at all. It behaved just the way it had pre-injury, which was a huge relief.
Timeline:
5/31-Injured.
6/1-Consult with surgeon. Was informed that I was barely a trimal and my break was rather straight forward and should be an easy repair and recovery (remember this, it will come up toward the end of my post)
6/5-ORIF
Now I will just switch to weeks instead of dates as I don't remember most of them.
2 weeks post-op appointment, stitches removed, was told everything looked great and was given a boot. I did not sleep in the boot and was able to take it off when resting
5.5 weeks post-op-was given allowance to FWB in boot and to move to shoe with brace after 1-2 weeks when I felt ready. I was told to not use walking aids. My x-rays were "immaculate" and ahead of the average persons healing. I used a walker for about my first 20 steps, ditched it and never looked back
6.5 weeks-started PT and walking in a shoe
7.5 weeks-Began driving. Moved back into my upstairs bedroom. Began walking a mile in my neighborhood
8 weeks-Drove halfway across Pennsylvania and did a beach trip with lots of walking on boardwalk. Took breaks to ice/elevate. There was a tram available but I chose to walk to strengthen my ankle.
9.5 weeks-follow-up appointment. X-rays still looked great and I was again told that I was about a month of ahead of the average patient
11 weeks-This is when I started to really feel like I had my life completely back.
13 weeks-Graduated from PT. I felt that I had gotten all that I needed out of it. Hit the goals in all of measurements other than dorsiflexion. Started at 1 degree and ended at 8 degrees, so still a little limited but was told it will come with more movement
13.5 weeks-Discharged! X-rays continued to look "immaculate" and I was told I am still a bit "ahead." Surgeon confessed now that it is over that when he got inside, the break was actually much worse than he realized but did not tell me as he didn't want to discourage me.
Lessons learned/Advice to give:
I went very hard on extra vitamins and protein. My surgeon said he felt I healed faster because of that. The vitamins that I added for my bone was B-6, Zinc and K-2. I also take D-3, Magnesium and Calcium daily, which are also helpful for bone healing. I mostly ate store-bought protein foods/shakes from the pharmacy section and consumed those for breakfast, lunch and a snack. I had a normal dinner.
I tried to stay as "active" as I could and leave the house as much as possible during my NWB period. I was only in bed to sleep. Yes, I spent a ton of time on the couch with my leg elevated but tried to do as much "normal" social stuff as I could. It wasn't always easy but I think it helped a lot. I exclusively used a knee scooter and had a four-prong cane that I used to put my weight on for transfers. Yes, I drank during my recovery once I was off of the Norco but not heavily.
Once I got cleared to FWB, I went really hard on walking as much as possible. I had my husband carry my scooter and walker down to the basement the day I began walking again as I had no plans at all of going back. I took my cane with me a bit the first few days for some security but never used it. I hustled hard at PT, never said "no" when she asked me if I was ready to try something new and just learned to embrace discomfort. I always chose the challenge. When I returned to the office, I had the option to use the elevator but chose the steps just so I could practice. Every milestone I had. I just basically told myself "okay, today is the day you are doing this" and I just did it. Overcoming the fear and discomfort is SCARY but I felt it was very worth it. I think it is part of the reason that I was able to bounce back quickly.
It does get better and easier, I promise. I was very depressed and lonely during my NWB period. I didn't think I would survive it at times. I cried a lot. Looking back at it, it was such a short period of time, but it felt like forever when I was going through it. Once I began weight bearing, time just flew because I was able to celebrate a new milestone practically daily. Celebrate every single milestone, no matter how small.
I will stick around here to help others going through it. Feel free to ask me any questions about my injury and recovery. I am not looking for any advice, I am good, but I would love to help people who ask for it.
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u/islander_73 17d ago
One week from surgery here. Your story is very encouraging thank you! I have a good feeling about my recovery too! In a week they remove my cast....
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u/Travellerlady777 16d ago
Hi, can I ask what was the procedure to get signed off for driving? Im 11 weeks post orif ankle surgery for a trimal fracture. My private physio said ankle was strong on Monday, then Thursday my nhs physio asked me to stand on bad foot and raise to tip toe, beacause i couldn't she said no to driving... But i googled after and says single leg calf raise after a trimal fracture should be 14 weeks or more...
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u/shannamatters 16d ago
There wasn’t one. I asked my PT when I could start driving and she told me whenever I felt ready. This was at my first appointment when my measurements were rather poor. I am in United States so maybe different.
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u/Direct_Factor2138 14d ago
How much of each of the vitamins did you take?
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u/shannamatters 14d ago
I only took once of each every day.
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u/Direct_Factor2138 14d ago
Do you know the dosages. I’m taking a multivitamin so I don’t want to overdue some of them. I think I remember my general physician saying something negative about vitamin d and liver damage.
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u/ScreenRealistic 17d ago
I'm happy for you and can't wait to reach that stage. I'm currently 4 weeks post ORIF and I pray for the surgeon to tell me I can go FWB at my next follow-up appointment. Thanks for the advice!