I injured my foot in vacation in Africa - the hospital there thought it was a bad sprain and I ended up walking on it a lot for 2 1/2 weeks (Not much choice if I didn’t want to sit in the hotel 24/7). Went to my doc to have it checked last Monday after I got home as it was still swelling a lot and he sent me for xrays then told me no weight bearing, ended up seeing an orthopedic surgeon yesterday and I have a lisfranc injury (ligament that holds the 2nd metatarsal to some other bone) and the metatarsal is significantly displaced. Surgery monday to put things back in place with a plate - may not be as successful as it would have been earlier - 3 1/2 weeks now since I injured it.
I have to be non weight bearing for at least 6 weeks maybe longer. I really struggled with crutches this last week. I can do a few steps without putting the foot down for balance but that is all. (I’m 65 and not very fit but definitely lacking in upper body strength). I rented a knee scooter yesterday and it is a lot easier to get around - luckily my house has no stairs. Probably won’t work for work due to a step into the building and no elavators. I will have to move downstairs to the ground floor which I am not excited about at all but they recommended not climbing the 2 flights of stairs at work once I have surgery.
I’ve been googling for tips and tricks on how to manage all this. I’m not exactly thrilled about the surgery but am REALLY stressing about managing the job weight bearing thing. Everything is such an effort. I’m sure there will be a few CC see that have gone through it so any tips (remember 65 and no upper body strength!).
I have a knee scooter now which i rented yesterday afternoon and has already made a huge difference. Still figuring the mechanics of it all - getting up and down without using that foot. I find myself making decisions about whether to do something based on how much trouble it is.
My sympathies! I went through a similar injury last year. 6 wks in a cast then a walking boot.
Knee scooter is great especially if it has a basket to hold things. I did have stairs in my house and went up and down once per day by scooting up on my bottom and dragging scooter with me. (If DH was around, he would carry scooter up and down but I did have to do it myself). Not very dignified but it worked. If it was one step, I could easily get over it by holding handlebars and using my good leg.
When I had to use crutches, I used a tote bag with long handles and hung it around my neck to carry. Sounds crazy but you will want to be able to transport things like a phone, book and water bottle. And I got a new travel coffee mug that could be sealed so it wouldn’t spill easily. Crutches got easier with practice but I used knee scooter as much as possible. Someone suggested a pirate leg contraption but I was afraid I’d fall.
Take advantage of friends’ offers to help. You will be exhausted as your body heals. I couldn’t believe how wiped out I was especially in first 2 weeks.
oh i’m so sorry. it’s quite a long haul. ive been through it with my broken ankle last year; non weight bearing for 6+ weeks. And, not able to drive as it was my right foot.
Used a scooter, crawled up the stairs and came down on my bottom; all like a little kid. Replaced our shower head with a hand-held shower. Watched lots of netflix. Sister gifted me a cleaning crew. Learned a little how to play ukulele. Sorted through old photos. Got a handicapped sticker for a few months for people who took me out. It’s tough.
and then, there were months of physical therapy, once i could be weight bearing with my boot and crutches. my advice is that if people offer to help, take them up on it! why not? I really hope you do OK and get through it decently. My ortho office told me (when using crutches on stairs – UP with the good, Down with the bad. ) I rarely used the crutches as they were hard for me too. Lots of hopping and holding on to things at the same time. Couldnt go to work
I’ll probably take the week. I feel bad - it was a long vacation (3 1/2 weeks) and now I’ve been back a week and I’ll be off another week. The doctor’s office didn’t particularly have a time frame for returning but said some people to back sooner while some wait till after first check up which will be the Wednesday of the week following the surgery.
@momma2018 I finally remembered this morning that I have 2 good no spill coffee mugs so I dug them out.
I know some work people will want to bring meals. Trouble is my house is such a pit i don’t really want them coming here (anyone who follows the bag a week thread will know about that). It’s always bad but I was gone for weeks and my husband never does any cleaning. It is also contributing to my stressing out because clutter and crutches and scooters are a bad combination. It has made me more determined to declutter once I get back on my feet.
@swimcatsmom, I remember you well from the Bag a Week thread, and I’ve been wondering how you are.
I’m very sorry to hear about your injury. My BIL had sugery on one foot last year and will have surgery on the second foot this month. He used a knee scooter and it was invaluable, because you really can’t put any weight on the foot. He found it exhausting, however. My sister had to bear the brunt of the work. She would compalin to me about getting him somewhere: He’d have to leave through the back door (no steps), which she would then lock behind him. He’d scoot to the car and then get his tushie in the seat. She’d then have to collapse the scooter, put it in the trunk, drive him to wherever (usually a doctor’s appointment), then do it in reverse. Then, to get home, rinse and repeat.
She also made sure to set him up in his “nest” before she left the house by herself – he’d get settled in his chair, she’d pull the ottoman in front of him, give him the ice pack for his foot, make sure snacks and water and the TV remote and phone were in reach, and then run to the store and back quickly. She was tired and cranky, but I don’t know what BIL thought of it all.
If your DH can’t or won’t help you, you might need to get someone else who will. There are many things you’re not going to be able to handle by yourself.
When I was laid up for three months with surgery from a broken ankle, I ended up renting a small wheelchair for the first month. I did have a walker, but my other ankle was sprained and I overused my upper arms so had trouble with the walker. With no good ankles, a scooter wouldn’t have worked. DH had moved a twin bed into our dining room (after pushing the table against the wall) and I lived on the first floor. He did shopping and laundry but with the wheelchair I was able to manage in the kitchen and downstairs bathroom. By the second month my arms (and one ankle) were good enough to deal with the walker. We had a small house and it was tricky maneuvering the wheelchair around tight corners but I felt very secure in it.
DH did need to go out of town a couple of times and I had no friends I could call so I hired a service to come in and help for a few hours, watering upstairs plants and light cleaning and adjusting window shades and such. It wasn’t easy to find someone for such limited hours . I also had our cat sitter come every day to take care of our cat (who loved the bed in the dining room). She brought me candy (the sitter, not the cat).
I was scared to even go over door jambs, let alone the step down to the driveway.
i think I will have a boot like that that after the first 10 days but am not allowed to walk on it (non weight bearing) the first 6 weeks. It was an interesting video - one thing I’ve already noticed is the hip pain on the opposite hip from walking with a cane. Sounds like I can expect more of the same with the boot.
My husband can help some - trouble is he has major back issues and uses a walker - can walk short distances without but is in major pain. So right now when we go somewhere he is putting his walker and my knee scooter in and out of the car (thank goodness we got a little crossover SUV last year!) which of course aggravates his back. We look like a right pair as you can imagine!
Once I return to work i need to figure out whether I can manage to get up the first step with the knee walker. I’m hoping so as it is soooo much easier than crutches. The office manager is trading offices with me as her office is downstairs so no stairs except for getting into the building. We got a shower chair today - it will be helpful for me right now and the time is getting close where it will be helpful for my husband.
So…are they giving you blood thinners or aspirin after your surgery, to prevent blood clots? If they don’t say something about that, ASK THE QUESTION. My husband was not prescribed either of those after an open knee surgery, and suffered blood clots from a deep vein thrombosis that had severe consequences. We were too ignorant to know whether to even ask if he should have that.
Please consider hiring a cleaning service to zip through the public parts of your first floor. They can always put papers or sorting in neat matching boxes. You’ll feel better about the house and anyone stopping by. It’s not expensive.
If you don’t have one for DH, consider ‘toilet support arms.’ Lots of us have the vanity near enough to lean on but this gives a place for both arms.
I am sorry you are dealing with this. I had double-foot surgery a few years ago and being immobile is really draining.
You have a lot of good advice in this thread. I would just add to let your co-workers help you. If your house is a mess- your house is a mess. Theirs might be too. You will appreciate having the meals. I don’t know what you do, but is it possible to work from home or work half-days for a while? All that dragging around a scooter or crutches is exhausting.