That is exactly what you want, HImom: one of the best foot/ankle orthos in the state. Even if it only serves the purpose of them ultimately telling you that you don’t need them, it is a worthwhile assessment, IMO. I have had such ambiguity work against me. Something is a bit unclear here and it can likely be better understood and addressed.
@HImom I saw a foot/ankle orthopedic surgeon. The podiatrist was referred by the primary care doc whom I went to immediately after my fall. The pod saw the X-ray and said (sorry to be vulgar…) “Oh sh*t. I can’t do anything with that.” He then took a picture of the X-ray with his phone and texted it to his specialist friend. By the time I was fitted with crutches, the specialist texted back and said “send her over now”. Four days later I had surgery…13 pins and 2 plates.
The scary thing was, the primary care doc wasn’t really sure about the break…said it looked like maybe it was broken. She didn’t even give me crutches. So I tend to be leary of non specialists when dealing with serious issues that have long term implications.
Good luck, and heal quickly. Your trip sounds fun!
I broke an ankle skiing and had to have pins and a plate put in. The doctor in the ER didn’t think I needed anything–just to be non-weight bearing. Later, I went to an orthopedic surgeon who specialized in ankles. I had additional X-rays and it turned out that I did need the pins/plate. It won’t hurt to have an orthopedic ankle person check you out.
Thanks for all the support. Have no prior experience with any soft tissue injuries or broken bones, so this is all new territory for me and my family.
Well, I can’t really tolerate putting weight on that ankle, so I rely heavily on crutches and this air boot.
Am waiting to see what the PA will refer me to. I told her I want a foot and ankle ortho, NOT podiatrist.
I can find a podiatrist without any problem, but have no access to orthopedic docs and don’t even know whom in our state specializes in foot and ankle.
Sorry you are going through this. I am myself recovering from foot surgery. Just came out of my walking boot. Was 6 weeks in a hard cast and two weeks in a boot. My foot still extremely swollen and need to do PT due to walking funny as foot still swollen. My advice for you is to def see a foot specialist. While you are there ask to rent a knee walker. For me to rent the walker it was $35 per week (insurance did not cover). Works great and has a little bag in the front to carry things around the house. Also used it when I went out of the house (easy to fold and put in car).
Your trip sounds amazing…my suggestion to you is if you are flying I would recommend you get up and move every 1/2 hour. I am a RN and I have seen many people come to the hospital after long drives or flying that end up with blood clot. Don’t want to scare you but it is essential that you move around while flying. I would also ask the foot specialist what he thinks of flying as well. Hope you feel better 
If blankets/sheets cause pain for your injury while sleeping, then try this…
Place a wide box sideways under your top sheet towards the bottom of the bed, open side towards the front of the bed.
put a pillow in the box …the box should be wide enough to fit a pillow lengthwise.
Then when you sleep your foot/ankle/leg will not get tangled in sheets and blankets, causing more pain
I sleep well enough so far, with foot on a pillow. Will definitely ask ankle/foot doc about whether to go on trip or cancel.
It is a fun trip as it will be with H’s best buddy and my BIL and two dozen HI people. They’re touring a lot of sites depicted in Korean soaps, so we can watch those after returning and relive the trip.
The tour guide is bilingual from HI, plus local guides in each place and a flight to an island. Will see what the PA can find of orthos specializing in feet/ankles.
Clever workaround @mom2collegekids! Wish I would have thought of that during my two surgical recoveries. Brilliant!
I just sent an email to the Dean of Medicine at our local med school, to see if she has any names to recommend. I just saw her on Thursday and we’ve known each other for many years professionally. Am hoping she knows what orthos in HI specialize in ankles and feet.
Have read good things about the scooter from several sources as well. Thanks for the thought. Will talk with the docs about it.
Just got a call back from the PA’s office and they referred me to one of the ortho specialists and faxed him my records. I will call tomorrow morning and see if I can get an appointment with him. (crossing my fingers) His bio is very impressive–trained in orthoscopic surgery in southern CA & Europe and head of ortho dept at our med school. I even know and have worked on legislation with his mom when she was a state legislator.
My scooter was a lifesaver! My husband noted that my happiness factor improved x 1000 immediately! I hated giving to ask for help. My scooter meant I could do everyday household tasks without needing help. Loved the basket on mine!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/30363149?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&adid=22222222227020028522&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=t&wl3=42969163952&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=64413033665&veh=sem
Thanks. Will ask the ortho about the knee scooter. Have read mixed reviews. Our house has a lot of threshholds that are a drop down and our carport is gravel. Will hace to weigh the pros & cons of the knee scooter. Have also read about levelup–sometning that attaches to your sneaker, to even the height of the shoe when you wear the inflatable boot, so you don’t have hip and back problems because the height of your feet are different. So much to think of.
Yes…addressing the height difference will save your hip. I didn’t do that very well the first surgical recovery and paid the price. I wised up the second time :-).
We have a two story house, so I used my scooter where I spent the most time (downstairs) and crutches everywhere else. I loved being able to cook and empty the dishwasher instead of waiting for others to do it for me. I also found that I much preferred my knee scooter to the grocery store motorized carts, as I could maneuver more easily in the crowded aisles. The only problem with my model was it didn’t easily fold up, but we have an SUV so it just went in the back unfolded.
Good luck 
Your appointment will help you know what will work best. I have had two ankle surgeries this year- the first one the scooter was helpful and allowed, the second one in the same place, the surgeon accurately predicted that the scooter position would not be workable and should not be used. Every situation is different.
If you are required to be completely non-weight bearing, the effected foot can’t touch the floor. That impacts everything, and it is all about work arounds at that point.
There are different boots and ankle fractures often involve the heavy duty “Frankenboot”- very cumbersome, but stabilizing. As I was initially non-weight bearing, shoe didn’t have to align with the boot height until I was cleared to walk in the boot as opposed to just wearing it when hopping. I found some heavy duty stabilizing sneakers that were great for that beginning phase of walking again and a good match for the boot- Brooks Addiction. Not beautiful, but really worked.
Good luck with the appointment. Glad you can get expert input.
@travelnut Love your comment about your sneakers not being beautiful, but working well. I am almost two years out from the first surgery, and I can’t seem to find any sneakers that are as good as my old grungy Asics! I never really liked them that much to begin with, but since they were only used for exercise sessions (and puttering around the house), I didn’t really care. Now they are my go-to shoes for every occasion. Nice dress pants really don’t look so great with sneakers, but function over form rules the day. I pine for a nice pair of dressy shoes though…
This is the problem I am having now. 8 weeks out of massive foot surgery. Dr said I can come out of walking boot if I find a pair is sneakers that fit! That’s the problem…2E is a little tight as foot is extremely swollen on my surgery foot!
When I has the knee walker I didn’t want to give it up. $35 week adds up and I ended spending $210 on it but so worth it.
I didn’t see if the injury was left or right. However I do have experience with surgeries on both feet (bunion and bunionette), as well as having had a broken fibula (left), and stress fracture on a foot bone.
I had the foot surgeries with left foot first, to determine how I could manage driving after a certain period. My H had some sandals that had a nice flat bottom, and generous straps at two places. I found I could strap the right sandal and could drive - however I was warned that if I ever was in an accident, the foot would be blamed. I drove very cautiously, and never with pain medication (which I didn’t need for that foot; all the nerve involvement was on the left foot).
DD had surgery on both feet for bunionettes at age 17 (bunions are at big toe side of foot; bunionettes at pinky side of foot). I drove her to school with the right foot, until she was healed enough. Normally most of these surgeries happen later, but DD’s growth plates were complete. Her bunionettes showed up like mine - just started jutting out.
The tall and smaller soft boots are such a better option than the 6 weeks of hard casts I had when in HS with broken fibula - my calf was mis-shapened for quite a long time, and it took years for that leg to be ‘normal’ in both appearance and function.
Is everyone minding their calcium and bone density?
College67- as long as we are talking about comfortable shoes that fit and not fashion, have you checked out SAS shoes? They are available in a few wide widths- I believe 2, 4 and 6E. My local shoe store was able to order them for my father with swollen feet. Brooks addiction has some wider widths also.
I have found reviews at Zappos invaluable for finding the right shoe for my foot issues du jour this year. Amazing how many have had surgeries, bunions, etc and I have had great luck with knowing what pair to order. Hope you find “your” pair shellz.
This year with fractures, torn ligaments, nerve damage and two separate surgical recoveries (one ongoing), there of course had to be multiple family weddings, one quite formal. I wore a tuxedo look outfit to both, finding “dressy” pewter oxfords comfortable. I had sneakers in the car, just in case. It worked well enough.
Good luck to all.
@college67 You are still relatively fresh out of surgery. My foot was swollen for 6-8 months after surgery. It would be ok in the morning (I slept w/it elevated), but after being up and at it the swelling would slowly build. Periodic rests w/elevating did help, but by the end of the day I was happy to be in bed again. Shoes remain a problem (aside from my ugly sneakers). I hope you have better luck, but I’d caution you to not expect an immediate return to normal. I am able to walk pretty well again, but all that hardware means it just isn’t the same. Take care!