<p>Well, this is it in a nutshell: I was hurrying to get of the house last Sunday afternnon, checkbook in hand, under-estimated the number of threads on my stairs, and busted my right ankle to smithereens. Drs. were impressed—LOL :rolleyes: After 4 hrs of surgery that very afternoon, I now have an ankle full of metal: 7 screws, 4 bolts(?), and a plate. Was in hospital for three days under some impressive pain meds—took me to some places far beyond this zip code, I can tell ya! Now, I’m home and bored/frustrated. </p>
<p>I know I’m not the first CCer to experience “bone bustication”, so I though I could benefit from some commisseration. How long did it take you to get back on your feet? How long/tortuous was physical therapy? All this hardware means I can never, ever have another MRI for any reason, doesn’t it? I’ll now set off store and airport security alarms, won’t I?</p>
<p>I’m so sorry this has happened to you and send along wishes for an easy and good recovery. </p>
<p>I have been fortunate to have never broken a bone, but I did have a hip replacement 4 years ago. I have been told that bone screws and joint replacements are not a problem for MRIs. I carry a card for metal detectors, but have been through several since the surgery and didn’t set any off yet. I don’t think fixation screws set most of them off either.</p>
<p>I’ve sprained an ankle twice. Both times took six weeks to heal, mainly because it was under load when I walked. I don’t think that I’ve ever broken a bone outside of maybe breaking a rib once - there was a lot of pain for a long time.</p>
<p>I sprained my wrist and injured something in my chest (maybe a sprain or something) three weeks ago and I still can’t workout with barbells outside of curls. Can’t do pushups. Just started to be able to do situps.</p>
<p>There is a machine at the Y and the office that’s like a bicycle for your hands. You can also do isolation work on the upper body. But yeah, not having use of part of your body is a real pain.</p>
<p>Poetsheart – I’m so sorry to hear about your accident. Don’t try to rush yourself back into your normal routine. These things take time to heal…esp. once you’re past age 12! If you try to hurry things (though I don’t know why you should listen to me…my own husband didn’t!) you can wind up making it all take even longer.</p>
<p>First Donna’s medical travails … now yours! Think I’ll just retreat to my boudoir with a good book, curl up in a fetal position, and read … all the while hoping that an asteroid doesn’t pierce my roof in the vicinity of my bedroom. :(</p>
<p>Ouch, indeed! I sprained my ankle once and was in an ankle cast for six weeks. The big factor is avoiding putting weight on the injured ankle. I once saw a young man walking around with a contraption that supported his bent knee, so that he actually was walking on crutches. He told me the contraption was intended to prevent him from yielding to the temptation to walk on his injured foot.
Will you have to do any air travel? It might be worth your while to get some sort of certificate.
Time to catch up on blogging, reading, TV watching, renting movies…</p>
<p>poetsheart, I broke my leg a few years ago (striding across the room to scoop up one misbehaving child, I tripped over the other child’s backpack. The parenting-housekeeping-motor coordination gods conspired against me that day.) I didn’t need surgery, but was in a cast for about six weeks. When it came off, I felt like the muscles in my leg had completely atrophied and that I would never be able to walk properly again. But the physical therapy exercises did a world of good, and I was back on my feet (racing after children ;)) in short order. Hang in there, and let your family members wait on you as much as possible.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link, Mary13! … I can now rest easy, knowing that my chances of being killed by a meteor in my own bed are a mere 182-trillion to one. (By the way, I’m also a “Mary.”)</p>
<p>^ My mother, three sisters and I are all “Mary”—either as first or middle name. Mom had quite the devotion to the Blessed Mother. Worked out fine until our credit reports got mixed up…:eek:…Not conducive to family harmony. :)</p>
<p>poetsheart, here are some tips…#9 should be done right here on CC!</p>
<p>When you are feeling better, ask your doctor about a bone density check.</p>
<p>I am not a medical professional, but, in my personal experience,that kind of trauma usually results from unfortunate interactions with machinery or highly trained and hostile athletes.LOL</p>
<p>Check your toes frequently for circulation. Watch out for cellulitis. Pay close attention to your doctor’s instructions.</p>
<p>Hey guys, thanks for the humor, well wishes, and sympathy. :). simba, I think it will be a loooooong time before I’ll be back to that one hour of cardio. Heck (picture Poetsheart ducking her head sheepishly), I hadn’t even been to the gym in months—yup, just fell clear off the wagon. Guess it serves me right… ).</p>
<p>Wow, Cartera! If a whole metal hip doesn’t set off bells and whistles, maybe a little metal in the ankle will go silently along for the ride, too. I wonder if I’ll still need to carry a “metal card”, though…:rolleyes: I’ve heard that hip replacement is quite the ordeal, also. Was the recovery very long and painful? What about the unavoidable physical therapy?</p>
<p>You know before this, I was feeling pretty smug about the fact that I had never broken a bone before. I’ve not mounted the stairs by any method since my mishap (guest room bed was moved downstairs to my art studio, and all I have at my disposal, bathwise, is the downstairs powder room. Getting clean involves lots of tiresome maneuvering, and lots of water on the floor). Now, I avert my eyes when passing the stairway. I’m actually spooked by the prospect of having to eventually go upstairs.</p>
).</p>