Posts by dustytinker11

Bradley Flores5 said:I am looking for a bit of guidance here... anyone who knows anything about ankle fractures? To be precise, I didn't just break my ankle; I actually fractured both bones just a centimeter above the joint itself...
FIRST OFF, I WAS TRAVELING IN ITALY WHEN THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED,,, AND I HAD PREMIUM TRAVEL INSURANCE,,, SO THEY ADMITTED ME TO A HOSPITAL IN NEW YORK CITY,,, BUT SINCE I WAS IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY AND COMPLETELY LOST AS TO WHAT TO DO, I CALLED THE INSURANCE COMPANY AND EXPLAINED THE SITUATION.. HOWEVER, THOSE ABSOLUTE SCUMBAGS HELD ME HOSTAGE IN THAT HOSPITAL FOR ELEVEN DAYS AND REFUSED TO COVER MY SURGERY, EVEN THOUGH I HAD THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS IN COVERAGE.... BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T PAY THE BILLS, I HAD NO CHOICE BUT TO FLY BACK HOME, WHICH MEANS I DIDN'T ACTUALLY GET THE SURGERY UNTIL SIXTEEN DAYS AFTER THE INITIAL BREAK,,,, THAT JUST ISN'T RIGHT, IS IT??? I REMEMBER THE DOCTOR TELLING ME THAT I REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN UNDER THE KNIFE WITHIN EIGHT HOURS OF THE FRACTURE.,,,,,,,,

IT HAS BEEN TWENTY DAYS NOW SINCE THE OPERATION,,, AND I AM DEALING WITH TWO INCISIONS AND FOURTEEN STAPLES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ANKLE,,, PLUS THEY INSTALLED METAL PLATES AND SCREWS INSIDE THE BONE,,, THE LEG IS STILL RIDICULOUSLY SWOLLEN, AND I FIND MYSELF WONDERING IF THIS IS TYPICAL, OR WHEN THE SWELLING MIGHT FINALLY START TO SUBSIDE.... THE ONLY SILVER LINING IN THIS WHOLE MESS IS THAT THE LEG ITSELF DOESN'T HURT TOO MUCH,,,, BUT COULD SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT THE RECOVERY PROCESS LOOKS LIKE,,, AND WHAT YOUR THOUGHTS ARE ON THIS ENTIRE DISASTROUS CIRCUMSTANCE?

THANKS TO EVERYONE

GREETINGS FROM TALLAHASSEE

Oh, my dear ankle... I have been exactly where you are, having broken both bones in the joint and having those same plates and screws installed... My leg stayed swollen for an incredibly long time after the surgery, and honestly, I can't tell you if that was "normal" or not... Every time I went in for a follow-up, the doctors never seemed concerned about the swelling, telling me it was perfectly fine, though I suppose your best bet is to ask them directly during your next check-up.🙂
By the way, I still deal with occasional pain, and there is a visible difference in size between that ankle and my other one, but I guess that's just how it goes...

Well, here I am again after nearly a full year of this grind, and now I’ve stumbled upon yet another "problem" to obsess over... Does anyone out there happen to know any effective calf-strengthening exercises besides the standard toe raises? To be perfectly honest, my calves feel somewhat underwhelming—actually, let's be real, they *are* underwhelming—and the lack of symmetry is starting to throw off my entire aesthetic. So, please, I am practically begging for your comments and advice 😉
http://i.imgur.com/img4388k.jpg/

So, I have a friend who recently made the move over to NYC. She’s currently renting a place, but she’s still officially registered at her old address way out in Indianapolis. She managed to land a job and has her Medicare coverage all set, but now she needs to find a local doctor here in the city. What we're wondering is: does she actually need to update her official residency to NYC if she wants to start seeing a doctor here, or can she just keep using her Indianapolis address for everything?

Yes... I’ve actually given that quite a bit of thought myself. 😢 But then again... there is something undeniably fairytale-like about it all, isn't there? If you possess enough imagination and simply allow yourself to get swept up in the whimsy, it works just fine. 🙂 I don't know... at the end of the day, I find it acceptable because the series itself was always defined by those sudden twists and that heavy layer of subtext—those stories where everything is a metaphor for something deeper. That is how I have always interpreted it.
Regarding his arc... I actually found it quite compelling how he felt this inexplicable, almost magnetic pull to uncover that "something." In reality, he was merely confronting the very thing he had been subconsciously chasing all along: New York City. If anyone else had looked toward that "city," they likely would have seen a reflection of their own deepest desires. (Though, I suppose Maggie doesn't count in that regard, since she was acting as his companion, making the journey feel uniquely "his.") And now, looking at that departure scene—it feels so surreal, almost detached from any literal reality. 🙂 We aren't naive; we aren't foolish enough to believe he can actually just walk away like that. 🙂 So, yes, that is my take on the whole thing. 😉

Here is my take on it... honestly, nothing really bothers me, except for this red circle right here—that protruding part just refuses to sit flush, no matter what I do. 😕

I just had some urine tests done. Everything came back fine, with one exception: there was glucose present. I brought it up with my doctor, and he brushed it off, telling me it wasn't anything to lose sleep over since all my other markers look normal. He did suggest I get my blood sugar checked, though. Has anyone here dealt with this before? Is this something that requires immediate, urgent attention, or can it actually wait? Honestly, my schedule is such a mess right now that I’m simply not in a position to run out for more tests immediately.

Goodness, just a few years back I went and shattered my ankle, so I’ve been dealing with endless X-rays and various aches and pains for the rest of my life... honestly, how much could it possibly be? It's just a tiny little finger... (which, mind you, is hurting like absolute hell right now!) 😠 Heh, I have this friend who has all sorts of crooked fingers and she claims it's no big deal, though I still think... well, one really shouldn't invite these kinds of problems later in life... ugh...

Fine, I suppose I'll go tomorrow? Right after my classes at NYU... goodness me...

Oh, please, don't even get me started on my own clumsiness; it happens to me far too often, much to my chagrin. Just the other day, I was actually having a good, cynical laugh at some guy in my neighborhood because he managed to break his little toe—truly pathetic, right?—but then, as if the universe were punishing me for my mockery, I went and tripped and wedged myself into a damn closet. Now, here I am, limping around in absolute misery because the whole thing has turned this hideous shade of bruised purple. And to top it all off, I have an aerobics class scheduled! As if! Do they expect me to just show up and sweat through the agony? Honestly, I can't be bothered to deal with an ER visit; I heard those doctors just wrap it up with some tape and call it a day, which seems like a monumental waste of my precious time. Pffft...
Is there any chance I might actually make things worse if I just keep walking normally? 😢

Hmm... I don't know about that, because that certainly wasn't my experience... for me, the tones seemed much deeper, almost darker... more of a rich, crimson hue, far warmer than what you're describing here...😕

I went through an identical break, and honestly, I couldn't walk for months—I was basically shuffling around with crutches and everything... my ankle stayed swollen for months on end, too, especially if I kept my leg hanging down for any length of time, you know? And even now, it still swells occasionally, though I suspect that’s just due to the weather changes... mostly, I have this nagging feeling that things will never truly go back to how they were before. Even now, over a year later, my ankle still looks nothing like my "normal" one; it's sort of deformed. But since they already removed the screws and plates, I don't really have much reason to head back to the hospital or anything like that. Still, I can't help but wonder why it looks this way, or why, for instance, they didn't even take X-rays of me immediately after the surgery. I mean, I don't know, that's just how our American healthcare system works—they do their bit and then they simply stop caring about you. I'm still stuck wondering if I'm actually allowed to run, jump, or do things like that; I'm always terrified that something isn't quite right. As for mobility, it feels limited too—for example, I can't squat properly, and climbing stairs has been a struggle because the joint just isn't as flexible as it should be. Now, I did go to physical therapy at the hospital, but because I had issues with the surgical wound healing after they removed that first screw, I wasn't able to do the aquatic therapy, which I heard is supposedly how it's done. I just stuck to doing exercises in the gym, some ankle movements and such. I can say that helped, eventually, because I started seeing some progress, and they told me to keep practicing at home, too... hmm... and since then, well, it's not like I was incredibly persistent, so perhaps I'm partly to blame myself for not exercising consistently, but I'm going to start again because I feel like my joint is getting stiffer by the day. 😢 So, that's about it... if you have more questions, just ask. 🙂

Hmm... I don't know... It feels somewhat deformed to me now, too... it just looks different than it did before... though, I suppose I did break it once... well, over a year ago, so... 🙏I'm really not sure...

Michelle Cook83 said:The recovery can drag on for up to two years, you know. It’s hardly surprising that you’re in pain. Honestly, what you really need right now is some kind of heat therapy—maybe find a way to soak in a warm tub and start working on getting that ankle mobile again.

thanks..🙂 So, you mean I could go to a community pool or something? And this heat therapy... where on earth do people even get that? Should I be hunting down my doctor for a referral, or just try to figure it out myself?

Jose Evans182 said:My motorcycle fell right onto my leg; there aren't any open wounds, just a massive impact force,
though I suspect a wound is coming, given the hematoma—since the vessel burst and the blood had nowhere to escape without an opening (I suppose it’ll eventually have to break through the skin to drain)...👎

And which specific bone did you fracture???
Were you kept in a cast because of the wound or what????
Did you actually dare to put any weight on that leg???

Hmm, I fractured both bones; it’s explicitly documented as a "bimalleolar ankle fracture with displacement." My surgeon—who, mind you, has been practicing for thirty years and claims he's never seen a fracture quite like this one—was quite taken by it... hmm 😕
As for a cast, no, I didn't have one; since the ankle itself was broken, if they had immobilized it in plaster, I wouldn't have been able to move a muscle. In fact, just a single day after the surgery, I was already forced to begin exercises and work on my range of motion... because if you don't, everything just seizes up, and getting back to your former self becomes an uphill battle—and even now, I'm feeling that struggle.
In the beginning, I only dared to rest my foot against the floor, then later graduated to about forty pounds of pressure, and after two months, I was finally back to full weight-bearing.

Oh, absolutely—my joints ache whenever the weather shifts; honestly, I feel like some old grandmother sometimes, haha, but that’s not quite the kind of pain I’m talking about here... this is different, more of a sharp, piercing sensation that hits me right when I stand up. Hmm, how can I even begin to describe it? It’s a stabbing sort of thing. 😕

Now, regarding that ankle of yours... well, didn't your doctor give you specific instructions on whether you're actually cleared to stand or not? In my case, they were incredibly precise every single time, outlining exactly how much weight I could put on it and such. But then again, I wasn't in a cast, so perhaps our fractures weren't exactly identical.
And yes, swimming is undoubtedly your best bet. I couldn't manage that at all because my incision hadn't even healed properly for nearly six months. 👎
As for walking around, I finally managed it around the twelve-month mark, though I originally broke it around month nine or ten. They told me quite early on that I was allowed to walk, but the pain was just too overwhelming, so I decided to wait a few more weeks until I felt ready.

Well, let’s see... I broke my ankle over six months ago now, and for the most part, things seem fine; I’m walking normally and all that, though I still haven't quite worked up the nerve to try running again—I honestly can't tell if I'm even allowed to.
Hmm, but then a few days ago, this pain started creeping in while I'm just walking, and it's quite significant, almost as if I can sense that something deep inside isn't quite right—mind you, I still have those surgical plates in the joint—and it looks slightly out of alignment too. To be honest, I think it looked that way from the moment I was discharged from the hospital, except now the swelling has gone down, making the misalignment much more obvious. Is that actually okay? Should I be genuinely concerned? I have a follow-up appointment scheduled in a month, but frankly, I'd much rather head back to the doctor sooner. What do you all think? 😕

Oh, and one more thing—I'm still experiencing that tingling sensation in my foot... everything about this feels so strange, yet it seems like nobody is giving me any real answers. 🙏

Well... if I may interject myself into this discourse... hmm. I suffered fractures in both bones of my ankle, yet my doctor saw absolutely no need to order any imaging. Though, frankly, I don't even require an X-ray to observe just how much my anatomy deviates from that of my healthy leg. It has been six months since the injury, and the sensation is as though everything has shifted significantly out of alignment—quite drastically, actually. 🙏
Now, if I might pose a question to the group: am I legally entitled to request those medical images? And more importantly, why on earth was I never provided with them in the first place?

It is a truly curious phenomenon, isn't it? I find myself caught in this peculiar cycle where, during the work week, I might only manage a meager three hours of sleep before being jolted awake at 6:00 AM by the relentless demands of reality—and yet, quite inexplicably, I function with a sort of heightened, albeit perhaps slightly manic, efficiency. But then, the weekend arrives, and I succumb to the temptation of sleeping until 2:00 or even 3:00 in the afternoon, and suddenly, the universe conspires against me; I emerge from my slumber feeling far more exhausted and utterly depleted than I ever did during those frantic, sleep-deprived weekdays. It is a physiological paradox that defies all logic.😕 Honestly, what am I even supposed to do when my soul truly craves nothing more than the sweet, blissful sanctuary of sleep? It is a profound dilemma, really—this constant tug-of-war between the relentless demands of modern life and that deep, primal urge to simply curl up under the covers and drift away from the chaos of existence. How does one navigate such a conflict? One moment you're staring at a mountain of responsibilities, and the next, the sheer weight of exhaustion hits you like a freight train, leaving you wondering why we even bother staying awake at all.😬