February 14th was the big day.  The cast was schedule to come off, xrays to be taken, and the surgeon was going to take a look.  I am happy to say I am now a free woman!  Okay, not completely free, but I’m completely free of the cast.  Beautiful as it was, in hot pink and lovingly decorated by my friends and family, and doused in glitter, it was time for it to go.  And away it went.

I did everything right.  I have eaten so much calcium in the past six weeks that I should be pooping seashells.  I boned up (haha, pun intended!) on my protein, laid off the carbs.  I kept my foot elevated at all times, and never put weight on it.  The surgeon had said before my surgery, “it you do what I tell you to do, you will walk out of here in six weeks.”  So I did.  And I walked.  Sort of.

The ankle and leg feel fine.  No problems there when I walk.  The only pain I am getting is on the bottom of my foot, and across the bridge of my foot.  There is so much dry skin on the bottom of my foot that it feels numb, and the swelling doesn’t help.  Now that it is out of the cast, it can get a chance to heal up properly.  In only two days since the cast was removed, I have managed to exfoliate most of the foot and ankle, although there is still some remaining.  And I walk with crutches, but put as much weight on my leg as I can stand.  The trick is, according to the surgeon and the PA, is “as tolerated.”  I try to push my limits, as I want to be driving and back to going to work every day.  Yes, I’m pushing myself hard, and I could take it easy a bit longer, but the truth is, I’ve been taking it easy the last nearly seven weeks.  I’m so over the laying around, leg propped up, feeling completely useless.

Today, I’m in my office in the basement, now that I’ve navigated how to do stairs both up and down.  I’m catching up on laundry, of which there is plenty.  I straightened up most of the sewing room so I have room to work on the laundry.  The office needs to be cleaned, all the Christmas stuff needs to be put away, and the bed brought back down from the living room in preparation for house guests who will arrive in less than two weeks.  Yes, there is much to be done.  Much indeed!

It is nice to stand on two feet, it is nice to be able to take a real shower (although I have to do it sitting on the shower chair for now).  Going to the bathroom is not the ordeal it was, I can walk in there with my crutches, not have to maneuver the walker and “hop” on one leg.  I can sit down and stand up fairly easily, because I can put weight on the “bad” leg now.

Will there be physical therapy?  Actually, no.  They sent me home with exercises, which I can do as soon as I can tolerate them.  I’m already doing stretches and wiggles with my foot, trying to get the atrophy in the ankle to lessen.  There are stand-up exercises to do later, when the foot is more normalized.  There are big stretchy rubber sheets I will use to pull and push with my toes.  If I do everything, and continue to push my limits, I will, in four weeks, be in my tennis shoes.  For now, it’s the cam boot and the crutches.  I’ll move to a cane later.  When I’m not walking, I’m out of the cam boot and doing exercises, stretching the foot, making it get used to being “naked.”  I sleep with it “naked” too, and so far that’s been good.  The first night was a little rough, I was worried that I would twist it or it would get kicked or something.  Last night I slept like a rock!

The surgeon expressed his disappointment that the first emergency room (Estes Park Medical Center) did not set my leg (what the orthopedists call “reduction”).  He said the nerve damage I have (which presents as numbness) and swelling I still have are a result of it having been splinted in its broken and dislocated position for more than 8 hours after my injury.  If it had been set early on, within the first two hours, I’d have not had so much pain, and might be a little more healed than I am now.  He also confirmed that the fibula double fracture was a compound (open) fracture.  I never saw that side of my leg, and didn’t know.  I am glad I didn’t.  Scary.

Anyway, I’m further on the mend.  I’m including some pictures below, not too gruesome.  I’m also including scans of my after xrays, showing my total bionic-ness. In other words, watch out!  I’m invincible!

Awesome cast artwork…next four pictures.

I’m bionic!  This is the follow-up xrays that show the plates and screws.  There are two screws holding on the end of the tibia, and another 8 screws holding together the three pieces of my lower fibula.

Bottom of my foot after the cast was removed.  Most of this dead skin has now been cleared away through a couple days of soaking and exfoliating.

Right (outer) side of ankle.  Incision looks good!

Left (inside) of ankle.  Incision is almost invisible (it is just above my instep).  The one remaining scab is from the fracture blister, and it will heal up and slough off the scab on its own.  I am not touching it.  The bright red area next to the scab is the blisters that have already healed but are still very tender.  From the blister down I have no feeling on the skin.  There is quite a bit of nerve damage there.

View from the top of the foot.  The ridge you see going around my ankle is just a mark from the sock I was wearing before I took the picture.

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