My brother walks excessively and I’m envious. I’ve never been healthy in my adult life, but I used to move a lot more. A few years back, though, I broke my ankle and the ER surgeon apparently repaired it using a method that’s easy to mess up … And messed it up. I can stand and walk, but doing so for any noteworthy distance or time is hard and very painful. Honestly, even things like showering take me out for a while to recover. I rarely walk down my driveway to get the mail because I’m never quite sure I’ll make it back up.
Two subsequent orthopedic surgeons have said that, while there are things they can do that might slow down how bad it gets worse, it will probably never get better. As I said, I’ve never been healthy or fit in my adult life, but since I broke my ankle I’ve probably gained another fifty pounds. It’s embarrassing.
That really sucks. Did you ever go to a physiotherapist during your recovery? At work I handle a lot of injury claims, and this is often the case, and before you’re discharged from care, they walk you through a tailored home exercise plan. It’d be great if you could see one for a single session just to have them figure out a program that fits into your life.
Is a physiotherapist the same as a physical therapist? They set me up with an at home physical therapist for the first few weeks after my cast came off. (Side note: My kid was just barely two at the time and there are a few very cute pictures of them trying to do the exercises alongside me.) After that ran out, I had a few months of physical therapy at their office, but they stopped seeing me because my insurance “wouldn’t keep paying since we aren’t seeing improvement.” (I did all the exercises on site as well as the ones they suggested for at home. They said it was nice to have a patient who listened.) I have considered seeing a PT on my own dime, but it doesn’t seem worthwhile since we weren’t seeing improvement.
According to my current doctor, the problem is that they went with a “tripwire” repair, which is usually used when the bones are weak, usually due to the patient being a senior. It’s not recommended for younger or healthier patients because it basically pulls the bones together and it’s easy to over- or under-pull them. Apparently my surgeon over-pulled them, causing some crucial parts to be misaligned as well as causing arthritis.
I am young enough that my bones are pretty solid (when they haven’t been shattered) so they should have used another method (though ATM I can’t remember the details).
I also have a history of dislocated joints (I’ve dislocated my shoulder fourteen times) so, when I broke the ankle, I thought it was dislocated rather than broken. I tried to twist it back in place and stand on it … Twice. That probably made things worse. (The ER staff were horrified when I mentioned it to them.) Amusingly, the person who found me and helped me deal with it was a physical therapist who mostly worked on ankles; he was a pretty solid comfort while I waited for the EMTs. Telling that story is the one good thing that came out of the event.
My current doctor does say I could ride a bike with no more risk than anyone without a broken ankle and I’ve been wanting to do that - I even got an e-bike so I could make it back home if I ran out of pedaling energy. Unfortunately, I’m kind of afraid to use it (even though I used to be an extremely prolific biker) and, by the time I’d psyched myself up for it, it had started snowing here.
I never mind walls of text. I know that when I write them, it’s because I haven’t the time to edit down.
Insurance sucks. I work in maritime, so I read a lot of medical reports of injured seamen. Your insurance probably used a doctor working out of scope and without the proper remit to be making that call to decide to cut you off. Should ask for the name and license of the doctor who made that decision if possible, I hear they usually fold rather than admit to defrauding customers.
It also sounds like your surgeon really fucked you. Suing people drains your life away, so I’m not going to suggest it, but I’ve definitely heard of folks winning cases on weaker grounds.
Tell you what: another lemming in this comment chain talked me into maybe signing up for a class. If I do that, will you try to bike as soon as the weather improves a bit?
I don’t mind the insurance bit. It does suck that they cut me off, but it’s also true that I wasn’t seeing improvement after several extensions. Even if they had continued paying, I doubt that would have changed.
The aforementioned brother also mentioned suing the surgeon. I declined to do so primarily because I sincerely doubt there was any malice in his actions. He continued to see me after the surgery and seemed to be making his best effort to help me improve. Even though he made a mistake, I don’t want to punish him and I don’t need anything I could get from litigating. You could argue that suing might teach him something by bringing his attention to his mistake, but if he were likely to be made aware of it, it he probably would have done so after seeing me regularly for months. He even met with me and an “ankle specialist” (though I would have thought that the guy who physically rebuilt my ankle would be a specialist himself) who, though he didn’t mention it to me, hopefully had a discussion with the surgeon behind closed doors. Other than not mentioning the incorrect surgery approach, the specialist said all the same things as my current doctor, so presumably they are similarly qualified to observe the error.
Regardless of all of that, it’s been almost three years now and I’ve moved hundreds of miles and several states away. I’m not sure how things like statutes of limitation apply to suing and medical malpractice, but I’m not sure I still could sue even if I were so inclined.
I definitely intend to do some biking once I can safely do so. In the meantime I bought an elliptical that I can use nearly regardless of weather and intend to see how my ankle handles it. Thank you for providing accountability.
I haven’t signed up for it yet, only decided to finally bite the bullet today talking to someone in this thread. There’s a membership deal at the local fitness center where you get unlimited gym, swim, and fitness classes. It’s right by my kid’s school and I always have between 9 and 10 to do whatever, so I figure I can always just go for a swim or attend a group session or lift, depending on the day. It’s a lot cheaper to get an annual pass so I’ve held off until now.
I’m so sorry. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, though I know that’s easier said than done. I hope you find peace and ways to move joyfully that make you feel good.
Thank you for the kind words. The ankle thing has shaped my life and capabilities in ways I never would have guessed ever since it happened.
I have a now-five year old whom it has also clearly influenced and I feel bad about causing them trauma. You wouldn’t believe how many of their stuffed animals have also suffered broken ankles or legs since I did.
Since the incident, I have been fortunate enough to move to a home with a pool. So far I’ve only had a few opportunities to use it, but they have been pleasant and not generally hurt my ankle.
I have found that my ankle or leg cramp to a debilitating degree fairly frequently while in the cold water, but that usually doesn’t last too long. It is possible I could make better (and/or more frequent) use of the pool, but that will have to wait until warmer weather to determine. Thank you for the recommendation.
You can also go to a club with a climatized pool all year. I go to one for swimming, but there are allot of people doing aquagym too. Swimming its awesome because dont hurt your articulations but let you train muscles.
Thank you for the thought! I live in a pretty small town. I would be very surprised if there were such a facility within an hour of here (not to say I wouldn’t travel a two hour round trip to mitigate my pain, but it would be discouraging). If swimming in my pool next year helps, I’ll look into finding an indoor pool for the next cool season.
My brother walks excessively and I’m envious. I’ve never been healthy in my adult life, but I used to move a lot more. A few years back, though, I broke my ankle and the ER surgeon apparently repaired it using a method that’s easy to mess up … And messed it up. I can stand and walk, but doing so for any noteworthy distance or time is hard and very painful. Honestly, even things like showering take me out for a while to recover. I rarely walk down my driveway to get the mail because I’m never quite sure I’ll make it back up.
Two subsequent orthopedic surgeons have said that, while there are things they can do that might slow down how bad it gets worse, it will probably never get better. As I said, I’ve never been healthy or fit in my adult life, but since I broke my ankle I’ve probably gained another fifty pounds. It’s embarrassing.
That really sucks. Did you ever go to a physiotherapist during your recovery? At work I handle a lot of injury claims, and this is often the case, and before you’re discharged from care, they walk you through a tailored home exercise plan. It’d be great if you could see one for a single session just to have them figure out a program that fits into your life.
Is a physiotherapist the same as a physical therapist? They set me up with an at home physical therapist for the first few weeks after my cast came off. (Side note: My kid was just barely two at the time and there are a few very cute pictures of them trying to do the exercises alongside me.) After that ran out, I had a few months of physical therapy at their office, but they stopped seeing me because my insurance “wouldn’t keep paying since we aren’t seeing improvement.” (I did all the exercises on site as well as the ones they suggested for at home. They said it was nice to have a patient who listened.) I have considered seeing a PT on my own dime, but it doesn’t seem worthwhile since we weren’t seeing improvement.
According to my current doctor, the problem is that they went with a “tripwire” repair, which is usually used when the bones are weak, usually due to the patient being a senior. It’s not recommended for younger or healthier patients because it basically pulls the bones together and it’s easy to over- or under-pull them. Apparently my surgeon over-pulled them, causing some crucial parts to be misaligned as well as causing arthritis.
I am young enough that my bones are pretty solid (when they haven’t been shattered) so they should have used another method (though ATM I can’t remember the details).
I also have a history of dislocated joints (I’ve dislocated my shoulder fourteen times) so, when I broke the ankle, I thought it was dislocated rather than broken. I tried to twist it back in place and stand on it … Twice. That probably made things worse. (The ER staff were horrified when I mentioned it to them.) Amusingly, the person who found me and helped me deal with it was a physical therapist who mostly worked on ankles; he was a pretty solid comfort while I waited for the EMTs. Telling that story is the one good thing that came out of the event.
My current doctor does say I could ride a bike with no more risk than anyone without a broken ankle and I’ve been wanting to do that - I even got an e-bike so I could make it back home if I ran out of pedaling energy. Unfortunately, I’m kind of afraid to use it (even though I used to be an extremely prolific biker) and, by the time I’d psyched myself up for it, it had started snowing here.
Sorry for the WoT. I do appreciate you asking.
I never mind walls of text. I know that when I write them, it’s because I haven’t the time to edit down.
Insurance sucks. I work in maritime, so I read a lot of medical reports of injured seamen. Your insurance probably used a doctor working out of scope and without the proper remit to be making that call to decide to cut you off. Should ask for the name and license of the doctor who made that decision if possible, I hear they usually fold rather than admit to defrauding customers.
It also sounds like your surgeon really fucked you. Suing people drains your life away, so I’m not going to suggest it, but I’ve definitely heard of folks winning cases on weaker grounds.
Tell you what: another lemming in this comment chain talked me into maybe signing up for a class. If I do that, will you try to bike as soon as the weather improves a bit?
I don’t mind the insurance bit. It does suck that they cut me off, but it’s also true that I wasn’t seeing improvement after several extensions. Even if they had continued paying, I doubt that would have changed.
The aforementioned brother also mentioned suing the surgeon. I declined to do so primarily because I sincerely doubt there was any malice in his actions. He continued to see me after the surgery and seemed to be making his best effort to help me improve. Even though he made a mistake, I don’t want to punish him and I don’t need anything I could get from litigating. You could argue that suing might teach him something by bringing his attention to his mistake, but if he were likely to be made aware of it, it he probably would have done so after seeing me regularly for months. He even met with me and an “ankle specialist” (though I would have thought that the guy who physically rebuilt my ankle would be a specialist himself) who, though he didn’t mention it to me, hopefully had a discussion with the surgeon behind closed doors. Other than not mentioning the incorrect surgery approach, the specialist said all the same things as my current doctor, so presumably they are similarly qualified to observe the error.
Regardless of all of that, it’s been almost three years now and I’ve moved hundreds of miles and several states away. I’m not sure how things like statutes of limitation apply to suing and medical malpractice, but I’m not sure I still could sue even if I were so inclined.
I definitely intend to do some biking once I can safely do so. In the meantime I bought an elliptical that I can use nearly regardless of weather and intend to see how my ankle handles it. Thank you for providing accountability.
Good luck with your class; what class is it?
I haven’t signed up for it yet, only decided to finally bite the bullet today talking to someone in this thread. There’s a membership deal at the local fitness center where you get unlimited gym, swim, and fitness classes. It’s right by my kid’s school and I always have between 9 and 10 to do whatever, so I figure I can always just go for a swim or attend a group session or lift, depending on the day. It’s a lot cheaper to get an annual pass so I’ve held off until now.
That sounds like an excellent use of your time. Good luck!
I’m so sorry. You have nothing to be embarrassed about, though I know that’s easier said than done. I hope you find peace and ways to move joyfully that make you feel good.
Thank you for the kind words. The ankle thing has shaped my life and capabilities in ways I never would have guessed ever since it happened.
I have a now-five year old whom it has also clearly influenced and I feel bad about causing them trauma. You wouldn’t believe how many of their stuffed animals have also suffered broken ankles or legs since I did.
What about swimming?
Since the incident, I have been fortunate enough to move to a home with a pool. So far I’ve only had a few opportunities to use it, but they have been pleasant and not generally hurt my ankle.
I have found that my ankle or leg cramp to a debilitating degree fairly frequently while in the cold water, but that usually doesn’t last too long. It is possible I could make better (and/or more frequent) use of the pool, but that will have to wait until warmer weather to determine. Thank you for the recommendation.
You can also go to a club with a climatized pool all year. I go to one for swimming, but there are allot of people doing aquagym too. Swimming its awesome because dont hurt your articulations but let you train muscles.
Thank you for the thought! I live in a pretty small town. I would be very surprised if there were such a facility within an hour of here (not to say I wouldn’t travel a two hour round trip to mitigate my pain, but it would be discouraging). If swimming in my pool next year helps, I’ll look into finding an indoor pool for the next cool season.