Meeting The Orthopedic Doctor

After I was released from the hospital I arranged my mother to pick me up. The hospital security guard helped me into my mothers jeep. The tough part was to come. How the woods am I going to go up the front stairs there are not many but they are tall and curve. First was to pull my self up while sitting on the stairs but I couldn't stand for the last one. My upper body is not what you call fit at all. So with the help of my lovely brother he lifted me up and I jumped to the last stair.

I took that day to rest. I elevated my leg and I was in terrible pain. I had to manage a way to get around this. Master the potty with a full leg cast even feeding my children making dinner how am I going to do this?

The next day I called my boss and since she is the ortho manager at my workplace I was able to get an appointment quick.

The couple of days that followed were agonizing. I am a smoker an outside smoker not inside I had to manage to jump the door step otherwise no smoking for me. And this was before I was told to stop for healing reasons.

The day of my appointment came I met the Doc wonderful he said my ankle was to swollen for surgery sent me for x rays and that's where I got the worst news!!!

I have four broken pieces not two but four!!! A trimalleolar fracture I know tri means three but my talus also. He wanted me to get a ct scan because he suspected bone that had moved under my ankle and if that was the case I would need 2 surgeries!!!

After the CT scan his suspicion was true. My ankle was dislocated so bad he didn't even want to take the splint off. At the ER they never placed it back in place. What he did do is cut the back of the splint just below the knee which made it more manageable and me more happy.

What he told me next scared the living hell out of me. He told me I would have a good chance of walking with a limp, arthritis, and chronic pain swelling and worst I would not be able to go back to work for at least 4 months. I cried again. What he said next to me made me feel so bad!! "If you want to keep your foot you have to quit smoking" I will not preform you surgery if you smoke. I just kept taking blow after blow. Smoking was my way to release stress. I thought how dare he tell me this. Doesn't he know everything that is happening to me? I know its for my own good.

We scheduled the surgery for the following week had all my pre op labs done and sent me home with more heavy narcotics..