I win...I win...My ankle didn't

[S/V Laura Ellen]

I am the new winner of the dingo of the month award.

Fell off a 4' scaffold and shattered my ankle on Thursday, had surgery on Friday, discharged from the hospital today.

Looks like there will a 3 month vacation from boat repairs.

[Phillip Allen]

get well soon (I thought this was a thread about ill-jay with that title)

What are you using a little 4 footer for?

[Paul Pless]

ah man that so sucks:(

[S/V Laura Ellen]

What are you using a little 4 footer for?
It's probably a good thing that it was only a 4' scaffold. I was scraping paint on the deck and only needed to have the deck a shoulder level.

I ended up with six broken bones in the ankle area. There are enough screws and plates in there now to set off every airport metal detector.
Did I tell you that there was some pain involved.
The surgery was done with a spinal block so I was awake and talking to the doctors throughout the surgery, no pain at all while in surgery.
It was a very surreal experience. It was like watching a surgery on someone else's leg.

[jack grebe]

Well that sucks:( . here's to a speedy recovery. At least you won't miss the whole sailing season;)

[garland reese]

Oh! Sorry to hear that Allan! I fell from a small step ladder back in November. No break (four different x-rays pretty much verified that!!). Finally, I went back to the doc cause things just were not healing. An MRI later...... sprains, strains in ligament and tendons, and one tear in a ligament. Lots of bone bruising (nearly four months after the fact). I'm well into Physical therapy to try and promote some healing without surgery. They told me I'd been far better off breaking the bones.
Good luck Sir!

[ljb5]

(I thought this was a thread about ill-jay with that title)

You and Paul could probably stand to give it a rest for a while too.

You don't have to try to make every thread an attack on me.

[paladin]

don't mess around on that foot thinking that if it doesn't hurt you can start walking on it.....My right ankle was shattered in 5 places and the big toe and the one next to it, plus the little toe. During surgery I was supposed to be asleep and the dope doctor turned around while the surgeon had the meat opened exposing the toe bone, I was sorta sitting up watching the surgeon, she got very upset and wanted to gas me some more. I couldn't feel anything but I swear ta gawd that everytime a cut was made, I heard a ripping sound......took a while to recover but I made the most of it.....

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

Welcome to "The Club".
I was between jobs with no medical coverage when I dicovered I had damage to my knee.
That was a month ago.
Three more weeks and I'll be able to see a doctor through our local county free clinic.
I wondered what could be worse than loosing my job after 10 years and God answered.
Count your blessings is my only advise.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

don't mess around on that foot thinking that if it doesn't hurt you can start walking on it....

I heard the ortho surgeon really well, he stress no weight on it for 2-3 months. He wants me to keep off the leg with the leg elevated until told otherwise. When he said that any misuse of the ankle during recovery would result in more permanent problems than necessary.

[S.V. Airlie]

I hope umm it ain't three months. That's well into boating season even in Canada. Just take it easy Chuck is right. Even if it doesn't hurt, it hurts so to speak.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

I hope umm it ain't three months. That's well into boating season even in Canada. Just take it easy Chuck is right. Even if it doesn't hurt, it hurts so to speak.

did I mention that it hurt like hell before surgery! The ortho surgeon said I had a really bad break and had close to messing it up permanently.

[Bruce Hooke]

BUMMER. I hope the recovery is complete, even if it is a bit long.

[JimD]

Ouch :( Hope you have a speedy recovery.

[Katherine]

Allan, this sucks! :( Follow the Doctor's orders and I'll pray for a speedy recovery. Let me know if you or the missus need anything. I'm not far away.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

Thanks for the offer Katherine, but at this time I'm tied to the house and I'm relatively independent (Jo-Anne may not agree). My biggest problem is boredom and the WBF will help there.

[ishmael]

Man, that's tough. I've broken a couple bones in my time, but they were simple breaks in long bones. The ankle is very complex. Sounds like you did it hard, but it also sounds like it was right on the edge of being worse. As others have said, this is going to take time. Don't push it. A good excuse to catch up on your reading!

I went down one time off a five foot high plank, with a running skil saw. I was working on an old house, and over reached. The plank tipped and down I went. Being young, with all that good balance and nimbleness, I was back on the plank in a minute or two. A running power tool complicates things. I was plunge cutting some wide fascia, the guard retracted and the blade set pretty deep. Avoided tangling with the blade. Yipee! LOL

Good luck, Allan.

[Paul Girouard]

Without photos neither of you where even in the running. :rolleyes:

Be careful out there ;) danger lurks , just like LBJ5 for a political thread :D

Hey Pless, nice tag line :D :D

[Concordia...41]

Ouch! But I bet you already said that and more... :eek: :eek:

Take it easy, follow the doctor's orders - REALLY, and the boat will be there when you're able.

- M

[S/V Laura Ellen]

Without photos neither of you where even in the running. :rolleyes:

Be careful out there ;) danger lurks , just like LBJ5 for a political thread :D

Hey Pless, nice tag line :D :D

You asked for it.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/p6cd476048c2a3cc6a3578f0da7d0aac7/ea1a420c.jpg
the ankle in question. it is a temporary splint, I have to the ortho guy on Wednesday to possibly get it casted.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid225/pdd31177d9585e7f5a4e04f14010f8c65/ea1a41e0.jpg
My link to the outside world.

[Hwyl]

That's your driving foot too. When I broke my knee at least it was the left. I became very familiar with drive throughs

[Ron Williamson]

Nasty.
I hope that you weren't by yourself.
SWMBO went into shock pretty quickly and we had to walk the 1/2 mile out the road from the toboggan hill.Then drive 1 1/2 hours to Owen Sound from Tobermory.
R

[S/V Laura Ellen]

That's your driving foot too. When I broke my knee at least it was the left. I became very familiar with drive throughs

The hospital said they contact the authorities, my drivers license will be revoked until I get clearance from a doctor. No chance for any cross footed driving.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

Nasty.
I hope that you weren't by yourself.

Shop rules say that you can't work by yourself.

[Ron Williamson]

Good rule.
Be happy.
I know a guy who pinched his gnards under a set of stairs that he was carrying backwards up a narrow ramp.
One foot slid off to the left,the other slid off to the right,the stairs came straight down....
R

[Wild Dingo]

I am the new winner of the dingo of the month award.

Yer bloody well what???????????? :eek: Flamin hell mate I'll give you "dingo of the month award" :mad:



Fell off a 4' scaffold and shattered my ankle on Thursday, had surgery on Friday, discharged from the hospital today.

Looks like there will a 3 month vacation from boat repairs.

I'll have you know the dingo of the month award goes to those dopey galahs who cut slice and dice emselves!! ;) a select band of dopey wombatted galahs only my friend :cool: I will also have you know the dingo has never broken a bone :D ... well there was that broken little finger when I was 19 or so but that was nuthin :rolleyes: ... it takes some serious cuts slices dices munches an mincin to get the dingo award mate :p

Hope it heals well... and quickly... Hey!! I tossed the splint for my hand away yesty yeah yeah shoulda waited to see the physio today and probably the doc on Thurs but whoooooboy is it ever grand to get that sodding thing off!! :cool: a wee tad of niggling pain and I still cant bend the fingers to a fist seems that the tip of the finger is gonna be permenantly kinked but hey its all good Im usin the thing again!! ;) well as much as I can take anyways... man its amazing how fast the muscles waste eh? :eek:

[shark_ef]

this sounds like an open invitation for stupid injuries you've acquired-
here's mine

i dislocated two fingers on my right hand while "catching" the US flag so it didn't hit the deck while on a tallship. actually felt the two fingers on the back of my hand -right before the pain hit. nothing serious but those two don't quite work right still

ok there's mine, who's next

[ishmael]

Who's next?

Back when I was just this side of a nipper I did some high jumping. You know, the track event, not just jumping about. I hyper-extended both thumbs in the landings. No big deal at the time, but now my right thumb especially is arthritic at times. Does that count, LOL.

I also took a fall on ice with some skis on my feet, and hand wrapped around the strap of a pole, and it broke a long bone in the meat of my left hand. The one next to the pinky. It still aches sometimes, when the weather is changing, and is obviously bent. Oh, when I was three I fell out of bed and broke my collar bone.

All pretty stupid, in hindsight.

I consider myself lucky that I've never had a bad break or accident. Lord knows the opportunity was there.

And one final idiocy. I was twenty, home from college. We had a pool, the parents were gone on vacation leaving the homestead in my care. After more that a reasonable number of rum and cokes I decided to pull a trick I'd done when I was fifteen and jump from the diving board to the deck. Didn't make it, landed hard on my left knee on the sharp concrete edge and broke the patella. I was painting schools that summer, and suffered my foolishness for a month of climbing ladders with a bum knee. Never saw a doc, and gladly it healed so the knee now works.

Enough war stories. Best of healing to you, Allan.

[The Bigfella]

Geez mate - I guess saying "take it easy" isn't appropriate - given that you will be for 3 months. Ouch.

[Vince Brennan]

Geez... you never know just how many ways you bend your ankle each day until you can't (or don't flamin' WANNA!) and I feel yer pain, I does.

DO lissen to the Docs and phisios...you can truly muck things up by rushing the recovery (Hi, Dingo!) or trying to short-cut the process.

Back about '78 or so I was helping a friend move into a 2nd floor apartment (I was the "bulvan", a yiddish word for a porter, meaning is "the dumb ox with the strong back") and we were bringing in the last item, a large Amana refrigerator which had to go up that skinny flight of steps into his kitchen.

He measured the 'fridge (30") and then measured the doorway (32"), at which point I suggested he check the top AND bottom of the doorway (32" and 32-1/4") so we proceed to schlepp the 'fridge up the steps.

It went into the doorway just fine until it hit the door handle, which we had forgotten about. 4-1/2" additional width.

Not good.

I am at the bottom of this monster still holding it as the branes of this evolution at the top of the stairs ponder their next move. They couldn't get to the handle to remove it so it was decided that we'd have to schlepp it back down to get said obstructive protuberance off the door... except that about 1/2 of the way down, the yutz on the top of the 'fridge twisted his ankle and let go.

Very not good.

Hotly pursued by many hundreds of pounds of incensed refrigerator, I managed to skip backwards down the stair and duck into an alcove almost at the bottom, but as I did, my left hand got caught between the wall and the 'fridge and just got rolled over as the 'fridge went past. Sounded like Rice Cispies.

Most of the bones had one sort of fracture or another and by the time I got to hospital the hand was the size of a small picnic ham. (We don't REALLY wanna talk about setting them, do we? I know I don't.)

(Puffs out chest) Now, I followed the Doc's advice and the phisio's instructions for almost five months and so I can still play mandolin and tie my shoes, but I also have a weather forecasting station at the end of my wrist... it's a tradeoff, d'ye ken...

Get better, take it easy and in the future, don't step back to admire your work if you're working on a scaffold, OK?

[Robbie]

All the best take care

[LeeG]

Allan, are you watching Jon Stewart and Zbignew B. on the tv?

[Mrleft8]

Ouch! But I bet you already said that and more... :eek: :eek:

Take it easy, follow the doctor's orders - REALLY, and the boat will be there when you're able.

- M
Eh HEM!!!!!! See? ;)

[TomF]

ow ow ow ow ow ow ow.

Nasty stuff - one broken bone at a time is enough for most of us. Follow the doc's orders, and loll about here.

Best,

t.

[Claudia]

http://www.wyomingimpressions.com/images/breakleggetwellbear_small.jpg Take it easy and listen to your Dr.
(I did try to find an appropriate cake:D )

[Hwyl]

The hospital said they contact the authorities, my drivers license will be revoked until I get clearance from a doctor. No chance for any cross footed driving.

Take a vacation in a country where they drive on the correct side of the road. I try it in America every now and again, but the other drivers are a little uncivilised about it. It's sometimes difficult to find a car with an automatic transmission in some of those countries.

[geeman]

Doc wouldnt let me drive for a while after my stroke.Since in recent years I dont like driving anyway,I just sat back and enjoyed "allowing" the wife to drive me where I needed to go.She isnt thrilled about driving too much either.Due to being hit in the back at 55 mph and breaking 2 bones in her neck.But we cant afford a "driver" so which ever is the one that can drive at any given time, drives.

[Evan Showell]

Allan -- Your doctor has probably already told you this, but with a lay up of that amount of time, muscle atrophy is likely to be a significant issue. Ask the doc. if there is anything you can do to minimize atrophy. Perhaps electrical stimulation or the like.

I severely strained some ankle ligaments in high school when seriously fouled from behind playing soccer. Although I eventually returned to play that season, I still felt my ankle bottoming out with every stride. Atrophy is the enemy if you hope to be walking around after your cast is off.

Best of luck.

[huisjen]

How long is recovery if they just hack it off, give you a peg to stand on, and a harpoon to lean against to steady yourself?

Sometimes I wonder what I'd do in a similar situation. Dumbells? Can you use a rowing machine? Swimming?

Good luck with a speedy recovery.

Dan