Week 6: 6 Weeks Along Looks Like 10 Weeks Along

Hi Everyone,

It has now been six weeks since I've broken my leg and today I went to see my doctor. I was excited for this appointment because I wanted to know how far along the healing process I was. 

After I got a new set of x-rays my doctor took off my walking boot and proceeded to check my leg. He began with flexing and pointing my ankle. Then he started to touch and squish my leg near my broken bones and up my calf. Then all of a sudden he bent my knee, I cried out in pain, he straightened my knee and as I looked at him through teary eyes he told me that I have about a 110˚ range of motion when most of his patients at six weeks only have 90˚ range of motion.

He even told me that I looked like I was at week 10 of healing! Woohoo, so exciting. 

The doctor showed me my x-rays and honestly I didn't see any difference at first but then he zoomed in really close and showed me this light cloud around my bone and said that's the callus forming around my bone. My x-rays look the same from four weeks ago besides that. I think at the end of next month we'll actually be able to see a real difference.

Now that I'm at week 6 he told me it is time to move from 10% weight bearing with two crutches to 50% weight bearing with one crutch. I'm a little scared to get started but slowly everyday I'm going to try to take an extra step. Tomorrow I call a physical therapist to get started on PT. Wish me luck!

=)

6 weeks down.

Week 5: Leg's Looking Better

lifting my legs, woohoo!

It's the beginning of week five and I'm starting to get more mobility back into my leg. I'm able to lift my leg and bend my knee more. My knee is still very weak and still needs a lot of time to recoup. 

Knee

I've removed all the bandages from my knee and have removed two from my wound. Unfortunately my would isn't as healed as I thought it was so it was bleeding a little and needed a bandage. I'm not quite sure why it's taking so long to heal, maybe because it is the initial point of trauma, but I hope it finishes healing soon. 

I've watched so much TV sometimes I'm not sure what to do with myself anymore. I've started to do some freelance work and blogging to get back into the groove of things, but unfortunately I can only sit up for 20-30 minutes at a time. 

Wound

It does get a little bit better every day. I notice the little milestones that I accomplish every day, like being able to lift my leg off the pillow or how much I can bend my knee. Next week I get to see my doctor and take new x-rays, can't wait!



5 weeks down.

TV Binge List

When you're stuck in bed or on the couch all day there's not much you can do except watch a lot of TV. So I've compiled a list of TV shows that I believe to be bing worthy. I will add more on as I finish my very own TV binges. 

• 30 Rock
• American Horror Story
• The Blue Planet
• Breaking Bad
• Community
• Dexter
• Downton Abbey (On Amazon Prime)
• Firefly
• Friday Night Lights
• Hart of Dixie
• House of Cards
• How I Met Your Mother
• It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia 
• Lost
• Mad Men
• New Girl
• The Office
• Parks and Recreation
• Pretty Little Liars 
• Revenge
• Scandal 
• The Walking Dead

*Updated: December 22, 2013

Week 4 - Pain Is Replaced By Soreness

Hey everyone,

Pain in my broken leg has been replaced by soreness in my joints and some where I broke my leg.  Most of the scabs have fallen off and have been replaced with pink scars which I'm hoping don't stick out like they do now by the end of next year. The bruising has reduces a lot, just a little bruising at the wound and on my foot. My knee, wound and ankle are still swollen but it appears to be a little less, yay for recovery!

I've been walking fairly successfully with my air cast boot and crutches, sometimes getting stuck on a wire or something on the floor. I've been really successful with making my own breakfast and lunches thanks to my sport fanny pack and food-storage containers. I'm happy to gain a little freedom with my ability to make my own meals. If you're weight-baring I recommend grabbing yourself a fanny pack so you can refill your own waters and grab your own snack and meals. 

4 weeks down.

Week 3 - Recovery. Pimped Crutches. Stupid RMV

Hey Everyone,

My leg is doing better and I finally was able to shower with my leg out of the boot. I still have bruising near my wound, calf, and heel but it feels good to be able to let it breath and flex my ankle. 

My doctor told me to flex my ankle when I was out of my boot so that my muscles don't stiffen up. So I do just that but only to what is comfortable. My knee is still pretty swollen but I am surprised by how well the incision on my knee has healed. Yay!

Check out my pimped out crutches! I ordered these Crutcheze Sport Teal Crutch Pads Covers that offer additional support and a Crutch Bag that helps me carry around things like tissues, a water bottle and any medicine I need. I love it! Its awesome especially since I'll be on crutches for a few months. 

Now for a little rant about the MA RMV. They are ridiculous. On the RMV website they say that you can mail in your disability placard form or bring it in to your closest RMV. To me I thought, oh bringing it in person would be easier and I could get my placard right away, NOPE! After my fiance waited in line we go up to the front counter and they tell us they don't take them anymore because they have "had a problem getting the forms to the Medical Affairs Bureau." So they basically lose them. -_- What a waste of my time. Stupid RMV.

3 weeks down.

Week 2 - Off With The Cast On With The Boot!

Hey Everyone,

Farewell backslab and hello boot!  

After meeting with my orthopedic I got my backslab taken off, my stitches removed and was given an air boot that I can walk with partial weight. After learning how to walk with crutches I saw my x-rays for the first time. 
It was a little overwhelming and I almost fainted but It was good for helping me come to terms with what happened.

Awesome thing is everything looks great! I can't believe that after only a week I can start walking again, even if it is only partial weight with crutches. 

The best part is I can take the boot off whenever I want. I was given the ok to sleep without it and to shower with my boot off! Now my leg can breath. I can't wait to wash it!

2 weeks down.

Tips For When You're Home With Your Broken Leg

I remember my head being stuck in the clouds while I was home. I was on my pain medication almost 24/7 and was always in a daze and was barely hungry. Here are some tips that I found invaluable during my first couple of weeks home from the hospital.

1. Pain Management- Know what you're taking and understand how much and how often. If you have any questions don't be afraid to ask.
2. Medicine Chart- Whether on a post-it or on your iPad make sure you keep track of when you take your medicine and how much. This will help especially when you are on enough pain medicine that you don't know what time of the day it is or if you are like me falling asleep the second your medicine kicks in. My fiance used post-its next to my nightstand table but I like the idea of using Google Drive because you can access it on your phone or computer. 
3. Stretching - Stretching your arms and other available body parts can help you avoid feeling like a big blob.
4. Isometrics - The physical therapist I met with at the hospital said to make sure to do them every day. It's easy just tighten and release your muscles, this will also help with circulation to your bad leg.
5. Elevation - Make sure to keep your leg elevated above your heart when you're laying down. This will help reduce the swelling in your leg. 
6. Sleep - The first few nights are the most difficult but hopefully your pain regiment will make it easier. Sleeping with your leg elevated on a couple of pillows should help too. 
7. Entertainment - Subscribe to Netflix and pick up a new show that has a ton of seasons. Ask a friend or family member to pick you up some crafts that you can easily do from bed like crocheting or knitting. 
8. Food - Eat a healthy well balanced diet. Your body is rebuilding your bones and your muscles, ligaments and tendons are recouping from any damage. Eating well will help your body heal by giving it the nutrients it needs.

Week 1 - Hospital. Surgery. Trip Home.

Hey everyone,

A couple of weeks ago I fell while bouldering and ended up with an open compact fracture of my tibia and fibula. I had an intramedullary rod placed in my tibia with two screws near my ankle and two by my knee. My surgery took about 2 hours and I was put completely under for the surgery. They gave me a backslab which is hard on the bottom and all fluff on the top and wrapped with a ton of ace bandages as you can see from the picture.

After three days in the hospital I was discharged and got to go home. They sent me home with prescriptions for Lovenox, a blood thinner, 5mg oxycodone, and told me to buy Acetaminophen for pain management. 

The first few nights home was rough. My pain level always found its way back up to a ten.

I wasn't allowed to put any weight on my leg and I slept most of the days away because of my pain management regiment for the first couple of days. 

Estimated recovery time 14 weeks. 1 week down.