Give it a rest, would ya? Giving your body the rest it needs.

RICE:
Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevate

Give your body the rest it requires to heal.

For me, the biggest struggle was slowing down and allowing myself to rest.
I traveled a lot for my job, plus I just have a busy personality. I am always on-the-go, very independent, strive on staying busy. 
There was a moment in my recovery I'll never forget. My nurse had a little chat with me, it was exactly what I needed.
It was the morning after my surgery, I was still in the hospital, headed home in an hour or two. I remember I was getting really frustrated with how long everything was taking to do.
The nurse and I were talking and I told her that sometimes I think I'm invincible and that rules don't apply to me. I told her she needs to give it straight to me. I need to hear it bluntly.

She said, "you want me to be straight forward with you?"
"Yes, that's what I need." I replied.

"Alright, here's the deal. Your body just went through hell," She says in a very stern, matter of fact voice.

Whoa, my sweet, kind, soft spoken nurse just got real with me. 
Ok, she has my attention now. I listen closely.

"You had surgery because you suffered a traumatic injury. You want to know where the word traumatic comes from? TRAUMA. Your body just suffered trauma. You broke a bone and in order to fix it, the surgeon had to put screws into the bone. And in order to do that, he had to cut into your skin, get through some ligaments and muscles. Your body, your ankle is not happy right now. It's going to take a bit to heal. And you know how the body heals? It takes a lot of energy.
So all that energy that you used to have doing your daily run-around, yeah, that's all now channeled towards that ankle, working to heal it. It's going to take a lot of energy, and so, in order to provide it with that energy, you need to rest. Take this seriously. Your body needs it. Give it the rest it deserves."

If "mic drop" would've been a phrase in 2014, I would've given that compliment to her.

And that's all it took.
It was perfect. It was exactly what I needed to hear.

I have shared that with other people, including my mother who just had hip surgery and a friend whose pregnant. You're number one concern during recovery is REST. You shouldn't feel bad for yourself because you're not up running around, cleaning your house, running events at your sons hockey tournament or busy with errands. You eventually will, you'll get frustrated. But I'm reminding you right now, this time set aside after surgery, it's called recovery - and your concentration should be on rest, period.

This ankle injury has been 18x more difficult emotionally and mentally than it has physically. Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever cried from the pain, but I definitely cried from frustration.

It is extremely tough to ask for help. It is extremely tough when tasks take 36x longer to do than normally.
Going to the bathroom, taking a shower - everyday normal tasks can be challenging and they will take longer. 

Finally getting out of the house.
Being pulled on a sled to go ice fishing
because crutches don't do well on ice.

But you have to remember that this is only temporary. You can't keep going like you used to do. A shower isn't going to take you 10 minutes anymore. A shower is now going to be stressful, you're going to worry about slipping and falling, you're going to have to balance that leg outside of the shower, wrapped in that plastic boot. Getting up to go to the bathroom, switch out ice packs, fill your water bottle, take your meds, etc. Do it all in one trip. Right when you get yourself back to the couch, ankle up, elevated and new on ice on it, you realize you forgot your water bottle in the kitchen. Dannnngit! Your first initial thought is, "Why would I ask for someone else to get up when I can?"  You're going to have to get over that - just ask for help. 

This was probably the biggest lesson for me through everything. Giving my body the rest it deserves in order to heal, learning how to ask for help, and learning to slow down and not let the frustration get the best of me.


p.s. Don't ever forget the frustration you go through during this time. Next time you hear about a neighbor or a friend who has a broken leg, ankle or foot and will be going through the same recovery, offer them some help, cook them a meal or shovel their driveway. 


SaraHHouse365 | Breaking Ankle - what I learned.

SaraHHouse365 | Hardware Removal

My Ankle Hardware Removal

Screws are out!
Leaving hospital in a
walking bootie!

Hardware Removal

If you are considering getting your hardware removed but worried about the recovery time, (if yours is anything similar to mine), the recovery is 100x better than getting the hardware in. I was shocked. I was walking an hour later. 

March 2, 2018: 2nd surgery - removal of hardware (2 screws)

I could not believe how easy the recovery was on the 2nd surgery. I was walking an hour later. I walked into Walgreens to pick up pain med prescription. Now don't get me wrong, I wasn't up on my ankle doing cartwheels like nothing had happened but the fact that I could actually walk an hour after surgery amazed me. After Walgreens, I went straight home to rest, ice, compress and elevate.

Leaving the hospital in a walking bootie (it's like an small black sandal, see photo) vs. being on crutches with a cast is a huge difference! My surgeon does his surgeries on Fridays, that way people can have hardware removal done, rest over weekend and some even return to work on Monday.

The number one question is: Is it worth it?

Everybody is different but for the most part, I hear more positives. I'm guessing 90% of the people I've talked to and blogs I've read say it feels better. They don't react enthusiastically saying "it was life changing", but overall, there is small changes you can feel.

The bone grows in where the screw used to be.

I felt a little more flexible, I think the swelling went down a little. And I did not feel so much swelling with the weather.

I stayed on the couch with ankle up and rested for 3-4 days solid.

I don't know if the recovery is as easy if you have a plate in, I'm guessing it might be a longer recovery.


One thing that was interesting to see at a post-op appointment is that the bone grows back where the screw was. It grows back and fills in that hollow spot where the screw was. The human body amazes me.

 One thing to remember, every injury is different which means every recovery is different. Your recovery might be easier, it may be harder.

2nd Surgery - Hardware Removal

SaraHHouse365 | Breaking Ankle - what I learned.
SaraHHouse365 | My Ankle Break Story

SaraHHouse365 | Give it a rest, would ya?

Breaking Ankle - what I learned.

Breaking Ankle - what I learned.
"Hey Sarah, I broke my ankle. I know you broke yours a couple years ago. Is there any advice or tips you have?"       I've received this message a handful of times in the last 4 years. Rather than tell my entire story over and over again, I finally decided to write my story of breaking my ankle, the recovery, what I've learned, etc.

When I broke my ankle, I had no idea what to expect on the days to come. Nobody does. I mean, there's no guide for breaking an ankle or a "Breaking Ankles for Dummies" version.  I had so many questions.

• How long do I have to be in a cast?
• Am I ok to drive?
• How do I shower with a cast on?
• Am I awake for surgery?
• Do I have to stay overnight at the hospital after surgery?
• How soon can I be back at work?
• Can I travel through the airport with a boot on?
• Is it going to hurt the rest of my life? Will I ever be normal again?

I relied on Google and Youtube for all my questions. Oh how I wish someone would've shared their personal story with me (hence the reason I'm writing this!). I am now finding more Youtube videos with people sharing their personal stories which are helpful. I have also joined a Facebook Group for people with broken ankles. It has been extremely helpful to hear others stories. Since breaking my ankle and having 2 surgeries (my 3rd surgery is next week), I've had a handful of people come to me with the same questions I had. I felt like sharing my story and what I've learned would be helpful to those at the beginning of the journey.

Let's start off with my story. In a nutshell, I broke my ankle when I was 28 years old (I'm now 31), bow hunting - it was an accident in my deer stand, causing it to swing around the tree to which I had to jump from about 12 feet up. I landed in a pile of logs and broke my medial malleolus (the inside ball of my ankle). 
(If you want a more detailed version of how the break happened, click here: My Ankle Break Story )

I had a lot of questions about the timeline of it all. Surgery, casts, crutches, recovery, etc.

Oct 2014, in ER

If  you are curious, here's my timeline.

Oct 17, 2014: Broke ankle
Went to ER, X-Rays, learned it was broke, got a half plaster/half ACE wrapped cast.
( it was a Friday evening so we had to wait until Monday to see the ankle doctor)

Oct 20, 2014: Saw ankle specialist (looked at X-rays, learned it required surgery, asked a lot of questions, then scheduled surgery)

Oct 28, 2014: Surgery (puts 2 screws in, stay overnight in hospital to monitor me)

Nov. 4, 2014: Hard cast is put on (wore for 4 weeks, felt like 4 years)
Dec. 1, 2014: Hard cast is taken off, transition into walking boot (best day ever!!)
Video: Sawing the cast off! Onto walking boot!

Jan. 15, 2015: I wear walking boot for almost 7 weeks, transition into regular shoes mid-January.

Why won't this
swelling ever leave?

2015, 2016, 2017
I had issues with my ankle for the next 3 years, but just accepted it as that's how it is after you get ankle surgery. Again, how do I know any differently? I started to look back into it as I was getting frustrated I couldn't run like I used to. I wanted to be active again. I wanted to be able to lift more than 20 pounds without my ankle looking like a softball. Looking back, it's stupid I waited that long. 

Feb. 2018: I meet with my same doctor/surgeon to discuss options. He says taking the hardware out is an option, it's rare but it does happen. He said the swelling over the past 3 1/2 years could be my body rejecting the hardware. After discussing options, I decide it's time to take it out.

March 2, 2018: 2nd surgery - removal of hardware (2 screws)
I could not believe how easy the recovery was on the 2nd surgery. 

Many people ask if the hardware removal is worth it? I cover that on another post.
 SaraHHouse365 | My Ankle Hardware Removal

June 2018: First cortisone shot. Lasted about 3 months.

Oct 2018: Second cortisone shot. Lasted about 2 months.


December 31, 2018: CT Scan to see smaller details on what's bothering me.

Jan. 7, 2019: Appointment with Doctor to discuss CT Scan.
Scan shows bone fragments. We decide on a 3rd surgery to get the bone fragments, clean out the area, etc.

Jan 18, 2019: My 3rd surgery is scheduled to happen.

I am praying after this 3rd surgery will do it. I am really looking forward to being active again.

Things I learned or wish I had read about other people's personal stories...

Surgery

IV's in. here we go!

There's a lot of questions how everything works with surgery. If you're a planner, it might drive you crazy that they don't give you an exact time of your surgery until the day before. It was weird not having an exact time for somewhat big event. The surgeon room scheduler will call you the day before with what time to be there among other instructions you probably already received a pamphlet full on (No food or drink X hours before surgery, making sure you have a ride home, etc.)
I checked into surgery and went into the surgery prep area, it's like a bunch of mini rooms with curtains, kinda similar to the changing rooms at a store - except for all the rooms are large. They give you a gown to change into. Your clothing, jewelry, purse are all put into a plastic  hospital bag they give you. There is a closet in that room that you can put your bag. I felt pretty safe with my stuff in there but I would recommend leaving any jewelry, watches, etc. of value at home. If you're having a same day surgery (like hardware removal), you will be returning to that room to recover (an hour or so of sitting around, making sure your vitals are good, drinking juice, etc.) so your belongings stay in that room so you can change after. If you are staying overnight like I did in my first initial surgery, I don't remember how your belongings get up to the hospital room. My mom most likely brought them up there.
The nurse/s will be in and out checking vitals, making sure your blood pressure, temperature, etc. are all good. The next step is getting your IV in. Don't be surprised if you're in this prep area for 1-2 hours. It felt like forever, most likely because I was anxious. We passed the time by watching tv, chatting, phones, etc. Once it was time, they had me get in a wheelchair and they wheeled me to the Operating Room entrance. There I transferred into a hospital bed. Once we went past the doors into the operating area, it felt like everything changed. Maybe it was the IV talking. I remember the lighting - it was SO BRIGHT. It almost looked like when I worked in LA and we were at the studio shooting on set with all the bright lights. I also remember everybody was head to toe in scrubs - not exaggerating the head to toe comment- scrub booties all the way up to scrub caps.
Once we got into the operating room, I don't remember being awake for more than a minute. The anesthesiologist asked me how I was feeling, we chatted quickly and he gave me a little mask covering my mouth and that's all I remember. I was out.
They must've given me a spinal in that time. Then they did surgery, putting two screws in my ankle.

After Surgery - waking up.
The next thing I remember, I was slowly waking up, I don't remember the area exactly, everything was dream like. I seem to remember a side area of a hallway upstairs.
I asked a nurse, "Are we going in soon?" and she replied, "You're all done."
All done?? It was really weird.
Then she asked me, "Do you feel this?"
I had no idea what she was talking about. She had me look down. She was moving my foot, tickling, tapping, I saw what she was doing but I felt nothing. The spinal obviously worked.
They wheeled me to a room where I would spend the next 24 hours.
I did recovery at my parents - it was easier, plus I had the help of all my siblings within 20 minutes.




The hard cast
I didn't realize how itchy this cast would become at the end. I believe the words "I'm going to go crazy" came out of my mouth a couple times. The doctor says you're not suppose to shove things down your cast because the skin becomes very fragile and more easily apt to break. Especially not sharp objects, like the end of a wire hanger. I used the end of a fly swatter, while the handle was made out of wire hanger, the end of the handle is actually rounded. It was amazing. Then my Dad ended up making me a total redneck scratcher - an old fork duct taped to a stick. As redneck as it was, it felt amazing. It may sound crazy reading this but when the time comes, you'll 

The itching gets to be unbearable.

understand. My accident happened in winter but those who have their injuries in summer, I can imagine the sweat would cause it to stink more.

When casts comes off
My longest cast was on for 4 or 5 weeks. One of the best feelings in the world you will experience is when your cast comes off and you get to walk in a walking boot. Again, one of the most freeing, best feelings in the world!
First of all, they have a little saw that cuts the cast off. I had a cast in 3rd grade but don't remember this saw cutting it off. Then they get in there with this pry bar tool. It's easier to watch the video than me try to explain it.

When the cast came off, three things surprised me the most. The staples, hair on my legs and dead skin.
     -Staples: I thought my ankle was stitched up, as in, with stitches. So when my first cast came off after surgery, I was surprised to see staples holding my skin together. It wasn't bad, it just looks so much more dramatic.

Oh, there's staples! 

     -Hair on my legs: I could not believe the hair on my legs was so long. It was starting to curl it was so long, like my brothers. My leg looked like a mans leg. Some people say their doctors told them to wait at least 5 days to shave their legs. I don't remember my doctor saying anything about this nor do I think I would've had the will power. It felt amazing to shave my leg!!

     -Dead Skin: I was very surprised, grossed out by the amount of dead skin that comes off your leg, but mostly your foot. My heel looked like a 95 yo old. I will post a video soon.

Youtube Video: Cast coming off, onto a walking boot!

Staple Removal
Imagine if you had to cut shoe laces off a shoe, taking the scissor right up the middle of the criss crosses. That's how they remove the staples, except for the surgeon does it one by one and the tool is more of a clippers. It does not hurt. I didn't get a video of my staple removal but I went in with my Mom when she had hip replacement in January 2019. Here's some common questions answered plus a video of her staples being removed. 


Video: Staple Removal Video



Hardware Removal

If you are considering getting your hardware removed but worried about the recovery time, (if yours is anything similar to mine), the recovery is 100x better. I was shocked. I was walking an hour later. The fact that you are in a walking bootie (it's like an small black sandal) leaving the hospital is huge compared to a cast/crutches. My surgeon does his surgeries on Fridays, that way people can have hardware removal done, rest over weekend and some even return to work on Monday.
The number one question is: Is it worth it?
Everybody is different but for the most part, I hear more positives. I'm guessing 90% of the people I've talked to and blogs I've read don't react enthusiastically saying "it was life changing", but they feel small differences.
I felt a little more flexible, I think the swelling went down a little. And I did not feel so much swelling before storms.
I cover this on a separate post.

Video: Hardware Removal - getting the screws out of my ankle

Driving
I got lucky, it was my left ankle so it didn't affect my driving. My mom got hip surgery last week and they said no driving for at least 4 weeks. I'm not sure how long ankle is?
 Still being able to drive myself was crucial to staying  sane (independent) during this whole event.

Getting around

 Crutches are cool for the first 20 minutes, after that, they are not cool, at all. 
I know a lot of people get the knee scooter, for me it just didn't seem practical with the snow, ice and stairs. I believe I found out about the Iwalk 2.0 from a friend. That also saved me! I would strongly advice getting a scooter or the Iwalk 2.0. Because I'm from Minnesota and this all happened in the winter, I was nervous about the scooters wheels getting caught in the snow. I purchased the Iwalk 2.0 and it was a lifesaver for me!! 
See I-Walk 2.0 aka "Peg Leg" video.

One of the main things that was so nice that it made my hands free (something you don't get when using crutches). I could actually make a meal and carry it to the table. Or carry my purse to the car. The IWalk was detrimental towards my sanity during this frustrating time. You can get the IWalk on Amazon for around $150. I found mine on Craigslist for $100. I ended up selling it for $80 after I was done with it. Not bad. Oh, and those electric scooters at Target, Costco and Walmart - yeah, just swallow your pride and have fun with it. Although, Amazon and online shopping weren't nearly as huge in 2014 as they are now in 2019.  



REST
Notice the capitalization on this one.
This ankle injury has been 18x more difficult emotionally and mentally than it has physically. Now that I think about it, I don't think I ever cried from the pain, but I definitely cried from frustration.
It is extremely tough to ask for help. It is extremely tough when tasks take 36x longer to do than normally.

Going to the bathroom, taking a shower - everyday normal tasks can be challenging and they will take longer. 

For me, the biggest struggle was slowing down and allowing myself to rest. I traveled a lot for my job, plus I just have a busy personality. I am always on-the-go, very independent, strive on staying busy. My sweet, soft spoken nurse got real real with me the morning after my surgery. I asked her to give it to me straight and she did. I explain it in the "Give it a rest, would ya?" post. 
This REST thing has been a real lesson to me, and I hear about it often in our Facebook Group.
 I ended up writing separately about it here: Give it a rest, would ya? Giving your body the rest it needs.



Work
I was extremely fortunate to work part time from home through all of this. I went back to work after 4 weeks, thanks for the Iwalk, but still part time.

Shower / Bathroom
I would strongly advice getting a shower chair if you don't have a seat in your shower. If you have surgery, the doctor will not allow your stitches to soak in a tub for quite a few weeks. When going home from surgery, the hospital usually gives you a plastic sleeve for showering (looks like a plastic see thru Christmas stocking). It's also very helpful to have the bathroom on the same level you're recovering at. Stairs take a lot of energy in those first weeks, avoid them if you can.

What's with people talking about weather and their hardware?

Have you ever heard anyone whose have had surgeries or have hardware talk about the change in weather? They say they can feel when a storm is coming or when it's about to rain? Guess what? They aren't crazy! I experienced it and it's likely you will too if you have hardware in. For me, my ankle got very achey or it would swell more than usual.
Now that I had experienced it, I was curious to what causes it?

YouTube Video: Does weather affect the hardware in my body?

It's the barometric pressure.  According to Keck Medicine at USC:

 Scientists don’t know for sure why weather causes pain, but barometric pressure seems to play an important role. When a storm is brewing, the barometric pressure drops. This change is detected by the body, causing soft tissue to swell and fluid around the joints to expand. The expanding and contracting of muscles can also irritate nerves and cause pain. It seems most noticeable in people who suffer from inflammation, or who have fluid on their joints.

I'm from Minnesota, we not only have 4 very different seasons, the weather can be extreme in each of the seasons. So these weather changes definitely affected me.

I just talked to my friend who has a plate and 14 screws in his arm from a football accident. He said he can definitely tell right before it rains.



SaraHHouse365 | My Ankle Break Story

SaraHHouse365 | Hardware Removal

Sarah House YouTube  |  Ugh! Dead skin & hairy leg! 
What happens to your leg when you wear a cast for 5 weeks

Sarah House YouTube  |  3rd Ankle Surgery
Cleaning bone fragments



For a list of more of my YouTube Videos

My Ankle Break Story

My Ankle Break Story.

If you've broken your ankle and want to bypass the detailed story and go straight to shortened version with advice/tips, see here: 

Friday, October 17, 2014

It's Friday evening, 5 pm. I was headed north - always a good way to head in Minnesota.

I was working in the Twin Cities and headed for my parents house for the weekend, meeting my older brother Tom there to pick up my 12 year old nephew Drew and taking him in bow hunting with me. I was excited as I had just finished another work week and looking forward to a weekend of hunting and family.
Those who live in the cities and hunt up north know this excitement.

Always excited to
head north!

I arrive earlier than the boys so I bring in my bags, refill my water bottle and grab some snacks for the deer stand. The AC/DC I was blasting on the drive up still has me pumped up. Drew calls me to tell me they're almost here, he's excited too. I decide to get a little silly and make Drew laugh by putting some eye liner under my eyes like a football player getting ready for a game. I hear Tom and Drew pull up, I go out to meet them with my hat on backwards, black marks under my eyes - Drew laughs at my silliness. Tom laughs, shaking his head at younger sister.

Drew and I drive the short distance down to "The 18", a beautiful 18 acre woods, part of my parents 82 acre "backyard". Tonight we will be hunting a 16' Buddy Ladder stand - a pretty common stand that two people can sit in.

We get everything we need out of the Jeep. I grab my bow, backpack and quiver and look over to see Drew empty handed. I was raised that if I saw someone who their hands full and you don't, help them out, grab something. I want my nieces and nephews to do the same so I remind Drew of Grandpa's saying and hand him the backpack and my quiver. I take my bow and we head towards the stand. We walk about 100 yards through brush, up and down some hills before we arrive at the stand.

The stand is 16 feet in the air so I have Drew go up the ladder first, I stand at the bottom watching him go up. Once I see he's nearing the top, I start going up. I get over halfway up and that's when it happened.

The next part all happened so fast.

It must've been the motion of both of us going up the stand, both of us putting our weight on one side of the ladder, still not sure? One of the legs of the ladder dug into the ground while the other went in the air, turning and starting to spin the ladder. Before Drew and I knew what was going on, our weight leaned to that one side and we started swinging as well. I looked up and hoped Drew was already on the platform where he could hug the tree rather than jump. I yelled "hold on Drew!! Try to hold on!"

The motion is so fast. I am only holding onto ladder with one hand, the other hand is holding my bow.

I am forced to jump.

I jump.

I land, but it's not normal. It's really rocky, uneven and hard. I am laying on my stomach, hands on both sides of my head, like if you were to get down in push-up mode. But I have this heavy pain my foot, wait, my ankle, my leg? 

I look down, my boots are in a small pile of logs.

I feel major pain. I instantly know this isn't going to be a "dust yourself off and get up" situation but before I can even think about the pain, I am interrupted by my own thoughts, "Drew! Oh my gosh, where's Drew?!"

"Drew!?" I yell. No answer.

I brace my upper half up on my elbows to see if I can see above the brush and shrubs around me.

"DREWWWW!!!!!!!!!" I yell with more volume.

I am starting to panic. I listen and hear moaning.

"Drew??"

I strain my neck and see Drew hunched over in the fetal position.

More moaning coming from Drew.

My heart stops. Wait, Drew had my arrows. Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, is he bleeding? Does he have an arrow in him? Panic is setting in. My mind goes to worst case scenario.

This time I'm all business and he must hear it in my voice, "Drew Thomas, you need to answer me. Are you ok? Do you have an arrow in you?"

He replies immediately, "Whattt??" The tone of his voice lets me know he thinks I'm crazy.

"Nooo. No, I'm ok Auntie, but I landed in the pokeys and it really hurts."

I put my face into the ground in relief. Thank you Jesus.

"Ok, ok Drew, I'm over here, but I think I've broke my ankle or foot. I can't move."

He kinda pops his head up from fetal position to realize I'm not kidding.

We need help. My phone! I think I brought it. I lean up on one elbow and use my other hand to unzip the chest pocket. I slip my phone out and call my parents home number.

"Hello" answers my mom.

"Mom, hi, it's Joey. I think I broke my ankle." I say. Way to get straight to the point, eh?

The swelling begins

"What?!!" If you knew my Mom, you can totally picture her at the phone reacting to my words.

"Can you or Dad just come down to The 18? Drew is ok from what I know so far but I don't think I can walk."

To our luck, Tom and his wife Kari were checking a deer camera down on the land and were not even 1/2 a mile a way. When they got the call from my mom, they turned around and came down to the stand. Not even 5 minutes later, Dad and Mom arrived.

We explained what happened, they checked Drew out and asked me more questions.

Eventually we got over to the back of the van when Dad started to loosen up my boot. My eyes got big. Dad, what are you doing??? He said he needed to look at it before we decide what to do.

My worked on the laces and the tongue of the boot to get it extremely loose before he slide it off.

I bite my teeth together and scrunched my face in pain. Woweeeee - that hurt!!!

Then the sock.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh.

Ok, the boot was off. The sock was off. 

The next feeling was so weird. It felt like someone was blowing up my ankle like a balloon.

And as we watched it over the next couple minutes, it looked like it too. 

Arriving at the ER

What time is it? It's 6:30 pm now. 6:30 pm on a Friday.

Clinic is closed now. Looks like Emergency Room is our only choice.

They grab my bow, backpack, etc. and we head back to my parents.

There they help me transfer from the back of the van into the back of my Mom's Honda CR-V. I sit in the back seat because we've got to get this foot up, I can feel it swelling by the minute.

My Dad grabs a bunch of the living room pillows (classic Dad move) and props my foot up.

It's a 30 minute drive to the nearest ER. We get checked in and as they wheel me towards the room, a nurse says in passing, "Let me guess, flag football?"

Kinda confused, I reply, "Nope, deer stand."

We get into the room and they transfer me from wheelchair to hospital bed.

A nurse comes in, checking blood pressure and other stats.

"Flag football?"

I'm thinking to myself, what is with the flag football comment?

She points to the spot right below her eyes.

What? Ooooh!! It finally dawns on me that I still have the black under my eyes.

I laugh at myself how this must look. "Ooooh, the black marks? Yah, I don't do this every time I go hunting. I just did it to be silly and make my nephew laugh." Just stop already Sarah.

They do some X-rays and confirm it's broken. They can't say whether or not it'll require surgery but they do know I have to wait until Monday morning to see the foot/ankle specialist.

Until then, they put me in a half plaster hard cast with tons of fluffy padding and ACE wrap and give me crutches.

For the next two and half days, I am under the order of RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

I grew up in a hunting family and since it's October, we're right in the middle of hunting season. We've got bow hunting (deer), duck hunting and pheasant hunting going on so it's pretty likely that people are going to be in and out of the house. This Saturday was no exception. Everybody was checking in on me in between checking deer cameras, food plots, grandkids coming over, etc. I was sitting on the big oversized stuffed chair in the corner of the room, looking down on his huge oversized leg, half ace wrapped, half plaster cast. I was bumming. This was not fun. Drew walks in, I ask him how he's doing today and we chat a little bit. I say to him, why don't you go grab Auntie's bow and I'll meet you out at the picnic table? My mom yells from the kitchen, "Sarah JoAnne, what did you just say???" I smile at her as I crutch towards the front door.

Loaded up in Jeep, one boot, one big sock!

I make it to the picnic table on crutches, lay them down and put my foot up across the bench section. I grab my bow, check the sights and do an overall look over on it. Seems ok. I grab the practice arrows, pull back first one, shoot, annnnd it's good. Within that 6 inch bulleyes area. I pull back 2 more arrows, both are within that 10-12 inch diameter.

I'll take it. Good enough for a kill shot. I'm still in it.

I make up my mind, I'm going out.

My older brother Tom (Drew's dad) is doing some arrow practice as well. I holler over to him about 30 yards away, "Hey Tom, mind if I take the ground blind tonight?"

"You're kidding me," he replies.

My mom thinks I'm nuts at this point. She's probably right.

Nonetheless, I get loaded into the back of the Jeep, head down to the land and we back up to the ground blind. 

Even following doctors orders,
 ankle is propped up on 5 gal
Home Depot bucket. 

We get the ground blind set up and I put one arm over my Dad's shoulder and the other arm over my sister-in-law Kari's shoulder. We even follow doctors orders by bringing an extra Home Depot 5 gallon bucket down to elevate my ankle.

Kari and I are sitting for a while when I catch something out of the corner of my eye. A small doe!
For the first time in over 12 hours, my focus isn't on my ankle. And holy cow, my heart is beating!

"Kari! There's a deer. Look." I say under my breath with urgency. She looks.

"Should I shoot it?" I say. She nods and says yes.

I manage to sit up a little straighter in order to pull back the arrow. I am pulled back, waiting for it to stop. I look through my sights, trying not to pay attention to how fast my heart is beating. It stops.

I pull my trigger release.

(Arrow whizzing/jet sound)

I got it. I saw the neon fletching colors whiz by when it took off.

I got it! I got it!

I am quickly brought back to the reality that I can't get up as quickly as I usually would. Kari calls to notify the boys. They come down to the land. We manage to get me out of the ground blind (it involves some quick moves that cause pain. The boys arrive and come to congratulate me, even though we all know we have to find it first. But it's pretty cool, I mean, I just got my first deer with a broken ankle, that I had just broke not even 24 hours prior. I kinda felt like a bad ass.

After being upright, standing in prairie grass on crutches, I start to feel a heavy pulse feeling - it's not in my heart anymore, it's in my ankle. And it doesn't feel good.

I instruct the boys where the deer took off to and Kari goes with them to track it.

I wait by the vehicles. Ugh, the excitement drains and is replaced with pain. My ankle really hurts.

I wait more. Kari comes back first. It doesn't look good. She shakes her head, they didn't find anything yet. Now this really sucks. The sun is starting to set, it's getting harder to see and it's getting cooler. I wait until the rest of the family gets back, same news: no deer.

Noooo. I feel like crap. No deer hunter wants to wound a deer. We shoot to kill. We don't want to put the animal through drawn out pain. To know I didn't accomplish that is a crappy feeling.

It's now dark. My dad informs me that with the temperatures that evening and overnight, if we find the deer first thing in the morning, in the light, the meat will still be ok. So we head home.

I get in, put my ankle up immediately and get ice on it. The boys reassure me we'll find it in the morning before going up to bed. I'm bumming. This whole ankle thing succcccks.  

Sunday, October 19, 2014

It doesn't take me long after waking up to remember we have a deer to track. Tom, Kari, the girls, Mom, Dad, my brother Michael and his girlfriend Taylor all join us down on the land.

I start out with them but quickly learn that 10 ft in prairie grass on crutches is equivalent to 500 ft. on foot for everybody else. I am not going to be able to keep up. I get into uneven ground that takes more effort than it's worth. Not to mention, these crutches are killing my armpits (yes, then I must be doing it wrong). Ok ok, I go to the car and sit on the hood. I wait, thinking about the whole situation, not feeling too proud.

My Dad comes out of the woods and tells me to grab my Buck Knife. 

"Did you find it!?" I ask excitedly. My heart rises, but Mr. Pokerface won't give me a yes or a no.

He makes me follow him. I let him know how long it's going to take and that it doesn't feel good. He lets me know his daughter is going to tough it out. I start to slow down and I'm now whining of pain. He stops, walks back to me, looks me in the eye, trying to hold a his poker face but his eyes show excitement when he tells me they found my deer and I am not missing the sight of finding it. 

Eeeekkk!!!!!! They found it!!

That news excites me to keep going. It feels like 12 miles on crutches. I know I'm exaggerating and being a baby. I finally come up on it. There it is! I got it! My first deer!

We take photos and I thank everybody for their help. Now it's time to elevate and ice this ankle, I have an appointment with the ankle specialist in the morning.

Monday, October 20, 2014

10/20/2014

I meet with the ankle specialist Monday morning. My ankle does not look good at the appointment (see photos). He shows me the X-rays and where the break is. It's going to require surgery. Dangit.

The swelling needs to go down a considerable amount before surgery can happen.

We schedule it a week out. I am on strict orders to get this swelling down.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

The surgery goes well, two screws are put into my ankle.

Over the next 12 weeks, I go through casts and walking boots.

I still walk with a limp, especially in the morning, after a long drive or anytime I'm sitting for a long period without being on it.

Since then...

I broke my ankle when I was 28. I am 31 years old now, writing this just a week before my 3rd ankle surgery.

The reason I sat down to write about this event was because I had no clue what was to come. It's been a long four years with this ankle trouble. I've had so many questions and I just wanted to know what others have done. The story you read was more detailed for the hunters but if you have questions or want tips/advice, visit: Breaking Ankle - what I learned.

Note:

-- For those of you wondering why I was carrying my bow up the ladder -  I know, I know, I've already been lectured. I have tied my bow with a string on the ground upon reaching the stand, climbed to the top and then raised/pulled it up in the past but the string broke a couple weeks before I hadn't replaced it yet so I had gone up the ladder carrying my bow the last couple times.

-- Also, I have never worn a safety harness with hunting from a tree stand. I have heard stories and the harnesses just seem to do more harm than good. Maybe with the 20'+ stands but 16' is the highest any of our stands is at so we've never monkeyed with them.

SaraHHouse365 | Breaking Ankle - what I learned.

SaraHHouse365 | Hardware Removal

More photos:

Tracking a deer on crutches feels like 23 miles
 (even if it's only 50 yards)

Huge thanks for my family for helping track the deer!
(and helping with everything in general)

My first deer! (with a bow)

1st appointment with ankle specialist