"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.
Surgery
 |
| IV's in. here we go! |
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. |
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
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
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
