Broken Leg

[securespark]

As someone said, I have too much time on my hands. This is because I am stuck in hospital having broken my leg. I only moved my feet slightly so I could open the filing cabinet. My right foot caught on the carpet and my body twisted round it as I fell, causinf a spiral fracture. It is a vertical fracture rather than a horizontal one and it spirals round the back of the bone. It starts just below the knee and finishes about 50mm above the ankle.

I fell on the 14th November and went to theatre 10 days later.

 

[longdogs]

Ooooh sorry to hear that, sounds very painful. Hope you recover asap. Do they serve Horlicks rice pudding in hospital?

 

[JBR]

Wow! I misread that at first as being a spinal fracture!

Sorry to hear that, SS. Why a 10-day wait before surgery? I'd have thought the bone would have started to knit (in an incorrect alignment) by then.

 

[longdogs]

Wow! I misread that at first as being a spinal fracture!

So did I

 

[EddieM]

Oww! Speedy recovery to yourself...

 

[EFLImpudence]

Best wishes, ss.

 

[Burnerman]

Bet you couldn't do that twice
Speedy recovery, matey.
John

 

[Deleted member 63160]

Tibia or fibula? Fibby I guess?

 

[Gasman28]

Hope for a speedy recovery mucker

 

[conny]

When you hurt yourself you don't do it in half measures do you?

Hope the pain medication is working and you are back home in time for Christmas.

 

[Micilin]

Have they given you exercises to do ?

Important to keep muscle tone in both legs and reduce rehab time after the break knits and cast is off.

Eg lying with a raised straight leg, 'write' the alphabet in the air with your foot

Have a google and Seek medical advice etc and hope you have a smooth recovery.

 

[securespark]

Conny- you are so right.

No horlicks rice pud.

But they do both separately.

Tibia. Ie shin bone. They thought at first I had fractured both but it was just the front one. I shall try and upload pics if I can. I have patchy hospital wifi with limited bandwidth and only patchy access to my provider, 3.

I have been given no exercises to do and those who are long-timers here know I have Cerebral Palsy affecting my right hand side. This means that unfortunately in the 10 days I waited for surgery (apparently he was fully booked with routine...surely I as an emergency could have knocked a routine off the list and jumped the queue?) my right foot
dropped so that instead of the toes pointing at the ceiling when I was lying on the bed, they were pointing at the wall and unable to move. So I had to have a special orthotic boot made and fitted that could gradually be altered and adjust the angle of the foot before I could start to walk on it. Yesterday I took my first steps since 14th November. I managed 4 of them, but the pain was excruciating.

 

[securespark]

X-ray of top half of leg showing fracture at top then disappearing round the back and reappearing at the bottom.

 

[securespark]

 

[securespark]

6 surgeons, consultants and registrars had a meeting to discuss my treatment. There were three options:

1. Standard plaster cast.

2. Traditional invasive surgery with a rod in the tibia and plates and screws holding the whole lot together.

3. An external cage with stainless steel wires passing through the tibia under 100kg of tension forcing the bones together.

Which one did I get?


The traditional cast would have gone right up to my thigh meaning confinement to bed for 3 months. Because of the risk of DVT and chest infections, this one was ticked off the list.

The next choice was abandoned as I had suffered serious infection to previous invasive surgery to the foot on the same side. Had I suffered infection after surgery to the broken leg, amputation would have been the only cure.

So the cage it is. I am stuck with it for a minimum of 3 months but possibly up to 12 or more, depending on how I progress.

Thank you to everybody for your good wishes. They are much appreciated and are a great boost for me!

Cheers guys!