Sidelined

Two weeks ago last Thursday I had a wee bit of an accident. As I was preparing to go to work and take the kids to school, I went slip-sliding on the ice and ended up hurting myself badly. I was walking around to the side of the van, carrying Selena, when all of a sudden I slipped on a patch of black ice. I knew I was going to fall and my first instincts were to protect my daughter from hitting the ground hard. But, in doing so, I fell in weird position and ended up injuring my ankle. When I looked down, I saw that my foot wasn't pointing in a normal position for a foot and the first thing that came into my mind was "This can't be good...!!" And it wasn't.

My husband had to call the ambulance and they were there almost right away. The paramedic said he was pretty certain it was dislocated and possibly fractured. He also commented that I must have a high pain tolerance, because he said he would be screaming right now..... I just wanted to get to the hospital and get it fixed!!!

When I arrived at Picton hospital, the doctor and nurses were wonderful. We have such a great bunch at our local hospital! Everyone was hoping that it was just a dislocation, but the x-rays didn't lie and not only was it out of joint, but it was badly fractured on both sides and would require surgery to repair it.

The doctor in Picton put the dislocated ankle back in place, but the fracture needed to be referred to an orthopedic surgeon in Belleville. So, that afternoon I was off to Belleville General by ambulance, to have surgery that same afternoon.

But that never happened and in fact I never got into surgery for a full 24 hours! Because I was 19 weeks pregnant, they also didn't want to put me "out" during the surgery. So I got a spinal. I could hear everyone talking and I could feel the vibration of the drill as they put the plates and screws in place to hold my broken bones back together. All I could think to myself during the whole process was "Just breathe.... don't puke..... just breathe! It was quite the experience!

Afterwards I was put in a cast and taken back up to the surgical wing for recovery. That night, my foot swelled up so bad that they had to cut the cast. The pain was AWEFUL.

I was allowed to go home about 24 hours post-op and was recasted and sent on my way. However, 2 days later, my foot swelled again and I had to make a trip to Picton Emergency to have the cast cut once again and an ultrasound done to check my leg for blood clots. So, the past 2 weeks, I have had only the bottom half of the cast and a tensor, as the swelling just kept persisting.

The last 2 weeks have, no doubt, been the most painful and depressing of my life...... but I have come through it and today I can actually say that I might be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Today was my 2 week post-op check-up with the surgeon, they took out my staples (they were SO painful) and told me that I have another 2 weeks of non-weight bearing on the leg and after that I am good to go ahead and start using the leg with the assistance of crutches or a walker. I also have an Aircast (thanks so much to my sister in law for getting this for me... you are a lifesaver!) which allows me to remove the cast for showering/bathing, and to have physio begin as soon as possible on the ankle, which makes recovery that much faster!

I am on the (slow) road to recovery and it will be spring by the time my healing is all said and done, but at least things are looking up.... which is way more than I could say 2 weeks ago.

Thanks to all my family and friends who have helped us to get through this.... we have appreciated your help much more than you know! I love you all!!!