Before I even begin writing about "The Fall", I just want you to know that I am terrified that I am going to end up with cankles (you can see pictures here and here). I'm also worried that I'll never be able to wear cute shoes again.
Last Thursday began like every other day. I went to work and had a fairly decent day. I was in an excellent mood all day. I had plans for every day that weekend. I was also incredibly excited that I actually had New Years Eve and Day off. It would be the first in six years. Sara and I had bought tickets to a party. I had a cute dress and was planning on wearing my new ridiculously cute boots. I had made an appointment to get my toes done and my eyebrows waxed. Life was good. I just knew I was going to start 2011 off in a really good way.
As I was leaving work, I put my headphones in and was listening to The Ting Tings "That's Not My Name". I was in a great mood. I took my normal route out of work and just as I am going down the stairs to catch the shuttle bus, I feel my left ankle pop. I have to admit, that was a pretty frightening moment. I knew something bad had just happened, but I wasn't sure what. I've replayed this moment in my head a lot and I still don't know what caused my ankle to pop. I think I just hit the stair the wrong way, but I just don't know.
Anyway, the left ankle popped, which threw me completely off balance. I remember thinking that I couldn't fall on my right knee. Every time I've fallen, I always hit the right knee. I didn't want that to happen again. So instead, I stuck my right foot out. I instantly felt pain and hit the ground. I sat there for a minute trying to figure out what happened and attempting to collect my things. I managed to stand up and sit on a ledge that was close by. A couple of patients who witnessed the whole thing came to check on me. At this point, I still didn't realize how hurt I really was. Someone went and got help and a volunteer with a wheelchair came to take me to the ER. I insisted that I could stand and that if I just waited a few more minutes I would be able to go home. I must have looked in rough shape because he very calmly knelt next to me and said, "I'll tell you what. You have two choices. You can either voluntarily go with me to the ER, or I'm going to call a Rapid Response." Now, let me explain a Rapid Response. A Rapid Response is something any person in the hospital can call if for some reason they believe a person is in need of immediate medical attention. This is used for a variety reasons, but involves no less than twenty people. That was the last thing I wanted, more humiliation. I obviously went voluntarily with the man.
As I was being wheeled to the ER, it hit me. The pain, the fact that I was really hurt, and that my New Year's Eve was going to be a bust. I started crying and shaking. By the time I was in triage, my blood pressure was 84/45 and my heart rate was 42. I was begging to lie down. I felt like I was either going to pass out or throw up. The minute I was in the back and the nurse saw my left ankle, he gave me 10 mg of Oxycodone and ordered bilateral ankle x-rays. In radiology, I felt like I was getting better. In fact, after the pain meds, I thought I was going to walk out of there and have my weekend back. At some point, I texted Meg who came and was there when they delivered the bad news. The right ankle was broken (the lateral malleolus to be exact) and an obvious left sprained ankle with asymmetric joint space. The asymmetric joint space had the ER doctor worried about major ligament damage and spoke with me about possible surgery. I had no weight bearing restrictions on the right ankle and LIMITED weight bearing on the left. And there went my weekend.
I spent the rest of the weekend on the couch upstairs. I tired really hard to stay in the vertical position with my feet up. It was tough. Standing up was by far the most difficult thing. The stairs were tough at first, but once I learned how to work them, it wasn't a problem. Standing up, definitely the worst. It was the fact that I knew it was going to hurt. It took me like 20 minutes to convince myself to stand up. Everything is more difficult and there are a lot of things I never even thought about, but that I will no longer take for granted. Like putting my feet up on the bed, for example.
Anyway, I followed up with an orthopedic surgeon on Monday. He was impressed at the improvement on my left ankle. I could actually balance on my left ankle alone. I don't even have to wear an ace bandage on that foot. My right ankle still has about another month of recovery ahead. Luckily, I was put in an air cast with very few restrictions. I still have to lie down as much as possible when I'm at home (with my toes above my nose), use my crutches when I walk down long hallways, and I have to sit when I shower. He let me go back to work the next day. I could've probably used another day off of my feet, but I had no leave left. Off to work I went.
I really do feel a lot better. I am still not strong enough to do something like grocery shopping, but I'm hoping by next weekend I will be. My left ankle has virtually no pain. My right only hurts when I bang it into something or take it out of my cast. I'm only allowed to take off my air cast when I take a shower or put on my pants. I go next week to have a x-ray to make sure nothing has slipped and just to check on my progress.
I still have high hopes for 2011. Like I said, 2010 wasn't the greatest and I'm hoping the messed up ankles were 2010's one last attempt at screwing me over.
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