I broke my ankle this week.
It’s another of those events that makes you so grateful for those times when you feel well and everything on your body works properly. It’s also a time that makes you realize how quickly your life can change! One minute, your bones are fine, and the next, snap!
I took our Siberian Husky out in the woods behind our home this past Thursday evening so she could do her duty. When she was done and we were turning around to go back into the home, she pulled me in a direction I wasn’t prepared for. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but somehow my body went one way and my foot another. I lost my balance, and as I was falling, I heard a SNAP. I landed on the ground, in the dark, in a bit of pain, with a 50 pound dog still attached to the leash on my arm. I rolled over, and assessed how I felt. I knew I seriously hurt myself, especially when I attempted to gingerly stand. Stupid. Anyway, I managed to get both myself and the dog into the house without any further catastrophe.
A short while later, I was in the new Orange Regional Medical Center in Middletown, NY. I hadn’t ever been there before and wasn’t sure what to expect. I arrived at 8pm and was out of there by 9:30pm. I think that’s an impressive processing time, especially since there were quite a few people in the emergency room when I arrived. The people at the admitting desk were extremely helpful, as were all the nurses and doctors. While the x-ray process was a bit painful, everything else was done quite gingerly. I was given a temporary splint and crutches, and a referral to an orthopedic doctor. The entire process was really quite painless and efficient.
Bottom line, if you have a choice of hospitals to visit when you have an emergency, I would choose the Middletown facility. They are located at 707 East Main Street in Middletown which is off Exit 122 of NY-17.
See: http://www.ormc.org/default.aspx for more details.
Kat Palmiotti, The House Kat 
After recently having extensive surgery on my broken ankle, I found your blog! Lots of great suggestions and tips! Thanks!! tina
Tina- Thank you so much for your input. BEST OF LUCK with your recovery!!!!!
This is really nice of you. I had so many questions since I broke my ankle. I’m pretty sure you have answered them all lol. Thanks a bunch again. Stay Safe and healthy.
Thank you Dee!
I do have one question though. I had my surgery 2 wks ago. I had the splint on for the 2 wks. My surgery included 2 screws and a plate.
When I went to my clinic appt. just after 2 wks. She said my stitches healed really well and they were removed. They didn’t take any x rays, and put me straight in the black boot. Only 2 wks after surgery, this is a little scary for me. But I’m doing as they say and keep the boot on as much as possible. And do my toe and ankle sizes a few days awk. What’s your thought on that?
Did they say you could walk on your foot when wearing the boot? That IS fast and I find it a bit wierd that they didn’t take follow-up x rays to make sure the bone is healed. Does it hurt or does it feel fine?
Typo toe And ankle exercises. A few times a day.
Hi I’m so glad that I found your blog. I had a terrible summer my dad had a stroke and was paralyzed on his left side, but he was to be coming home so like three in the morning I ran down to the basement to do his laundry for his pt, and I slipped on a bag of wash, unfortunately instead of falling on my bottom, being an x ballet dancer I tried to stand, big mistake. I heard that snap just like you , and actually broke my fibula and had a fracture dislocation as well. I found an amazing Doctor who took my insurance, James Kipnis, he said I had an unstable break and needed surgery, which I did have. It went well thank God. GREAT NEws tomorrow I get to put into a walking cast, it had been six weeks after surgery in a hard cast. Thank you so much for writing, I’m a tad nervous about how I will feel putting it fully down for the first time on purpose. I’ve been elevating but it’s my left ankle so I can drive thankfully. Once again you’ve helped me and I’m about your age too! Have a great day! Claudia
It sure makes you appreciate good health as you said, and I will no longer be running down those basement stairs anymore.
Claudia-
Thank you so much for writing. Wow, you must be SOO excited about getting into the walking cast. Thank goodness you can drive though – not being able to drive was one of the hardest parts for me.
Best wishes tomorrow and for the next recuperation period, and be careful on the steps!!! 🙂
Hugs,
Kat
Thanks so much for posting your experience. I broke my left ankle almost a week ago. I have 3 small children and am a stay at home mom. This is going to be quite an experience.
Ashlee-
It sure is! As long as you’re ready for anything, you’ll be fine. Good luck with your children! Hopefully you can get some help during the day so it’ll be a little easier.
Thinking of you!
Kat
Thank God I found this, like you I was walking our dog and she pulled and I landed on my bottom. Broken ankle in 3 places plus dislocation. 2 Ops later, 5 casts in 1 month due to complications, I now have numerous screws and plates. After the last pot I got the airboot which I used for 1 week then only use when outside. Now walking, sort of, around the house, stairs etc, and obviously it swells.
My question is, did you get lower back pain when walking with and without the boot?
Also, besides aches do you get pins and needles, tingling and sharp pains.
Hello Joy!
Who knew dogs could be so dangerous?
I’m thrilled to hear you are sort of walking – every step is a step closer towards “normal” walking.
I did not get lower back pain but did get tingling, pins and needles, and sometimes a sharp pain. The tingling and pins and needles went away first. The tingling was in the bottom of my foot.
Regarding the back pain, are you tensing up when you walk? (I’m just thinking that perhaps if you’re afraid of falling down, you might be a bit stiff).
Best wishes! It sounds as though you are healing well.
Kat
Thanks for the reply….I suppose I,m trying to run before I can walk. I go on holiday in 3 weeks, 10 hour flight and am concerned about my ankle and now my back, but I am determined to go.
It was great to find your post. On 8/23. Fell on a nature trail with extensive dislocation of right ankle and 7 fractures of fibula. Unfortunately I also broke my left foot. Which is not as bad as ankle, so I am wheelchair bound. Surgery on ankle on 9/3 with 8 screws and several plates and tendon and ligament repair. Yes, it was bad. Surgery went well, but will admit I was scared. Go tomorrow for surgery plus 5 weeks. It was great to read your emotions and they were right on for me. Had to have 24 hour care until last week. My question is dealing with the fear of falling again. I get bone chills when I even think about falling. I did have a history of right ankle rolls at least one every other month, but never hurt myself. Has anyone dealt with this fear and how to deal with it? I hope to get the boot cast tomorrow. No crutches yet due to left foot fracture.
Marita –
Wow, that must have hurt! Hugs to you….
I’m still fearful of breaking my ankle again, but not to the point of not moving forward. I basically just try to be extra cautious and I look down at the ground a lot more than I used to. The more steps you take without falling the more confident and less scared you will be!
Best wishes with the boot and eventually no boot!!!!
Kat
Kat, I really enjoyed reading your blog. Can you tell me how severe your break was? And where on the fibula did it occur?
I broke my left fibula two weeks ago and am already getting around with just the boot — the doctor seems to de-emphasize the use of crutches — using my left heel, and have no pain from the walking itself. The foot still hurts on its own, though, probably from the swelling, and the foot is very black-and-blue all over.
The hardest part is at night, finding a comfortable position for my foot (with the boot removed, of course).
Thanks,
Arnold
Arnold-
This seems to be a new way to deal with some breaks – my mother-in-law (in her 80s) recently broke her ankle and was allowed to walk in the boot right away which blew my mind! And she healed really quickly.
My break was clean – one crack/break and that was it. I was very lucky.
And yes, sleeping is tough – flopping from side to side was difficult!
It sounds as though you might have a relatively easy time healing. And for that I am happy for you!
Kat
I’m joining the ankle repair club on 10/8/2015. I broke my tibia in 2 places along with one in the fibula. I had severe dislocation also if both bones which qualified me for surgery 5 days Lateran 10/13/2015 for open reduction and internal fixation “ORIF”. It required use of a plate with eight screws in the tibia and two screws in my fibula for stabilization. I appreciate ur very thorough history of ur injury. And yes, I have a phobia of falling now. I’m in my two and a half week of recovery. I was given a boot to wear two weeks postoperative Overall, the road is long. But with ur information we are all in it together. And now have some clue of what to look for.
Thanks again.
Sharla-Dallas
Sharla-
Thanks for sharing, and I’m sorry you have to join the ankle repair club! It’s been several years since my break and I’m still paying more attention to where I put my feet so I don’t break anything else. I certainly don’t want a repeat!
The road does seem long while you’re dealing with the recovery period, but eventually this will all be a memory. Best wishes!
Kat
Sharla, sorry to hear of your break. How did it happen? Did they say how long you have to wear the boot? I’m hoping to stop wearing mine after six weeks, but it’s up to the doctor. Last weekend, I traveled from DC to Philly on the train and was able to get around by walking limited distances.
Does anyone in this thread know what sort of therapy I’m likely to need after I’m done with the boot? Is it for the ankle itself, or also involve the lower leg or even the whole leg? I know the muscles in the affected leg are probably weakened.
Thanks,
Arnold
Arnold –
After I was finished with the boot, I did some physical therapy (and then at home exercises) for the entire foot/calf region. All the muscles needed to be worked and stretched, so it wasn’t just addressing the ankle. In fact, I think just about every muscle in the leg with the injured foot needed work.
Best wishes with your healing.
Kat
Kat – thanks for going to the effort of creating this well-written blog. I broke my ankle and had surgery about four weeks ago. Mine was a skydiving accident, which seemed to be of great interest to the staff in the emergency room. Now, despite the huge inconvenience of having to completely rearrange my life, everything is coming along – your blog is very informative and reminds me that I am not alone in this experience.
Ken –
Skydiving! That’s a lot more exciting than tripping while walking the dog. I’m glad everything is coming along,and thanks for taking the time to comment.
Kat
Glad to find this series of posts. I slipped/tripped/fell on a banyan tree root in Hilo HI while on vacation. Crack in the tibia and a spiral fracture in the fibula. In a splint for 9 days before I got home and in with the orthopedic doctor. I have a knee scooter which is far better than crutches IMHO but I would be stuck without elevators. You give me hope that will walk and maybe even run again. The emotions and mind games can really get one down.
I’m on cast number 2. I go back in 2 more weeks but I’ve been told it’s 4 weeks before boot time. Great to read about your experience with learning to walk again.
Liz –
Those banyon trees are HUGE! My parents lived in Hilo HI for quite a few years and I thought those trees were fascinating.
I’m sorry to hear about your fall and subsequent ankle break That must have put a damper on the vacation. When you get the boot, you will just feel as though you are definitely getting closer. Hang in there! The body really is amazing in its ability to heal.
Best wishes,
Kat
Hi
I broke my fibula close to my ankle on February 5 2016. l was put in splint for 10 days than in fiberglass cast for 5 more weeks. All this time total non weight bearing. My cast came off on 22 March and Dr asked me to start walking and putting on weight right away( which I could not). I walked with the help of crutches for first 5/6 days now after almost 2 weeks since my cast came off I can walk unaided but I am still limping a lot. I have very little pain but my foot is always swollen and the swelling gets worst if I walk for more than 10 minutes or keep my legs dangling for a longer period of time and my ankle feels warmer and tender. Does anyone else had the same issue ? I go for physiotherapy 3 times a week. I Have not started work yet but doing whatever I can around the house. Planning to start work from May 1st and have already booked a trip to China in August but worried if I will be ok by then.
Hello Sabiha-
The swelling seemed to be the last issue to disappear. My ankle and foot were swollen quite frequently and I had to keep icing them. It took quite a while but did eventually go away. One of the tips the therapist told me was to focus on walking from my heel to my toe. Heel/toe, heel/toe. The limping slowly disappeared once I focused on walking correctly.
Best wishes! It sounds as though you are definitely moving in the right direction!
Kat
Hi Everyone.
I am so glad I found this. I missed one step on my porch on Sept 13, 2017 and broke both sides of the ankle, broke the tibia, and dislocated my right ankle. My first broken bones and it resulted in ORIF surgery on Sept. 15.
I was in the splint until Sept. 29th, and then got xrays and a cast.
The cast came off 6 days later and I got a walking boot – around Oct 5th. Instructions were non weight bearing, but I could take the boot off and move my toes and my ankle a little. The nerves hurt waaay worse than my ankle at that point. The blankets touching my toes hurt so bad from the time I had my post surgical splint until now (Nov 2, 2017)
I went for more xrays on Oct 31st and got the ok to do partial weight bearing and got a referral for PT, which I start next week.
I started putting a little weight on it that night. I’d also been running around town all day which was a lot of activity for someone who’s basically been sitting for 7 weeks! I didn’t really sleep that night. The nerves, pins/needles, tingling and shooting pains were all just going crazy. Day 2- I could barely put weight on it at all. The front part where my ankle and leg meet hurt so bad like it was dislocated again. (I still don’t have feeling in many places on my foot and ankle, so it’s tough to tell just where something hurts). Today, day 3: it seems MUCH easier. But my walking boot is looser so it slides up and down a bit.
I’m having a hard time finding anything about how my walking boot should be adjusted for partial weight bearing. Is looser better? Day 2 I was finding some swelling was interfering with the boot fit. Any suggestions there?
I’ve been off work since Sept. 13th and I can’t got back until at least December 1st after more xrays coming up on Nov. 28th.
Thanks for your blog and time!
Hello Trina-
I’m glad to hear you can do partial weight bearing. Things really will start changing now!
My boot had velcro straps to adjust it – I probably would have made them tighter. OR stopped using the boot if I thought I could. I put on some pretty loose sneakers right around the same time and tried taking a few steps in them. I was pretty anxious to get back to normal.
I wish you the best with your healing !!
Kat