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| If you click to make bigger it's easier to see, but the break is on the left side of the fibula. |
Lesson #1
Don't hook your legs around
the legs of a bar stool, even if you are wearing cute new shoes.
There
have been a few times in my life that I have felt the scary sensation of
starting to slide off a stool with my legs twined around the stool legs and
thought to myself "Whew! I probably could have broken something if I
actually fell!". Let me confirm for you that this is indeed a very
real probability.
Lesson #2
If you have an ER doctor
that is yawning, acts like he doesn't see you and avoids eye contact, you
probably (definitely) want a second opinion.
While
he was correct in the fact it was a break, he said it was horizontal and not
vertical and that I could be healed in about 3 weeks. But to be fair, I
obviously did wake him...
Lesson #3
When they say the 48 hours
after breaking a bone is going to be the most painful time, believe it.
Actually,
mine was probably more like 52 hours, but when it happened I experienced the
most intense urge to run around my bedroom screaming and crying because I
didn't know what else to do. I jumped out of bed (as best as someone with a
broken leg can), grabbed my crutches and crutched myself around the upper level
of the house, crying. I decided against the screaming as I didn't think the
boys would be too keen on that. They needed their sleep so they could look
after me the next day, anyhow.
Lesson #4
Be very nice to your friends
and family. Start now if you are currently a big meany.
You
never know when you are going to need them to carry you up and down the stairs,
cook you wonderful meals, bake fresh cookies for you, bring you little white
pills to make the explosions of pain a little duller... and insist that you lie down with your
foot elevated higher than your head. See... it's a good thing I didn't do the screaming
part mentioned in Lesson 3.
Lesson #4
If you don't currently
practice yoga, you may want to give it a shot.
Tree
pose is particularly helpful to practice balance on one leg. I think I would
have broken my leg clean off by now, along with some cracked ribs and possibly
a skull injury thrown in there from falling down the stairs without having the
stabilized core that I have from yoga. Trust me- good balance is your friend.
Lesson #5
Invest in a small backpack,
messenger bag or cute shoulder strap Coach bag.
...
because you cannot carry anything on crutches, unless you
utilize your teeth. And no, Mom, I would never
do
that (except for 2 days ago when I carried two bags of ice into the living room
so I could ice my leg...). A bag is especially helpful to carry your phone(s)
around with you. I have three; a home phone, a work phone and my cell phone.
When I am carrying just two of them, the third one will always ring from a
different level of the house. I then feel obligated to crutch along like a
tornado to answer a call from someone about lowering my mortgage interest
rates. I have not been Happy Cat when I do answer these calls, so if you are one
of those people who is trying to lower my mortgage rate you may want to
reconsider calling me for the next 4- 12 weeks. Just sayin'. In your snazzy
bag, carry all said phones, a pen and paper in case you need to send paper
airplane notes to people who are not paying you enough attention and your
wallet in case you get bored and start surfing and shopping online. You never
know- you may find some cute things to decorate your boot or cast that you are
starting at all day, every day, as you lie down with your foot elevated higher
than your head.
*Special
shout out to Tina who suggested investing in a CamelBack to put your coffee in
because... hello! You can't carry a coffee cup around! Coffee through a tube is
better than no coffee at all, and a CamelBack affords you the added bonus of
keeping your back warm. Or you could use it as a heating pad in a pinch.
Lesson #6
Unless you have a bunch of
sick time left and your company qualifies a broken leg as "sick", get
a job that lets you work from home.
While
I had to edit the location of my home office, it is working- and I am still
working. This helps me to feel like I am contributing more that just helping my
loved ones get more exercise and hone their cooking skills while they take care
of my sorry butt. Mmmm. Cooking. I'm hungry. I hope my own personal Iron Chef
gets home soon... but I digress...
Lesson #7
When using crutches, you
should be pressing them against your ribs and not leaning into your
armpits. My bruised armpits couldn't agree more.
Special
thanks to Clare for sharing this extremely valuable bit of info. Sorry she had
to have a terrible car accident in which she broke both of her legs and
multiple ribs and a bunch of other things... nothing funny about this one.
Lesson #8
Spent the time to find the
RIGHT Most Wonderful Boyfriend/Husband/Significant Other in the World.
Again,
trust me. This will make all the difference as to whether this will be a
terrible 3-12 week ride, or one that you can turn into humorous blog entries.
Or entries that seem humorous to you because of the little white pain killers
that probably do a little more than just dull the pain.
More
lessons as I continue to learn them. Right now, I think I may work on my hockey
skills as I lie down with my foot elevated higher than my head. Or maybe I'll take a nap.
Or start knitting. Or register for the Chicago Marathon! Registration opened a
half an hour ago! Bye!
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