I got a bad grade in ankle

[lizbee]

Hey, remember how I sprained my ankle on Easter Sunday, and then slipped over and broke the same ankle a few weeks later?

That's the sort of thing that makes doctors sit up and take notice, so I was given a referral for an MRI ("only" $350!) and an appointment to see an orthopedic surgeon in October.

I went into the surgeon appointment expecting that I would have to advocate for myself -- I even made a little resume for my ankle, highlighting its main achievements and key medical history. The surgeon did find this somewhat useful, but as far as he was concerned, there was no question that I require reconstruction surgery. His findings: 

• ligament damage
• cartilage damage
• synovial fluid leakage
• probably tiny fragments of bone floating around which are too small for the MRI to detect, but which may explain the clicking feeling inside my ankle when I move it

So I'm now on the waiting list for surgery, which I am assured is less than six months. It will entail: 

• an overnight stay in hospital
• 2-3 small incisions
• the surgeon will repair my ligament, smooth the joint and clear out any debris, and will also add an extra redundant ligament ("I am going to treat you like an athlete," he said, which is very funny because there is no one less athletic than me) (it only later occurred to me that I should have asked more questions about this extra ligament, like where does it come from, what is it made of, and is it likely to need replacement)
• two weeks with no weight-bearing whatsoever; I don't know if I'll be in a cast or a boot for this period
• four to six weeks in a boot
• six months wearing a lace-up brace and doing physio

I should get at least a month's notice of my surgery date, so I've given work a heads-up that this is going to happen. And now I wait, but I'm bad at waiting, so instead I'm making a list of things I need to organise: 

• pyjamas (seasonally appropriate so no point buying them now) (I have this thing where I order a new set of PJs every time I hurt my ankle, and so arguably I don't need more, but two weeks in bed...)
• do I need to take my CPAP to the hospital
• can I take Moopsy to the hospital for emotional support
• organise knee scooter hire in advance
• organise easy/frozen meals
• I don't need a Stanley keg for my room so that I always have ice water on hand ... do I? (no)
• books
• video games
• this is going to be a great time to catch up on 26 seasons of SVU
• investigate shoes I can wear with a lace-up brace, because my feet are delicate flowers and for some reason the brace + sneaker combo is very painful
• I fear I may end up wearing Crocs for six months
• shower chair or stool for bathing

In the meantime, the surgeon would like me to do non-weight-bearing exercise for strength and flexibility, and to lose weight if possible. He particularly recommended Pilates as a solution to my OTHER foot problem (plantar fasciitis), and he was right, 30 minutes of reformer pilates did more for that problem than the podiatrist-recommended calf stretches I've been doing all year. Otherwise, I'm on the stationary bike. Did you know the Amazon Prime app lets you download stuff and watch it ad-free, even if your subscription level normally has ads? One episode of SVU makes for a pretty solid workout.

Comments

[starlady]

Uh well I would be surprised if the extra ligament is anything but a corpse ligament that is made of real human ligament.

That sounds like A Lot to deal with even if you do get lots of advance notice. I hope it goes well! And I will definitely have to try Pilates for my own plantar fasciitis, I've dealt with it twice and I'm always paranoid about it coming back.

[kore]

I've had plantar fasciitis for decades (prob ballet training) and my husband got it after an on-your-feet type job and said the pain was horrible. It's so awful.

[kore]

OH OUCH

I have an ankle that does that same thing, I should probably convince my doctor to order a scan, lol. But that's a lot of physio!

[laurenthemself]

I took my CPAP to the hospital for my yeeterus.

Good luck with all this!

[lokifan]

Good luck! I'm glad there's a solid plan to deal with all of it.

My sister's had two hip surgeries in two years, both of which meant extended no-weight-whatsoever periods; from what I've seen, strongly back up the "exercise beforehand" cos she lost so much strength to that time.

Also rec accessible ice packs or someone to bring you ice packs.

[goss]

Wishing you good luck with the procedure and recovery. <333

[jesuswasbatman]

Best of luck!

[sabotabby]

Oh ow. I hope it all goes smoothly.

[garpu]

Which platform are you gaming on? I might have suggestions. :)