According to the doctor, the ankle looks good for this point in recovery. It will be swollen and bruised for a while yet. But I am now in an air cast for the next week and a half to two weeks. I am to use the crutches and put 50% of my weight on the ankle. He also told me to put the foot into a bucket of cold water and work on range of motion movements. If I am still experiencing a lot of discomfort in 2 weeks, they will take new xrays and develop a more formal therapy. At least I got an explanation. It does feel better in the air cast. Only I can't see my pink toenails as I have to wear socks because of the plastic part of the cast. Oh well. I can walk better!
The other issue that I haven't really mentioned is that I have developed a large callous on my right palm (lower left part). I have had a pain up the forearm to the elbow and the other night I had a pain in my chest. I have had a sensation that I can't grip very well. I mentioned this to the doctor on Monday, but he didn't explain anything to me about what it could be from-then the whole xray thing distracted me from pursuing it. I figured it was from using the crutches. According to the doctor today, I have pinched a nerve and that is going to take time to heal. Great! Now I'm trying to figure out how to hold the right crutch in a way that won't affect the nerve. The left side is fine, and I feel like I hold them the same, but obviously I don't. My ring finger and pinky seem pretty weak.
So, there it is. He said it takes 6-8 weeks for the bone to completely heal and another 6-8 weeks for it to feel "normal" again. So, hopefully, I will soon feel less discomfort.
Oh and the xray from the hospital? All they did was dictate a report that said...no definitive fracture was seen and that the xray was taken with the splint on. Pretty vague, eh? They didn't even send a picture/film. Oy!
My hand is aching, so I'm done for now. Thanks for visiting and all the good thoughts.
8 comments:
You poor dear! If there's one thing I don't like, it's lack of communication in a doctor's office. Are we supposed to read their minds??? While it shouldn't have been necessary, I'm glad you had better luck with the second doctor you saw. As for crutches, they are miserable contraptions. I hope you're feeling a little better now that you have an inkling of what's going on. If I were closer, I'd pop in to give you a hug . . .
Ugh! How utterly frustrating this must be for you. I hope that you are doing ok. I'm always thinking of you. And the girls are just beautiful. Jess' head tilt is so cute!
Oh dear.
You make me cringe at the fact that I am headed to the foot surgeon on Monday -- because my fracture (that, mind you, was misdiagnosed in March, finally got the "boot" in late May after an MRI) still isn't healing after 10 weeks in the boot. I am ready for some different treatment, some better plan, and some sort of explanation as to what the plan is.
I don't know about you -- but I am ready to walk without a limp.
I'll have to ask you about the air cast ... (Did you walk on crutches all this time? They didn't give you one of those "roll a bouts"?)
Hugs to you .. and I hope your hand gets better. When it rains, it pours ... huh?
Well my goodness, Jeanne. What is going on?! I am glad you found a doctor that listens and explains things to you. Continue to rest and be watchful of that hand.
Oh, Jeanne, HOw frustrating this all sounds! I don't think you're being a "nervous Nelly" in the slightest. Sometimes I think you have to practically wrestle medical people to the floor, being proactive for yourself, about treatment! With my knee, I just didn't quite trust any one person was giving me a "whole picture" point of view on how to deal with it, and I ended up calling lots of people and "picking their brains." I don't know about for an ankle, but I felt much better after I called a bunch of physical therapists on the phone, asking about their services, whether they work with people with knee injuries, what kind of things they'd recommend, and when. I figured even if there wasn't anything I could do immediately, I'd have more of an idea of what to do once I could. I just don't tend to have a lot of faith that doctors know much about all the other services that can be helpful . . . . And initially for you, it may well be "don't move anything!" But it might be nice to know that there're things you can do later to build up strength and range of motion once you get the "go ahead." I also ended up developing some carpal tunnel in my left hand. . . not because of crutches, but because I was tending to put much more pressure on my hand then it was use to, in protecting my knee, in getting up and down. It was helpful to pick up a drugstore carpal tunnel wrap, just for the extra support. If you think you're putting pressure on your palm, would a gel padded biker's glove, from a sporting goods store, help? (And then you'd have some cool gloves once you could ride a bike again!) Don't give up! Think how great it'll be in the future when you look back on this and it's just a memory of a rough patch!
About my photo a day thingy. It's through the twopeasinabucket.com photography forum. There's actually a list of suggestions for each week of the year. I have the list on my blog way down along the right side of my blog. It's more like suggestions rather than "rules" and only sometimes am I "on-theme." Lots of times I just post something of interest to me. I'm being kind of stubborn; I'm determined to post a photo every day for 2008. But sometimes I don't have much "oomph" to write much! I figure the point is to learn more about photography skills, and if it helps me do that, it's accomplishing that goal for me, but I can see how it might be. . . confusing . . . to someone who's looking at it. I love that you check my blog, Jeanne! You're such a sweetie, and it's a good reminder to try and make some of it make sense by giving context! If you ever have any interest in joining in on the POTD (photo of the day) thread, just join right in! You'd just post to the thread, around 8pm each night, on the 2pea photography forum.(Sorry for the novel :) )
You poor girl! It's not enough that you have an aching foot, but now your hand and arm too?! I'm glad you went to see a doctor and finally have an idea of what's going on, but I do hope that you heal faster than what they predicted. Take good care.
Well, at least now you know where you stand. It's always better to double check to make sure. Now you just have to get better! I'll be keeping you in my prayers
I am glad you went to another doctor and was given more information. I hope you feel a little more relieved now.
That is not good news about the pinched nerve however, you poor thing.
Hope the healing keeps improving and you are back to your old self soon.
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