My ankle fracture woes

Wow 1 year! And still not 100%

yaadayaada — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:24:49 +0000

Wow! It is been exactly a year since I broke my ankle. I have stopped seeing the doctor, physical therapist. But still not 100% back to normal yet. I would say I am 90% back. The remaining 10% not sure if I will ever get back. Got to wait and see! My ankle still gets inflexible after sitting for 2-3 hours. It takes about 2-3 minutes to get back to normal. Still have trouble standing in ski pose. So no skiing this year. Went to Lake Tahoe couple of times this year, but stayed indoors enjoying the snow from the comforts of the cabin. Still have to send that letter to the insurance about me needing the physical therapy in December. Just sheer laziness preventing me from sending it. Will do it this week to commemorate the broken ankle anniversary!

Insurance Woes

yaadayaada — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:34:08 +0000

I graduated from physical therapy mid Dec. But still have pain on my ankle when I Squat, during Yoga Warrior pose or in skiing pose. Looks like my skiing days are over. Have a doctor appointment end of this month to check it out. In the mean time, Insurance company, Aetna, thinks that my Dec physical therapy session was unwarranted and hence it won’t pay. Now I have to provide them proof that I was still aching in Dec even though my pain hasn’t gone totally yet! God! I hate phone calls with the insurance companies. Feels like I am part of the cast of “Sicko”. Ankle woes continues………….

Diagnostic Injection – Confusion and Update

yaadayaada — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 17:36:43 +0000

Got the injection a week back. There were some confusion as to what kind of injection it was. It turns out that it was not a diagnostic injection after all. It is just a cocktail of analgesic, some short acting and long acting steroid. The doctor thought that it will help with the soreness and scar tissue. The injection was administered right at the ankle. Had to take it easy for 48 hours after the injection. Then now I am back to normal. The soreness has reduced. But I do see some unstability(Don’t know how to describe) when I am walking at a faster pace. Need to closely monitor and understand what the issue is. So that is where I stand.

Diagnostic Injection???

yaadayaada — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:37:54 +0000

The Doctor told me last week that I would need to get a diagnostic injection to see if the scar tissues are the one that is preventing me from squatting/extending. I have set up an appt for next week. But still worried as to what that would bring to the plate of worries!

The good thing from all this, the other half got me a Wii and Wii Fit plus to get me going. Have been getting tired of people telling me that I have put on some weight since the fracture as if I didn’t know that already! I am enjoying my Wii even though it tells me that I am 64 in Wii age! Let us see how long it keeps my interest!

6 Months update

yaadayaada — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:44:31 +0000

6 Months… Still not 100% alright! I need lots and lots of patience. But there are improvements even though it is slow. My Physical therapist in the last month was so good. He went back to school . Thanks to him, I could see considerable improvement. Now I am able to walk with less limp. Jog in a trampoline for 5 mins. Walk fast ( at the rate of 3.3 miles an hour) in a treadmill for 15 mins. So it is good!
On the flip side, I still cannot squat, run or jump. Have a Dr. appt in a week. So will know more then.

Wow! Itz been 5 months today!

yaadayaada — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:04:39 +0000

Seriously, it has been 5 months since I broke my ankle today and I am still recovering from it. There is progress, it is slow though. In India, I learnt to walk in uneven surfaces. That really helped. By the end of my 5 weeks in India, I kind of learned to come down the stair without my crutch and side railings. That was good progress. My return trip was pretty normal without much swelling in spite of not wearing the compression socks. The wheel chair assistance helped in getting in/out without much strain.
Work has been keeping me busy since I came back. I am continuing my physical therapy sessions. It is definitely helping but slowly. Everyone still sees me limping a little. Have to consciously get rid of it. My ankle still hurts when I try to squat. That is the reason, I am not able to come down the stairs easily. I am using something called quick steps to come down. I still need to learn how to do it normally without pain. My ortho thinks that I might have scar tissues in the joint, hence the pain. So we are going to wait for a month and then see if an orthoscope is needed to scrap away the scar tissues. I am so NOT looking forward for that. So I have started going to gym. I am hoping getting back to regular activities and physical therapy might fix this problem. Crossing my fingers!
To add to my adventure, travelling this week again on a short trip. My first flight after the fall without wheelchair. Let us see how it goes!

Another flight with a recovering ankle fracture

yaadayaada — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 02:16:07 +0000

Had a good flight as far as the ankle is concerned. It was a 20 hour flight plus 3 hour transit in Hong Kong. As per my physical therapist recommendation, I had requested for wheel chair assistance and that was really very helpful. Even though I could walk, couldn’t have managed to stand in the long security lines with the recovering ankle. The airport staff at SFO, HKG and MAA were great. The main thing that made the flight bearable was the compression socks. The compression socks I bought had 20-30mmHg pressure. Even though it was a little tough to put it on, it was very comfy once it was on. I just wore it on the injured leg, did not wear it on my good leg. I am so glad my physical therapist recommended it. That really supported my ankle and also kept the foot from swelling real big. Also I made sure, I never removed my shoes. Since putting it back on after the swelling might become impossible. So on the whole it was a comfortable journey for my ankle. As for as the food and sleep is concerned, that is whole another story for my other blog.

3 Months update

yaadayaada — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 18:32:12 +0000

It has been 3 months, still not completely alright! But there is a lot of improvement. I can climb up stairs without any aid. I can walk without any aid, but still limp a little. So trying really hard not to limp. The tough part is coming down the stairs.. That is very painful without the railing and a walking stick. I am doing yoga regularly. Continuing with the physical therapy routine everday. I can see improvement. But still a long way to go. The swelling also has reduced which is a relief. Will be leaving this friday on a long flight trip! Hopefully I will survive! Physical therapist has recommended that I wear the compression socks when on flight! I see they cost between $25-$35. Yet to buy. So much for travelling to Zurich since I got a great deal on flight ticket! Have a doctor appointment tomorrow. Keeping my fingers crossed!

12th Week update

yaadayaada — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:27:53 +0000

Can’t believe it is almost 12 weeks since I broke my ankle. Still limping along. Physiotherapy is good. Have added more exercise. I am using the cane to walk up and down the stairs. At home, I am walking without the cane. The leg doesn’t swell up as much now. Still have to practice to walk without the cane.

Looks like I overdid an exercise (the therapist assistant insisted I do it) , so it started hurting a bit earlier this week. Resting and icing has calmed it down a bit. So it is not bad now. Can’t wait to shed the limp and walk normal again.

Exactly 2 more weeks before I fly out. Have asked for wheel chair assitance since my therapist thinks that is probably better given the 20 hour flight. Keeping my fingers crossed that I should improve a lot before leaving!

10th Week update

yaadayaada — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 04:02:50 +0000

Can’t believe it has been 10 weeks already. I started driving to work this week. Went to work yesterday. Not bad! The hard part was climbing up/coming down the stairs and sitting with leg down in the meetings. At my office, I had my leg propped in another chair while working, so no worries. The leg still swells up if I have it down for more than an hour. But, the icing and elevation is keeping it under control.

Physiotherapy is of great help. I can see improvement. I am walking with a walking stick now. I can manage to walk with out it, but I limp. I think I have to consciously avoid limping. Also started some of the yoga poses to regain strength and also to stay fit. So all in all, I am seeing improvements. But still would like to talk to another doctor and get an OK since I don’t want to take chances. So have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow. Hope everything goes well!