Everytime I think I have reached a short plateau in my recovery, something new happens. It is really amazing.
Highlights of the week:
Day 15
I went to see my doctor for the first time, exactly two weeks after my fall. They took some new Xrays, which showed that my tibia is aligning perfectly. My fibula, which was a segmented break (two places), is not quite so perfect, but my doctor was unconcerned about that for the time being. Also took my stitches and staples out.
Most importantly, I got to ask questions about what I would be able to do with the rod in. The answer was everything, and that only in rare occasions do they take them out, despite everyone on the internet wanting them out. I think I was a little too afraid to ask about bouldering specifically, because I didn’t want to hear that it would be a year before I was able to fall on my leg again. (Somehow I think everyone thinks that I fell accidentally onto a hard surface while roped in, and doesn’t even know what bouldering is.) But it is clear that bouldering is in the cards at some point. I asked about taking another similar fall and he was like, “well, your leg will just be that much stronger with the rod in.” Lesson learned: don’t believe the internet.
I asked about running directly, and he said that most people take 9-12 months. That’s obviously a long time to wait for someone who had run consistently for 15 years, I am hoping that I will be on the short side of this, since I am in such good shape? I honestly think that I will be able to top rope in January — basically once I feel like I can put my full body weight on my leg. (Unfortunately I will be out of the country from Jan 15 – May 15, and my only option where I am going is bouldering.)
My doctor also asked me if I had walked at all without crutches, to which I replied yes — a little. He asked me to show him, and then muttered that I was still doing something or other, but suggested that I go down to one crutch. I was hesitant, because sometimes I need to go all the way across campus, and I’d be so slow on just one crutch. I also wasn’t so sure about stairs.
Finally, I got a prescription for physical therapy, which I will start this coming week.
Day 16
Well, so much for my initial one crutch fear. In the middle of the day, I needed to run an errand that was about 0.3 miles away, and I decided…let’s do this on one crutch. And I did. Having a free hand to carry things was amazing, and I never went back to two. I also decided to start using no crutches in controlled situations, like inside my apartment for example. This was also the day when the feeling that something was stabbing me at the top of my ankle as a walked went away.
Day 18
Decided to walk 0.3 miles (each way) to get coffee, without any crutches. Coffee place was closed (!), but I did it! (very, very slowly) I tried stairs too which weren’t bad at all. Also, I was able to go up a stair or two without matching feet — holding onto a handrail. Very slowly rode a stationary bike at the gym — just to see if I could.https://instagram.com/p/-m8WEfvM0x13u82p4laTy6Rgz-Sy4ljZNSr-M0/
Day 19
Took a shower standing up for the first time. Discovered that I can do bodyweight squats — though probably unevenly weighted. Did a very long flight of stairs without matching feet and without crutches — going up only.
Day 20
Did 30 minutes of water running and 15 minutes of kickboarding in the pool. (Am also doing upper body/ab workouts). This was the first time that my leg muscles were really engaged in anyway. Left leg is really starting to atrophy, and I still can’t really fully lock my knee, which I believe is due to the fact that they cut into your patellar tendon in order to insert the rod. I hate the pool but I can tell that this is a great way to strengthen my ankle muscles, and I seem to hate water running and kickboarding less than actual swimming.
Other notes:
1. A friend of mine got in touch about her own tib/fib break, which was much worse than mine, and the progress of her recovery. Here is what she wrote:
I broke my tib and fib VERY BADLY on Nov 1st, 2010. I had ORIF with 11 screws, 2 plates, 2 hooks, and wire in. It just looked bad. I almost threw up when they removed the cast after 2 weeks and put me in the boot. I cried. Then I got really strong arms from crutches. The winter sucked, but I made new friends who gave me rides and helped me shovel a path to the bus stop.
I went to the pool as soon as the wound healed, one month after surgery. I swam a lot. I put my foot down on Jan 1st. I was bike riding by late January. I could not walk until I completed therapy in March. But I was doing a lot of pilates. I was walking in April. Walking with no pain at all in June. Hiking in July in the mountains and jumping. Little running in August and a lot of walking. Completely running in September. Removing all the screws and plates and metal stuff in late September.
2. I don’t really understand why so many people have had the same IM nail surgery but were told to keep all weight off of it for an initial period. I mean, I surmise that there have been recent studies that have showed that WBAT is useful in healing, but I feel terribly for people who had to go through that.
3. I feel very lucky to be able to keep my foot relatively elevated — and most significantly, to be able to ice it throughout that day. I think that icing is REALLY helping.
4. I’ve really been trying to do as much crutch free walking as possible, but the transition away from one crutch is not going to happen this week. I can tell that the muscles in my legs are just not strong enough yet for me to properly pronate. Additionally, and probably relatedly, my balance is terrible. All of this makes it hurt at the fracture site when I walk entirely crutchless. On the other hand, I am using the one crutch very lightly, as much supporting me in the horizontal dimension as vertical.
Here are some pictures of my healing yet weakening leg(s). I know that the atrophy isn’t that pronounced, but if you let your eyes go a bit blurry, you can definitely see it. Random question that I’m interested in is will my toe bumps from my climbing shoes, which you can kind of see in the second picture, go away with my break from climbing, or are they permanent?
Also, here is a pic of my knee range of motion. This is actually very similar to that of my right (good) leg, but it is definitely stiffer.
Psychological:
My doctor’s appointment and going down to one crutch were pretty exciting and motivating, and at the beginning of the week, I felt like I was crushing everything. Now that it’s the end of the week, I’m feeling like my life is more or less back to normal — though a new, slower normal. This is good in some ways, but also makes me less super motivated to go to the gym, watch what I eat since I’m not burning nearly as many calories, etc. I am doing those things, I just don’t get the same dopamine rush out of them that I did when I was like, I can’t believe this is happening! I’m also able to focus more on my work, particularly after my doctor’s visit, which is good.
I took some friends who had never climbed indoor bouldering at my gym on Saturday, since it was free for first-timers, and they loved it. The whole experience — hanging out and helping, and just seeing them get into it — really made me happy, and thinking about it does motivate me to try to return to bouldering by the time I get back to the States on May 15.
Looking ahead, I am excited to start physical therapy, and I am really hoping to be able to go crutch free within the next week. Of course there is nothing more that I can really do to achieve this goal, but I’m hoping anyway.
I Broke My Leg Bouldering 