Trimalleolar Fracture
So hey y’all, I went dark for three weeks. And the reason for that silence is the title of this post: I slipped in the snow on the 10th of January my prize was a trimalleolar fracture of my ankle. FUN TIMES, said not one person ever. Before we get into this let me state for the record that I am not a medical professional and I am posting about this to share my personal hell, er, experience, with this fracture.
What is a Trimalleolar Fracture?
What people refer to as a trimalleolar fracture is in actuality multiple fractures. The broken bones make up the parts of your ankle that support the bones of your lower leg and form the ankle joint, the move-y, bendy parts of your ankle. You know, the parts that help you move your foot and ankle.
Malleo Complex
There are two bones at the base of your tibia (shin bone) and fibula, called the posterior malleolus and the lateral malleolus. Together, these bones work together to make a three-sided framework that supports your leg and most importantly allows movement. When you break those bones, the ankle is unsupported. Things are just moving around in there that aren’t supposed to be moving at all. First of all, that’s incredibly painful and secondly, the fracture cannot heal correctly.
A trimalleolar fracture is a serious injury
It won’t surprise you that this sort of fracture is a serious injury. Because the break is unstable, trimalleolar fractures almost always require surgery to repair. The surgery is called an ORIF surgery: an acronym for Open Reduction, and Internal Fixation surgery. This surgery stabilizes the bones that were broken with hardware like pins, screws, and plates in order for the body to heal. And then afterward, the real hell starts.
NWB – Fully Non-Weight-Bearing
After surgery, which I had as an outpatient procedure at Piedmont Athens Regional, I am fully non-weight-bearing on my ankle for two weeks, meaning I can’t put any weight on it, using crutches and a wheelchair to get around. And most of the day I have to keep it elevated in this stunning purple pillow thing. It’s terribly uncomfortable. Nerve pain, bone pain, leg falling asleep because it’s in one position for too long. This whole thing sucks.
And after a trimalleolar fracture? Extensive physical therapy
I have my two-week post-op follow-up appointment on the 29th. I don’t know if enough time has passed for me to go partial weight bearing or if I’ll get a hard plaster cast and have another two weeks of this madness. But after I get out of this phase of healing, I’ll get a boot and be partially weight-bearing and be able to return to work. And I will need physical therapy. Joy of joys every resource I read says extensive physical therapy.
Because I Need to Work
Who can be out of work for this long? Ugh, I luckily had plenty of sick days accrued but this is taking a dent out of them. FMLA is unpaid leave and my ability to keep getting a paycheck comes from those sick days. My doctor put like THREE MONTHS as to how long I’ll need to be out of work but there is no way. I’ll have to return before that. I just have to get the healing process going.
Ankles are finicky
Ankles have lots of small parts and I know, I KNOW I need to be patient. But let me tell you, this trimalleolar fracture journey has had lots of downs and not a lot of ups. I want it to be over but unfortunately, it’s only been a few weeks.
How did I fall, you might circle back to ask?
On the 10th we got snow! In Athens, Georgia! It doesn’t happen often. Funny enough we got more snow the 21st of this month, twice in one month which is really wild. But anyway, that morning of the 10th I woke up, made coffee, took Sunny out on a good walk, delivered my neighbor’s grocery order, and then walking back to my house I told myself that my front walk had snow all over it and I should shovel it so it won’t get icy later. I should have just gone inside. Because that’s what got me. My yard has a hill and even though I was telling myself to be careful, I still slipped and fell.
And boy did I fall. My ankle twisted on the way down, and I knew it was going to be bad. I heard it pop. I felt immediate pain. Lots of pain. Like I was trying to unlock my phone by putting 911 into the unlock screen. I had no choice but to call the ambulance. It was still snowing, the roads were treacherous, and I wasn’t risking anyone else. My son wasn’t home, I was huddled alone in the yard, unable to move. So I called 911.
The Bills?
Yeah I don’t wanna talk about that…
Overall I do not recommend a trimalleloar fracture on my worst enemy and I want to be better. My take away? No more being responsible.
Oh hi
I’m fae. And if you’ve found your way to this post I want to tell you that I normally post about other things like MM book reviews, my dog Sunny, education, and crochet and knitting. Check out some other things and you might find something else to enjoy!
