Too much, too soon...

I admit it. I have ADD. No, I've never been diagnosed, but I have trouble sitting still. I must be doing something constantly. It makes me crazy to have nothing to do. So, it's easy to understand why this ankle injury has been driving me crazy. You can't do too many things when you can't put any weight on one leg. ::insert pouty face::

In an effort to keep from going totally crazy I decided to go back to work on Monday, May 9th. I work in the isolation room. My kids don't change classes. The only time I leave the room is to take the kids to lunch or when I need a restroom break. My thinking was that I could sit at my desk and keep my foot elevated for 6 1/2 of the 7 hours and everything would be great. Monday was great. Tuesday...a different story. If I even got up to go to the restroom my toes would turn black. A couple of my co-workers were concerned about the discoloration so at their urging I called my doctor. He wanted to see me the next morning.

Arriving at Dr. Zavala's office, Tessie, my new best friend, took me to an examination room where she cut off the purple cast.

Normally there is no pain involved in this process, however, the vibration of the castsaw caused little bolts of electricity to shoot through my ankle. It was, however, bearable.

Once the cast was off it was time for the stitches to come out. This, too, proved to be pretty painful. In fact, Dr. Zavala had to come in and take over from Tessie because some wouldn't come loose. OUCH!!!


Dr. Z was pleased with the way the incisions are healing, but he was quite displeased with the swelling in my foot.

He said that I was not keeping my foot elevated properly and therefore the fluid was pooling in my foot. That is what was causing the discoloration in my toes. He said that if I couldn't keep my foot elevated at something like 135 degrees (in other words, lying down with my foot above my heart), that I shouldn't be working. He stressed that not only was my ankle shattered, there was extensive soft tissue damage with the bones out of alignment for three or four hours. Okay, I get it. I'm off work. He did, however, give his blessing on our anniversary trip as long as we stop every couple of hours and I get out and move around so that I don't get any blood clots. Yikes! I will follow his directions!!

Once the stitches were out Tessie told me that I had time to shave my leg if I wanted to before she put the new cast on. Sweet Jesus, it felt so good!! That is why she is my new best friend!! She understands what a woman needs to feel better about her horrifically damaged foot.

Tessie returned shortly with pink casting material to cover up the hideously ugly appendage now decorating my lower right leg. Benefit...it matches my pedicure! Yay!!


I left Dr. Zavala's office but not before getting a copy of my post-surgical xray. Just think of me as the bionic woman.


I will return to see Dr. Zavala on May 26th. Hopefully my ankle and foot will be healed enough that the cast will come off and I can be placed in a fracture boot. Again, I still won't be able to put any weight on the foot, but I will be able to at least move the ankle so that it doesn't freeze up. I've already been warned that I will lose some mobility in the ankle...just how much is yet to be determined. I've also been told to expect to have arthritis in the ankle. While that's not great news, I am alive and "fixed." What more could I ask for?

On a better note, I got my new car yesterday. It's a 2010 Chevrolet Impala LTZ. It's silver with light gray leather interior. It has a sunroof, electric doors and windows, seat warmers, dual controls for the heat and air conditioning, satellite radio, OnStar, bluetooth phone through the radio...all the bells and whistles. While I will always love Libby, my Jeep, I already love Chablis, my new car!




With Beau, my 4 month old Yorkie