- This topic is empty.
- Topic
Hi all–sorry we are all meeting like this…
I am a 2 time marathon runner, many halfs and was just getting into triathlons. As a swimmer and a runner the bike is what always held me back. For Christmas I got a road bike, then 2/9/14 I had a fall…
I knew immediately I had broken my leg…thought, ok, lets get to the hospital and get a boot and move on. Turns out I had a TPF. I had surgery that night to put in an external fixator to stabilize the break. The next day, as they were trying to discharge me, I was in horrible pain and couldn’t believe anyone was even considering sending me home. Turns out they (finally) diagnosed me with Compartment Syndrome. I was rushed in for an emergency fasciotomy. If you aren’t familiar with this, only google if you have a strong stomach, it is gnarly. Two more surgeries (for a total of 4) and 8 days in the hospital I was sent home with the external fixator for 10 days to wait for the swelling to go down. I then went back in for my 5th and final surgery, a grueling 10 hour surgery which included 2 huge plates and about 16 screws to put my tibia back together. The repair inside my leg looks like the Eiffel Tower there is so much hardware.
I am now just over 4 months out of my last surgery. I was non weight baring for 12 weeks. My foot was completely dropped (-22*) and my knee was not moving. I have worked hard, PT 3x/week, plus at home excercises. I have a lot of nerve damage from the fasciotomy, and have no feeling or weird feeling from ankle to knee. I have horrendous scars both inside and outside the length of my leg (ankle to about 6″ above my knee), but I am finally walking unassisted.
It is hard to believe I could ever forget about my injury. I think about it with every step, I work hard every day to get my knee to bend and to get it to go straight. My leg still swells and I have to keep it elevated…I still can’t walk long distances (remember, I ran a marathon, 26.2mi just 3 months before my injury), and I have to ice every night. Sleeping is sometimes uncomfortable…and I doubt I will ever run again.
I wonder if anyone has experienced this…It seems like every time you start to feel better in one phase of the recovery, the next step knocks you down again…2 steps forward, one step back…I experienced that over and over…I am hoping I have cleared the last hurdle and just need to get stronger now.
HOWEVER—I am very lucky not to have lost my leg, and I know this. Anytime I am discouraged I have to slow down and remember where I was last week, last month, 2 months ago. I am getting stronger every day.
I guess I don’t have any real questions…It is just nice to write it down…interesting to read your stories as well…Hope everyone feels better quickly, it is unbelievable how quickly your life can change. I read somewhere that this injury is most common in active people, so we are all in the same boat–its hard to be sidelined!
XOXO