My world changed on Sunday, December 26, at approximately 6pm. I missed a couple of steps and down I went. I knew immediately something was really wrong. The pain was really intense. My right foot looked seriously deformed. I could also feel the "crunching" of my bones as I tried to move. It looked as if it was (painfully) floating in midair- absolutely useless. My husband, Mathew, rushed me to Bayfront's emergency room. I don't remember much of the wait, but I don't remember being in a lot of pain. I think by that time shock took over and I was pretty much out of it. I was wheeled to the back and waited for a doctor to come take a look at my foot. His eyes got big and the look on his face wasn't reassuring. He immediately sent me to get x-rays taken. The x-rays were horribly painful. I had to turn my body and move my ankle in directions that were extremely torturing. I think a total of 9 or so were taken. After what seemed like forever the doctor arrived with devastating news. I had a trimalleolar fracture with dislocation. This required ORIF (open reduction-internal fixation) surgery requiring the use of pins, rods, plates, and screws. They put me to sleep so they could reset my ankle. I'm quite lucky they did this because after reading some information on this type of fracture and the horror stories from others a lot of people were awake for the resetting. They splinted my ankle all the way to my knee and sent me on my way with pain killers (haha, yeah, right) and a pair of crutches. Unfortunately, without insurance (oh, which kicked in on the 1st of January...) they were unable to admit me. I was told to call All Florida Orthopedics and speak with Dr. Rodriquez and schedule surgery. My rules were simple- keep my ankle elevated and NPO (nothing by mouth) after midnight.

I called Dr. Rodriquez first thing in the morning. I didn't get any sleep that night and those pain killers I mentioned receiving at the hospital did absolutely nothing! Unfortunately for me, Dr. Rod was in trauma surgery all day (Monday) and it was unlikely he'd be able to get me in for surgery on Tuesday, however, he wanted me to come in at 9:15am for a consultation. So, there I laid in bed practically all day, only getting up to use the restroom. The jostling of my ankle with every hop I took was agonizing. I decided to do the whole NPO thing again in hope that he would be able to preform the surgery the next day. This was unlikely but well worth the risk. My appointment finally rolled around. The car ride was awful. I felt every bump, pothole, swerve, lane change, and not to mention the stop lights. I cried the whole ride there. The wait was hardly 10 minutes before my name was called. The doctor showed us the x-rays and discussed his plan of action. I started with the waterworks, which apparently did some good. He was able to fit me in that day! What a lonnnnnnnng day it was, though. With nothing to eat or drink since around 5pm on Monday, and with the surgery not until 5:30pm that Tuesday (December 28), my stomach hated me.

We arrived at the hospital at 3:15pm for pre-op paperwork. I was moved upstairs and answered about a million medical questions, ie, history, family history, any past problems with anesthesia, etc. I had to repeat the same things over and over to different staff members. It was now time for my operation and away I went. I remember waking up in the recovery section and them telling me this simple out patient procedure turned into a 23 hour overnight observation. WHAT!? I would have to stay overnight, are they kidding me? Mathew had a wonderful surprise for me. He went to the giftshop and got me a HUGE frog which kept me company all night.

The stay was horrible. I couldn't sleep and when I did fall asleep it was time for the hourly vitals check. That and this man kept yelling for the nurse exclaiming he was dying. Use the call button, jerk. The next morning rolled around which felt like forever. The morning nurse unplugged all my equipment and told me to start getting ready to leave. Wait, what? It wasn't even close to the end of the 23 hour observation period. It was only 7:30 in the morning. I called Matt and told him the news. Before I knew it, it was time to go. Upon discharge I received my PT exercises I had to do at home. I also had to pass a "crutch test." Well, I failed. I'm a complete klutz as it is, using crutches is almost impossible for me. I had to get a walker.

It is now 6 days post-op and it hasn't been the most pleasant journey thus far. It's slowly getting better. Everyday I move a little faster. Tomorrow is my first post-op visit with Dr. Rod. I will let you know how it goes. Thanks for reading :)

ღ mmv