Sitting in the ER...

[Horton]

holy shit

[vtmecheng]

@Orlando76 how are you holding up?

[Orlando76]

@vtmecheng not bad at the moment, thanks for asking. I was pretty miserable with swelling and knee/hip aches yesterday. I guess stiffness and muscle atrophy already. Last night I found a way to ride in the car for the 50 minute trip to see my youngest son in the hospital for the first time in about ten days. He was born 9/16 with complications due to Cystic Fibrosis, never left hospital, and yesterday he began to hold his head on his own and I’m so glad to have been there for it! That was a real picker upper!

[Cnewbert]

Yowzer Orlando76... just now saw this. Bummer! Hope your recovery goes well! Sorry we never got to ski!

[Skoot1123]

Heal up quick @Orlando76! Kids born on 9/16 are special. My middle child shares that special date. Congrats to ya!

[Jimbo]

Oh man. Sorry to see this! That's a bad one but the surgery result looks great. If your surgeon is ok with it, get yourself a knee scooter. It will help save your sanity once the initial pain is over. Waaaay better than crutches. I broke my tibia about 10 years ago and the scooter was extremely helpful. Particularly the basket on the front to carry things (don't judge me :)

[Orlando76]

@Jimbo when I get my hard cast on the 19th I plan on using one of those knee scooters, assuming the Dr is ok with it. I don’t really see why he wouldn’t be. I found an all terrain scooter which would be great so I could get around my property but I hadn’t found an all terrain one for less than $450..... that’s a bit more than I want to spend for the 4-6 weeks I’ll use it.

 

It’d also be awesome if I could figure out how to get into the boat so I can at least watch the other guys ski. Sounds stupid but with just one leg I can’t figure out how to get down in the boat. Dock is about level with deck of the boat. If the boat had monkey bar tower I could swing in and out from there.

[BraceMaker]

Sit and spin, then stand.

[Orlando76]

^^^ for some reason I can’t get lower than the typical sitting chair height so getting down on the dock isn’t possible. Sounds dumb but I hadn’t figured it out yet.

[vtmecheng]

Scooter is great but be careful. They are really unstable and if the front wheel hits a rock it can easily tip you over. That said, it's a life saver for me right now.

[BraceMaker]

Kick your bad foot out, squat and use your hands.

[Jetsetr]

You WILL figure it out...you’re going to figure out all sorts of ways to make things work...been there-done it...

[Orlando76]

Wanted to add that I broke down and bought the all terrain knee scooter once I got my hard cast on and the permission from doctor. This is the way to go. Bigger tires smoothly go over the 12,678,462 shoes my wife leaves on the floor every day and her 5 towels it takes her to get even prettier. Cracks in concrete, rocks etc are smooth and easy vs the standard knee scooter (or daddy’s stroller as my 3yo puts it).

 

 

[dvskier]

Nice, hopefully you'll never have to use it again after you heal completely.

[DaveD]

@Orlando76 Have you started figuring out how big of motor you can mount on that thing? :)

[Orlando76]

@DaveD lol, I have been getting a little too brave with it and doing some hot rodding. Way too much horsing around. Gee how’d I get in this situation?

[DaveD]

@Orlando76 that's totally expected because we are all just overgrown kids.

[ForrestGump]

I'm not going to say how I know this, but even the All Terrain knee scooter won't roll over a fat english bull dog. Just saying.

[Robbo5252]

@Orlando76 hows the recovery going? My wife came off her ski and fractured her Tibia in a similar way 2 days before Christmas. Had her second op on it this week so still 6 weeks no weigh bearing.

Cheers

Robbo

[Orlando76]

@Robbo5252 wow I’m sorry to hear that, for her and your family. First of all, where do you live that you were skiing two before Christmas? Few tips in case you never broken a leg or foot: Please cater to her in every way. She doesn’t want to be laid up and even something simple like making coffee takes planing and more energy than it should. Pick up every darn thing on the floor, it’s a death trap. Get the all terrain scooter, not the micro wheel one. And consider the iwalk2.0.

 

As for me, still non weight bearing and I wouldn’t doubt if that lasts another month. No work. I’m at least in a boot and can take it off to shower or lay down. I’ll have to admit, this has gotten the best of me. So miserable. Wouldn’t doubt if I give up skiing due to the discomfort of hardware in my ankle area and I just can’t do this to my family again (3yo and 4mo).

[Jetsetr]

It’s tough for sure...I have a fair amount of spare parts in one ankle...it doesn’t bother me at all even with boots. Give it time, it TAKES time...the skiing itch may/probably will return at some point...and it not, that’s ok too.....one day at a time.

[Stevie Boy]

@Orlando76

Never! I say Never ! Give up anything until it is phisically impossible, got to keep moving and doing the things that make us tick, throw the towel in to early and you are done, you look across the bar and there is some Guy with a huge beer belly, guess what, he caved in and stopped doing stuff way to early, don,t be a spectator, be a player.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

[Orlando76]

@Stevie Boy I’ve gained 30 pounds since my accident and popped a top as I sat down in my lazy boy to read your post. I think I’ve become that guy you described.

[Robbo5252]

@Orlando76 thanks for the tips & tricks, we have the knee scooter for once she gets the moon boot in a couple of weeks but will look into the iwalk!

we are in Australia, so not long into the ski season.

Trying to be Mr helpful for her and do what I can, and reminding the kids (8 & 6) that they really need to pick up after themselves.

All the best with your recovery, keep your head up.

I hope your Son is doing well as well!

Stay Positive.

Cheers

Robbo

[S1Pitts]

I was down for 5 yrs and seven surgeries with my tib / fib fractures. Yes the desire does return and 15 yrs after the fact I am skiing at a higher level but mostly I ski smarter. Ditto on not wanting to do it over again.

#1 most important thing to do for the first 3 months is keep the injury higher than your heart. It's the swelling that does the damage.

After about 8 weeks I bought a pool pass at the local aquatic center and walked on the bottom of the pool for 3-5 hrs a day. No weight bearing but was able to keep the join moving and thus healed much better than ever expected. Actually helped with the swelling too.

Best wishes for a successful recovery

KR

[Stevie Boy]

@Orlando76

I know it us not easy, but you have to give yourself a fighting chance, there is one contributing factor to your weight gain, to combat that Eat Less, health is paramount to well being and longevity.

I constantly battle to keep my weight at a reasonable level, but I to need to be lighter and need to Eat Less.

[Kimbymon]

@Orlando76 , you need to stay active as much as you can. This will become especially important as your sons grow. Has your youngest been able to come home from the hospital? Showing your kids an active lifestyle is the best gift you can them. This is especially important for your son with CF. The more active he is, the healthier he will be. Being active keeps the nasty bacteria that we grow in our lungs down. At the moment I am sitting here hanging 2 IV bags per dose/ 3 times a day to combat the pseudomonas that is in my lungs and that is currently causing a CF exacerbation. The oral antibiotics weren’t doing the job so home IV’s it is. But I have been lucky, because I have always been active I didn’t need IV’s until I was 40.

I know you are in pain and miserable right now but please remain active if not for yourself than for your kids.

[Orlando76]

I didn’t mean I’m giving up an active lifestyle. Well I am at the moment because I’m not allowed to do anything and it’s frustrating to see the pounds coming on from sitting idle. I’ve never been an idle type. The time created by not skiing will give me time to move further into mountain biking. Hoping doctor will let me pedal next week but I doubt that.

@Kimbymon my son has been home for a month today. 74 doors in the hospital, came home for 4 then spent another 6. He went for his first boat ride this weekend. He’s doing ok but has a lot of GI issues and already on a nebulizer for a bit. Sorry to hear about you. Thoughts going out for you and your family, we know the severity and concerns!

 

[Kimbymon]

@Orlando76 boat rides are the best. Both of your boys look relaxed. My parents had my brother and i in the boat from an early age and to this day, it is my favorite place to be.

I am so glad your son is home and I hope things get easier. There are so many great medications coming down the pipeline for CF. If you ever have any questions feel free to ask me.

 

Last year I raised $5600 for CF research , this was our team shirt.

[S1Pitts]

Orlando76

Swim, swim and swim. Tread water with one leg. Backstroke laps? Anything in the water will burn up some of those calories and help you in many ways by being active.

 

[Gar]

@Kimbymon fat finger on the dislike sorry

[Kimbymon]

@Gar no worries

[DaveD]

@Kimbymon Off topic but do you have anymore of those shirts?

[D3dude]

I've had several surgeries on my ankle.....crutches burn caloiries

 

[Robbo5252]

Thought I would share the photos of the wife’s leg. Was a minor fall just crossing the wake and just the ski went in a different direction to the boat. 50 minute wait for the ambulance and then to one hospital for an X-ray before another ride to the capital city for the first surgery the next day.

The first photo shows after first surgery on the right and then after the second surgery on the left.

Second surgery was because they were not happy with the placement of the bones after the first one and said it would cause early onset of arthritis.

She is now week three after the second surgery, like Orlando it is a slow process and still no weight bearing for another 3 weeks.

Thanks to all who have shared tips in this thread, they have been very helpful.

Second image shows the wounds, all stitched with dissolvable stitches.

Have also included the original X-ray from the day she did it.

Cheers

Robbo

 

 

[Orlando76]

something I thought I’d never say... but your wife’s bare leg looks nice. I have developed a serious “cankle”. Although I was always fit, my muscles were never very defined but I used to have defined muscular legs. Now im reduced to 1 cankle.

[Orlando76]

:'(

 

[Kimbymon]

@Orlando76 that looks so much better compared to the previous pic with all the staples. I hope the “cankle” goes away with time.

On a different subject the t-shirts will be ready for pickup on the 5th. This is for @Orlando76 and @DaveD .?.

[Robbo5252]

Definitely looking better @Orlando76. She does still have cankles but they seem to be getting better. Lots of ice and elevated 95% of the time which seems to be helping.

Cheers

Robbo

[nappy]

If you don’t have compression socks, get them. They will really help with the swelling. Blew my ankle up 10 years ago and compression socks, aso brace and Pt all helped immensely with the healing.