Broken Tib/fib journal

[Honey Badger]

So yesterday headed in to get my hardware out. I'll admit, I was a bit worried about what he'd find once he got in there - while there were no reasons to think things were going badly, on the other hand, I learned not to count my chickens too soon in this, either.

Thankfully seems things were pretty clean, and hardware was removed, and I was released with "weight bearing as tolerated" status. It was a hella late night though - I think I was the last one scheduled (5pm) and they were running a couple hours behind. But got it done, and have a bag of hardware to show for it.

Thus far pain hasn't been too bad. Last night took a couple painkillers over the course of the night to get some sleep, but thus far today been getting by on one 800mg ibuprofen, so hopefully won't be too ouchy for long.

Thinking I'll still telecommute tomorrow to give it one more day of rest - I can walk on it a bit, and it's fine, but hasn't even been 24 hours yet and thinking I don't want to be dealing with BART and driving my (manual) truck.

Thankfully my friend flew in from Atlanta (she works for Delta) to haul me to and from surgery yesterday and help out if I needed it today (which I was okay since they didn't have to do major crap to my bones).

Now to see if I can officially kick this infection and move beyond it once and for all - at least for now.

So, at this point, leaning towards round 7 happening, but won't be signing up just yet :laughing

 

[anytwowilldo]

This is great news AJ! I hope you can get the potential infection situation off your mind and relax. Hopefully it will all be a distant memory soon!

 

[1962siia]

Congrats on getting past this AJ! :thumbup

 

[EastBayDave]

Nice to hear you finally got the hardware out, congrats! :thumbup

Don't be in a hurry to get back to work; take a couple days off if you need to = I'm sure work understands you JUST had surgery. Don't skimp on the pain pills, take as needed. You need to get your sleep (been there, done that.)

Take care of YOU right now; you'll heal faster & this effects the rest of your life! Let's say that again, the final healing effects the rest of your life.

Get well soon! :afm199

All the best f/ebd! :teeth

 

[Honey Badger]

Here's what I was sent home with - just a few souvenirs!

 

[1962siia]

That big plate might make a nice shoe horn! :teeth

 

[anytwowilldo]

You had a lot of hardware in your leg! I'll bet you will feel so much better once the surgery site heals up. I'm so glad this whole incident is getter further behind you.

 

[Honey Badger]

Not feeling too bad today, slept really well last night, so that's good.

That big plate might make a nice shoe horn! :teeth

It does kinda look like one LOL

You had a lot of hardware in your leg! I'll bet you will feel so much better once the surgery site heals up. I'm so glad this whole incident is getter further behind you.

I have a feeling it'll be more comfortable, but hard to say at this point yet :laughing

 

[jaybocc2]

Congratulations on the surgery. Take your time and heal up well. Don't forget to take it easy all those holes in the bone are weak points now until they heal up.

 

[Rumbo Sur]

Congratulations on the surgery. Take your time and heal up well. Don't forget to take it easy all those holes in the bone are weak points now until they heal up.

That's a good point! No hard landings! :thumbup

I was curious how long the removal surgery took? And how do they remove the plate without cutting a bunch? Must be a very artful procedure?

Hope you can work the leg hard soon and try to break down all that scar tissue! Some numbness will never go away but you can reduce it a lot!

Good healing! :thumbup

 

[Honey Badger]

That's a good point! No hard landings! :thumbup

I was curious how long the removal surgery took? And how do they remove the plate without cutting a bunch? Must be a very artful procedure?

Hope you can work the leg hard soon and try to break down all that scar tissue! Some numbness will never go away but you can reduce it a lot!

Good healing! :thumbup

Yes, I have to be careful of falls or hard hits for a couple weeks until the swiss cheese has time to fill in, but doc said "normal" activity shouldn't hurt anything.

Start to finish about 2 hours, but I'm not sure how long the actual surgery took.

They have to cut a bunch. At least as much as the original, if not more so in order to get everything out. So no, not a lot of art to it, but my doc is pretty good about trying to reduce excess scarring, and was going to try to clean up the area from the fracture blister while he was at it if there was skin available to meet up.

Plenty of numbness in my foot at this point, although plenty of that will go away I'm sure. Prior to this I still had areas that were numb, so those are unlikely to ever get full feeling back.

 

[anytwowilldo]

Yes, I have to be careful of falls or hard hits for a couple weeks until the swiss cheese has time to fill in, but doc said "normal" activity shouldn't hurt anything.

Did you show the doctor your Avatar Pic? Does he understand your "normal activity"? :thumbup:teeth

 

[Honey Badger]

Yes, he knows what I do lol, but there's not a race round for 3 weeks ��

 

[EastBayDave]

Here's what I was sent home with - just a few souvenirs!

Allright! Reduced your "sprung weight" a bit.

Hmm....is it Titanium? :thumbup

 

[Kawikiwi]

I'm really curious as to why they elected to remove the hardware, I've had my hardware in for about three years and was told that they would only remove if it became a problem. Maybe I missed something but with your recent infection it's surprising that they wanted to remove it so quickly. Glad things are going well though! Seeing your hardware gives me a weird tingle where my hardware is..

 

[Honey Badger]

I'm really curious as to why they elected to remove the hardware, I've had my hardware in for about three years and was told that they would only remove if it became a problem. Maybe I missed something but with your recent infection it's surprising that they wanted to remove it so quickly. Glad things are going well though! Seeing your hardware gives me a weird tingle where my hardware is..

The infection IS the reason for the removal - due to bioflim issues, the infection cannot be killed off until the hardware is removed. I'm still on antibiotics, and have been ever since April. With the hardware removed, I have a chance of kicking the infection, all we've been doing until now was to keep it suppressed and give the fractures time to mend.

 

[Kawikiwi]

The infection IS the reason for the removal - due to bioflim issues, the infection cannot be killed off until the hardware is removed. I'm still on antibiotics, and have been ever since April. With the hardware removed, I have a chance of kicking the infection, all we've been doing until now was to keep it suppressed and give the fractures time to mend.

Oh wow, didn't know the hardware could be so problematic for infections. Hope this nips it in the bud! If you ever need a hand (or leg) I'm pretty open to helping out!

 

[Honey Badger]

Oh wow, didn't know the hardware could be so problematic for infections. Hope this nips it in the bud! If you ever need a hand (or leg) I'm pretty open to helping out!

Ya, infections are bad enough, but if hardware is involved it's even worse since the bacteria can "hide" on it and your body can't attack it. At least without it in there, you have a chance of being able to kick it, although any infection involving bones is no joke.

Thankfully I seem to be feeling pretty good at this point, pain has been pretty minimal, just on ibuprofen *as needed* at this point. Driving my truck a couple miles this AM was fine. Hopefully won't be laid up too long from this as long as things heal up well, which is my biggest concern at this point.

 

[Honey Badger]

Thus far recovery is going well - no cane or other walking assistance needed the past few days, did a workout and house cleaning yesterday and that went well, doing a little more walking at/to/from work today (taking the stairs and stuff like that).

Off all pain meds of any variety since Friday, pretty sure the swelling that is there has gone down since my bandages (which I'm supposed to keep on for a full week, so can change them - and get my first look at the leg - Wednesday morning) are getting a bit loose. Which would be fine except that they sometimes catch on a stitch, which is not a pleasant feeling LOL!

Biggest concern at this point is just whether the infection gets kicked or if that's going to require more intense treatment (again). *Hoping*, since things are feeling good, that they are, in fact, doing well....

 

[anytwowilldo]

Thus far recovery is going well - no cane or other walking assistance needed the past few days, did a workout and house cleaning yesterday and that went well, doing a little more walking at/to/from work today (taking the stairs and stuff like that).

Off all pain meds of any variety since Friday, pretty sure the swelling that is there has gone down since my bandages (which I'm supposed to keep on for a full week, so can change them - and get my first look at the leg - Wednesday morning) are getting a bit loose. Which would be fine except that they sometimes catch on a stitch, which is not a pleasant feeling LOL!

Biggest concern at this point is just whether the infection gets kicked or if that's going to require more intense treatment (again). *Hoping*, since things are feeling good, that they are, in fact, doing well....

I'm hoping the infection is gone and the healing process goes perfectly. This has been a long road for you. Hopefully you can forget it soon!