Compare this with an earlier x-ray, below, and it becomes very clear how much my ankle has deteriorated. (It's not quite the same x-ray view, but it illustrates the difference.)

So I broke an ankle. It was obvious, bare bone was sticking out of one side of my leg, and my foot hung limply off the other. I learned later that I had broken the other ankle as well, just not in such an obvious and interesting way.
Since that day, I've learned that having two broken ankles makes for a challenging experience. Nothing is simple. And everything hurts.