Hints for healing and recovery

Since other folks recovering from ankle and leg injuries occasionally end up on this blog, I thought I would post a few thoughts on healing and recovery.

Get help
First off, get help. Friends, family, a rehab center. Whatever you have to do. Get somebody to give you a hand, and accept the help. I definitely credit my quick healing in the past (and hopefully this go-round as well) to the amazing help I've gotten from my family.

When you're this banged up, driving is obviously out, so you'll need somebody to cart you around. But help for all the other daily tasks (that we normally take for granted) is just as important. If you have to stand up to do dishes, cook food, do laundry, etc., your foot is down and probably swelling quite badly. Not good for healing. Accept the help.

Really elevate
Really (really!) elevate your foot. Not just propped on a chair. Keep it at or above your heart. This probably means a recliner and lots of pillows. One of my docs early on emphasized the importance of keeping it so elevated, and I've found it makes a huge difference. One of those camping recliner/lounger chairs works well if you don't have a typical recliner (and is much cooler in hot weather). Something like this (shameless plug for REI) is a good place to start: http://www.rei.com/product/812204/rei-comfort-lounger-chair

Stay active
Stay active. Do push ups or sit ups or whatever. Get outside if you can. Roll around the neighborhood or local park in your wheelchair or knee scooter. Get out and stay active. Once you're in PT, do everything your PT tells you to, and then do it again (and maybe a third time for good measure).

Knee scooters!
If it's an option for you, use a knee scooter rather than crutches. Crutches are useful for tight spots and stairs, and not bad for around the house, but otherwise knee scooters are (without question) the way to go. Just make sure you get one you can steer. I spent hours on the phone with my insurance company getting a knee scooter sorted out this time around, and it was definitely worthwhile. More here: http://twobrokenankles.blogspot.com/2009/10/knee-scooter.html

Shower covers
Get one of the cast covers for the shower. They're not terribly expensive, and they are much (much!) better than any home made alternative (usually trash bags and duct tape). The one I have is much like the original one shown here: http://www.medcareproducts.com/castcovers/ Oh, and you'll need some sort of plastic stool for sitting in the shower as well. Again, a small and worthwhile investment.


That's all I've got for now. Let me know if you have any questions!

Not much new to report

Not much new to report right now. I've returned to work, and amuse my colleagues by zipping about the office on my knee scooter. Best I can tell, everything is healing well and quickly. Still no pain. Still swelling if I don't keep my foot up (though that has improved slightly). I go back in next week to have my cast taken off and another x-ray taken. Hopefully the doc will tell me good things at that point.

Thanks for checking in!