Here I started to drag the branches from the trailer and add to the mound of green waste which the council then sheds and converts to mulch. As I turned with the first load I slipped and rolled my left ankle. As I fell I heard quite a loud crack. When I sat up and looked at my left leg. My foot was misaligned by just under ninety degrees. Being fairly bright I didn't try to get up walk as I did back in 2000 when I had the same leg broken when I was run over by a motor car.
My main concern was that I had broken the leg where I had a tibia nail inserted in 2003 when I finally got over the 2000 accident. All I could do is lie still. A fellow rubbish tipper saw me fall and call out. He got the tip supervisor who called for the first aider and also an ambulance. They made conformable with a cushion under my head and shaded me from the bright sun. I had my mobile with me and my emergency contact numbers which included Steve my next door neighbour. I arranged for Steve to take my car home later in the day and to contact my daughter, Helen, in South Australia. He also booked her on a flight to Brisbane next morning.
While waiting for the ambulance, Karen, the first aider talked to me while fighting of the ants which were climbing up my legs and trying to get up my shorts.
After about 30 minutes the ambulance arrived and the paramedics took over. They made up a splint from thick corrugated cardboard and gave me small injection of morphine. I was loaded in the ambulance and driven 35km to Nambour Hospital. This hospital services a huge area and has an undeserved reputation for poor service but in the past, when Margaret was critically ill, they were great. If you need urgent service you get it but if not you can wait hours.
I was placed in a fast track area where the Nurse Practitioner and an emergency doctor saw me within minutes and I was off to x-ray. Here it was obvious that I had fractured my fibular where it joins the ankle and had an unusual fracture of the tibia just below the ankle joint. In effect the foot had no connection to the rest of the leg. The nurse practitioner with the aid of a clinical nurse removed the temporary splint and after carefully aligning the foot fabricated a plaster of paris back slab to hold in in place.
After a while is was taken up to the ward and visited by a consultant orthopaedic surgeon. He confirmed the fractures and said that surgery was essential but as I was on a "blood thinning" drug called Pradaxa they could not operate for at least eight days with out major risk.
After a night in hospital I had a CT scan of the the ankle to better define the tibia fracture. Helen arrived about lunch time and as I now had somebody somebody to look after me they decided that I should go home next day after being supplied with crutches. Helen took some photos of me in hospital and they can be seen at:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.472936396088928.99679.100001177142734&type=1
Louis had been cared for by my fellow dog walker, Betty, and he fitted in well with her little dog Bella.
Helen took me home on Wednesday just after lunch. I was given some pre-filled syringes of Clexane to self inject into my tummy to act as a temporary blood thinner and ward off DVT. As I have private insurance it was arranged to have surgery at the Caloundra Private Hospital on the following Wednesday. I could have had it done at Nambour but there is always the risk of being bumped off the list if a more urgent patient comes in.
At home I just laid about in one of my big reclining armchairs and got around on my crutches. I went shopping with Helen but never really felt safe in crowds.
On Wednesday 20 February I underwent surgery. I was out from 1.30pm until after 5.00pm when the surgeon fitted a plate to my fibular and a long screw to my tibia.
The thick blck rod going to the left is my tibia nail. The plate and screws at the top are joining the fibular to the ankle. The screw at the bottom is holding the broken end of the tibia to the rest of the leg. There isn't much room.
Another view showing how long the screw is and how it just misses the nail and plate.
A view from the top.
I went home next day with more Clexane and painkillers with instructions not to weight bear on my left leg, which had another back slab, for at least six weeks. I had follow up appointment on the 6th March.
I managed, with Helen's help to cope at home but became more frustrated being on crutches and needing help for almost everything. In the end Helen investigated wheelchairs. Rental was between $30 t0 $50 a week or $180 to $300 for the minimum of six weeks I would require one. She also found a new one on sale in Tewantin for $148 so I tried it out and bought it on the spot. While Helen returned my crutches to the the car I took off, independently, to the shops!
We visited the surgeon last Wednesday and the X-rays showed that the fractures were still aligned OK and the back slab was removed. The wound where the tibia screw was inserted was fine but the wound over the fibular plate had opened a bit and was wet. There was no obvious sign of infection but to be on the safe side I wad prescribed antibiotics and the wound covered by an an opsite dressing.
I will visit my own GP on the 13th March to have the wound checked. If it is OK I can stop injecting Clexane and start taking Pradaxa again. If not I will go back to see the surgeon.
My next scheduled appointment is on the 3rd April which, coincidently, is the day I was scheduled to fly to Adelaide to camp with my Bike Friday Cycling Club. I had hoped to swap my bike and tent for a hire car and hotel bed and still get to meet my fellow cyclist but I have now cancelled it. Oh well there is always next year.
In the mean time I am building up my biceps on the crutches and using the wheel chair. As I said in the title I am bored stiff.
PS I forgot to say that I have been fitted with a heavy "Moon Boot" to hold my ankle stable. I must event wear it in bed but can take it off for a shower.
