After a very long night with very little sleep I got up this morning and went AAAAAAARRRGHH!!! as I gingerly placed my feet on the floor in an attempt to get out of bed. Holy crap. It hadn’t occurred to me that the PAIN from yesterday’s accident could actually get worse. Which was when I started getting scared. I mean, at least last time I had one leg to stand on! Also, the more I shuffled around on two tortuous feet I could feel that my back was starting to go wonky. And the very last thing I need is excruciating back pain added to all this. So around midday I finally took up my friend Juan’s very generous offer to pick me up and drive me to the hospital.
The X-rays showed that my left ankle had a small fracture (!!!) but upon closer inspection it turned out that it was from the first time I sprained it three years ago (!!!!). Seriously… what?? I was walking around on that sucker (with crutches) after a couple of days, even doing tapas tours. I had no idea it was broken because I didn’t go to hospital that time. So when I was told today that I need to stay in and rest my ankle for two weeks… well, I don’t see that happening. Yes, obviously like right now when putting any weight on it at all makes me want to cry, I’ll be avoiding doing that as much as possible. But I hope to be (gently) out and about again after the weekend. The right foot is also badly sprained (thankfully nothing is broken) and so I ended up getting bandaged up like this and sent home with prescriptions for Ibuprofen and Paracetemol. Coming home we ran into a Semana Santa procession and Juan had to let me off where I could normally get home in 3-4 minutes. About 20 very-very-very painful minutes later I finally got home again and I’ve been slobbing out on the sofa ever since.
I was telling Juan that yesterday on the way home Peter had said “let’s go this way” and I said “no, let’s go this way, it’s shorter”…. if I’d gone Peter’s way this never would’ve happened. And then Juan said that if he wasn’t taking me to the hospital he might have been killed in a car accident that afternoon. Point taken. But especially yesterday I kept wishing that I could REWIND and take the other way home. Though of course I might have have been run over by a beer delivery truck…
Life, eh? How’s your week going?
casa azahar 
Oy, vey, girl. And here you just got your good bill of health last week.I’ve had several sprained ankle disasters. My sympathies and hugs. At least you’ve got the kitties and a working TV!
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Thanks. Kitties help a lot. Plus I just got an Amazon delivery!
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Very stylish toe polish, by the way.
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My summer happy toes. 🙂
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The conventional wisdom that you need to stay off sprains that long is, I learned from experience, a little overblown. Not that I’m saying walk even if it hurts — but once you get to the point the pain is tolerable, and using support bandages like that, the healing accelerates if you move. Because the sprained parts are tissues which have a lousy blood supply so the only way they get nourished and flushed is by having you move and force body fluids through them.
http://www.caringmedical.com/sports-injuries/meat-why-we-recommend-it/
The first time I sprained my ankle I did all the stuff you are told to do. It took forever to heal and may be a factor in the leg pain I’m just getting over now nearly two years from the original injury. The second time I couldn’t afford to lie down and all that crap, I was on a campground weekend, I just tied it up and kept moving — and it was so over with in half the time.
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The PAIN is much worse first thing in morning (after not having moved for several hours) and is almost bearable by evening. So this also says to me that this theory makes sense. It’s the same with back problems. They used to always say that bed rest was the best thing, and now they encourage movement. I’m buying a second crutch tomorrow and hope to be – very gently – out and about after the weekend.
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Oh, I hate to think of your very painful walk home. Ouch, ouch, ouch. I’m glad that you are home and resting. I’m also glad that you have sledpress around to give what sounds like good, experience-based advice! I hope that you are back to your usual pace quickly. You are someone who really *needs* to be able to get around!
I wish I was there to offer (physical) support. (Sending virtual support, instead.)
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It was the WALK FROM HELL. And it turned out that the cop lied to Juan. There was no procession going on. Bastard. I actually knew that, but the cop wouldn’t come over to the car and so I eventually gave up.
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While the thought of enforced slobbing sounds lovely in principal, I know that even an idle-bum like me would very soon be itching to move around. I do hope you can get on top of the pain quickly.
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More than one house-bound day and I’m climbing the walls. I’m a very impatient patient. 🙂
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Also (if you can stand any more meddling/advice), do consider seeing a physical therapist when the worst of the pain eases, and if Seguridad Social won’t give it to you, make a small investment in a few sessions.. I had a bad wrist sprain years ago, and the PT gave me some exercises and a regimen of alternating ice/hot water soaks. I find that PTs are much better at the practical details of getting over an injury and getting moving again, and friends of mine who’ve had anything from sprains to a collarbone fracture have said the same.
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Second that. A good PT (someone with training beyond the basic degree) who will actually pay attention to what YOU are experiencing and put his/her hands on you to feel the condition of the tissue and stretch or release it. And then coach you in exercises that are not just out of a cook-book. OR possibly a good sports trainer too… I think one of them is currently saving my life.
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Poor you. ❤ I sympathise. I once fell and there was no gap or anything. I just lay flat on the pavement for no obvious reason. Fortunately, I didn't sprain anything, and it was only my pride that was hurt. Take it easy, and get crutches if you feel you have to walk. xx
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Ice, ice, ice… and more ice….
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And generous kittehness.
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