Ankles and Legs - experiences

[BASE813 0]

OK so I am bored posting shite like this....

I saw my consultant yesterday (10 days after surgery) who has told me that I need to go back in 5 weeks for Xrays and check up to make sure everything is going ok - if all is good then I will be back in surgery in 7 weeks and if this is good I should be able to start putting small amounts of weight on my leg and ankle in around 8 weeks - this is of course all goes well.......... fingers crossed hey!

I am interested in others experiences of similar injury (tib & fib & ankle) and your time of recovery..... and if you had any issues / problems once you were on this road to recovery.........

Thanks

Michael

[TomAiello 26]

My main experience was:

Take it slow.

I had two similar injuries.

One I took all the time off the doctor recommended, and it healed great.

The other I got back on as soon as I could (before the doctor said to), and it healed like absolute shite.

Don't rush it. You'll be glad in the long run.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[cloud_monkey 0]

Ah you poor bastard - I basically shattered my shin - tib/fib broken in several places each. One stainless steel rod, four pins in my knee and three in my ankle. I also ended up with a four compartment syndrome - a nasty bi product of severe swelling which required 2 extra surgeries, an extra 100 or so stitches, and a foot long skin graft on the outside of my calf. That was 4 months ago almost to the day and I'm just now getting prepared to go skydiving again over Memorial Day.

A good tip I found in a previous thread was not to skydive until you can jump up and down on your bad leg without any pain. I'm not quite there yet so I guess I'm going to wait and see how I feel before I decide to go. And, since I'm loading my canopy at about 2.1:1, I think I'm going to revert back to a bigger canopy for a while until I feel that I'm healed enough to run out my landings.

I feel for ya bro - Rehab is a long and very boring process but you have to take it slow and give your leg time to heal, otherwise that injury will come back to haunt ya.

Hope every thing works out for ya and get well soon


z

[BASE813 0]

oooo sir suits you! - I heard about this syndrome - my consultant was called out late night when I was in hospital as they thought i was suffering - apparently you can loose limbs from it........... ?!

Now that is a scar!!

[cloud_monkey 0]

That's very true - The way it was explained to me was that when the pressure inside the individual compartments of your lower leg exceeds your blood pressure, the blood can't flow through the tissue and it eventually begins to die. So, now I have a scar that looks like a shark bite - scares the shit out the little kids at the grocery store

But hey, at least I still have my freakin' leg.

[base428 1]

Ahhh, another good reason to post my Xray collection website....

Xrays here

Enjoy. One is mine, by the way (long leg cast from another BASE jump gone bad).

(c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted. <==For the media only

[chuckbrown 0]

I broke the tib clean through and shattered the fib. 2 screws in the tib & 6 pins and a titanium plate in the fib. Your doctor's time line is pretty much what I went through. Started with small amounts of weight, then walking unassisted probably a couple of weeks later. When it felt right I started jogging and then began running over rough ground to be sure the ankle could take poor landing areas. Jumped again 7 months to the day after surgery. No, I didn't rush it; I was ready.

My doctor didn't prescribe any sort of rehab program. He just said listen to your body. It will tell you when you're ready.

[BASE813 0]

7 months............. thats cool - i have given myself 1 year to BASE jump and will get into skydiving again before this to tidy my canpopy skills up and get confidence - the way i see it anything under a year will be a bonus..............

just out of interest - do you still jump with metal in your leg? - as I am not sure I want to after being told the horror that can happen if you bust up again - did anyone have their metal taken out before going back to jumping? or those that left it in, is it an issue for you?

For those that BASE jump especially - do you still jump with the metal work in your leg?

............ fuck man - i never thought i would say it but 3 months off work is going to be boring!!

[cloud_monkey 0]

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Ahhh, another good reason to post my Xray collection website....

I dig the site Jason. That heal x-ray just looks nasty. Shit that's gotta hurt.

[Brains 2]

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And, since I'm loading my canopy at about 2.1:1, I think I'm going to revert back to a bigger canopy for a while until I feel that I'm healed enough to run out my landings.

Send me that comp 120 and i will send you my 135 I am here to help you out man.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[BASE813 0]

nice! some pretty nice work! - nice quotes at the top too!

I will post mine as soon as I get them back - I only saw my metal work ones once straight after surgery - but was so fucked up on drugs I dont know if it was a dream or not!!

[chuckbrown 0]

The metal's in for the duration. My fib was so badly busted that either way (metal in or out), I'll probably be crippled for life if it gets busted again. I'm a very active jumper and the metal doesn't present any major issues. Sometimes a dull ache but nothing to worry about. It has made me refine my PLF to a fine art, though.

[tigra 0]

The surgery in 7 weeks is probably to remove a couple of "temporary" screws they use to keep your tib and fib from separating as you heal. That's not uncommon from what I understand.

Unfortuantely, I've had 2 tib/fib ankle fractures with hardware. The most recent was in November. I'm walking now, but not completely healed yet. The tendons/ligaments/ muscles are taking longer to heal than the bones. But its getting there. I've already had some hardware taken out- vertical screw in my tibia that hurt like hell when I walked on it, plus 2 "temporary" screws that went across both bones. I've still got a plate in my fib and I think I'll have it removed later this year. I'll be jumping again soon, but I'm trying not to rush it. Hope that helps!

maura

[cloud_monkey 0]

[replySend me that comp 120 and i will send you my 135 I am here to help you out man.

[BASE813 0]

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The surgery in 7 weeks is probably to remove a couple of "temporary" screws they use to keep your tib and fib from separating as you heal. That's not uncommon from what I understand.

thats exactly it - this is the reason i am not allowed to put weight on it until then as the screws could snap and my tib and fib will ping apart. After this I will be left with a load of screws and a plate. I am just concerned if I should do this again - what sort of damage could occur if this metal is left in.

Did you bust up again on the same side with metal in??????

cheers

[Brains 2]

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Then again, I've always been lazy when it comes to packin' and the 120's already hooked up - Maybe I'll just pull a Phil and slide it in on my ASS

Does Phil still read these?????

Yes he does on occasion. I think you are a safe distance away right now. Plus, he upsized to a cobalt150 He traded Snowflake.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[cloud_monkey 0]

[reply
thats exactly it - this is the reason i am not allowed to put weight on it until then as the screws could snap and my tib and fib will ping apart.

[BASE813 0]

hehe! - I guess he knows I am dying to get back walking again!!

yeah man that morphine stuff! jesus i had no idea what was dreams and what was reality!

[cloud_monkey 0]

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yeah man that morphine stuff! jesus i had no idea what was dreams and what was reality!

I know - ain't it GREAT

When I picked up my meds leaving the hospital they gave me 100 Oxycodone and 100 pills of morphine, the pharmacist told me to hide it - I figured - fan f$&%^n tastic, I'm sittin' here in a wheel chair and now I have to worry about some junkey asshole robbin' me of my meds while I wait for my ride

[BASE813 0]

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I'm sittin' here in a wheel chair and now I have to worry about some junkey asshole robbin' me of my meds while I wait for my ride

that would be a bitch of a day getting out of hospital man!!

cracked me up............

[base428 1]

You guys got off easy.......I was looking at the bottom of my foot after snapping my tib/fib in a spiral fracture. I opted for not having surgery and chose the wonderful long leg cast.

Did you know you can't take a shit with a long leg cast without first taking off your pants and underwear? Sad, but true. Geez, you should have seen me craw on top of my wife with that "toes to testicles" cast on that one horny night. A sight to see......

(c)2010 Vertical Visions. No unauthorized duplication permitted. <==For the media only

[lawrocket 3]

Ahh! The sight of an anterior compartment fasciotomy! I miss those days...

My wife is hotter than your wife.

[BASE813 0]

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You guys got off easy.......I was looking at the bottom of my foot after snapping my tib/fib in a spiral fracture.

ditto!

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I opted for not having surgery and chose the wonderful long leg cast.

fuck knows what i opted for - after taking 2 hours to get out of the landing area (industrial enclosed area) and to the hospital (by car not by ambulance) they pumped me so full of stuff I did not know what the fuck was going on for a few days.........

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Did you know you can't take a shit with a long leg cast without first taking off your pants and underwear? Sad, but true.

Nice thoughts! - loosing all dignity! from BASE jumper to special needs in a fraction of a second! - i knocked a whole bottle of piss over the floor from my bed - this moment is when I felt like special needs kid!

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Geez, you should have seen me craw on top of my wife with that "toes to testicles" cast on that one horny night. A sight to see......

hehehe! thats some funny shit! i cant even stand without discomfort never mind go hammer and tongs!! ah the joys of the hand!! hehe

[cloud_monkey 0]

I don't know how "easy" it's been - I mean, I'm not married and I just moved to Seattle 3 weeks before I broke my leg. Don't know a single sole here - You think takin' a crap was hard - ever try carrying a garbage bag down two flights of stairs while on crutches?

Oh yeah, and grocery shoppin' - Good thing they have that little motorized shopping cart or I would have been f&$^d Oh man did it suck until I got off of those damned crutches - I hated those freakin' sticks so much that I opted to drag myself around my apartment on my ass instead - Granted, my leg shrank but my shoulders got bigger

Come to think of it - When I broke my arm I had a cast all of the way up to my arm pit - right arm, naturally - no wife that time either

[cloud_monkey 0]

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Ahh! The sight of an anterior compartment fasciotomy! I miss those days...

Only an anterior? That's just lameI got the bonus plan = four compartment fasciotomy with meshed skin graft closure. I just tell everyone I was attacked by a Bull Shark off of Catalina