Comments on: Broken, But Not De-Feeted

By: christineq

christineq — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 19:12:42 +0000

Hi, I just read your blog and although I was laughing my ass off the way you wrote about your injury ( by the way thnx, since i havent laughed that hard in weeks) I completely understand and feel your pain. You see, on August 9th, I slipped going out my front door carrying a rather large houseplant that needed transplanting. I went via ambulance to the hospital ( NO INSURANCE!!) and was diagnosed a few days later as having a lisfranc sprain. I was assured I hadnt broken anything ( although,the jury, my jury, is still out on that one!!) I have been in excrutiating pain ever since. The first week, I lived in my wheelchair, thanks to my husbands grandparents letting me borrow theirs!! It was my saving grace!! The crutches the hospital gave me were useless. I couldn’t believe the pain. I couldn’t get to the bathroom, get a glass of water or stand up on my own. My doctor was an ass and when came into the room to examine my foot his attitude was, ” well, so where does it hurt??” He had an extremely cocky attitude and I was like, uummmm, my foot looks like a water balloon, PICK A SPOT!!! The whole underside and on top of my foot was completely swollen and bruised. As a matter of fact, when i lay straight, and had my leg stretched out in front of me, I couldn’t even see my toes, that was how swollen it was. I sit here today writing you to share my story with you. I am still in pain, cannot get a shoe on and there is still swelling on top of my toes and the side of my foot. I am much better off than I was in the beginning, but, I fear I will never be the same. I am afraid I will never be able to enjoy a nice long walk on a sunny day, or, run around in the grass or enjoy a day at a museum without being in some kind of pain. Oh!! I forgot to mention that I also had sprained my right ankle and had fractured my left leg at the time!!! I have been able to get around in a walking boot that I have from a previous injury ( YES, I AM A BONIFIED KLUTZ!!) however, I have to plot out what I am getting from the store ahead of time so as not to be walking from end to end. I can no longer linger and take my time, I just have to limit myself to only a couple of bags. The pain is unbearable and frustrating and I have cried many tears. I have been up and down the internet to read other people’s horror stories. My heart goes out to anyone who has suffered this type of injury. Especially, if their doctor or doctors have been complete jerks and if they lack health insurance. Thanks for having this blog. I enjoyed reading your story, although, I do hope you feel better too.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:53:24 +0000

i just submit for the rss ..

By: Tank

Tank — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:12:28 +0000

I can absolutely sympathize. I was in a car wreck in Nov 07 (I was hit head-on) and had a bad Lisfranc fracture. I still had a limp and was still recovering 15 months later when I broke my tib/fib in 3 places on the same leg. Now I have 20 screws and 2 plates in my right leg and will have permanent problems. I have not found a cure-all exercise, but the hardest is motivation! What I like to do is use the stability ball and dumbells. There are many variations with these tools that work your entire core, not just arms and shoulders. The big key, as mentioned above, is circuits with light weight, many reps, and very little rest in-between. Good luck!

By: omron zs

omron zs — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:11:01 +0000

As far as cardiovascular exercise is concerned simple walking routine is the best. However, since your leg is broken you could try to replace walking with swimming. You could also use weights but be careful not to over do it. Keep up with the positive attitude! It’s half of the battle!

By: Rinaldo Hasibuan, Personal Development

Rinaldo Hasibuan, Personal Development — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:20:51 +0000

yeah you are not de-feeted
he3x nice title,

lucky you, it’s time to do something different,
you know, some people just have not a chance to do something new, they always busy with their daily boring activities

By: Nicole

Nicole — Fri, 01 May 2009 17:59:35 +0000

Injuries can really shake your emotional well being to the core. When I broke my leg last year snowboarding in Whistler – I constantly had to prevent myself from going down the road of “why me?”

The best thing you can do is to stay positive and continue to focus on the things you can do – sit ups, bent knee pushups, arm weights, certain light stretching moves, dips (one legged?), bicep curls. Physical exercise will help keep your endorphines kickin until you’re fully recovered.

I found crutches themselves are a decent cardio workout – embrace them!

However, your “mental” health is the most important thing when dealing with a physical injury.

Daily meditation works – expressing gratitude for all the things you do have. This takes your mind off the injury and makes you realize you have a lot to be grateful for…your food, home, family, breath, etc.

There will days which are frustrating and where you want to just throw the crutches away…these are the best days to learn about yourself, and see how you react in difficult situations.

Observe your mind and again, try to stay positive!

Health and happiness,
Nicole

By: christine

christine — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 03:59:51 +0000

Hi Jonathan, this is my first visit to your blog..via Chris Gillebeau. I am an avid ultra distance runner (marathons and ultra’s) and I have had two incidents of broken bones in my foot…one a stress fracture that broke clean in half during a race (I didn’t know till the race was over..I came third ), and the other last year when I broke my toe 8 weeks out from my premier yearly event, a 96 km run. Last year I could swim with pull bouy, and I then supplimented my runs with deep water running for an hour..which was boring to start, but then I added in interval sessions, sprints etc…and boy did that work up a sweat. As soon as I could I got onto a stationary bike in spin classes. I couldn’t stand up in the saddle for a while, but when I could I did. With a complete break, you will need to give yourself the 2 weeks for the bones to knit together enough to be able to do some of these things. I managed to do my 96 k event (www.kokodachallenge.com) with my team of four women and we came third overall…so my fitness didn’t suffer too much.
Good luck,
warmly,
Christine

By: Enrique S

Enrique S — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:40:17 +0000

I was going to say the arm bike, too, as my father-in-law used one when he was rehabbing. Maybe a set of dumbbells for your upper body, like Powerblocks, which are adjustable. Hang in there, and don’t get down on yourself. You’ll be back in no time.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 00:42:43 +0000

I just broke my ankle last week on my birthday. I have never broken anything in my life, so this crutches thing is a lot to handle. I was going to try resistence bands w my good leg. Arms too. I am making protein shakes and just trying to stick w those(protein powder,milk,frozen fruit).

By: Simon Synett

Simon Synett — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 14:30:08 +0000

Oy vey, so sorry to hear it. Wish you a speedy and *complete* recovery.

Warmly,

Simon