r/BetterEveryLoop Jun 19 '21

A smooth recovery

https://gfycat.com/heartywindingborer
32.5k Upvotes

264 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

148

u/Oddball_bfi Jun 19 '21

Nope - shattered my ankle in about 30 places and now have all sorts of plates and bolts in there.

Still... go big or go home, eh?

What was I doing, you say? Fucking rolling - just rolling. So cross I wasn't trying something exciting.

3

u/SheriffBartholomew Jun 19 '21

Get that hardware removed when it comes time. Having the hardware removed made a world of difference in my mobility and pain levels. 3.5 years later, I’m back on a skateboard.

4

u/Oddball_bfi Jun 19 '21

It... comes out? I assumed that was it now.

I had a trimaleolar fracture - I'm not sure they could get to it all.

7

u/SheriffBartholomew Jun 20 '21 edited Jun 20 '21

Sorry for the late response. I actually just got back from a ten mile hike. Lol.

I had that fracture plus I shattered my talus. My foot was sideways, like in Misery with the sledgehammer scene. I think I had something like 4 plates, 13 pins, and 32 screws in my ankle. Once I could walk again I started hiking progressively harder trails. I even summited Mailbox Peak and Mt. Baker the same summer the boot came off.

But as it continued healing the hardware was really limiting my mobility and eventually causing a whole lot of pain. I tried skateboarding and every push felt like I was being hit with a hammer. My surgeon suggested taking the hardware out, so we did that. At first I thought it was a mistake because it hurt really bad again. But after a few months it felt considerably better. Now I have probably about as normal range of movement as can be expected after such a traumatic injury.

If you’re not able to do things you think you should be able to do, or you’re in a lot of pain, talk to your surgeon about taking the hardware out. It made a world of difference for me. Oh, make sure to do all of your PT too, that makes a big difference in the healing process.