Tip #3: Beware the small bedpan May 31, 2006
Posted by ouchmyleg in Personal Experience, Resources.1 comment so far
During a multiple day hospital stay, it's fairly likely that nature will come calling at least once. If you're not mobile, this means your backside is about to become close personal friends with a bedpan. The nurse will ask if you'd like a small or a large one. Eschew vanity my dear friends and go for the large. Don't ask why. Just do it. You'll thank me.
Tip #2: Never break your leg on a long weekend May 31, 2006
Posted by ouchmyleg in Personal Experience, Resources.1 comment so far
Or, if you do, make sure you break it really, really well and need immediate emergency surgery. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy the view of the ceiling above your hospital bed. You'll be seeing a lot of it for at least the next 24 hours.
To sleep, perchance to… May 30, 2006
Posted by ouchmyleg in Personal Experience.add a comment
On a scale of bodily harm, I'd say a broken ankle rates somewhere around a 6. If it's a multiple break that requires surgery (as mine did) then it's maybe a 6.5. It's serious, sure, painful, yes and requires a lot of time to heal and regain strength. But, then again it's not really life threatening, and considerably lower on the gore scale than say, a cam shaft to the chest or a nail gun to the face. For me, it's my first real serious injury and aside from a bike accident in sixth grade where I broke my front teeth, I have nothing to compare it to for pain and experience.
Oddly, my body is reacting to this injury with the same can-do spirit it applies to colds, flu and sinus infections. In short – I'm asleep all the time. It's not just the painkillers and sedatives (although they help a bit, I'm sure). Almost as soon as I'm awake I'm thinking about when I get to sleep again. I've had a bit of an armistice with the internets,and it seems that it agrees with me. Your body heals itself faster when you're asleep than when you're awake. I believe it's a similar logic to “We're fighting 'em over there, so we don't have to fight 'em here.” Or whatever. I'm tired.
You have failed me for the last time, Commander Internets. May 29, 2006
Posted by ouchmyleg in Personal Experience.6 comments
Hey there. I'm Heather, I'm 27, and almost exactly a week ago (give or take an hour) I broke my ankle in a freak hugging-related accident. Yes, seriously.
Being bedridden affords a tech-savvy girl like myself a fair amount of time to research her injury on-line. Usually these forays return exotic fruits of internet deliciousness, but not this time. In between exaggerated accounts of extreme sports injuries and eBay auctions for lightly-used memory foam pillows, I couldn't seem to find what I really wanted: an honest account from an actual person of what to expect when you break your leg.
So, here's my story. I plan to update this blog for at least the next six to eight weeks or until I can wear high heels again. Hopefully you'll enjoy it, and if you're lucky enough to have a similar injury, you'll find some information and resources that'll help.
My First Tip: When you're planning to break your ankle, always wear white cowboy boots. They'll help you out more than you know.
But more on that later.
Ouch, my leg! (the broken ankle blog) 