Shaun's Fractured Fibula/ Compound Ankle dislocation playing Baseball (WARNING- Graphic Fracture Image)

by Shaun
(St. Petersburg, Fl)

Tibia protruding: Compound Ankle dislocation

Hello, my name is Shaun, I am 27 years old and I was just reading a few stories on here and I decided that I would share mine...

On May 31, 2009, I was playing a baseball game on my summer team here in sunny Florida. On this day, I was playing 3rd base. Next thing I know, I find myself chasing a pop foul ball toward the fence in foul territory and it was right then, that my left foot fell into a hole left by a fence post causing my fibula to fracture and a compound dislocation of my ankle/tibia. I went to the ER immediately where I had emergency surgey within a couple of hours. The surgeon repaired 2 or 3 torn ligaments and set my ankle and tibia back into place.

The Dr's main concern I believe, was infection from the compound dislocation, in which my tibia broke the skin. During the 1st surgery, the Dr determined that the swelling was to severe to repair the fractured fibula and he decided to wait 48hrs to go back in and asess the swelling. The swelling was still too severe, so I did not have my 3rd and final surgery until 2 weeks after the incident. I did wear a External Fixator for the weeks leading up to the last surgery, which was really weird and uncomfortable if you have never been through something like this.

Today, July 26th, I am all fixed and on the road to recovery. I wore a hard cast for 2 weeks after the 3rd surgery, before the Dr put me into a AirCast/Boot. I am non-weight bearing for 12 weeks total, and I have 7 weeks out of the 12 remaining. The crutches are HELL. I am going into my 4th full week of physical therapy, which I am doing 3 times a week. Because of the non-weight bearing, the therapist are only able to do Range of Motion excercises, which is extremely painful but well worth it. I am able to move up and down, but side to side is still very stiff.

I can only hope that everything goes as planned and I can get back out doing what I love the most, PLAYING BASEBALL and did I mention, ENJOYING LIFE.

I ecourage anyone to comment or reply to my story. Any tips, suggestions or related experience will be greately appreciated. Thanks for listening and I HOPE this NEVER happens to anyone. :)

Take a peek at the pic of my leg as I waited in the ER.

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Shaun's Fractured Fibula/ Compound Ankle dislocation playing Baseball (WARNING- Graphic Fracture Image)

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Jul 31, 2009
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I left out a few BIG concerns.
by: Shaun

I know they say, that every person/case is different. But I am definately concerned about the life long effects of this injury.

Will I be pain free again one day? And, will I walk/run with a limp for the rest of my life?

When I origanlly posted my story, I was only trying to include the positives to help encourage others to stay positive. I can go on and on with negatives from this experience because there are many evry day.

Please comment or share your experience with a similar incident. I am interested to hear anything. Take Care....

Aug 12, 2009
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outcomes after injury
by: Bart - SII

Shaun, thanks for sharing your story. The fact that you can focus on the positive aspects and want to share those rather than the negatives is indeed a rare gift. The positive attitude and motivation will help a lot with your recovery.

It will be quite some time before you are "normal" again, and likely you will have some type of limitations. The keys to successful recovery after an injury like this is to be patient, but not ever stop working to get better. Most people take 12-18 months to get back to "normal" after an ankle fracture with ORIF. So you will have a long road ahead of you.

The final outcomes vary significantly from person to person. I have seen several young (under 30) patients with similar injury (ankle fracture with fixation) who were eventually able to resume activities similar to what they were doing prior to injury. But it took a lot of time and hard work. I have also had patients who were similar who never got all the way back - because they settled for what they had and decided they couldn't get any better.

It does come down partly to motivation - and having a good therapist who doesn't let you settle for "good enough".

Best of luck in your continued recovery.

Check out the ankle questions section of the site - there are lots of posts on injuries similar to yours.

Bart

Sep 03, 2009
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Go Shaun!
by: Jenny

Shaun, my injury was very similar to yours actually and its posted here. I was on crutches for 10 months last year and now on them again, and yes they're hell. I had an external fixature on for 4 weeks after my 5th surgery, I've had 7 in the 19 months since my injury. I've had a lot of problems with getting back my dorsiflexion and I now know I won't get it all back, I'll be grateful if I have enough to alleviate the pain on my knee. I think cartilage damage will be something you will worry about long term.
It will always be painful, particularly when its cold, physio is always torture, and you may need more surgeries later on. But keep at it, there's no point feeling sorry for youself except to go on. Its like climbing, once you're up there, there's no going back except to reach the top.

Oct 21, 2009
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Whats Your present situation brother?
by: Karan Grover

Hello, I was surfing on the net when I came across a post by "Shaun, From St. Petersburg, FL".

Actually on Sept 13 2009 in an accident, I got exactly injuries mentioned in the post. I got a Dislocated Tibia and fractured Fibula. I had surgery same day and both the fractures have been fixed. Lateral malleolus has been fixed with one third semitubular plate. For medial malleolus tension band wiring has been done.

Also I left with a wound without skin on it from where my Tibia bone came out. After 15 days of surgery I got a plaster on my ankle with an open window in the plaster at the wound location for cleaning and dressing of wound.
Now after a month doctor suggested me to walk with full load bearing on my feet with supports "if required" to balance. The wound is healing since am able to see that tissues are generating and covering "Periosteum" (is a membrane that lines the outer surface of all bones). Am recovering and am able to walk without any support also. Am not walking normally but yet am able to walk without support. This light weight plaster will be there for another couple of weeks.

I know what this guy Shaun felt that moment… I would like to know about his present situation cause it’s gonna to be same with me also. Any contact detail, email whatever if I can have, I really want to contact this guy.
Any help from your side to contact Shaun???

Jan 19, 2010
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64 year old double compound tib/fib
by: Susanne

In July of 09 I suffered a compound tib/fib ankle socket fracture in a car wreck. It broke by ankle socket into 6 pieces and broke by tib/fib each in 2 places and each lower leg bone on each side of my right leg was blown out of my body. First surgery was an external fixator. 3 weeks later they set the bones with 26 pieces of metal. Due to my age of 64, my bones have not filled in at all. It has been six months. So now in 2 weeks I have schedule bone graft surgery where they are going to fill in all of the open spaces with a mixture of cadaver bone, my bone marrow, and some bone paste which is a mixture of protein enzymes that tell the bone to get with the program. I have managed to avoid any infection, due to the excellent efforts of paramedics, hospitals, and trauma staff. I am growing skin where they thought none would ever grow. I had just had a right knee revision on my total knee replacement 6 weeks prior to this car accident, and my knee is knowcked askew so it will need another surgery. And the ball of my foot and toe tendons will need attention after that. SHAWN, please update us on your end results. I am sure you are out living your life to the fullest but some of us are where you used to be. Please let us know our realistic outcomes to expect. In advance, thank you.

Apr 01, 2010
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Long term fractured ankle results
by: John Drinkwater

Hi Shaun
I suffered a similar injury to yours when I stepped down onto a rock which collapsed under my weight, allowing my foot to turn and drop into the hole. My weight caused the tibia to exit through the side of my ankle and strike the rock fairly hard, fracturing the end of the bone.
I then fell over backwards, leaving my foot in the rock, and fractured my fibia, which is now plated and has healed well.
When the Tibia struck the base of the rock it damaged the cartilage, and this is the only real problem I am experiencing at the moment as the tibia and talus are grinding together and destroying the joint further, and quite painfully.
I would expect that if you have not suffered the cartilage damage then hopefully you should by now be fairly mobile and pain free.
My accident was roughly 16 months ago, and my age at 63 didn't help much.
Hope your youth and determination are driving you to a successful outcome. Best wishes from Malta

Apr 11, 2010
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I can relate.
by: Mitch

Hey Shaun, hope you're feeling better buddy! In 2004 (age 16) I suffered a spiral fracture of my fibula and a dislocated ankle, which also led to torn ligaments. This took place at a hockey practice..in Canada by the way ;). I too had an immediate surgery, where 8 screws and a plate reattached my fibula. It's funny I found this article because at the moment I have a nasty infection in that same area. My ankle is really swollen, red and feels as if it's on fire all the time. I'm on day 3 of daily intravenous antibiotics and it hasn't really improved. The doctor said today that they're sending me to a specialist tomorrow and the remainder of this week and I'm going to remain on the intravenous. The good news is, other than this nasty infection, i had regained probably 85%-90% of my movement, yet still quite restricted, and I was able to play hockey again! Up until last week I was running and going to the gym everyday. I have the same positive outlook on life as you. I don't regret much of anything that happens to me because I feel any experience is good experience. So, best of luck with your situation and if it bothers you in the least, get it check asap!
Cheers!

ps - kinda wish I had some cool pictures like yours...

May 19, 2010
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hope by now you're over the worst
by: Shelly

Interesting story, especially when the injury is the same as mine, just different circumstances! When I saw your picture it looked like my foot 8 months ago (except my toes were painted!) I wasn't put in a cast because my wound took so long to heal and I had alot of dirt in my wound, so the Drs were very concerned about infection. My injury was complicated with a second break after having the syndesmosis screw removed and the second fracture wasn't healing, so had to be put in a cast 5 months later. I'm still in considerable pain, which is probably due to the cartiledge loss, but we are currently not ruling out the possibility of infection.
This isn't a simple injury, and there's no rushing the progress it seems. When I look at the photos of my foot when broken, I am so grateful to have it! It doesn't work like the good one and certainly doesn't look as nice, but hey, it could've been worse. Best wishes and play ball....

May 25, 2010
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Comfort in Numbers
by: DEFP

Hey Shaun, I too hope you're doing well and that your road to healing has been swift and complete. I incurred this same type injury a couple of days ago, due to a car accident. I read that one of the commentators had it happen on both ankles, and sure enough, the ER staff told me I was lucky that wasn't my case. The orthopedist closed it up, put me in a plaster cast, and told me we'll do surgery in two weeks when the swelling has reduced and the chance for infection has decreased.

To be honest, I'd never heard of such a thing before, so as odd as it sounds, I'm grateful there's a lot of forthright folks who are willing to share their own stories. I've not had much pain, outside of the initial break, but I'm not sure if it's a blessing or the sign of bigger problems. Oh well, for now I'm not going to complain. I did chip pieces off the end of my tibia, when it struck and fractured my heel bone.

I would be interested in hearing how your rehab progresses and how you're feeling about your prognosis.

Take good care! :)

Jul 08, 2010
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Gnarly break!
by: Anonymous

Hi Shaun! It's been a year since your injury I am interested to see how you are doing now. My husband fell off a ladder 2 weeks ago and broke his tib/fib at the ankle also. For sure not a pretty sight! He also shredded his other shin from the knee to the ankle down to the bone! Of course, I knew the break was bad when I saw the bones protruding, but when the EMTs cut his boot off to stabilize his leg and I saw his foot flop over barely attached...I thought for sure they would have to amputate!

Modern medicine is amazing! 2 1/2 weeks out of surgery and they want him to start light physical therapy already. WOW! Good luck to all!

Tina

Aug 10, 2010
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Info helped
by: Keiser U Student

Thanks for your story. I was looking up pictures for my paper on leg fractures and your story poped up. HOPE your all better now. God Bless you and your future indevores.

Aug 31, 2010
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Jesus!!!!! That HAD to hurt!!!!
by: Matt

I was at work when I did my fibula in 12 weeks ago...They are doing more surgery tomorrow to "spackle" my un-healed fibula....I just want to get back to somewhat of a normal life...I didnt go through anything near what you did though. THAT HAD TO HURT!!!!!!

Sep 17, 2010
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OUCH!!!!
by: Matt

THAT HAD TO HURT!!!! My question is who took the pic??? that looks gross

Oct 19, 2010
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Same Thing
by: Anonymous

Hey man, I know how you feel. This exact injury happened to me two weeks and two days ago. In a soccer game I had my foot planted and the keeper slid in and snapped my fibula and pushed the tibia out of my leg. It was pretty scary situation just sitting there looking at my foot sideways. I did not actually see the bone due to the sock still on, but I do see the scars where it came out and it looks exactly like yours. I've got a metal plate in now. The injury recovery time and quality is all dependent on us man. Stay positive.

Oct 21, 2010
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Hey all, it's Shaun!!
by: Shaun

Hi everyone! First, I want to tell everyone so far, thank you for sharing your stories and for all of the continued support.

Today is October 20, 2010 so I am approaching the 17 month anniversary of my accident. I have so much that I would love to share, that I honestly don't even know where to start...I ended up doing over 12 straight months of physical therapy, with SOME improvement. It was such a slow, long and PAINFUL road and I continue to have pain EVERY, single day.

I want to say somewhere around the 6 month mark of therapy, I started to notice a very uncomfortable pain in the knee of the opposite leg with the tib/fib injury. The knee Dr told me that is most likely related to being on the crutches for 6 months, and over-compensating for the bad leg. Let me just say that the combination of a BAD ankle on one leg, and BAD knee on the other leg is not a easy thing to deal with.

An MRI was performed on the knee to determine the extent of the problem. The MRI revealed something called Chondromalacia. Chondromalacia is a term used to describe damage or softening of the articular cartilage on the underside of the kneecap. Anytime I bend my knee with any kind of pressure whatsoever, my knee makes this gut-wrenching crackle, which the Dr tells me is my femur bone grinding on the back of my knee cap. Lovely huh? I was perscribed therapy for the knee, to no avail.

Anyhow, I am doing a lot better today that I was on the day that I originally posted my story, but still very frustrated that I cannot continue my education to become a firefighter or play sports because of these disabilities... :(

Again, thank you to all for the support. If there is anything that I did not touch on, or if anyone has any other questions feel free to contact me direct at:

shaun.shafer@yahoo.com

P.s.- My brother took the pics in the ER, and if your interested I have one other gnarly angle of the compound. email me!

Thanks again & stay blessed,

Shaun

Oct 21, 2010
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Cartilage damage
by: John Drinkwater

Hi Shaun - I commented on your injury early in the story, and damaged my ankle cartilage in the original fracture.
The surgeon who operated to pin and plate the tib and fib recommended I take glucosamin and chondritin to encourage improvement in the cartilage, as the pain from bone on bone was extreme.
This surgeon left the hospital (in Malta) and the new head of surgery told me not to bother, as the cartilage damage was irrepareable, and I would eventually return to ask him to freeze the joint. However, I continued with the tablets, and the pain has gradually lessened, so much that I now walk at least 3000 paces each day, although all of that has to be on even surfaces.
Don't give up on it mate - as I see it, my injury was so bad that I feel privileged to have kept my foot!

Good luck from Malta ( in the Med)

Oct 22, 2010
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Me too
by: Anonymous

I had the same happen to me about ten years ago while on a bicycle. Ten years of pain and several operations. Broke the metal plate they put in and several screws. I'm now starting to have my 16th surgery. I hope everyone else has had better luck. It changes your life for sure.

Oct 26, 2010
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I feel your pain
by: Keith in CT

Shean, On Sept 13 2010 I was on my Harley when a cement mixer pulled out in front of me. I hit the truck in such a manner that my left leg was crushed between the truck and my bike, causing an open tibial fracture just above the ankle,as well as fractures to pretty much every bone in my foot. I was fitted with an external fixator. 1 week later a second surgery was done to repair nerve damage. The plastic surgeon repaired a severed nerve which has left the entire underside of my foot with no feeling. Feeling may or may not return. Nerve growth as you probably know is very slow roughly 1cm per month, so it will be a year or more before we will know if i am going to regain feeling. I also severed an artery which he was not able to repair, so he just tied it off, as he said I had sufficient blood flow from another artery. He also found that some tissue just below my ankle bone had died and had to be removed, which left a wound about 3/4" deep x 1" long x 3/4" wide. Any other surgeries to repair the bones internally have been put off due to the wound.

It's now 6 weeks later and I am still wearing the fixator. The wound has almost filled itself in, a little ways to go, but close. I am managing to get around somewhat with crutches, walker, and wheelchair. Still have that severe pressure/pain when my leg isn't elevated. I go back to the DR. on Nov. 19th @ which time we will discuss removing the fixator, and putting it in a cast, can't wait. The only positive side to wearing the fixator for so long is that with any luck I wont have to have any hardware internally installed.

I know my injuries aren't sports related, but I read your story and just wanted to share mine.
Hope you have and will continue heal completely.

Oct 29, 2010
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my stupid ankle again
by: ariel mayo

Hi my name is ariel and today i was cleaning my room and then i heared a crack. My right ankle is swelling and it is starting to turn black and blue i can put a little weight on it but not much my mom wont bring me to the er cause she said it is spraind and then i said mom my ankle might be broken i will find out tommorow.

Nov 05, 2010
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How is everyone's ankle now?
by: Jenny

Hello, I commented on your post earlier. I'm now almost 3 years post accident, 8 surgeries, 20 months on crutches. I have NO dorsiflexion, despite agreesive physiotheraphy 3 times a week. My foot is still angry and swollen all the time,but thats probably due to the many surgeries I've had as well. I think my lack of range of movement was largely due to the fact that the original surgery did not put my ankle joint back in place but someone please tell me that you are in the same situation? I'm desperate, I've tried everything. I'm in daily pain but I don't like taking pain killers or anti-inflamatories because they're bad for my stomach. I can't walk for longer than an hour at a time due to pain, I walk on the ball of my foot because my joint doesn't bend, my knee and hip hurts, I now properly consider myself as a disabled person because there are a lot of things I simply can't do and it is heart breaking. Everyone else here seem to have suffered a similar injuy to me and Shaun (see my story on this site and picture too), but how is everyone else's recovery going?

Nov 18, 2010
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Same Type of Fracture
by: Rahul

Shaun, even i had a similar type of fracture , just that my fibula had dislocated and a piece of the bone broke and went into my blood, I got a bed-rest for 3 weeks, then for 6 weeks i had this cast. It is really painful, hope this does not happen to anyone. My fracture did not cause any bleeding, nor did i have any kind of surgery.

Dec 30, 2010
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compound fracture
by: Anonymous

I was recently in an m.v.a. (motor vehicle accident) with my daughter (and I was the driver of my vehicle) and through no fault of mine we were t-boned. My daughter came out with only whiplash and I on the other hand had a compound fracture of my ankle. It was not as severe looking as your ankle protruding after your game but it took me 2 1/2 months with the air cast boot and using a walker to get around and then with a cane and now only with the cane. I am able to get around and I did not have to receive any surgery but to put the dislocated ankle back under anesthesia and now am able to walk. With physiotherapy, as you are, I am on the road to recovery.

Good luck on your recovery and hope for all the best.

Feb 07, 2011
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hey
by: steph

hello my name is steph,
like you I was doing some research on this particular subject and though I cant actually look at this picture I have been through the same experience as you, except I fell out of a tree and had to wait an hour or so to get to the hospital. I was 12 years old when the accident happened and it was the beginning of our summer holiday so I was a bit screwed on that, anyway I just wanted to ask what type of physiotherapy you had because I never received any and sometimes still have trouble with my ankle. also have you noticed any irritation to your ankle during the colder seasons, if so how cope with it?
thanks for your time :)

Feb 24, 2011
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ps ....I had not been drinking!
by: Karen 52

hello,
today is day 5 for me, after falling down 3 stairs in the early hours whilst visiting the bathroom. Fibula is plated and screwed, Tibia dislocated and is pinned into place.
I was lucky with the speed of assistance and the surgeon being able to operate within 6 hours of the fall.
So far the pain has been minimal, I will not need painkillers for much longer now I am sure.
Could some one advise me if this is normal or will the pain increase with the healing. Perhaps its still a bit of shock going on.....
Karen
:)

Mar 06, 2011
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Oh My Gosh! That must of hurt!
by: G Young

Shaun,
I sprained my ankle when I was 4 and it hurt really bad. When I looked at your pic I thought, "Woah! That guy must be in soooo much pain!". From 1 lowest to 10 highest, how much did that hurt?

Thanks for sharing!

Ps. How were you treated for that? Did you use crutches? (srry, I didn't read the story- I just looked at the pic!)

Mar 12, 2011
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Wow, that is some Injury!
by: cathy mAnonymous

Dear Shaun,
My adult son visited today with a broken fibula, leg looked like it had swallowed a grapefruit, and he has a cast just now, and has to see the doc tomorrow to see if it needs surgery. he looked up ''broken Fibula''[Images] and had to look away fast- sheesh, that looks REALLY complicated, and all I want to know is, as my son is asking: ''Did Shaun Recover?''- If one is an active Sportsman, then an injury is catastrophic, as sport is everything. My son is a pro am mountain biker, and weeks without riding is going to be hard.
I Really hope that you can be a firefighter, Determination is all! Best of luck, Great Britain.

Apr 07, 2011
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Teaching story
by: Anonymous

Hello Shaun...just to let you know that I will be using your photo and story in my fracture class for nursing students. in Québec.

Hope you are well healed now :)

Viviane

Jun 05, 2011
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JONNILLE COMPOUND FRACTURE TO THE TIB AND FIB WITH A DISLOCATION
by: jonnille

hi my name is jonnille...4 days agao i was going down the step and fell.as a result i had a compound fracture of the tib and the fib..........and a dislocation.......i had surgery which resulted in plates and over 10 screws.im thirty years old and im in the worst pain of my life.......i was wondering if anyone had any advice on how long i will have to deal with such horrible pain......im tired of it ..if anyone has a similar story to mine please do share....any information helps.... JUST WANT TO WALK AGIN TRYING TO KEEP THE FAITH...GOD BLESS

Aug 08, 2011
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broken tibia
by: Anonymous

hiya how you going on the 8th on june i was at a park with friends and descied to go on the round about (some swing thing very werid) and came off at a fast speed and ended up flying though the air and snaping my tibia into bits with an open fracture (bone came sticking out not nice) went staright to the a&e had emerency surgey (woke up with a external fix in my leg very anoyning. staright away had 5 operactions within 2 weeks and also having a skin graft witch was not nice was in hosptial until the 28th of june came home and have been on crutches up until now went to have a check up today (8th aug) 2 mothes after the accident and the doc said hopefully in mothes i will be starting to walk again. very nasty experance never wanna do it again hope every1 else gets better ...best of luck

Nov 02, 2011
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broken fibula and tibula
by: glen

Hi! My names glen.I thought I would share my story
Of my horrific accident.I was in the landfill dumping
A load of dirt.I noticed all the dirt didn't come out
So I set the brakes on my truck and climbed up on
The trailer to dig it out-a few minutes in the trailer
I felt the truck moving-so I took a peek and seen
I was rolling at 10 to 15 mph! So I jumped off the
Very top of the 15ft. High trailer to my demise.I not
Only broke my fib and tin,but my shoulder, too!!!
Im currently wearing an external fixator.Im a month
In to this and I don't wish this on my worst enemy

Nov 03, 2011
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Hi everyone, It's Shaun again
by: Shaun

Going on 30 months now since my injury, and I am as frustrated as ever. A couple months ago, I went to a sports dr here in Tampa, and the update I received was devastating.
I hadn't had a xray in over a year so I thought everything would be the same or a little better inside, but I was wrong.
The xray showed that my ankle joint is already completely deteriorated (that may explain my everyday pain, idk) The Dr also said, "on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worse, you are a 11 and only getting worse".

Like I said before, I live with the pain every single day. I really don't have much choice. The thought of another sugery, especially a Ankle Fusion makes me want to vomit. I hear the rehab and therapy process invloved with that procedure is as bad as the original therapy was! That was absolutely dreadful!

To those of you who recently had a similar injury...hold on and stay positive. It will take some time to feel semi-normal again.

Again...take care and god bless

-Shaun

Dec 03, 2011
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i feel you
by: Anonymous

hi i am 14 years old i know how you feel i fractured my fibula and tibia in football but it wasnt a compound fracture. i went into surgery 2 weeks after incident and had a screw put into my growth plate. right now im on the road to recovery. And yes crutches are hell!

Dec 30, 2011
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Please remove image from Google search NEW
by: Anonymous

Hi, we were working looking for images of compound chemicals this morning for a client and your graphic photo came up on the first page of Google images.

Please could you remove it?

Many thanks

Jon Dury

Jan 04, 2012
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read this NEW
by: Anonymous

hey Shaun I live in california and ive had the same thing happen to me on both ankles so if you think your such a man why dont you go and do the same to your other ankle.

Jan 12, 2012
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Ankle joint replacment? NEW
by: Pam

Hello all, I feel all your pain as I also had a compound fibula fracture as well I striped everything off the tibia and destroyed most of the cartilage. Had a Life Flight ride to the hospital and 3 surgeries, external fixater for 9 weeks. My injury was so bad that my foot was only on by 2 inches of skin. One of the EMT guys threw up HAHA! I told my son to put a tourniquet on my leg to stop the bleeding as the arteries and veins were cut, nerves also. All the ligaments and tendons were severed. I went back to work after 5 months. Tomorrow I go to a specialist to talk about a ankle joint replacement. Not sure if I am able to because there is concern that there is to much damage inside. Has any one thought about this procedure? I don't have alot of pain, lucky about that. Take care all, your best friends...a hot/ cold pack and Ibuprofen! Most important, keep it elevated, its been 18 months for me and I keep it up all the time, helps with the swelling.

Jan 12, 2012
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Jan 15, 2012
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owch! NEW
by: Anonymous

ow! well that suks! dont u hatte it when that happens?

Jan 19, 2012
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what happend when you looked it your ankle when it was hurt like that? NEW
by: crazy girl

did you look at it??? if so how did you take it?? and did it make the pain worse did you start to panic??

Jan 28, 2012
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Same injury except fell 20 feet off a ladder NEW
by: Paul

Hey Shaun I hope you are doing well almost 3 years out from your injury. I had the almost exact injury. Tibia was exposed and ankle was dilocated. When I hit the ground I sat up and looked down and could see the bottom of my left shoe. They told me it was a peel away fracture because I literally peeled my foot off. Anyway, I did this at the age of 41 and it will be three years in a couple of days since it happened. I am dealing with severe osteoarthritis and pain. i am going this week to be fitted with a Arizona brace. i have had orthotic inserts made for my shoe as well. I still have quite a deformity and limp. I had 11 surgeries in the first 10 months after the accident (6 were related to infections which set in due to the open fracture). I am trying to avoid having to have the ankle fused now because I currently have about 70% range of motion in the ankle. I really am lucky to have not had an amputation but the pain is almost unbearable. I only take motrin or advil for pain because I do not want any narcotics for fear of getting addicted. I really hope that you are back to your old self and playing baseball again but if not I just wanted you to know that you are not alone and I understand everything you went through. Hopefully i can last another 2 years before i have to get my ankle fused.

Jan 29, 2012
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Hello Paul NEW
by: Pam

Peel away fracture sounds like what happened to me. After my seeing the Ankle joint replacement I found out that I was not a good candidate to have it done and he recommended to have a fusion done down the road when the arthritis get really painful. He said that it would help alot with the pain as things will not be moving around grinding which causes the pain. It sounded good to me, I was not really keen on getting the replacement done. When the time comes I will do anything to help with the pain. I will still be able to drive, will walk with a limp but I do that now :), I will never run or ride a horse again but that is fine, I fought hard to keep my foot after the accident. My orthopedic surgeon told me that I had suffered a catastrophic, life changing event to my leg and foot. Now I deal with it.

Jan 29, 2012
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To Crazy Girl NEW
by: Pam

I never looked at it when it happened my son told me not to. He wanted to take a picture but I would not let him. I did not panic, I became very calm, I was in trouble and I knew it so I just had to wait for the ambulance to come, then the Air Life flight, then the flight, then the surgery. I just had to knock each thing off my list.

Nightmares started about a year later, alien frogs crawling out of the incision line, alittle medication helped that.

For the first 10 months, I did not feel like "the foot" belonged to me, it was weird. But now, yes it is my swollen, deformed, painful foot. Live with what I have.

I re-live the accident all the time as I am sure everyone else does.

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