Broken Leg for the summer

LegacyUser

Broke my left leg on April 27th, spent two weeks in hospital and had 2 operations. Fractured the tibial plateau quite badly, have 2 plates and 12 screws holding things together. Have to be non- weight bearing for quite a while and am in a full cylinder cast up my whole leg for 6-8 wks. Going crazy already with it.
I also have my finals this week which i am totally not prepared for and was planing on going to thailand in August but now my chances are very slim, thats probly the main thing thats pissing me off.
the surgen said I should be able to walk on it by the end of July?early August,but after doing a lot of reading up i find this hard to believe.

I cnt do anything now for the summer, am going to be so bored while i should be out working earning money to go on my trip to thailand. And people keep saying theres always next year, well theres not cos I should be in full time employment then and I cant just get up and leave a job.

Anyone ever in a situation like this before, what did they do all day? Would just like to hear some storys as it certainly changes your short-term life. Its fairly hard to cope with i must admit aswell anyone any advice or comments?

Skyuser

Set up an eBay store. Pass the time....make some money. Buy It, Sell It, Love It.
Btw, I don't work for eBay.

BuffyBot

Start reading - make a reading list of all the books you've wanted to read or challenge yourself to read new stuff that you never thought you would be bothered with.

Plan a project for yourself - something like learning a language or a new skill.

The best thing you can do is fill your days as much as possible, without having to make a long term commitment to it.

djmarkus

Last october i broke both my tibial plateau's and was in a wheelchair for a couple of months, not unlike ur situation atall although i'm not very active at the best of times and i had my g/f to support me so the time flu past, tho i did miss alot of college and i was in a wheelchair for christmas.

Youre just going to have to persevere, maybe buy a 360 and boards can be good when ur bored!

Santa Claus

I had a similar experience a few years ago where I fractured my fibula and I found that books and DVD box sets were the best way to pass the time.

Don't be discouraged by what the Internet may say about healing times...The surgeon has a fairly good idea of how you may heal.

Also, if you've already booked your trip to Thailand then make sure to get yourself holiday insurance if you don't already have it in case you have to cancel your flight !

Zaph

I was in exactly the same situation in 1998. In a full cast for 6 weeks from the start of April, and another 6 weeks from mid-June after complications. Wasn't at all mobile so everything I went to do took a lot longer to achieve. Strangely enough, that takes up a chunk of the day you don't expect. After the first cast came off I had trips to the physio every second or third day, and I'd imagine you'll have something similar. In between I probably spent two hours or more a day on physio at home. It was torture, but at least it was something to do. Like you, I also had exams that year, very shortly after injuring myself, and studying was very difficult. Before the exams make arrangements for them to have a footstool for you, and not one that's too high. My first exam the stool they got was too high and I lost all feeling in my foot and ended up perching on the edge of my seat for most of the exam. You don't think of these things until confronted with them.

Fortunately, like this year, the World Cup was on and I managed to see almost every single game, which I wouldn't have done if I'd been back in work. Other than that, I literally just read everything I could get my hands on as I didn't have a PC at the time.

You really do have my sympathies mate, it's a tough break (no pun intended), but like you I spent a couple of weeks in the orthopaedic ward, and the one thing that I always reminded myself of was that bad and all that my injury was, there were guys in the hospital who were there before I got there and were going to be there a long time after I left. That helped me put it all in perspective and to stop me feeling sorry for myself. And you never know about the holidays - I had booked mine in January that year, and up to a week before I was due to go the doctors hadn't given me the all clear to travel, but the extra physio work I did paid off in the end and I was able to go, so you could still have something to look forward to.

Hope it all works out OK for you.

Zaph

Dave!

yeah, try and make some money through the internet, with Ebay, or maybe set up a website, or somethin like that.

To keep occupied, maybe you could do some online courses? learn a skill, like web design? learn an instrument, like guitar/piano? read alot... do you have an interest in history for example? maybe you could try and design inventions and so on... if you get any ideas, do some research and see if it's possible. play some computer games!

you said that you can't go to Thailand next year cos you should be in full-time employment by then... but, can you not just leave the job? Do you have to go straight into a career after college? Why not get a decent, un-important job, build up the cash for a few months, and head to Thailand when you have enough, then come back and get into a career?

Also, if you can't build up enough money to go, maybe you could take out a loan. AFAIK it's not very expensive over there, so it probably wouldn't need to be a huge loan (although flights are probably a bit steep).

good luck to you anyways, and stay busy, cos i know that if i'm at home all day for long stretches, i get a bit depressed if i don't have anything to do.

gary the great

the main problem with leaving a job next year and going then is that all my mates are going this year and thus id have nobody to go with!
Ye i plan on playing a lot of championship manager and watching every single world cup game, the thing is im a very fit and active person, im never indoors doing nothing but passing time im always doing stuff!

If anyone else had experiences of broken tibeal plateaus id like to hear accounts of your healing time eg time in cast, non-weight bearing on crutches, walking without crutches, physio etc. as im a young fit healthy strong male im hoping it will heal fairly quick and maybe i could follow the lads over to thailand in September, even just for a few weeks.

lostexpectation

ah the ol post anonymously then reply while logged in senario, that must happen so often in PI.


its good question as to how one exercises with a broken leg perhaps maybe ask in fitness

Dave!

aye, I've nearly done that a few times

I don't imagine it matters though, this is hardly an embaressing issue