I went to the doctor today. Missed my first appointment due to getting there 20 minutes late (thanks stalled truck on 92) but they squeezed me in with another doctor. There is a lot of waiting around at the doctor. I hate doctors. And hospitals. Too many sick people. But I have to say Palo Alto Medical Foundation has excellent service.
When I pulled into the underground parking, I told the guy (well…kid) directing traffic that I need to park as close to where my appointment was as possible since I couldn’t really walk. He said hold on, moved a bunch of cones from a saved spot and had me park right there. Then he called over a guy with a wheelchair to take me where I needed to go. How nice.
Then I had to wait for my new appointment since I missed my original one. But I brought my Kindle expecting some level of waiting so no big deal. Then the doctor looked at my foot/ankle and then sent me to x-ray and said to come back there after. So they called someone to wheel me down there instead of me trying to do it.
The x-ray tech was very nice. And then they called someone to take me back to the doctor. He said the x-ray showed a fracture and that I needed to go to the sports medicine ortho. He said he called and was able to get me in this afternoon by chance (usually took days to get in he said) but not until 3pm. He asked where my driver was. I said I drove myself. He said no one came with you?? No. It’s my left foot – I can drive. He asked where my husband was. I said he had a meeting. He looked peeved that I was my own.
So he called an orderly and told him to take me to get some food and sit outside if I wanted and then to take me to ortho. Alright. I was getting a bit hungry! So I sat outside in the garden area and ate my sandwich and read. And then went to my appointment. I got way better treatment there than at home! I wanted to stay :)
Ortho said fractured fibula and showed me the xray. Said it was a clean crack and I did a good job keeping it in alignment so that it could heal on its own and did not require surgery. Go me. His first sentence was actually “you are lucky you broke it this way.” I said “yeeeeeah…pretty lucky.” He laughed and said “OK, not the best choice of words. But if I was going to break my ankle, this was the way to do it.” Again – go me!
He said as long as I stay off it and follow his instructions, it should heal in 6-8 weeks. Plus possible follow-up rehab (I won’t need that. I have spoken.) He said a cast would be perfect but it’s also hard with showering, rainy weather, etc. so he was giving me “the boot”. Good. No casts! He lectured me on keeping it on all the time except showers and bed (for bed I use a brace) and no exercise. I said so walking my dogs would be a bad idea. He said yes, walking your dogs is definitely on the no list. Damn. He said waking around anywhere for any reason is on the no list. To keep it elevated as much as possible during the first 2 weeks and stay off it. The first 2 weeks are crucial to proper healing. Then the next 2 weeks are important but I could test it for a bit more weight bearing. But NO exercise. Sigh.
He asked if I needed a pain med prescription. No. Why? He said for the pain. I said well, if I stay off it, then I shouldn’t have much pain. He said a lot of people still want it for the dull ache. I said Advil was good enough. He told me I was tough. I said no – the others are just babies ;) He laughed.
I go back in a month for another x-ray. He said he’ll be able to tell if I followed his instructions by that x-ray, so don’t let him down. Alright, alright. No exercise.
When I got back home I cleaned up the kitchen a bit and fed the huskies. They were pretty happy to see me when I got home :) Then I got sore again so am now sitting feet up like the lazy slack I will be for the next 4, 6, to 8 weeks. Sigh.
Frack.
