As it turned out, I really did break my ankle. I also sprained it. I went to Urgent Care the weekend that I injured myself and saw an orthopedic doctor a few days later. He couldn't tell from my Xrays if the bone was fractured but he thought it was. To be sure, he sent me for a CT scan.
He said it didn't really matter because treatment was the same. Stay off of it, elevate and ice.
The CT scan was weird! I didn't have to have my whole body in the gigantic tube, just the knee down. Then I went back to the orthopedic doctor.
He showed me the CT scan images on his smart phone, and told me that he would email the little video clip to me (never did). In the CT images, you can clearly see that the tip of the tibia bone is broken off. Not fractured, not chipped, broken. At least I didn't break my leg bone in half and develop a new bend in the middle, right?
Since I am a trustworthy grown-up (doc's words and I didn't pay him extra to say that), I was given a choice of a boot or a cast. After three weeks in the splint, I got a tall walking boot. It is so big and heavy, I'm not sure if it was the right choice. But, the 100 degree weather keeps reminding me that indeed, the boot was a good decision.
With the boot, I can scratch my itches. I can use lotion. I can strap an ice pack on. I can air out. And best of all, I can take it off and have a nice bath! I wear the splint at night because the boot is to cumbersome for sleeping and the doctor suggested switching to the splint for night use too.
I have to stay off of that foot until August 8th, and if all is well at that point then I can start to apply pressure and begin to walk on it. I will have to wear the boot until mid-September, again, that 's if it heals well. After that, I will have to invest in a decent pair of shoes and stick to my promise to never jump off my bed again.
I can't wait for mid-September!
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