Monday night I was making dinner - coq au vin. I keep the flour in an upper shelf and I am vertically challenged. So, I stand on our dinette to reach the cupboard. I slipped and fell badly. I broke the fifth metatarsal in my left foot - spiral fracture.
When I fell, I landed on my butt and hit my head on the back of our new wooden cabinet. Ari told me to lay there a minute and take inventory before I tried to get up - wise advise after any bad fall. I had a bump on my head, a scratch on my arm, my butt felt sore, but otherwise I thought I might have escaped any serious injuries. Then I tried to get up. As soon as I put weight on my left foot, I knew I had a broken bone.
I crawled into our bed, elevated it, and iced it. I was hoping I was mistaken and the tell-tale throb of a break would subside, but it didn't.
I texted our niece, Dayna, who lives in the Phoenix area. I wanted to avoid going to an ER with COVID rampant in Arizona right now. Dayna is a nurse and I was hoping she could recommend one of those 24 hr clinics. Instead, she got me a doctor's appointment the next morning with her podiatrist - even better.
As luck would have it, Ari had put our truck in for service that morning to have all the leaky hoses replaced. Our landlord, Joel, kindly lent us the use of his vehicle for the doctor's appointment.
At the doctor's, X-rays were taken and my fears confirmed. It is a spiral fracture in the left foot. The doctor said most fractures of this type require surgery, but my bones had remained aligned, so there was a good chance it might heal without surgery. He prescribed a hydraulic boot and told me to stay off my foot as much as possible to prevent the bones from mis-aligning. He will check me again on the 19th to see if I have dodged the surgery bullet. If I have, then I only need the boot for a total of four weeks. If I require surgery, it will be a 12 week recovery period.
Ari is having to do my chores and his chores for the duration.
Fortunately, our landlord has been willing to ride Mercy and they have been riding together and having a great time.
Dayna came out to check on us yesterday, so here is my hero with Lennox. Because of her, I didn't need to spend hours sitting in a crowded ER risking COVID. I got excellent care from her podiatrist and I may be able to avoid a painful surgery.
People have asked me if I need crutches and crutches would be a challenge in a small trailer, plus the ground outside is mostly rock and gravel so it would not be very steady for crutches. A walking boot is definitely the best solution. It keeps my fracture stabilized and protects my foot.
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