Traveling in a car with an external fixation device was no easy feat. We had a 3 hour trip back home to Fort Lauderdale and my plan was to make sure I took a pain pill before I was discharged from the hospital. I had no clue how I was going to get in the my SUV, my leg throbbed just thinking about it. I couldn’t bend my knee even to get in the front seat. I had a metal frame on my leg attached to 2 pins drilled into my thigh bone and 2 in the bottom of my shin bone to stabilize the fracture.
The back seat wasn’t an option either because I needed to lay down for the trip. No way in hell was I sitting up sideways for 3 hours. The only option left was to fold down a seat and ride in the cargo area. Two nurses wheeled me outside to where my boyfriend was waiting. They somehow managed to get me in the back. I’m pretty sure it was a modern day miracle, because my mobility at that time was next to zero. I was weak AF (as f*ck) from the surgery and having spent the last 5 days in bed non weight bearing.
We headed towards home, where I could feel every bump. I finally fell asleep and woke up in our drive way thankfully still in one piece. It’s funny how afraid you are of everything after a traumatic injury such as this. It makes zero sense, but post traumatic stress definitely took up some rent space in my mind.
Now we had to figure a way to get me out of the vehicle and into the wheelchair by ourselves. I was able to scoot myself to the edge of the vehicle while my boyfriend supported my injured leg out straight. I then managed to get myself up on one leg and maneuver myself into the wheelchair all while my boyfriend held my leg. It was so painful.
Every new task from this point on was a learning process for us both, but once we figured out a way to do something, we became a well oiled machine. We literally had no plan for how I was going to use the restroom. We have a half bath on the main floor but I was in too much pain to exhaust my precious resources to get up to use it. I’m not lying when I say the first time I had to pee, I sat up on the edge of the couch and tried to pee in a bucket while my boyfriend held it. It didn’t go so well. The next day my boyfriend went to a medical supply store and bought me a bed side commode.
Forget about modesty with this injury. Family members, significant others, and friends are going to see things they can’t unsee. They are going to have to help you to move, bathe, and dress in the early stages of recovery. My boyfriend had to do all the housework, laundry, shopping, and cooking. My full time job at this point was basically to lay on the couch, manage my pain, and sleep between meals and bathroom breaks.
A week and a half in, we finally found a trauma surgeon who could perform my open reduction internal fixation (ORIF.) As my shitty luck continued, my surgeon pushed back my surgery a whole week because of a full schedule and emergency trauma surgeries in between. Of course I cried like a two year old, but only for a day.
Then June 8, 2017 finally rolled around. I spent exactly 18 days in the external fixator. Just when some of the pain had settled down in my knee, I had to go through this all over again, but it was time to move forward with another phase of my recovery. My surgery was supposed to be just a few hours but it ended up taking all afternoon and into the evening. I went in to surgery around 1 p.m. and didn’t get to my room until around 9:30 p.m.
I shudder to think what was going on in that OR. I do remember they told me in pre op that I would be strapped into the OR table and flipped over so they could operate behind my knee and place some of the hardware on the medial (right side) of my left leg. Wait! What? Horrified, I immediately asked, “Are you going to flip me over while I’m still awake.” The 2 OR assistants looked at each other, then me, and laughed. “No, no, you will be under before that even happens.” I must have looked so relieved after they said that.
The last thing I remember was giving my boyfriend a kiss goodbye and being wheeled into the OR with some small talk from the staff. Still lying on my pre op bed they placed a mask over my face and asked me to count. That was all she wrote!
When I finally came to, I was so relieved to finally have that medieval torture device off. In a way, I felt like I had a part of my leg back, even though it didn’t feel like my leg at all. My leg was numb and throbbing. It was wrapped in an ace bandage from my upper thigh all the way down to my toes with a Donjoy brace locked in full extension. Ohhhhh the paaaaaaain!
I had to spend the night in the hospital. I sent my boyfriend home so he could get some rest. He was just as exhausted as I was. I’m sure he slept like a baby that night. All I wanted was my pain meds so I could fall asleep and escape this awful pain in my knee. A few hours later, I was awoken by an Orthopedic assistant who had brought a CPM (Continuous Passive Motion) machine in tow. I had seen this torture contraption several times in my nursing career working on orthopedic medical surgical floors, and I knew what was about to go down wasn’t going to be good. For either of us.
I’m sure I looked like a deer in headlights when he first began to speak. “Your surgeon wants you to start moving the knee, so we’re going to put you in this machine. It’s going to bend your knee and help with your range of motion.” I looked at the clock on the wall squinting and thinking it’s only been a couple of hours since I got back to my room. I looked at him and I began to cry and moan. I distinctly remember mumbling “I don’t want that f*cking thing on my leg!” He just stared at me bewildered, and against my better judgement I let him proceed for the good of my recovery.
He removed my brace from my leg and strapped my leg in the device and turned it on. What followed next was a string of obscenities that are probably still echoing the hospital halls. I’m sure of it. He set the machine to a 120 degree bend and as I watched my knee come up to what seemed my nose, I screamed and wailed. He kept adjusting it down, and I kept screaming and crying…and cussing. I’m sure I woke up the whole floor. He was finally able to get it set at around 70 degrees without me swearing anymore. Ding ding ding…we have a winner folks!
I’m sure he marched straight out of my room and informed the nurses and my surgeon what a b*tch I was. I was so doped up, that I fell back to sleep even though I wanted to rip my leg out of the device and toss it out the window. The machine, not my leg. A nurse came in a couple hours later to take my vitals and medicate me and I begged her to remove it. She thankfully complied. I’m sure the nurses also relayed what happened to my surgeon, because no one tried to put that thing on me again. In fact, no one ever said a damn word about it again.
The next morning physical therapy came in with a walker and instructed me on it’s use. The therapist helped me get up and practice using it from my bed to a few feet to the door. A few steps was all I could handle. I had also broken my left shoulder as mentioned and it certainly didn’t feel good putting weight through my shoulders. I was discharged later that afternoon and was to follow up with my surgeon in 2 weeks.
The next phase of my recovery was about to begin. I really had no idea what I was in for or how difficult a journey that lay ahead.
Auughh! The CPM! I had seen them also, when I worked as a nurse, and wondered why nobody was putting me in one. I was positive they were hurting my recovery by not letting me bend my knee until 4+ weeks! Now I’m glad 😀 even if I am fighting ROM now. Sigh.
OMG, that thing was the devil! The weird thing is my surgeon locked my brace when he sent me home and didn’t unlock it until my two week check up. How they ever thought it was a good idea to put me in that contraption only a few hours post op is crazy!
You ROM will return. It may not be what it was before, but if you can get to what they call “functional” you’ll be fine. I’m still lacking some flexion, but I feel like it’s my hardware that is preventing me from getting there. Hopefully, I can have it removed at one year. It’s beginning to be very bothersome.
How long before I can maybe sit on the floor to exercise? I’m 60 and yes, this was the worst. Finally down to one crutch in the house
Verdie, it is hard to give a timeline on your recovery and when you can do something. As you know we each have unique injuries and recoveries. Factor in age and other health issues and that can hinder some of our recoveries. During my recovery, I would actually slide myself off the couch onto the floor and do my exercises. I had strong upper body strength because I bum scooted up the stairs to shower, so I could pull myself up off the floor back on to the couch. I still can’t get up and down as quickly as before and I need my hands to stabile and lift me back up most times. Although, truth be told, I should be exercising and lifting weights more to help strengthen and maintain my muscles, but laziness sets in because I’m fully mobile and walking. I do walk at least 5 days/week about an hour per day. I wish you all the best in your recovery.
I’m in the start of week 4 of my surgery and your website has helped to keep my sanity. I live alone so first few WEEKS were VERY challenging but thankful neighbors helped get me food, clean bedside potty, etc. Dignity definitely goes out the door.
My question is this, did any of you have numbness or nerve tingles? My foot underneath feels like there is a rubber band attached underneath and inside my ankle is pretty numb. I can still move my foot and wiggle my toes, so I’m hoping the numbness is temporary. Also, I’ll get some nerve surges in my leg…is this nerves coming back to life?
I hadn’t seen anyone comment on numbness or nerve issues so if anyone experienced anything like this, I’d love to hear your story, input and advice.
This has been a tough journey but it has taught me gratitude, being still/in the moment and learning to read what my body needs so even during tragedy, light does shine! 😁
Brandy, I experienced numbness due to the swelling of my leg. Sometimes it felt like a stick of lumber, it was extremely painful. I felt like I had boughs with nerves reawakening. For me it was like a tingle or a buzz in my leg. They were randomly popping up for the first three months mostly on the outside back of my calfs. I’d elevate my leg and massaging it seemed to help. I broke my tibia plateau on 10/30/20. Good recovery to you all.
I am now 5 months post op from my surgery and still can’t fully bend my knee it’s only bending at about 70 degrees… I’ve reading everyone’s stories but hasn’t come across anyone that couldn’t fully bend their knee.. I’m wondering if anyone had this problem if so what was the outcome?
Hi Apollonia. Sorry for your injury. Give it time. You can still heal and regain flexion and extension in your knee even a few years out. Just keep working at it and don’t give up. I wish you all the best.
Oh I got the same fracture with 2 plates and not sure how may screws in my left leg and lol I am just 38years old. I am almost a month out after my 2nd surgery and unable to bring the motion to more than 20 degree. I am doing all my exercises and still no change for the past 2 weeks very disheartening. I am not sure how to go about it.
I Prerna, you’re still very early in your recovery. Give it time. I know it was very hard for me to find patience, because I just wanted to get back to “normal.” They eventually returned to a new normal and I’ve completely adjusted. Some days I don’t even think about my injury and I’m so glad I’m at this stage. I wish the same for you.
Hang in there and don’t give up. I wish you a blessed recovery.
Sherri, thanks so much for your blog. I had my injury from a fall from a ladder on Sept. 15 this year. My first surgery resulted in a malunion which I discovered after almost 2 months. The doctor knew it was not aligned properly but never told me or addressed the problem. Luckily the home health physical therapist looked at my x-rays and advised me to get a 2nd opinion. I finally had surgery to correct the malunion on November 18, so I am now almost 7 weeks post 2nd surgery. After the 2nd surgery I had to keep the knee immobilized for 2 weeks so now bending and sitting in a regular chair are difficult. I struggle a lot with anger at the first doctor who let me sit for 2 months wasting valuable recovery time. I am 66 and an avid hiker and cyclist. I despair at times that I will ever return to these activities but I am faithfully doing my exercises. I am fortunate that I have a husband who is taking care of me, I don’t think I could function without his help. I really appreciate reading about your experience, as no one is really explaining what the recovery process is like and how to manage expectations.
Thanks for sharing everyone, especially you Sherri! I was a contestant on The Price is Right 10/18/2021. I won the big showcase which included two Honda Monkey Motorcycles. I am a 75 year old woman who has never in her life driven even a motor scooter. So when the machines were delivered I just had to try it. Clutch, Throttle, Gears, Brakes I had no idea but got on one anyway and crashed it right into a light pole. Tibial Plateau fracture and other minor injuries. I’m now in my 3rd week recovery and my question is do I continue to elevate the leg? Doc said she is now worried about clots behind the knee, so elevate or not???