My story can't compare but still a life-changer...
The first thing that I think about with all of these stories is just how fast life can change and how fragile it reallt is. We can’t live in fear but after you’ve been through something like this, it really can make you think twice about a lot of things.
On Nov. 5, 20 13, I fell off about 3 cement stairs outside of my house and landed on my knee. I had an open compound fracture of my right knee and a small broken bone on my left foot. I spent the night in a local hospital but they decided that I should be sent to Harborview Trauma in Seattle. My kneecap was “100% dislocated” and had many bone fragments in the break. I’m extremely glad that after surgery, I did not have a cast but had a brace from ankle to hip and an aircast on my “good slightly broken left foot”. There were many stages I went through between then and now, at week 14 1/2 (but who’s counting? !). After 12 weeks, I was cleared to “add 25% more weight bearing per week…or as much as I can tolerate”. Each PT session, they push a little harder and I improve a wee bit but I’m soooo of this long road. I haven’t been able to work in 4 months (there’s certain things physically that are tricky) and I get tired so easily. I THINK im almost to a point where I could work on crutches but I’m not the most athletic or coordinated person so tgey scare me a bit. My office is also at the bottom of a hill so syill would need someone to take me in my wheelchair to get there. Very frustrating.
ANYWAY, I guess I just needed to vent and read other stories to see what I’m dealing with is normal. I can hardly look at the stairs where I fell and it makes me ill to think about that night…and that I have a knee full of screws and a huge metal plate from knee to hip almost. It’s just CREEPY! I generally don’t have pain but do have a lot of tightness and like a big rubber band feeling around my knee. I found this site while searching to find “if it will ever feel normal again”. I guess the internet can’t answer EVERYTHING, eh?
I try to learn the lesson from going through this…I think the biggest is to SLOW DOWN and be patient. I’m also battling HUGE hospital bills becausebi had no insurance when this happened. I’m thinking I’ll be dealing with bankruptcy soon on top of trying to heal. UGH.
