Progress

Here is a short summary of what has happened so far:

January 11th (Monday):  I broke my ankle in three places on my way to work and was taken to the emergency room where a doctor and PA had to wrench my ankle back into place as I had thrown it out of place during the injury.  They had to do this twice because it didn't stay in place the first time.  Even though they gave me IV drugs and several shots of pain killer directly into my ankle the whole thing hurt immensely.  I was relieved when they put a splint on it and discharged me.  I was in the emergency room for about 5 hours total.  They asked me to call an orthopedic specialist (Dr Boyer) and make an appointment for the following day. I had to drag myself up the stairs into our apartment to get home.  M helped as much as he could, but I fell down trying to use the crutches and probably knocked my ankle out of joint yet again in the process--I could feel it moving around.  Thank god for pain killers.

January 12th (Tuesday):  My first appointment with Dr. Boyer.  Getting there was a huge trial, although getting down the stairs at the apartment is much easier than going up them!  At the appointment, Dr. Boyer basically just sat me down and told me I needed surgery (no way around it). They wanted the swelling to go down on my ankle before the operation, so the surgery was scheduled for Thursday the 14th. I went home afterwards, and dragged myself up the stairs again.  M got me a knee scooter to use instead of the crutches and cleared spaces around the apartment so I could maneuver to the bathroom safely.  He also brought me bone broth and coffee and all sorts of comforts, and took the week off to help me. (I love my husband, this would have been absolute hell without him.)

January 13th (Wednesday): I rested as much as possible.  The Codeine and Tylenol that they gave me covers about 50% of the pain.  The pain is very intense as the codeine begins to wear off, I am not able to sleep very well, and am in horrible pain several times a day that lasts an hour to two hours at a time even at maximum dosage of painkillers. I had to have an empty stomach until surgery, and couldn't drink liquids including water after midnight.  I took my codeine every four hours with very small sips of water, and was intensely thirsty.

January 14th (Thursday): Surgery day!  I was in a lot of pain while I waited for the surgery, they gave me an IV and several shots of drugs, which didn't do much to help for very long. I had never had any kind of surgery before, and had never been under anesthesia before.  They wheeled me into the operating room and gave me some oxygen to breathe, and then, next thing I knew they were waking me up.  They immediately gave me some pain killers upon waking, and after a little time had passed, they let M take me home, after making an appointment for me to have the splint removed the following week.  I drank a lot of water.  I was in considerably less pain after the surgery.  They placed a splint on the ankle after surgery to keep everything in place which seemed to be nicely rigid.  I slept better that night, and the codeine pretty much covered the pain.

January 15th-January 22nd  (Friday-Friday):  I slept a lot this week, my appetite returned, and as the time to take the splint off approached, I felt like I was improving.  I had company from my cousin and one of my friends from work, which was really nice.  I sort of cleaned the apartment a little.  I was definitely feeling better--it wasn't all about the pain any  more.  On the 22nd, I scooted down the stairs and made it to my appointment where they removed the splint and gave me a "Boot" cast.

January 23-present (Saturday-): During the weekend I adjusted to the boot cast.  Definitely not as comfortable as the splint.  I'm not sleeping as well.  I am also allowed to stretch my ankle with a goal of 3 times a day--I am doing three doses of 50 stretches with the goal of being able to manipulate it normally.  It is sore, but not so bad.  I am also cutting back on the codeine to once every 6-8 hours--although due to the discomfort, I am taking more at night so I can sleep.  I cooked twice this week which was great, but also exhausting, and I worked from home 15 hours which was also nice, but tiring.  I have another appointment Friday and am hoping that the healing is coming along well.  I have been taking sponge baths since I can't really get into the shower yet--it really sucks that this is my right foot, I would be able to do better if it was my left instead I think...

As for my fasting, I have been doing 24 hours fasts about every other day.  I each plenty of protein each day, try to get some green veg, and eat enough fat.  My waist is 36 inches as of today, and my weight is 201.6 with the cast on.  I think I am doing OK with the fasting--I am also taking a multiple vitamin each day, and drinking bone broth regularly.