Just Curious... - Lone Tree,CO

I severely sprained an ankle and was on crutches for 4 weeks but had no cast since it was a sprain. I could not do much that involved standing for the first 7-10 days. I did not have children at the time so my husband was able to do most of the necessary jobs until I improved.

I've broken my ankle twice and my wrist once in the last 10 years. With the broken ankle, I could not do anything that involved standing up - dishes, cleaning, carrying laundry, any cooking more than heating something up in the microwave. Like others have mentioned, I could chop veggies sitting down, fold laundry and that's about it. It will delay your recovery to do too much before you are healed.
with the broken wrist - right hand of course - I could do nothing! I even needed help getting dressed!

A.,
I haven't broken a single bone.... but my husband has! When he broke his arm (and subsequently lost his job sending me to work FT) he was able to do almost everything I was doing... and still do it better it seemed.

Same with when he broke his leg below the knee... again he trumped me with keeping the house clean, the laundry done and amazingly didn't lose his mind. He had a hard time with stairs on crutches, but that only limited him moving laundry around the house, until he learned he could hop while holding it all. I suppose anything can be done with enough mental focus, and insanity! ;) Good luck, I hope you didn't break anything!!!! I sure as heck don't want to try to figure out how he could be super mom with broken bones!!!
V.

I had ankle surgery when my daughter was 20 months old. I had a nanny stay with us for what was expected to be 2 weeks. To be nice, I asked what she liked to eat and stacked up on those items, before going into surgery.

Night 1, she cooked her favorite dish and we had dinner.

Morning 2, she had tea and bagels for breakfast and when I woke up she was glad to make me a cup of tea too. We ran errands, with me driving and her running into the store or whatever to take care of my business. By 5:00 p.m., she was worn out and had to lay down because she was very tired. That meant no dinner. So I pushed the stool into the kitchen and made dinner myself...she joined for dinner.

Day 3, she apologized and started doing the light duty cleaning we had discussed. She pulled her back and had to go lay down again.

Day 4, I had her picked up and did everything myself!

i did everything. i even drove the car and my right foot was in the cast(i used my toes). if i didn't do anything around the house i would not have gotten done. good luck and hope you heal fast.

I broke my ankle about eleven years ago. I did a magnificent job of it, too, just by falling down my own stairs at home, and had to have surgery to put the apparatus back together. There were a LOT of things I could not do because I was not allowed to put an ounce of weight on that foot for several weeks. Try it and you'll see how it cramps your style.

For the first month I was on such medication that I couldn't have done chores anyhow and didn't care! However, they still needed to be done. My children were grown and gone; if they'd been little, I would have needed a relative to move in and care for them. As it was, I still had to get help. It was all I could manage to dress and take care of myself. I remember how complicated and tiring it was to make up a bed standing on one foot! Then I tried to figure out what work I could do sitting down (I'd borrowed a wheelchair, and at first was on crutches only when I had to be). I did a whole lot of mending, as I recall. That was the time when I learned to shop online, too.

My husband knows how to help around the house, and he fixed meals at night, but he also has a very demanding career. I knew a friend who had just lost her job, so I hired her to do the essentials that I couldn't do. When I needed her, she cleaned up the kitchen and the bathroom, ironed, and did other chores that came up. She rigged up a "pulley" system by which I could get small items up and down the stairs, and she was kind enough to take me to the doctor's office and the grocery. She got a little money out of the deal, and I got invaluable help.

Some other kind friends banded together and hired a couple of local ladies to clean for me for a month, and I liked that so well that I rearranged my total budget so they could keep coming. They can do more for my house in two hours than I can do in two days, so I thought it made sense and was glad I could manage to work it out.

Once I was allowed to put some weight on my foot, it was easier to take back the lighter chores. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that you not only have the inconvenience of a cast - or, eventually, a walking boot - but you must also manage a lot of pain and fatigue! Although I could get around better, I still had to rest amazingly often. I was pretty turtle-ish about everything.

As I improved I became more organized so that I could do more at home without exhausting myself. I think that was one of the lasting benefits of this adventure.

I hope this tells you at least part of what you want to know. It's a situation you and your family can make it through, but not exciting enough that you should want it to happen! :^)

7 years ago I dislocated & shattered my ankle. I had a plate & 9 screws holding it together. Luckily, I had no kids at the time. As per my Orthopedic Surgeon's instructions, I had to lay down and keep my foot elevated for 2 weeks. I took 2 weeks off work and layed in bed/on the couch for those 2 LONG weeks. I was pretty drugged up during that time. My husband would set me up with a TV tray before he went to work. The TV tray had on it my meds, my brush, a mirror, my contacts, the phone, TV remotes, my water bottle, snacks, milk & juice in a cooler, etc. He would also put sandwiches in the fridge so I could hobble in there with my crutches and get one After those first 2 weeks I could get up and move around for limited periods of time. I had a walking boot the whole time, but I didn't ever dare to put weight on it. I had an appointment with my Dr. 1 month after surgery, and he cleared me to do light housework (I was still on cruches for another 6 weeks). I could make the bed, load the dishwasher, dust, etc. I would have my husband bring a stool into the bathroom and I could wash the bathroom sink & mirrors, and cook dinner while sitting on the stool too. It is too hard to try and do things while you're on crutches. Besides, it wasn't worth it to me to risk longer healing time, or worse, re-injuring my ankle by overdoing it. After I was done with the crutches, I still had the boot for another 6 weeks, then an air cast for another 6 weeks. Let me tell you, it was a LONG, HOT, SWEATY summer that year. I relied on family, neighbors, and my husband to do a lot. I learned a lot about myself during that time. I realized that if the housework didn't get done, "Oh Well!" Life goes on. There are much more important things than having a "clean" house. (7 years later though, I wish I could get that attitude back!) Good luck!

A year and a half after breaking my ankle, I had the plate and screws removed. My daughter was 6 months old. I had to be on crutches for 3 days. I obviously couldn't carry her while on crutches, so I again had to rely on others. I had a friend tell me afterward, that she was glad that I called on her for help. She said that it felt really great to do service for someone else. It also made her realize how great her life was. It gave her some much needed perspective.

Hi there, I haven't broken a leg or ankle, but I have had three back surgeries and have permanent nerve damage in my left leg (I'm a disabled veteran). I also still suffer from occasional muscle spasms from this issue. My worst one was during my second trimester of pregnancy with my youngest son. I was on crutches because I couldn't hold my upper body up, literally. Not meaning it hurt too bad (which it did) but literally, my muscles wouldn't do it. At that time, I was crawling around my house on hands and knees to get my housework done (my episodes sometimes last several weeks).

That being said, I still managed to adapt to everything and now I don't lose a beat and I'm able to do all of the things I used to be able to do, just in slightly different ways. You'll find a way to make it work! :)

(unless of course you want to ask hubby to take some of it over, in which case you should probably play up how painful and debilitating it is! lol)

I have not but my MIL broke her ankle two years ago. She never is off her feet and her broken ankle didn't stop her.
You will adapt, it isn't fun. Get garbage bags for the shower

You should only be doing light housework. By light I mean not pulling the muscle around the break. When you do this the repair may not repair properly and you may suffer in years to come. As it is you will no doubt get arthritis in that joint as you get older or maybe sooner. You can do dishes, make the bed(s) but don't be standing on that leg for a long period of time. While in a cast it is incased and will cause swelling inside the cast. You can tell by your toes (color). If they look blue you have overdone it. You should be taking it easy for at least the first 3-4 wks. If it is the leg/ankle and they haven't put a rocker on the bottom so you can walk around then don't do much of anything. When they take the cast off and have another look and they tell you what you can do, thats' the time you may possibly do more. It depends on how bad the break is. Take care and don't do any more harm than is already done and good luck!!

I don't remember being limited. I even drove myself to the doctor and the xray and home as I didn't realize what I had done (right foot). I had injured it 3 days prior, so figured once it had the support of the cast, it was easier to do what I had already been doing for 3 days and just continued. The only thing is, you really should do what ever therapy they recommend. I didn't because I couldn't, so my ankle will never be as strong again, but once I did the therapy, I noticed a huge improvement. I think the key is not over exerting. If it hurts, or if it hurts after, don't do it. I did mine 6 weeks before baby 3 came, so the cast came off in the hospital. I had a harder time recovering from the baby than from the foot. Seems to me life in the cast was pretty normal. I should say, my husband normally does the vacuuming because it hurts my carpal tunnel syndrome, so I'm not sure how vacuuming would have been. I may have used a stool for preparing dinner, or set my foot up on a stool. My husband also carried laundry for me due to balance issues with the cast. :) Hope you heal soon and smoothly!

I had knee surgery and was off my feet for a while. I would say get out of whatever chores you can!! :-) But realistically, when that's not possible, you can modify most things.

I could not carry things around, but if I was sitting on the couch, I would fold laundry, I just couldn't be the one to haul it around. I could help prep dinner things by chopping things while sitting at the table. Things like that. I maybe couldn't do a whole job start to finish, but I did what I could. And I didn't feel bad about it! A few times I pushed to hard and it set my recovery back by days. That did no one any favors.