How a Fractured Calcaneus Changed My Life

I had the misfortune to fracture my right calcaneus back in 2006. I fell asleep at the wheel and had a car accident. Luckily I hit a parked vehicle so no one else was injured.I woke up in the emergency room of my local hospital to find people standing over me talking about me like I was not even there. It was frightening.

I felt relieved when they told me I only broke my calcaneus. Wow, I thought to myself, how lucky am I? From what I was told I had to be cut out of my Trailblazer and that they found part of my engine on the seat next to me! I truly believed it was an act of God that I could still move or that I was even alive.

My foot had a huge compression bandage on it so that it almost looked like a big ski boot. I was given heavy pain medication and they kept me overnight. I was told I had to remain at home with my foot elevated until the swelling went down so they could operate.

Now I started to get worried. My friends and family gathered round to help me and my long arduous journey of recovery began. I went back to the hospital in 10 days for my surgery. My Orthopedic Surgeon explained that my right foot got caught between the gas pedal and the back of the floor boards and that this was a typical injury in car accidents. He also said that this injury is seen a lot in mountain climbers and contractors. Basically any one that falls from an elevated place. He told me that around the Christmas holidays they see a rise from people trying to string lights on the tops of their houses. They take a misstep and end up falling off their ladders.

As an illustration my doctor explained it to me like this. It is like an explosion took place deep inside your foot. It exploded in waves and each layer of your foot was affected until it reached the outside layer of skin and that is why I had fracture blisters on my foot. It was not attractive at all.

I was shown my X-rays and saw that my calcaneus was fractured into many pieces. The plan was to install a plate and 9 screws to hold all the pieces of my heel together. I tried to remain as positive as possible and went through with the surgery.

The pain was excruciating. I had never had pain like that before. They had me on a morphine drip after the surgery and on oxycotin. I was told it was the strongest they had and that it was a controlled substance so I could not stay on it for long. I had to keep my foot iced and elevated for what seemed like an eternity. You have to keep the area with the swelling above your heart and that meant I had to lie flat and put huge cushions under my left so that my foot was raised real high. If I fell asleep and it rolled off the cushion it would swell again.

I had to have my cast removed every week so the surgeon could watch how the healing was going. I had to depend on my friends to take me to and from my appointments and to help with groceries and dinner. Even my neighbors brought over casseroles and meals for us that my daughter could easily heat up in the oven.

I had to stay in bed about 6 weeks and used my wheelchair, crutches and walker to get to the bathroom. It took me awhile to get proficient on the crutches. I felt like a fish out of water. Stairs were almost impossible. I had to go up backwards sitting down or on my other good knee.

Once he took the final cast off I was able to start physical therapy. These sessions lasted about 4 months and I had 3-4 per week. Thank goodness my insurance covered almost everything. Even with all the physical therapy, I could not walk more than a block or two without crying in pain. I went from the wheel chair to crutches to a cane and it took me a year to get to that point.

At my one year appointment with my surgeon he explained to me that I was most likely in the stage where I would stay for the rest of my life. This was a hard blow to take. No more hiking, no more chasing the kids, no more high heels. I felt depressed and over whelmed.

Then I happened to open up to my brother up in New York. I usually try to keep my troubles to myself and make light of everything but he caught me at a low moment so I told him my plight. He suggested I try Glucosamine and he said any brand would do.He has been taking it for years since he had back surgery.

I was desperate and willing to try anything so I went right out and bought some. Within 7 days I was able to walk an entire outlet mall without sitting down. I had found my miracle in a bottle. Glucosamine is a joint pain relief medicine that you can buy over the counter. Many people use it for arthritis and similar joint pain. I have been taking it ever since and am back to a semi-normal life. I still have pain, I am stiff, my ankle and foot swells, I still cannot wear high heels, but I am ok with that. I have learned to move on and get on with my life.