1558 Another Accident! Yes, I fell again and damaged my Ankle/Foot.

Okay, this is getting ridiculous now. My friends are no longer shocked when I say I had to go to A&E or Urgent Care, their response is “What have you done now” or “You were doing so well (by not ending up in the hospital”. Getting ill or being injured is a normal thing for me, and always has been. I am very clumsy. Normally I just get on with life, but I can’t be bothered to be injured this time, it takes up so much time and effort don’t you think?

The event happened during the second UK lockdown, was it the whole UK or was it just England? Anyway, on Saturday 21st November 2020 there was a busy-ish day planned. There were just a couple of bits and bobs that were happening. My Grandad was visiting us around late morning. (Don’t worry, it was allowed, he is in our support bubble.) Long story short, he was early. I was still getting ready when there was a knock at the door. I grabbed the closest top and ran down the stairs to open the door for my Grandad.

I tell him to come in and I will get the kettle on. So, I shove the kettle on and then realise it is cold, so I legged it back up the stairs, made sure my dad was getting up and then put on a t-shirt and a jumper instead of just a top. Then there was another knock at the door which was odd because I left the door open but either way, I run down the stairs to open the door. This is when disaster struck. I have Quarter Landing stairs. Which means they are U-shaped. There are a few stairs, it turns to the right by 90 degrees with a big square landing, then there are a few more stairs, then it turns to the right again by 90 degrees with the big square landing, there are a few more steps and then you are down. I am not 100% sure exactly what happened as it was so quick. I got most of the way down and did a little leap jump to get to the second square landing. I felt my body fall to the left (I caught myself with my knee and my arm) but I also heard a snap.

I am not sure how I got down the last few steps, but I did, and I hopped to the door, holding myself up using a big rolling tool case (it is taller than me) and the wall. I was holding my left foot up because I knew it hurt. I told my grandad that I had just fallen. I think he could see on my face that it hurt. I hopped onto the sofa and sat there for a little while. I remember my foot was throbbing and there was this intense ache around my ankle joint.

I was due to go out to get a black top because I was due to start my new job on Monday. My grandad offered to take me, so I didn’t have to drive. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to walk around the shop very easily, and I also knew that there were crutches in the cupboard from when I stacked them last time. I struggled to get up the stairs and dug those out (it was surprisingly easy) but struggled to put my trainers on. Once all that was done, off we went to the shop to get a black top to start work. For anyone confused as to why I went to the shop to get a top. I couldn’t order one online in time for Monday (less than two days away) and I had only found out I was starting on Friday the 20th, and I was starting the job on the 23rd so I had no choice but to go and buy one.

In my head, I was hoping that I would go to the shop, get myself a black top, come home and everything would be fine. My head was very wrong! I do have to mention the lady that helped me back into the car. When I got home, I was so tired, my arms were sore, my right leg was now sore from hopping around the shop etc. All I wanted to do is stay sat on the sofa, but I had a cup of tea (duh), once that tea was finished, I decided it was time to see the verdict. I took my sock off to see the damage. It was HUGE! I was genuinely shocked, I kinda knew there would be some swelling, but it was BIG. I sent a picture to my friend while we were deciding what to do just to see what she thought. Her response was “JESUS!!!” which did make me laugh. Since that day she said she has been sharing the picture with the people that we know mutually, and they have all been shocked. At this point, I knew I had damaged/upset/hurt something. It looked as though there was an egg under my skin where my ankle bone should be.

I showed my dad and asked what we should do if I should get it checked, just wait, and see what happens but with work due to start on Monday I kinda wanted to know what was wrong with it. I didn’t want to leave it and potentially make it worse if there was something more seriously wrong with it than just soft tissue damage. I am not sure how accurate it is, but I heard you are meant to call 111 (which is the NHS helpline) before going to A&E (unless it was life or death) and they would instruct if you were to ring the doctors, go to local urgent care or head to A&E. After a few questions I was told that they were sending a referral to my local A&E (Barnet General) and I should get there within an hour.

I hobbled up the stairs to let my mum know what has happened. Her response was “For god’s sake”. I grabbed a couple of bits, a spare face mask, a phone charger, lip balm, mints etc. Of course, I am an adult so I knew I wasn’t going to be allowed to have anyone with me so we agreed that my dad would drop me off and then come home. We didn’t know how long I would be, there was a tiny possibility I would be kept in as it was looking a little discoloured so there was no point in him hanging around and the parking is rubbish/expensive.

I got to A&E at about 13:50 in the end. Which turns out was a good time. By this point, my arms were giving up, and I was slowly hobbling to the door. A lovely gentleman ran and grabbed a wheelchair for me and took me inside. It was so sweet of him. There are some good ones out there! A was a man sitting by the entrance ensuring that everyone was wearing a face mask and that people were coming inside on their own etc. I got checked it and was wheeled over to the waiting area. I had no clue how long it was going to be, that is the most annoying thing when it comes to A&E, it is impossible to tell who is waiting for what. I have no clue how they balance everything. I wasn’t waiting long before my name was called. A lovely senior nurse came and got me, her name was either Rachel or Emma I am sad to say I can’t remember.

She sent me straight round to the “Urgent Treatment Centre”, not sure what that meant. She said the wait is about 30 minutes as there were only two people in front of me. I was taken to the X-ray area to wait for the doc to come and get me. When I got there, only one other gentleman sitting waiting for treatment. He had a nasty cut on his hand and was waiting for stitches. It wasn’t long before the Doc came to get me. He was also lovely, and very friendly. I am not sure if it was just him, but he seemed to be extra nice and I assumed it was because everyone was on their own and potentially scared, so they were trying to calm nerves and treat people.

This is the part of seeing a doc that I dread. You go through the boring questions; he checked what medication I was on and the normal if I smoked or if I drank etc. Oddly, he asked about my pets which I love because everyone is so shocked when I say I have tortoises. Then he asked how I got hurt and told me off for rushing. Now it was time for testing what hurt and what didn’t. I hate it when they start trying to move and squeezing the sore swollen area. He did have me laughing. He looked at me very seriously and said if it hurts, I need to say “Ouchy” and refrain from kicking him. I wonder how many times healthcare professionals get hit by a pain reflex. While he was ordering the x-rays, I asked what his gut feeling was. Did he think it was just a sprain or does he think there is likely a break? He laughed and said there was a soft tissue injury, but he couldn’t be sure of a break.

The wait for the X-rays wasn’t so bad, quite quick. They did a couple at all different angles. It wasn’t fun when I had to lie on my left and have the sore part flat on the bed. That was painful for the little time he went and took the image. It was between 30-60 seconds but felt like 5 minutes. I am not sure why they don’t use the ones that they can rotate. It would be quicker and safer to not move the potentially broken bone. There is probably a big cost involved though. Once they were all done and checked I was taken back to the waiting room. I was here for a total of maybe 20 minutes, but I went on a little adventure. Yep, a porter tried to steal me. He said that he would take me back so that he could use the chair as I wasn’t sure where I was meant to be next. He took me through a couple of doors into the main ward at A&E or what looked like the main bit. When we got there, he couldn’t find my name on the sheet, but another nurse told him that I was seeing …… (I can’t remember what she said). Bless him, he had to take me back and then go and find another wheelchair.

We had a little joke between us. He apologised for dragging me around, but I said it was okay and it was a little adventure around the hospital, and he replied “I would say stretch your legs but maybe not in this case” which lightened the mood. Once I was back, it wasn’t long after that until the doc came back to get me. I will say, the X-ray waiting area was now full, so it was good that I got there early.

After that fiasco, the doc came and got me so we could look at the x-rays together. It is quite fun seeing your bones. For each one he was looking at them, saying ‘gooooood’ while he was nodding and giving me a thumbs up until one of them which he skipped over and came back to it later. That was when I knew I had done something more than a sprain. For all the other x-rays I got the nod and a thumbs up but this one. There was a bit of white floating off away from the rest of the bones. So overall, I have chipped a bit of my bone off and got a grade 3 sprain in my ankle. Woohoo, I got a 2 for 1.

If you haven’t read my previous post, you won’t know but this is the third injury to my left ankle/foot. Not sure if that is because of the previous injuries or if it is just a coincidence. I got a bad sprain when I was 10 by jumping on a trampoline. Yes, it was day 1 or 2 of a holiday! Then I did it again back in 2017 (at 19) when I used a chair to get something off a high shelf and somehow fell even though I had my right foot firmly on the ground. And now this is the third at the age of 24! They say it happens in 3’s. Hopefully, that ankle is finished with getting injured.

So, there is the story of my 3rd ankle injury and the worst one so far. I have heard it is common to hurt it more each time, but I don’t know how true that is. The scary thing is, that I did it by falling one step. I think I half landed on a trainer and that’s how my ankle rolled and then boom snapped some of my bone off. It’s okay we don’t need that part haha. For those of you who do want to know. I was put in a walking boot and given crutches. It is now 24 days later (3 weeks and 3 days) and I am down to one crutch and can almost walk without them. It is still a little bruised and still quite swollen. I have been keeping off it for the most part. I did do a bit of walking last week; I went into a couple of garden centres and then did some x-mas shopping but other than that I have been very good.

I wasn’t sure if you wanted to see pictures of my ankle if you do let me know in the comments and I will add some but otherwise, I will leave them out as they are gnarly.