The Saga of the Broken Ankle

A lengthy account of how I broke my ankle and what happened after.

A week ago (July 2024) we went to a cabin at Vidette Lake Resort, close to the Centre of the Universe, near Kamloops, BC.

Our group consisted of four poets on a writing retreat, one support son and me, who had volunteered to be the cook and one of the drivers.

Everything worked out almost exactly as planned. The trip took a little more than four hours, about two on gravel roads into the hills, beyond the electrical grid and cellphone towers. We found the place beautiful and peaceful, the rustic cabin we rented amazing and it was a little cooler up there than down in the valley.

On the first evening, we ate vegetarian beer chilli that I had pre-cooked at home. Everything I made was to be vegan in order to accommodate one of the poet’s preferences.

As to be expected the night was tranquil and dark and I slept very well. The next morning I made delicious sourdough pancakes devoured by all :-).

For lunch, I had prepared a loaf of sourdough bread from my own recipe. I tried what I had never tried before; par-baked the bread at home, froze it, and finished it off at the cabin. It worked out pretty well, except it must have been frozen in the middle because it didn’t quite bake thoroughly.

While the poets did their thing, I had lots of time to draw and relax. Just as planned. I did a lot of staring into the lake and some drawing. Some of the drawings are complete, and some are only sketched out to be finished at home.

After lunch, we set off to the Centre of the Universe. In the 1980s, Tibetan monks mapped out energetic lay lines to determine that the centre of the universe was actually on Earth and where it was located. They found this remote place in central BC and, after a round of tests, determined that it was indeed the centre of the universe. Unfortunately they could not acquire the land, but they did put up markers, and since then people have ventured here on pilgrimages to find peace and healing.

This was a very interesting experience. a tranquil setting with beautiful views and evidence that several people had spiritual experiences. I hope they found what they came for.

After this pleasant outing, four of us decided to take a short drive to the lake to cool off. The water was cool and there was a lot of plant and animal life to admire.

After a while I walked up a small hill, that was covered in gravel, small pieces of shale and plants. Suddenly my left foot lost grip and when I looked down it was at an unnatural angle. I fell down and felt a sharp pain in my leg. The swelling was almost immediate.

As a first aid attendant, I knew right away that I required medical attention. We returned to the cabin to ice the swelling and gather our thoughts. There were several logistical problems to work out because we knew the nearest hospital was in Kamloops, 2.5 hours drive from our location. There was no phone service, and we could not call for assistance.

Fortunately, there was no further injury and I do not need my left leg to drive our car with the automatic transmission.
Everyone helped and loaded our car with our luggage and all the supplies the rest of us could spare for the next day. This was important because they had to ride home with four people in a small SUV on Sunday.

Michele and I left for Kamloops, slowly driving on gravel roads. Fortunately, these roads were well maintained, although the bumps and ruts caused some pain in my leg. After almost two hours, we reached the paved road and finally the highway to Kamloops.

We went straight to the Emergency Room of the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops.
Initially, we were confused about the entrance being in a construction site, but overall, we received excellent care. While we waited, we booked the last available motel room in Kamloops, which hopefully had a room on the ground floor (no promises though).

After analyzing the x-rays the doctor told us that I had broken my ankle in a way that would require surgery within a week. Because we live in Kelowna, he agreed to discharge me and let us go to Kelowna for the surgery and aftercare.

My leg received a splint and a heavy package of bandages. It was wrapped up to the knee and only the toes show at the end.

When we went to the motel, we discovered that the room booked was on the second floor and I had to make my way up the stairs, scooting up on my behind :-). The room was hot and the AC was loud, but somehow I managed to sleep a little. Maybe the pain medications I got at the hospital helped with this.
Overall, the pain level up to this point was bearable as long as I was able to keep my leg quiet and propped up.

Day 2

After a nice breakfast In Kamloops, we drove to Kelowna and unloaded the car. Very soon after this, I was dropped off at the ER of the Kelowna General Hospital and I was pleased to notice that there were relatively few people waiting and the wait was correspondingly short.

The orthopedic surgeon in the ER looked at my X-rays and confirmed the need for surgery. He ordered a CT scan, and I was amazed that this could be done through the splint and bandages.

I was sent home with the instruction not to eat after midnight because I could be called for surgery on Monday.

Day 3

The Monday surgery didn’t work out and I was told around 10 am that I could start eating but stop at midnight.
I spent the day laying on the couch, taking pain meds and dozing most of the time.

This disruption of our life turned things upside down and I changed from caregiver to patient. This is probably the hardest about the situation as I am aware of how much the injury impacts our lives and that I need a lot more support than I am comfortable with.

I was able to cancel the First Aid course I was scheduled for and check in with work. I am very glad that I work in a Union position and have a good number of sick days banked. At least I don’t need to worry about a loss of income for a while. And if the recovery goes as planned I can go back to work in August, depending on the advice of the medical team.

Day 4 – Surgery

Tuesday morning, I finally got the call to come to the hospital, and off we went. By now I was very calm and glad to finally get the leg fixed. The surgery took about an hour and a half. Everything seems to have gone according to plan. Not that I remember much :-).

I came out of the anesthesia better than expected and was able to go home. I now take stronger pain medication and the leg is wrapped again with a splint.

We discovered that it is a lot less painful and safer to use Michele’s wheelchair rather than hobbling around on crutches. I am not supposed to put any weight on the leg. With the crutches, there is always the danger of losing your balance and accidentally putting weight on the foot.
I am enjoying the fact that we built the house with wheelchair use in mind. It is an interesting challenge to change the way you usually do things to anything from a sitting position.

Now we wait for the first follow-up appointment with the surgeon and then we will know what is happening next. The regular recovery time with this is 10 weeks to 4 months. I am hopeful that I will become more mobile sooner than that and hopefully even return to work. For now, it is all “wait and see”.

If you are interested, I will update this post with updates as we go along.

Updates

August 1st

I had my first post-surgery appointment at Kelowna General Hospital today. My expectations were high. Would it be healed correctly? Would there be more x-rays? I had a lot of questions.