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This is called a "Zimmer Splint" - I rather like the name. Good product ... cumbersome but at least removable as pinga notes.

Hey Kimmio - when people offer help to you - try to find some ways to say "yes, thank you so much". This is your time to receive - and you'll pay it forward to somebody else in future. Many of us like to be the 'givers' of help (think about the satisfaction gained from this generosity) - but not so keen on being a 'receiver'. But one without the other doesn't work out too well. Being a receiver allows others this satisfaction of giving.
 
That splint looks like it could belong in a science fiction movie! Sure beats the full leg cast I had to wear as a kid. It was heavy, I itched unbearably underneath it, I felt dirty because I couldn't bath. Ugh.

Please figure out ways to let your friends and congregation help. Someone once told me that it is a blessing to give AND a blessing to receive. Refusing the blessings offered by friends denies them the pleasure of giving.
 
I went through a few things, first they didn't diagnose the break so just ACE bandage, then plaster cast (that thing was heavy!) but they lost the xrays and xraying through it didn't work so removed and then fiber glass cast, which was at least worth the time of switching as it was so much lighter. I would have much preferred a removable brace though! Ugh the skin shedding afterwards - that lasted a few days one shower wasn't going to deal with it.

Sorry Kimmio - lost in the conversation when do you know if you need surgery?
 
I don't think I will. My doctors office had my X-rays from the hospital I went to, to the specialist at hospital that is closer to where I'm staying. I have an appt on Mon to be looked at (I'm thinking another X-ray but not sure) but my doc said that the specialist, having looked at my X-rays from Tues doesn't think surgery is necessary - unless maybe the bone pieces slip out of place between now and then - in which case we go from there.

I was told they often remove the kneecap and put in a plastic one and I wonder if that would heal faster than bone. I'm not too sentimentally attached to my kneecap.
 
Kimmio said:
I don't think I will. My doctors office had my X-rays from the hospital I went to, to the specialist at hospital that is closer to where I'm staying. I have an appt on Mon to be looked at (I'm thinking another X-ray but not sure) but my doc said that the specialist, having looked at my X-rays from Tues doesn't think surgery is necessary - unless maybe the bone pieces slip out of place between now and then - in which case we go from there.

I was told they often remove the kneecap and put in a plastic one and I wonder if that would heal faster than bone. I'm not too sentimentally attached to my kneecap.
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Consider the plastic parts could creep on yah ...
 
:D
Pinga said:
I think those braces though are better than the casts that used to be used.
You can wash properly...couldn't with a cast.
You can take it off to look at it, it can adjust with swelling, etc.

I came very close to being sent home in a body cast when I was 15. ugh, those things were terrible. Full leg casts were too.

So, I guess a bit glad for you that OT's and doctors, physiotherapists have worked together to evolve care.
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I'm glad too. They still make casts but decided this was best for me. In the X-ray waiting room, there was a sign that said X-Ray and Casting Area. I'm pretty sure it didn't mean acting auditions. ("Break a leg tonight!"...oh, right.):D
 
Hi. A little update since @crazyheart asked:

I went to the othopedic specialist at the hospital this morning. My friend picked me up at 7:30 am to give me plenty of time for my 8:15 appt, which is only a 5 min drive from here. (That's how nice my church friends are - she really wanted to do it!). The nurse took off the splint and the doctor held up my leg up a bit and asked me to move my calf a little to see if the ligaments were still attached or something. He said it was good - what he needed to know. I don't need surgery (I guess I would if they had to reattach ligament). My knee is still, despite the break, in its proper location. I told him the brace keeps slipping down when I walk even when I tighten it (constantly). He said they tend to do that and most people want to burn their Zimmer splints by a certain point - but as long as it's keeping my leg straight it's ok. Just annoying. The point is to try to always keep my leg straight even when I eventually take it off to bathe - and I do take it off to get dressed.

I can only have sponge baths right now, and wash my hair in the kitchen sink, which is annoying. Nobody knows of a nurse/ aid service that can help me with a real bath once a week - in between sponge bathing standing at the bathroom sink - but I'm still looking into those kinds of things.

I can walk short distances dragging my bad leg at the hip, and stand up leaning on the counter but getting up and down is still painful. These splints were made for some mobility to be possible. However, I can't go very far and need accompaniment to go out. So, that sucks and I don't like it because I'm not sick and wanting to stay in bed - and I am more dependent on when others have time to help with some things that were previously easier (like putting on socks) - so I get restless. My mom lent me (and I'll probably wear a hole in them so I guess she gave them to me :oops:) her pink gardening Crocks. I am wearing them out of the house because I can get them on and off myself and they fit my swollen foot (there is some foot swelling and that's normal apparently)...but I have my pride and I'd never otherwise wear pink Crocks in public. I wore them to church yesterday (I got a ride there and home). Lol! But, at least I was lent shoes I can wear and take on and off fairly easily. So that's good.

I'm doing okay. I see the orthopedic doc again in 7 weeks. Until then I guess I just gauge my own progress/ ability while I heal.
 
For showering I think the free moving shower heads are great. You might have to sponge bath parts of you still (I remember sticking my cast in a garbage bag that was taped up) closer to the cast but I would much rather take a shower chair & garbage bag than attempting to washing my hair in the sink - it would just get horribly tangled!
 
ChemGal said:
For showering I think the free moving shower heads are great. You might have to sponge bath parts of you still (I remember sticking my cast in a garbage bag that was taped up) closer to the cast but I would much rather take a shower chair & garbage bag than attempting to washing my hair in the sink - it would just get horribly tangled!
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Because of the CP and balance issues I wouldn't be able to get in and out of a tub or stand in a shower with one unbroken leg, regardless - or even get onto a shower chair, without help. Here, there is one deep bathtub and one shallow/ standard bathtub (which is downstairs and I can't get there). Neither has a free moving shower head. At my place I have a glassed in walk in shower - the floor is non slip but there is nothing to really grip onto - there is a built in corner shelf I normally can lean on with one hand but that is not adequate now. There are two walls I can against (and two glass panels I can't lean against) but that doesn't give me any leverage to really hang on and move around - I am very precariously balanced when standing and I need to really lean on something and hang on. Again, even getting up and down from a shower chair in there would be a struggle and dangerous - I don't think a bar could be put in, it being the style that it is - either. That bathroom is dangerous for this situation. I'll figure something out. (I saw a thing on TV - there's cable here! - about a neighbourhood near Capetown I think. People were dealing with managing water shortage from drought and even in middle class homes - people were sponge bathing as a regular practice, to conserve water. So, it's not that bad. Full baths and showers - daily or close to daily - are a modern luxury that it isn't a bad idea to adjust expectations about anyway).
 
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So sorry to read about your accident Kimmio. I hope you are starting to figure out how to manage

Regarding crocs. They may slide of easy but are notorious for causing tripping

Regarding a shower. I missed whether you can use your walker in the shower. That seems a good option perhaps. Or see if you can borrow crutches perhaps
 
Crocs are slippery when they are older and the tread wears off, and particularly bad on wet wood surfaces. They also seem to suit children and young people, in terms of stability, more than the no-longer-young. However, they're handy for gardening, lol...
 
Mendalla said:
Okay, I read that and had horrible visions of a huge carnivorous reptile coming down an escalator:eek:. Then I realized we were probably talking shoes.:oops:
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Were you hallucinating about Jumanji? Tis a spirit that eats people in some myths ... Lilith, Lilin, etc. and cause some internalized gnawing ... about nothing in particular except the training about imaginary bogies and fears of things contained in abstract ... delusions?
 
I won't be going near an escalator so that's good!

:eek:Crocs...these ones have a "heel strap" that moves up and down on rivets at the sides so I can flip them up and wear them as open backed which I do going to the bathroom in the night (need my feet to stick to the floor, to stand up from sitting more safely - socks, barefeet, bad). I have them sitting right were I need them for that occasion. I can put the straps down to keep them on better, otherwise. They are more like heel-guards to stop them from falling off the feet. They can't be adjusted. They are not the best but better than anything else I have, for this situation.

The seat of my walker is padded and not waterproof and not removeable. I could put a garbage bag over the walker maybe, and just have the handles (and breaks) stick out. Just for the shower at my place. I could rig up a couple of strategically placed garbage bags.
 
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Kimmio said:
Because of the CP and balance issues I wouldn't be able to get in and out of a tub or stand in a shower with one unbroken leg, regardless - or even get onto a shower chair, without help. Here, there is one deep bathtub and one shallow/ standard bathtub (which is downstairs and I can't get there). Neither has a free moving shower head. At my place I have a glassed in walk in shower - the floor is non slip but there is nothing to really grip onto - there is a built in corner shelf I normally can lean on with one hand but that is not adequate now. There are two walls I can against (and two glass panels I can't lean against) but that doesn't give me any leverage to really hang on and move around - I am very precariously balanced when standing and I need to really lean on something and hang on. Again, even getting up and down from a shower chair in there would be a struggle and dangerous - I don't think a bar could be put in, it being the style that it is - either. That bathroom is dangerous for this situation. I'll figure something out. (I saw a thing on TV - there's cable here! - about a neighbourhood near Capetown I think. People were dealing with managing water shortage from drought and even in middle class homes - people were sponge bathing as a regular practice, to conserve water. So, it's not that bad. Full baths and showers - daily or close to daily - are a modern luxury that it isn't a bad idea to adjust expectations about anyway).
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Too bad, was hoping that was a decent solution. It's actually one thing I wished the soaker tub had, maybe I should talk to Chemguy, see if that's an easy swap but most are intended for shower heads, not sure what's out there for stand along baths. I do quick sponge baths on occasion, especially before working out (saving the full shower for after) because I do have such dry irritated skin. I never really feel all that clean from it though. Sounds like it's suiting you better.
 
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