CheekyEMT

It's not looking like I will be back on truck anytime soon. I saw my surgeon last week and it's looking like another surgery on my ankle. I am going tomorrow for my 2nd cortisone shot, he wants to see if that helps before we decide to go ahead with the 2nd surgery. I will go back in 4 wks for another follow up and discuss whether or not to go ahead with surgery. If we decide that it's needed I will be having surgery in Jan.

My other ankle unfortunately needs to be done as well. I will be holding off on that one as long as possible.

Merry Christmas to me

I have placed 3 calls to my surgeons office and as of tonight have not received a return call. I'm assuming it will be Thurs before I hear back as that is the only day he is in his office during the week. I had hoped his secretary would have called me back with a referral to the orthopedic clinic though. He is in clinic every Tues but I can not see him without a referral. So looks like I have to wait it out until at least Thurs and hope I hear from his office by then. Yep, it's concerning

Thanks folks. Scuba, I'll be in touch. Thanks for the chat offer. I was hoping some of you may give me your opinion on this pic of my ankle. This is what it looks like right now. Notice the large red area? What are your thoughts? The large red area has just recently surfaced so is concerning to me. I apologize for the blurry pic but I had to crop it quite a bit to get it small enough to upload.

Thanks Caduceus...I may just take you up on that :-)

Well, my absent ass is back. Still struggling with my ankle and have been dealt a pretty shitty card. I'm expecting this latest news is offically going to take me off truck for good...:-(

Have been told I have something called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome...some forms of it are fatal. The form I have wont be determined until a collagen biopsy is done and the genetic mutation is identified..

yep, a huge shocker to say the least. My history of "loose joints" , hypermobile joints and GI issues raised some questions and the conclusion is Ehlers- Danlos Syndrome

The hyper mobile joints are only one of my issues. Never thought at my age I'd be facing a potentially fatal genetic disease.

Ok to cry now?

Well, it's been a couple wks since I've posted. In the midst of set back and will find out on Tues if I'm going back to the OR. Sigh!. Dr thinks there is an issue with the hardware/screws. Having an MRI in the morning and will see my surgeon tues morning to determine what the next step will be. :-(.

Well, I think tomorrow will be a big day. 11 wks post op . I see my surgeon at 11am....hoping for good news and for him to say " you go girl"..lol However, time will tell exactly how this is going to play out.

Fingers crossed.

I don't frequent the boards enough to offer up advice, but my mom died from a PE 8 yr's ago and it was absolutely horrible. She died in hospital while waiting for hernia surgery. She developed the clot in her femoral artery which resulted in the PE....I held my mother's hand in the ICU while she coded 3 x's.

Not something to mess with.

Something you may want to be tested for or look in to is Factor V Leiden. It will test for hypercoagulability( and inherited clotting disorder). But you really need to get the necessary work up done to find/diagnos and properly treat the DVT.

I'm honestly struggling with what to do. I have plenty of idea's and lots of thoughts but can't seem to get myself beyond getting back on truck. I'm sure that my thought process will change once I see my surgeon again on Tues and get some better direction from him. I'm not ready to leave the streets...:-(

Just curious CheekyEMT, why dispatch as a fall back? You strike me as someone with a passion for patient care. The current AMPDS system (I'm assuming that's the system you're dispatched under in Ontario) is de-humanizing.

Technically the determinants make sense but the question process to arrive at those determinants is tragically flawed (I do realise the answers are only as good as the person answering the questions). This process results in incorrect call assignment more often than not (ie. the crew is sent lights and sirens for SOB when in reality the patient has kidney stones). The renal calculus patient deserves proper pain management by all means, but a lights and sirens response is putting crews and the public at risk for an issue that is not sufficiently time sensitive to justify the risk.

I've known a number of paramedics who have spent time in dispatch and the reality of how tragically flawed the current call-taking model is places them under more stress than working on car ever did.

Education is the ticket for those no longer able to work on a regular duty car; either as an instructor helping develop the next generation, or as a student helping to redefine the future of paramedicine (physician assistant, community care, critical care transport).

The 911 call system here..in the city we live in is centrally located at the police station. If caller requires ambulance then dispatcher transfers the call to ambulance...same if you require fire. If police are required then dispatcher will take caller info and dipatch appropriately. I have never worked in dispatch but it is something that has always appealed to me and been of interest to me. I believe I would be good at it. I work well under pressure and can make quick,appropriate decisions based on the circumstances.

Patient care is my forte...no doubt about that. I would prefer to remain in a position where I continue to provide hands on care....that's what I was meant to do and where I belong. But if my ankle prevents me from returning to that I "think" dispatch is something I would enjoy and be good at. However, I have flirted with the idea of becoming a PA as well. I still have a lot of thinking to do before any final decision is made. Until my surgeon tells me I will NOT be able to return to work I fully intend to get back on truck.

Heh...catching up on the thread and it cracked me up when you said, "No sense writing a blog if you have no followers..." Man, I'm glad you didn't tell me that a year ago!!

No followers, but man, the mental exercise, the time spent thinking of and/or revisiting topics that are important to you...they become so much more clear, at least for me, when written down..

Sorry so long since posting, but had a long rotation last shift and not enough time home with my family before having to leave again...

I'm happy to see that you're feeling better Lady. Do you watch Ninja Warrior by any chance? Was watching a recorded show with Babs where they showed a kid that had been run over and dragged by a car. Showed pictures of him in the hospital, and this kid was completely f*cked up...It was 4 months before he was back to fighting in mixed martial arts and competing in one of the most severe competitions in the world...Pretty inspiring...

And if your uniforms are depressing every time you see them hanging in your closet, then why are they still hanging in your closet? You won't need them for a few days, wash em, put them away somewhere, and stop that happy horseshit, ok?

I have to say Dwayne...your posts always manage to bring a smile to my face and even a little chuckle...:-) uniforms left our closet about 4 days ago....they are now hanging downstairs in the "storage closet" for seasonal clothing. I will admit that before putting them away I put one on for shits and giggles....I will wear it again some day....might be 3 months from now...might be 6 months from now...but I will wear it again.

I am doing well, getting back to normal activities...shopping, cleaning, swimming, even managed a full weekend at the cottage for the first time this summer. I've got my first physio appt scheduled Sept 4th. I see my surgeon Sept 3 for my 11 wk post op follow up and am anticipating becoming cast free that day and hopefully cleared for physio. If he says no physio yet I will just reschedule it for a later date.

All in all...my spirits are good....I have my good and bad days...for the most part they are all good. I'm content with the progress I've made over the last couple wks and I know that it's all up from here..:-)

Hey Cheeky, how's the recovery going? Where are you at in the rehab process? Major foot reconstructions like that are a *bitch* to deal with.

Chin up! You're a strong chickie (notice the punnage?) and you are gonna beat this. It's definitely a serious mental readjustment to be the patient... that I can speak to. Attitude is everything.

Have you gone to visit your work peeps? Sometimes a boost from your work family is a nice mental break from all the other stuff you're juggling...

Wendy

CO EMT-B

RN-ADN

Recovery has been slow....have not been cleared for physio yet. I am just over 9wks post op now. I came out of the fiberglass cast on Aug 6 and was put into an "air cast" that I am required to wear all the time. I take it off to shower and when I go to bed. We purchased an extra one to allow me to go swimming, so I always have a dry one. My incisions have healed quite well...although not the prettiest looking things. I still have a huge amount of swelling and the scar on the lateral side of my ankle is incredibly sensitive...it doesn't like anything touching it. I have some pain in my leg where the tendon was harvested (semitendonosis)? and my back has been killing me...I'm sure thats from the air cast throwing my gait off so much as well as adding 2" to that leg....so I walk with a limp and awkward gait when I have the boot on. I've also been getting a 'holy crap' pain in my ankle since coming out of the cast and going into the boot...the pain is in the cuboid and talus area. Concerns me as I have 2 screws in my talus and 6 screws in my fibula and calcaneous as well as 2 tunnels drilled through my fibula. I had 5 falls the first week after surgey while using crutches and 2 falls when I went from NWB to PWB that put a significant amount of pressure on my ankle..So am concerned that I have messed something up . God I hope not. I am hoping for a good report at my next appt and hoping that this pain is just from my ankle getting used to being used again and the new ligaments stretching a bit.

Seems the lovely Oct weather we've been having has finally departed...we are cottage bound for the weekend.... 31 and sunny skies for the next several days. I see boating, tubing, fires on the shore, good friends, good times, a cold bevie or 2, surf and turf and total relaxation on the horizon. Happy Fri folks....enjoy your weekend.

Cheers!!!!

Hey, now while you are off work, why not work on expanding your career path??? Take some new classes that will help you in your EMS job? Why not take other classes that will benefit you apart from EMS just on the off chance that you don't get back on the truck.

Your case is a prime example of the need to have a fallback plan. So if the unthinkable happens and I'm saying this to every person on this forum, if you think that this cannot happen to you or that you will be faced with disability, your employer isn't going to give a rats ass about you, they are going to replace you with one who can do the job and when that happens(if it does) you would be well advised to have a fallback that you can go to in order to keep working and paying the bills.

I have known too many EMS and Fire folks who did not have a fallback and were permanently disabled who have no other skills to use in order to keep the food and rent paid. They rely on the disability payments from their work and many have ran their payments to the end with still no addition of skills that will help them survive then the payments end.

EMS is a life but you should have some other form of job skills for just a scenario.

I certainly didn't think it would happen to me. Both hubby and I were quite shocked when I was referred to the surgeon...I had no idea what I was in for with this surgery and recovery. A fall back plan is definately something that I wish I had in place....Hubby and I have talked quite a bit about what my next step should be and we have decided that dispatch is where I want to go , but only IF I am not able to get back on the truck. I am going to do whatever I need to do to get back on the truck....hopefully it will be enough and my ankle will physically be able to allow me to....but if I am not able to get my ankle back to normal (although I know it will never be normal again) or as close to pre injury condition then dispatch is where I'm going to go. I will be content and happy with that and I will also be able to continue teaching with the ability to increase my amount of instructing time.

I do miss being out on the road though....no doubt about that. Just seeing my uniforms hanging in the closet every time I go in there is depressing...sad that they're just hanging there collecting dust....However, this too shall pass....I WILL GET BACK OUT THERE....in one form or another.

You are not alone,

My instructor had broken BOTH femurs.

It took forever.

but she is now back to work.

you can do it too

"have patients." ( spelling pun )

OUCH! both femurs...that sucks. I am "planning" on getting back on the truck and doing what I love to do....it is going to require alot of 'patients' , determination and hard work....but I am going to remain optimistic. Even if it takes me a full yr like my surgeon said it may....I'm ok with that....if the end result is getting back on truck then I'm ok with the time and process to get me there. It's not a sure thing and I know that....but as the old saying goings..."what we think about , we bring about"....so my thinking is going to remain positive.

Thanks for your encouragment Miscusi :-)

Just a suggestion, but inquire at your service if you can be included in Continuing Medical Education lectures, and/or "tabletop exercises" to keep up on what's going on. If you don't have to do anything but sit and ask or answer questions, might be a good thing for morale.

Great idea Richard!...Definately something to look into. :-)

And you can always go into dispatching. There's a market for good ones out there you know.

Yes, have given that alot of thought....dipatching is something I would enjoy for sure.

Saw my surgeon today. I'm 7wks post op. Cast off and now into an air cast for another 4wks. Surgeon said everything looks good and is healing well. :-). I'm allowed to walk on it, swim (if I swim with the boot on) and allowed to take it off and start stretching my ankle a bit. No rotation or side to side, but I'm allowed to flex it up and down and start loosening it up a bit. It's VERY tight and stiff. I have virtually 0 ROM but am hoping to see that change in the next 2wks. I go back on Sept 3 for another follow up and hopefully he will let me start physio then.

I'm in the home stretch...yay!!!!!

But, how things look right now I don't anticipate being back on the truck until Jan or later. Maybe not at all. :-(

I am still VERY swollen, he said that will take about a year to go away and that if I'm going to get a full recovery it will be about a year.

So, will have to see how things go over the next 4wks before I start looking into options and making life changing decisions.

Hi Cheeky,

First of all, welcome to the city. Good people live here.

So let me back things up here a minute…you stated, “laying around with my leg elevated, watching tv, browsing the net, chatting on my blackberry and popping pain pills.” OK, so…..WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?

I’m kidding, I don’t like watching tv or chatting on blackberries. You’re getting good advice here Cheeky. After just one session with Dwayne and the gang, you’re already seeing the positive instead of the negative.

All I have to say is A. You have to focus on practicing the art of positive thinking. Pity pot thinking is a waste of your time and energy. B. Do what your surgeon & PT sadists tell you to do. Don’t screw up your surgeons work or he’ll put you in a body cast. C. Don’t look too far ahead; your job right now is to give your ankle the best environment for healing.

Being a patient sucks, it suuuuucks, but it’s also an opportunity (see how I did that…went from sucks-ass to opportunity…negative to positive…neg…pos…cool huh?) Anyway it’s an op to see, I don’t know, how creative and well trained your husband is…wait a minute…standby...I just went back and read your last post and I guess he did pretty good…ok then…nice work detective!

I recently had an intramedullary bone tumor taken out of my left femur, it was a doozey! Because of it, I can’t do the job that I loved doing…which was surgery. Did I lie around in bed and cry all day? You bet I did! Was I a cranky bitch? You don’t know the half of it! But I whooped out a can of positive thinking and reinvented myself…now I’m a…now I’m…..ah…it doesn’t matter, we’re talking about you, not me.

Hey I got an hour shrink session coming up with Dwayne, you wanna take it? He’s pretty good! I don’t cry nearly as much as I used to.

Just remember what Albert Einstein said,

"Hidden within every problem lies an opportunity so powerful that it literally dwarfs the problem."

That’s right…Albert’s Mom didn’t raise no fool.

Chin up Cheeky! You’re getting better every day!

Thanks Emergency...your post was not only humerous but good advice. You're right...having a pity party is a waste of time...took me awhile to figure that out, but the party's over and I'm making the best of a shitty situation. I will be seeing my surgeon next Tues Aug 6 for my 2nd post op appt and am hoping for good news. Cast will come off Tues and am assuming he will put me into a boot and let me start walking and living somewhat of a normal life. I am 6wks post op now so expect that physio will begin in the next couple wks. I am past the point of feeling sorry for myself and being pissed off because I can't do the things I want...I've been able to be home with my babies every day and have enjoyed that immensley. I'm counting the days now with only 6 more days to go till being released from fiberglass prison..first thing I'm going to do is have a bath and wash that leg...lol I am anxious to find out how well the surgery went and all the yummy details of it..lol My surgeon is very vague and doesn't offer up too much info so hopefully he will answer all my questions. After my appt next week and once I get started with a PT I will then have to start thinking about where my career is heading and take the necessary steps to either get back on the truck or as another poster mentioned jump into another profession within the medical field. Right now I don't think beyond the next week....I do see physical improvment everyday and know that my ankle is healing....everyday is better then the last and will continue that way. Once I get through next Tues and find out what my surgeon's next step is I will better be able to figure out what is next for me.

I am sorry to hear that you've had to go through what you did...shitty for sure. You certainly have a fantastic attitude and I truly hope you are doing well and that everything is good for you now.

You brought a smile to my face my dear , thank you!

You've already had all the standard "hang in there" and "you can do it" type answers so I won't waste your time with another one of those. The truth is you have had a potentially career ending injury/re-construction. By all means power on and fight to get back to work, but please continue to recognize that may not be a possibility.

With 13 years on the ambulance that doesn't mean you need to retire from healthcare. It means you might have to seek another avenue. Top suggestions include, transitioning to your services clinical education department, becoming a college instructor, and becoming a PA (Physicians Assistant).

Ontario is one of the first provinces to run a civillian PA program and the majority of people selected thus far have come from ACP and RN backgrounds. If this becomes the end of your "on ambulance" career it could also become an opportunity for you to become a true clinical leader in EMS.

http://www.facmed.utoronto.ca/programs/healthscience/PAEducation.htm

I will be looking to all options available to me very shortly. I need to really do some soul searching and consider all my options. Your suggestion is a very good one and will be taken into consideration for sure.

Feeling very discouraged and wish this over and done. :-( hubby and I are argueing and if I could drive right now I'd be on the road. :-(

Thanks scuba, will do that for sure.:-)

All morning at the hospital cast clinic. Cast cut off and new one put on. Have been having a lot of pain of the incision on the lateral side of my ankle and was concerned about infection. No infection but incision is still bleeding. :-( I go go back on Aug 6 and am back to NWB until then to try and prevent incision from opening back up. :-( hubby picked picked the cast color this time...its neon green now. Lol. He says its a bright/cheery color. My 3 year old says ' I really like your cast,wish I could put do my pawn print on it'. Sooo cute.

So we'll see what surgeon says on the 6th but I'm sure this is gonna set me back a wk or 2. :-( cast tech said surgeon will likely keep my in fiberglass for an additional 2wks beyond the 6th because of the delay in healing for that incision.

Ugh. Damn blackberry types words twice sometimes. Sorry for the typo's.

Totally off pain med's now...aside from the odd tylenol I'm finally med free>>>:-) Last night I was able to stand long enough to help my hubby make dinner, first time since my surgery that I've been able to do that.

Getting more mobile and more active every day.

What a great weekend I had. My new found freedom in the pool has been such a huge mood booster. We had friends over yesterday for a swim and a bbq then we spent the afternoon today with just the kids in the pool and lounging by the pool.....I would love to be able to spend longer periods of time in the pool but am concerned about my circulation being cut off when I have the cast protector on.

Yesterday after about 45 min's in the pool I got out and when we took the cover off my toes were white...so clearly it affects blood flow. Today I kept my pool time to about 15 min's then got out and took off.

AND, not only did I get to enjoy the pool for the first time this summer I managed to walk down our long driveway to the mailbox and back. Driveway is 30 ft wide and 140 ft long...I was tired when I made it back up the driveway but I did it. I had hoped to be able to do that by the end of this week. Pure determination ...or as my hubby says...I'm just stubborn. I get an idea in my head and I just have to do it.

So having set that goal to walk to end of the driveway and back (cast and crutches) and having successfully fulfilled that goal, it is now time to set a new goal .

Happy mommy, happy baby!

I really know the feeling of not knowing if you will ever get back on the truck. I fractured L1 in 2 places and herniated L5-S1 last year. I was out for 3 months initially, then went back, but shouldn't have as I was in extreme pain. Then I had surgery and was out again. My surgeon told me the same thing, to rethink my career. I'm rethinking it, but my pain has subsided despite an occasional flare up.

My advice is, don't be discouraged yet. Give yourself time to heal before you really start thinking about giving it up.

Hearing your story is encouraging. I won't be making any decisions until I get through this initial recovery phase and several wks of physio. Only then will I be in a position to better evaluate my ability to return to work.

Clearly I found a great group of people here. You've all given me some great advice . I'm going to invest in some hand and ankle weights and seriously considering getting a stationary bike. I'm sure I could manage some time on a bike despite bing in a cast. I am going to do as was suggested and set some goals for myself....short term goals for now. I'd hate set any long term goals for myself so early into my recovery phase because I don't want to be let down or disappointed if I am unable to reach the long term goals.

Now that we've found a way for me to get in the pool I plan to take full advantage of that and enjoy a daily swim or 2. Good exercise (totally NWB), some Vit D and a spirit booster.

Thanks to all of you I'm feeling better about my situation already. Think I'm finally accepting it for what it is. As my hubby said to me last night...."your finished your sentence (3wks on bed rest) and now you're on parole ( in a cast and on crutches with serveral limitations)...if you're good and follow the conditions of your parole you will be set free, you will get your freedom back" Only a cop could give you an analogy like that...lol. But he is so right. So for now I am on parole and must abid by the condtions placed upon me and before I know I will be back on my feet, back to work and back to normal.

Good then.... we agree. NSAID use can lead to GI bleeding.

Ya I definatly typed the peds dose as I rushed through the last part of my post while making lamb ribs in a dutch oven on my BBQ, thank you all for pointing that out.

It is a little sad though that the rest of my post seems to be 'lost' to some sort of frenzy surrounding the med dose.

I stand by my original post though. When someone states '9 ibuprophen a day' with no other quantifiers, it alerts me to give a warning about GI bleeds. Although I have been moved to Celebrex, then Arthrotec... I used to take Advil liquid-Gel 800mg tabs daily. 9 of those/day would be 7200mg.

Perhaps this is what the dr ordered... perhaps the pills are a lower dose..... I really don't care. The message I was trying to get across is trading narcotic drugs for a high dose of OTC is not always best.

I'm not saying that's what happened here.

I'm not saying she is trying to do that.

I'm not saying the dr didn't prescribe the Ibuprophen.

I am saying the impression I got from the OP was she was happy to cut down on prescription Narc's in exchange for Ibuprophen. I simply wanted to leave the impression to all reading as well as the OP, that 'cutting down' on prescription meds and supplementing high doses of OTC is not necessarily a good goal.

I had thought about starting a blog but that's not something I've ever done and figured it would be waste of time. No point in blogging if ya don't have any followers. I've had many friends/family ask for pic's from surgery so I decided to post some on my facebook. I've been taking pic's since the day of surgery to document my progress medically for those who have wanted to know. Maybe a blog would be a good idea.

I first saw my leg/ankle 7 days post op and I cried....the look of it truly upset me. Look like I've been beaten with a baseball bat and stabbed half a dozen times. I was definately NOT prepared to see my leg in the condition that it was. I saw it for the 2nd time this Tues and thankfully it looks so much better then it did that last time I saw it. The bruising has gone way down as has the swelling. I still look like I've been beat to hell, but I know it will heal.