Last Tuesday night I was walking the dogs, enjoying the cool night air and watching, in amazement how the bright full moon lit up the dark durroundings (and trying to ignore the disaster that was Game One of the WS). Then, as I stepped off the curb, something that I have done thousand and thousand of times while walking the dogs, I missed the step and my ankle rolled sharply inward. It was instant pain! I had to sit down on the sidewalk to catch my breath. one of mt dogs began to lick my face, while the other licked my left leg...K9 first aid I guess.

In a fit of stupidity, I decided to finish the walk, limping along the way, my ankle screaming with each step that I took. I walked more than a mile home, including 1/4 mile uphill.

When I got home I went to the fridge, got some ice and put my leg up to ice the ankle. But by then it was too late and the damage already done.

i went to work Wednesday and Thursday but by then my left ankle and foot were so swollen that I couldn’t put on my dress shoes. So I went to court each day wearing my running shoes. Business suit and sneakers, not a bad look.

By Friday I finally had to go to the doctor where they x-rayed my left ankle and confirmed the fracture. My doctor kept shaking his head as he explained, in nice terms, what an idiot I was for not seeking treatment sooner, especially in light of the fact that I am a diabetic.

Anyhow, to make a long story short (too late) he fitted me with a mobility (or immobility) boot and told me to stay off the bike at least until the first of the year.

Now, for the good part of the story. A year ago I would have been angry and upset with my bad luck. But I recently started up the Dean Ornish Program for heart disease reversal (I have seven stents in place plus severely calcified coronary arteries. The Ornish Program has been shown to stop, and in many cases reverse, the progression of coronary disease.

A part of the program consist of stress management, by way of yoga and meditation. I must admit that I was very skeptical about this portion of the program. But my yoga and meditation practices have allowed me to accept this temporary setback and see it for what it really is, an opportunity for personal growth.

I am still a Type A personality person, that part of my petsonality will never change, but now I am in better control of the actions and behaviors that led me to develop coronary disease.

I apologize if this post was too long and even boring. But people in our age group are more prone to suffering injuries, such as broken bones. So having the tools to cope with the physical and emotional consequences of injuries may be beneficial when the inevitable happens

Thank you for reading.

Consider yourself fortunate! My sister in law stepped off a concrete patio, took a similar misstep as you, and broke both her ankles......surgery was required on one ankle for plates and screws.

OUCH !!!
That just looks really painful .

Follow Doc’s instructions & get well sooner

What you use for mobility? Crutches?

Exactly. I have done that same walk and stepped off that same curb thousand of times since moving to my home 30 years ago. Yes I am one of those people who stays put.

As long as I keep the ankle and foot elevated the pain is not too bad.

The doctor put me in one of those “immobility” boots. I use that and a cane to get around.

The ortho showed me the x-ray and pointed out to the fracture. It is not a major one.

He explained to me exactly the same thing that you wrote...that when the tendon was pulled-stretched, it took a chunk of bone with it. He said it was like rapidly pulling duct tape from a painted wall and pulling some paint chips along with it.

I normally heal fast, I broke a rib and was back to riding in three weeks. I shattered the bone in the small finger of my right hand. A couple of weeks after surgery to fix the break I was back riding.

Thanks for the encouregement.
Of course, this was all AMA (Against Medical Advice).

OUCH...that sounds painful.

I will look into that.

My diabetes doctor recommended a book called, The Wisdom of No Escape. It is a series of practices for when we are faced with situations that cannot be escaped, like a fractured ankle and a forced “vacation” from the bike.

The research they have shared with us supports their claim that the program can reverse arterial calcification.

Whether it works on me is yet to be seen.

At this point, nothing else has worked; I have nothing to lose.

My cardiologist is the one who referred me to the Ornish Program. They and my cardio work together as a team.

Major health insurance companies pay for the program; I doubt they would pay for quackery.

And still not a single expression of sympathy or a “how are you doing?” from Colonel Wave.