On the 30th of December 2013 on the way home via train, I missed the last step at the train station and landed awkwardly on my right ankle. The excruciating pain lasted for about 5 minutes as I leaned weakly against a nearby pillar and then tested to see if I could still walk.
I could, so I continued my journey home and my dad insisted I put a bag of frozen edamame on my bulbous ankle. It was scary to see the size of a large onion on my ankle but I brushed it off and hoped it was just a sprain.
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| Bulbous right ankle, much reduced after application of iced edamame. |
The next day I went to see a doctor, who bandaged my foot and told me to come back if it was still swollen in three days. It was, and I went back to take an x-ray which didn't show any fractures. However, since the pain was increasing day by day and my toes were slowly becoming black, I knew something was wrong.
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| Still swollen and toes starting to get black. |
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| My ankle started to get black too and the bottom of my toes were starting to become black too. |
So yeah, I finally went to a specialist. The scary part was when he looked at me in the eye and said, "If you have a fracture, you have no choice but to have an operation". Honestly, I panicked there and then, imagining him cutting up my ankle and screwing in metal pieces into my bone.
As quickly as I could, I went to get an x-ray done. When the doctor called me in, he started by saying, "Good news! You have a fracture! But you don't need surgery.". My mind went into shock after I heard "You have a fracture!" so I can't remember what advise he gave me thereafter. My fracture is at the bottom tip of the lateral malleolus which is at the bottom of my fibula. Apparently, I may have had cracked it and my further walking for a week thereafter caused my ligament to rip it off. Nice.
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| Taken from Britannica.com |
I was given almost 3 weeks off until Chinese New Year and am told to put my foot up as much as possible. It does start to throb when I am sitting after half an hour (like right now at the computer).
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| Toes are now black |
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| Given compression socks and bought an air cast to support my ankle while I move about with one crutch. |
Speaking of crutches, I was surprised to be instructed to use my crutch with my left arm instead of my right for my right ankle. Everyone has been asking me if I'm doing this right but the doctor gave me an explanation which I can't remember why now.
My worry now is whether I'll be able to walk from sunrise to sunset as I normally do for my travels. I hear of testimonies from those who have had their ankles broken (but mine isn't as serious) that they need to rest after a couple of hours of walking. :(
Anyway, through it all, Angku my cat has been keeping me good company especially when KS had to go overseas for 5 days.
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| She's so sweet :) |
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