Waste of Time
So I just got back from a 4.5 hour trip to the hospital to get my foot checked out.
After a week of insisting to anyone that asked that it was just sprained, the onlookers frightened gazes combined with their repeated quick drawings of breathe made me think maybe I just have an incredible pain threshold and my foot really is broken.
So I broke down and went to the hospital, because while I can walk fairly normally, it did still hurt, and didn’t feel like any sprain I’ve ever had before. I also read some scary stuff about fractures in the ankle causing tingling and bruising in the toes, which I have been experiencing. Also, that sometimes you can totally tear tendons and their nerve endings, thus eliminating most of the pain. So I got scared and went to the Hospital.
4.5 hours later I have acquired a nice little air-brace for my foot, and some impressive looks from some doctors. The doctor actually told me it’s the worst sprain she’s ever seen that didn’t involve broken bones, and that I had a “very impressive amount of swelling to be able to walk that well.” Also, from what she says, it’s actual multiple sprains..as in many stretched and pulled tendons and ligaments, which explains the bruising all around my foot, rather than in one area.
From what we talked about, we’ve somewhat pieced together that I either must have sprained it the first time trying to yank it out of the toe-clip, then fell of the cliff and sprained it another direction on impact, or yanked it out of the toe-clip (possibly slightly spraining it) then slammed it to the ground in an attempt to stop myself from falling off the cliff, then fell and sprained it either a second or third time on impact.
Fun times. She said I should be able to ride again in about a week though (if I feel up to it, and the swelling has subsided), so that’s good. She recommended against hiking or running anytime soon though. And much like the doctor I had when I fractured my knee, said that I should probably consider swimming or more biking for excercise as this ankle will from now on be pretty much permanantly weaker. Combined with my permanently weaker left knee, if means I have TWO permanently weak appendages. But even so, I still have 3 that are strong. 
June 20th, 2005 at 1:05 pm
Here’s what you always want to do for any break/pull/sprain - anything involving skeltal, muscular, or other connective tissue:
Hie thee to the nearest healthfood/herb store. Buy a veritable shit ton of Comfrey (Symphytum officinale). You will make a hot poultice out of this 1-3 times daily and drink 2 cups of tea every day as well. This is a great way to support your ankle so it won’t actually be noticeably weaker than the other.
*Hot poultice - Mix the dried plant with extremely hot water until it has an oatmeal like consistancy - thick and mashy. Take a long strip of muslin or other cotton rag. Wrap once around your ankle. Apply the Comfrey mash to your ankle and continue to wrap the muslin over it so that the plant is covered and not going anywhere. Watch a 1/2 hour sitcom (or sit quietly and read/play computer/whatever) with your foot elevated and comfortable. Remove and compost the poultice. Rinse the muslin. Do this as often as you have time.
*Medicinal Tea - Boil (never microwave) water. In a glass/ceramic vessel put 1 tablespoon of dried plant for each cup of water. Pour the boiling water over the plant, cover tightly, and let steep for at least 20 minutes. Drink 2 cups of this each day - feel free to add honey.
Copmfrey facilitates the growth of healthy cells - including destroying old/tired/unhealthy cells and replacing them with new ones…
June 20th, 2005 at 3:07 pm
Thanks for the info.
Just out of curiosity, why never microwave the water?