Broken Leg Update

At age 68, I broke my first bone. My left leg suffered a "spiral fracture" of the tibia. Basically, the leg twisted until the tibia just snapped, leaving a butterfly shaped section broken out of the bone. I was given a choice to either putting a cast on my leg and staying off it for ten weeks, or SURGERY.

I chose surgery. A titanium rod was pounded into the top of my knee, into the tibia, and through the break, ending at my ankle. Then several screws were installed into the bone to secure the pin. After surgery, I was able to put some weight on the leg in just a couple of days. I used a walker for 3 weeks and finally graduated to a cane. By week 4, I was able to walk unassisted, though painfully and painfully slow and deliberate. Long short, at about 16 weeks, I was able to walk almost normal. I am still working to get back in shape. 4 months of inactivity has taken a toll on my strength and endurance.

We are all getting older. We have to be careful. This type of injury could have have been much more serious. I was lucky!