For 21 days I had been hoping & praying that my right foot was only bruised or sprained. After nearly going into orbit with pain when a passenger on Delta bumped into it, I knew it was time to have it checked. Dragging my proverbial feet, I made an appointment for Tuesday afternoon, June 17th, with whomever was available-not one of the doctors that I had seen previously. The part of me that is a fair nurse diagnostician was NOT looking forward to this.
June 17th
Of course the first thing they did was take x-rays. This office has the capability to computerize the x-rays and put them on the monitor screens in each room. The doctor turned the screen around so that I could see it.
That sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach was a plethora of emotions–Not least of which was my ability to make a living suddenly put in an indefinite holding pattern–with no EFC.
The first thing the Podiatrist wanted to do was cast the foot. I had driven myself to the office and did not have crutches with me. I whined loudly about having no one to drive me, and managed to walk away with my foot wrapped and in a stabilizing shoe. I was ordered to use my boot cast and crutches and put no weight on the foot at all–and no driving. I figured since I had been walking on it for 3 weeks, I’d go ahead and run my errands before I was to become home bound…
I’ve had a stress fracture before in the same foot, back in 2002. Pilots4Rent.com was born with my casted foot propped up on a bunch of pillows resting on the lower filing cabinet drawer of my computer desk. I had truly hoped to never have to use any of that broken bone paraphernalia again! <BIG sigh> I pulled out the crutches, and remembered that I had used a kitchen chair (has rollers) to scoot around on my tile floors back in 2002. Dutifully, I got off the foot and into the chair and started adjusting to what would be my way of life for several weeks to come.
Since I was not expecting to need rolling pathways, my floor was something of an obstacle course. I leaned over to pick up some magazines that were on the floor and got a serious lesson in CG. The kitchen chair reacted by going the other direction dumping me on my arm on the tile floor. Stunned and feeling stupid, I managed to get up and into another chair. I was horrified to see the bruises surfacing on my upper arm and my right wrist was hurting. Great. Did I now have a broken arm/wrist to go along with the broken foot? It was serious enough that I had my neighbor drive me to the walk in clinic on Wednesday. More X-rays (at this rate I’m going to glow in the dark). I was lucky-nothing was broken, just a lot of bruises. The clinic did refer me to an orthopedic surgeon for my foot though.
June 19th
I made an appointment with an associate of the doctor I was referred to because it would be more than a week before I could see the referral doctor. The associate took more X-rays and told me the Podiatrist was essentially doing the right things. He gave me a bit more information though. My broken bone was the 5th metatarsal of the right foot called a Jone’s Fracture. This part of the foot has very little blood supply so it is not uncommon to got for 6-12 weeks and find that the fracture does not heal. When that happens surgery is required to pin it. Armed with this new info, I went home and started my research on the internet. What I found was horrifying. The Jones Fracture has a 50% non-heal rate with conservative treatment. It has a 95% heal rate with surgical intervention. By Sunday June 22nd, I was convinced that aggressive treatment was the only way to go. There was no way that I could afford to be treated conservatively for 6-12 weeks then have surgery and wait another 6-12 weeks to get back to work.
June 23rd
I called the orthopedic associate. He would not take my call nor answer my questions via phone. 24 hrs after I attempted contact with him I called again and the receptionist told me that If I wanted to come in for an appointment he would “explain it to me AGAIN”. Since he had basically dismissed me back to my Podiatrist during the initial visit, I determined that I would NOT be going back to this doctor.
June 25th
I went back to the young newbie Podiatrist and told him I wanted to get aggressive ASAP. He was agreeable, but he used terms like “re-brake the bone” and “plates and screws” which frightened me because there is no room in my foot for a plate and screws on my little toe bone. All of my research had indicated a single screw down the middle of the bone that holds the fracture together. My sister Chris works in an outpatient surgery unit in Alabama. I consulted with her. She asked an orthopedic surgeon she worked with. He told her under no circumstances should I allow a plate and screws to be put into my foot on that fracture. I tried again to make an appointment with the orthopedic surgeon I had been referred too, which unfortunately was in the same group as the first Orthopedic doctor that I consulted.
June 30th Decisions
Surgery was scheduled for July 1st with a Podiatrist that I had never met before. My Mom, Maxine, flew in on June 29th to be with me. On Monday morning June 30th I met with the PA–physicians assistant, and the Orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion regarding the surgery. They made so much sense and said I was too far along in the healing that they would not do surgery. They talked me out of it. I left the office with my foot in a cast and an appointment to come back in 2 weeks. Could I be so lucky that I would be healed in 2-3 weeks?? I was very optimistic.
(My new Type Ratings)
July 9th
A week later I got a call to come to the Orthopedic surgeon’s office to get a bone stimulator. This was a surprise as I had been told that insurance would not pay for one until the foot showed a non-union of the fracture after 12 weeks. Not wanting to rock the boat I didn’t bring up this point and my Mom (Maxine) took me to the office. The EBI coil kept falling off the cast in the office, but they took an x-ray to make sure it was in the right position and I took it home to use it 10 hrs/day. The unsettling thing was when the Doctor informed me it could take as long as 4 months to heal with the stimulator and he’d see me in a month. I asked about my appointment next week, and was brushed off. The PA changed the return appointment to 2 weeks instead of 4. My optimism was dashed completely. I was praying that this sudden change in attitude was because the bone stimulator representatives were there and I was getting it at half the normal wait time.
July 22nd
Two weeks later and the day before Mom was to leave going back to Alabama, my entourage (Mom and Patsy) took me to the scheduled checkup. ( Later I would be extremely glad that they were both with me as witnesses.) I knew something was different when there was NO ONE in the waiting room. (It turned out the PA was not there that week.) My cast was removed, an x-ray taken and I was told I could use the boot cast instead of being put back in a hard cast. I was told to continue the no weight bearing and no driving, and come back in a month. I was already at 5 weeks of no weight bearing treatment and another month would make it 9 weeks. I tried to ask questions of the Orthopedic Surgeon and was stunned when he turned to me and said
“You ask the same questions every time you come in here. I don’t have the answers and I can’t take this!”
Never have I seen a “medical professional” behave that way with a patient, much less treat me that way. In addition, he seemed to forget that I’d been in conservative treatment for 5 weeks and he appeared to be only counting the days on the bone stimulator. Could it be that I was now just a statistical diagnosis and being treated as such? Where was that wonderful doctor who talked me out of surgery?? I understand that nurses make the worst patients. We know too much, and I had done my homework. I knew that the doctor could not give me a date of return to work or actual healing but I needed to know we were making some progress. Best guestimates were all I needed. Something–ANYTHING–to hold onto. Being out of work for 4-6 months was not one of my options. Two was going to stretch me to my limits.
I asked for a copy of the billing statement for my insurance. Very interesting. The diagnosis was “Mal-Union of the 5th metatarsal”. How can you have a mal-union with an injury that has barely had time to heal even if it had normal blood supply? Now I know how I got the bone growth stimulator so fast….
July 23rd-28th More Decisions…
I went home and thought about my situation…and thought about it more…..and got mad…..and started thinking in terms of taking full control of my own treatment…and started thinking of all the alternatives…. The following Monday I made an appointment with the Podiatrist that I have seen off and on for 8 years-the senior guy, not the newbie that I had seen for the diagnosis. My neighbor, Patsy, drove me to the visit on Friday, August 1st. I told the Doctor the entire story and that I wanted to know his opinion–and that I knew from our relationship over the last 8 years he would tell me the truth. He took 3 more x-rays and came back to tell me that in his opinion the fracture was healed. I had been on no weight bearing for 6.5 weeks. I was stunned again, but ecstatic this time. Patsy was also stunned. I was told that I could walk–and drive– on the foot “as tolerated” and to come back if I had a problem. WOW!!
I went home and CANCELLED my Orthopedic appointment for August 19th. I have no intention of subjecting myself to another statistical exam that I get to pay for.
My “entourage” that has been my lifesaver during the weeks I could not walk or drive:
Maxine (Mom) McKleroy and Patsy McGuire (neighbor)
After 6.5 weeks, my foot muscles had atrophied and arthritis from the previous stress fracture had become severe. Nurse Susan found some Jones Fracture rehab exercises on the internet, and I hit the pool for some aqua therapy. By Monday Aug 3rd, I could walk on the foot, but it complained a lot.
Each day the foot has gotten stronger and hurt less from the arthritis. I’ve found some supportive-read: UGLY-shoes to wear for work while the foot is gaining strength.
With any luck, I’ll be out of the holding pattern and back to work any day now…..as soon as the phone rings……
