I am sorry you had to go through this terrible ordeal FMF; it sounds horrific and very painful! That said, I am sure your positive attitude and resilience will serve you well during your recovery. I had reconstructive foot surgeries in both feet 2 years ago (10 screws in total as my feet were a mess and I played college tennis and league tennis for many years). The best advice I can give is: get off the pain meds as soon as feasible and rest, ice and take it easy. Less is more when it comes to recovery but not so easy when one is used to being on the go and athletic. Best of luck to you!

I'm very sorry to hear about your accident FMF.
I wish you a speedy and full recovery.
All the very best to you.
Lynn

Thank you for your kind words.

Your absolutely right, Dr said listen to your body & do what you can.
I suspect progress going forward will seem very slow. I booked a wheelchair at Geneva Airport on Wednesday as standing in a queue for any length of time seems to hurt, I need to go & see my 88 year old mother & can stay at my brothers' house for a week or so & then decide what to do.

Just from my experience, I was ultra conservative during recovery and did not move an inch unless I had to use the restroom (even then I used a rolling desk chair and would scoot myself to the restroom/loo so as not to be weight bearing). I kept my foot iced and elevated the whole time and basically spent the majority of my recovery time on a couch with my foot propped. I was so nervous about getting surgery that I did as much as I could to ensure recovery.

The problem with pain meds, in my view, is that they can leave one to think they are better than they actually are. Do not go out to restaurants or venture out; listen to your body and heal. I did not suffer the horrific accident you had, but I had chronic pain (like a knife going through the balls of both feet)

The toughest part was to discipline myself NOT to move about as I am active by nature. I think getting off pain meds very early (2 days for me - but I did not have a broken back nor 8 broken ribs!) and being couch bound and resting really helped my recovery.

Hope your recovery goes well FMF!

How are you doing fatmanfilms? Hope things are a bit less painful for you now.

I flew to London on Wednesday to stay at my brother's house for a week or 2. I traveled as an assisted passenger in a wheelchair through the airports. Standing in queues is painful & I can only carry the weight of a cup of coffee in each hand. I was a bit nervous as we hit some turbulence & on landing but no issues at all. My wife was working in London this week so picked me up from the Airport, getting into & out of a car is no problem

My 88 year old mother lives about a 300m walk up a hill, which is a comfortable distance for me to walk in 1 go. I don't think anyone watching would have thought I was disabled in any way.

There is no lift where I live in Malta & 72 steps up to the front door, I probably need a couple of weeks before I will find that easy enough to do 2 or 3 times a day.

I am taking Paracetomal & Tramadol 3 times a day, roughly 1/2 maximum dosage, I have tried to reduce medication further & it gets very painful, so I think I have another week to go popping pills.

I am out of bed for 12 hours a day, but totally exhausted in the evening, I can only sleep totally flat on my back, which is slightly annoying, this is due to the broken ribs.

A fairly miraculous recovery is all I can say, thank you for your interest.

Just saw this. FMF really pulling for you to have a speedy and complete recovery and come back stronger. Godspeed.

It's 5 weeks since the accident, recovery seems to be taking place at a glacial rate.
The only obvious improvement in the last week is I can manage to go in a jacuzzi, when I tried 5 days ago even on the weakest power was far too much for my upper body.
If I stay in bed, I can manage with very little medication, however just getting dressed & putting socks on is incredibly painful, so realistically I still need to pop pills for another week or so.
My upper body strength is barely 1/5, I can just about open shop doors if they are sprung, hold a towel to dry my hair. I can't put a chicken on a roasting tray in the oven as it's too heavy as I stretch my arms out.
Things like crossing a road in London seem quite daunting, I know I cant get out of the way quickly when normally I would not even think about London traffic.
When I lie in bed on my back, getting out of bed still requires thought & effort, it's as if I have aged 30 years in a few weeks.

Thanks for the update FMF. Don't rush things, listen to your body and take it steadily.

I think I have one of your deep snow pictures.

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The great thing about soft snow like that is it's so soft you won't get injured in a fall. It's funny to watch such falls

It's going to be a long slog, poor you. But onwards and forwards - and Spring and sunshine will soon be here to help you on your way.

When I smashed my right side in a car accident aged 19- it was 7.5 months in hospital, and over 4 months in traction on my back- and about 2 years to learn to walk properly again - totally different injuries, of course- but just saying things can look very bleak and yet, with time- get you back to a normal life again. Are you having regular physio? Is there a spa pool with warm water where you can have physio in water? Water was my saviour then- and with my knee replacement 2 years ago- and will be with this one (1 week ago- and it is like light and darkness compared to first one...)

Hang in there- but get all the help you can get and find that warm water pool and water physio therapist. x

A very good UK friend of ours broke his back on Tortin 20 years ago- he was not so lucky and has never walked again - a very very brave man.

No physio as yet, I am supposed to be very careful with arms & upper body for 12 weeks as there is a slight risk of requiring further surgery if anything comes undone. Water does seem a very safe option to me.
I wrote the last message without taking any medication, which is why it sounds very negative which is unusual for me!
I am going to see my oldest school friend for lunch. I just popped some morphine so will be totally pain-free for 3 hours. I move much more normally when the pain is hidden.
I have come to terms with that a 'full recovery' does not mean that I will be back to pre-accident condition.

Thanks for that I managed to spill my tea when i saw that picture!!!

I'm curious - is it a good thing or a bad thing that you move more normally when the pain is hidden? Part of me thinks bad, because you could set yourself back or injure something else. Then part of me thinks good, because that way you don't develop bad habits from trying to compensate for the pain.

It's good to realize that you'll never be exactly in pre-accident condition and to work with the changes instead of fight them. Hard, but thankfully you were fit before and have a better shot at a "normal" recovery than if someone like me had a similar accident.

Enjoy the pain-free hours while visiting with your friend.

Morphine masks the pain, but generally you're still aware of it - it just doesn't bother you (so much, or at all, depending on how much you take). So it can help relax the body which is generally going to be good, but from my experience of using it for similar injuries the extra mobility is still a long way short of 'normal'.

The risk of further injury is minimal as long as you're not using drugs to mask serious problems in order to carry on with risky activities, which is what some sportspeople, notably motorcycle racers, do when they're recovering from broken bones. Doing stuff like getting into cars, baths, showers, even bed can be much improved with medication, but poses no real risk of injury.

It's more about the determination to recover than pre-accident fitness. I actually improved my skiing by leaps and bounds after my big smash, recognising that I had to find other ways, i.e. being technically much better, to continue the activities I love, and that I need to do a lot of physical training to allow me to maximise what function my body still has.

But FMF has clearly recognised all this, and I'm wishing him all the best, hoping that his recovery gets him closer to where he was before than mine did.

Any opinion on CBD (legal cannabis) - a young friend is recommending it- but, not sure.

There's been a long thread about it, but the evidence is not very encouraging, IMO.

They tried to get me out of bed walking 3 days after the OP, I was in way too much too much pain. The Neurosurgeon said 'Tomorrow you have to get up, we will give you whatever medication is required'

Basically, it allows you to function by reducing serious pain to mild pain or irritation. It can be off-putting to a partner when you suddenly scream in agony from just a tiny movement, such as lifting my legs onto the bed as muscles / broken ribs are involved. Resting for 30 seconds & it's gone, but the pain levels experienced are equivalent to a kidney stone.