Busted Ankle: 48 Hours

Wow.  I never thought that busting an ankle could be so excruciating.  In all of my years playing sports, running up and down the field, I was fortunate to never have a serious foot injury.  Immediately after falling to the basketball court in Deep Creek in excruciating pain, I knew that something was wrong.  I heard a pop and couldn't put any pressure on that foot at all.  Swelling started up and within 5 minutes I had a nice double ankle on my left foot.

At the 24 hour mark, the swelling had increased to a point where I no longer had a double ankle, but rather an ankle twice the size it normally should be.  Bruising began to set in.  The entire foot took on a greenish-bluish hue that reminds me of the ocean outside my back deck.  Although mobility began recovering as it was propped up on the couch, the swelling and subsequent pain prohibited me from making any attempts at walking.

Common sense required the RICE method.  Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.  I did my best to participate in all of the activities on the schedule, but morning exercise was off-limits.  Participation did include putting my feet on the table during semester prep meetings.  I iced for 20 minutes and then took a break, lowering my foot so that it didn't fall asleep, and then returning the leg to an elevated position many times throughout the meeting.  I also used a towel to stretch so that it would not become stiff.

This morning, after spending the entire night with the foot perched on top of a suitcase (a suggestion from Ron the Divemaster) I felt comfortable enough to take short steps without the crutches to get out of the bedroom.  The swelling has not noticeably dissipated, however by feeling stronger, less tender, and with greater range of motion, I feel like the situation is improving reasonably well.

After breakfast, Rachel and I went up to Rock Sound to see Doc Smith, the South Eleuthera doctor.  He was making house calls when we arrived at 9:15.  Rachel took out her Mac and started on a Sudoku puzzle, while I attempted a crossword from those 100 puzzle books you get at the airport.  Once we finished our respective puzzles, we switched and began anew.  By this time, word had reached the waiting room that the doctor would not be in until 11:30.

We set out for the market and ran errands to pass the time, but upon our return more people had shown up.  Assuming that because our name was on the list as second to arrive and thus second to be seen, all of the other people would respect that order.  Unfortunately, that order was not realized, and we continued sitting in the waiting area.  Luckily, the television was set to the Bahamian public news station.

Finally, after nearly 4 hours on the move, mostly in the hurry up and wait approach, I got in to see Doc Smith.  A quick observation and a few prudent pokes and prods yielded this diagnosis.  Based on the description of the incident (basketball with a twist and pop) and the concurrent swelling and bruising, I may have a fracture of the talus and torn ligaments.  It is definitely a Grade III sprain.

The next course of action will be to keep up the RICE treatment.  Hopefully the swelling will diminish.  Additionally, the two treatments that I was prescribed (a pill for inflammation and a gel/cream) will help this cause.  If continued improvement is halted or reversed, then it may be necessary to fly to Nassau for appropriate X-ray or MRI tests.  However, if all goes well and the treatment is successful, it may be possible for me to begin rehabilitation exercises by the weekend.

Pictures of the injury are coming, especially of the myriad of colors that are, and will be, present in the foot.