General topics.

Polar,

Just saw your message.

It wasn’t the last time it snowed here but it was the heaviest amount of snow that I have ever seen. Of course, compared to other places it wasn’t a lot of snow, but it was enough for us to build a snowman!

I’m glad that my dad didn’t listen to my mom about it being too cold for us to go out and play.

We bundled up and had a blast playing in the snow.

It rarely snows here. Even if there are only a few flurries we are amazed by it. The city shuts down because we don’t know how to drive in the snow. LOL 😆

Rain, that’s a different story. We get a fair amount of rainfall.

My favorite weather by far is California weather! Every time I visited there I fell in love with the weather and hated to come home to our humidity!

So sorry about that Gershun. Try and make it as pleasant as you can - even if it's a quiet Christmas. I hope your foot gets better soon.

Good point, that's very true ITRR. I recently learned a lot about that.

Glad, I often take more then 1 EmergenC if I am feeling off. It increases your matabolism and high doses of vitamin C flush your system. I think it's kinda the point, round those little buggers up and run them out, literally :-)

Our gut has so very much to do with our immune system and getting everything out can only help things reset. IMO

Willie, we use a product called Vick's Early Defense. It's a nasal spray and it seemed to have helped my hubs avoid a cold when he felt one coming on.

Thx everyone for all your support. I've never endured something that set me back so much as this fracture. Maybe it's my age. 61 isn't ancient but old enough I guess. I told hubs that Christmas is gonna be a slow one this year. I'm not moving fast for anything or anybody. No family get togethers to endure this year at least.

CW, Last time I felt something like that coming on, I drank 4 EmergenC's in one day. Gave me D, but, the virus never took hold.

As I read instructions on EmergenC later, you are only to take one in a day.

gershun - I hope you find it is improving. Would not be surprised if it doesn't feel right for a while yet. The toes I hurt about the same time are only now starting to look and feel normal and they weren't broken.

cw - story of my life with my allergies. I agree with zinc and vit C, and hot lemon, netipots and whatever you can think of. Xlear nasal spray helps too. What about gargling to clear up your throat?

Willie, we do vitamin C bombs when we feel the creepy cruds coming on. Like 10,000 mg daily.

Hope you beat it before it takes hold.

Gershun, where is your break?

I rolled my foot hiking which sprained the ligaments in the side of my foot. Then my 4th metatarsal broke when I took a puck off my skate. I wore a short walking boot for the usual 6-8 week (was maybe 5 years ago - I forget) and was told to be reasonable with my level of activity and elevate my foot. The area still ached occasionally for about a year. The ortho advised me to wear hiking boots laced snugly with full ankle support so I wouldn’t roll my foot again as some laxity would leave it susceptible to re-injury. Consider avoiding flexible shoes that don’t support your foot well for a while after you’ve given the boot the boot. Good luck healing!

Grab that herbal cough drop with lemon, zinc, and honey Cwillie.
Usually found at the bottom of a utility drawer in the house.

Oh crap, my nose is starting to drip and there's a little something going on in my throat, I think I'm coming down with something. 🤧🤒 I'm gonna get out the neti pot and see what else I've got in the cupboard to try and ward this off.

Elevate your foot, still following the written advice you were given.
Ice it.
The reason for the orthopedic boot is if you must move around, you won't put weight on the fracture. Crutches help too.
I can't help but thinking if you are not happy with the boot and cannot tolerate it, (wore my boot only a few times), that you are not supporting your foot properly, like maybe wrap it with an Ace elastic bandage.
Call the main nurse helpline for more instructions specific to you, or if you have any new symptoms.
Who advised you to do range of motion exercises this early? Wish I knew more how to help you.
Everything I read is that it is common for the foot to be swelling still. Recall that your doctor said it is not an injury that will need surgery. (That's encouraging!).

Keep calling until you get the answers you need to heal. Don't feel like you are a burden. You are just someone more interested and committed to the proper healing than most patients, who are content to take pain meds and remain uninformed. imo.

No Send, in fact it's more like a dull achy stiffness in my foot only. If I don't do my range of motion movements it feels like its asleep which leads me to think there may be some circulatory damage? Or maybe this is normal? I've never been here before so I don't know.

I compare my fractured foot to my good foot and I notice I can't see most of my veins in the fractured foot whereas my good foot you can see all of my veins. So it must still be swollen even after 5 weeks.

Gershun,
Some of us thought it would be a kindness to get you through the most painful part of your healing.

The real estimated healing time is: (factoid can be googled).....
" A typical foot fracture takes 6 to 8 weeks to completely heal and may take even longer. The good news is that the pain will subside earlier than that and you'll be able to walk with a cast or orthopedic shoe while you heal."

Be sure to rest the broken foot. Keep it up.

Do you have pain anywhere else, like further up the ankle or leg?

💖

Thx Glad, I have my follow up visit with the orthopedic doc in early January. I'm going to discuss that with her. Hopefully she is a little more forthcoming with advice for me than she was at my initial visit. Plus now I know a little more so I'll have more questions for her. When I went the first time I was hopeful and figured she knew what she was talking about. I'd like to get an MRI done on my foot too cause I believe that there may be more soft tissue damage or even possibly nerve damage which won't show up on an x-ray.

I'll give it the full six weeks first.

One neat thing happened last night. I was dreaming that I was in my old bed at the home I grew up in. I was smelling the sheets, trying to find my mom's scent and was crying and saying I miss you so much mom. Then suddenly I felt someone pulling the blanket over me. I'm sure it was my mom. I said I love you to her and she said it back. In the dream that is. I woke up feeling comforted.

Gershun, six weeks is average, I am sure. It will get better. Will doc prescribe PT and/or OT? Take it easy on yourself.

So, I guess it's gonna take a while to heal. It's funny how six weeks seemed to be the magic time period I was given by everyone including the medical supply place where I got my boot. There was a man there who had suffered the exact same injury as me and he said "Six Weeks!" with a big smile on his face. Well it will be six weeks next Thursday and I'm not holding out much hope that I'll be good to go then.

I'm very depressed right now. I feel like the wind has been blown right out of my sails that's for sure. I never fractured anything before this and if someone had told me that this was what it's like I would have been a lot more careful in life. Not that this was caused by me being careless but who knows. Sigh...........

97yroldmom said "It still took a good while to heal"

This exactly.
We are immersed in a culture that expects people to shrug off injuries and get on with it because TV and movies (and to some extent professional sports figures with their access to tailored rehab and sports doctors) have given us unrealistic expectations, even though I was a young woman at the time it took me MONTHS to heal from my broken ankle and YEARS before it completely stopped bothering me.

Gershun
My friend stumped her toe one night. It was red and swollen. Podiatrist said it was broken and put her in a boot. Told her not to walk.
Later she was told by a diff doc that exercise helps it heal.
It is confusing.
She opted for more exercise. She normally does 10K + steps per day so it was hard for her to stay off of it. It still took a good while to heal.
I sent you a link on the subject.

Hi Willie, Thx for asking.

I don't know how my foot is to be honest. I've been staying off of it now for almost 5 weeks. Doing my range of motion exercises. No one told me I could do these, as in doctors but I really didn't get any proper advise from the orthopedic doctor, my doctor, the emergency room doctor. So I'm winging it. It was feeling really stiff and I was getting pins and needles sensations so I felt it best to move it as much as I can carefully to get the circulation moving again.

The ER doctor said keep walking on it (with a boot) as much as you can. Don't sit on the couch for the next 6 weeks he said. The ortho doc said stay off of it for six weeks and let your pain be your guide as to when to start trying to walk on it. My doc said stay off of if for 6 to 8 weeks. I asked about range of motion exercises and he said let pain be your guide.

So, today while letting pain be my guide I put full weight on it and it hurt still. I'm frustrated as hell Willie. I've been stuck inside now for almost 5 weeks except for small jaunts in the car when hubs is available to drive me somewhere. Other than that I am in a really Grinchy mood.

We had a big winter storm here in Vancouver last night and I guess it's best to be in. They're advising everyone to stay in if you don't need to go anywhere.

Hey Gershun, how's the foot?

Are you sick of winter yet?❄️☃️🥶❄️❄️(Stay safe)

Every child should enjoy at least one day of waking up to a winter wonderland, learning to bundle up, build a snowman, make snow angels and have a snowball fight.

I remember the one day in my childhood, growing up in Las Vegas NV didn't offer many snow days, I am sure much like NOLO. So it is a joyous memory.

Need, I am with you, under 60° here is fridges winter weather and the locals are bundled up. (That's how we know the Snowbirds, they are wearing shorts and golf shirts. :-)

Polar, Tucson has the southern most ski resort in the USA. 90 minutes from the Mexico boarder.

NeedHelp, snow in New Orleans in 1963? Was that the last time? Or how often? I didn't know it could snow so far south in the US,

All that crappy weather is due hear on Christmas eve. This is exactly why I hate the expectation to get together this time of year.

In 1963, on New Year’s Eve we had a fair amount of snow in New Orleans.

My brothers and I wanted to go play in the snow. My mom thought it was too cold for us to be out in the snow.

My dad told her to bundle us up. So, she did. We were so excited to see snow I don’t think we even cared about being cold.

My dad taught us to build a snowman. It’s one of my favorite memories with my dad. When we went inside mom made hot cocoa for us to drink.

Glad,

My daughter is visiting a friend in Dubuque, Iowa. She called me a short while ago and said that it’s cold there right now. It’s 25 but feels like 16. She says they have high humidity like we do so it feels colder there.

Who remembers wearing pajamas with feet as a child? I loved mine. I wish I still had a pair when it gets chilly. They make them for adults. 😊

I think heated flooring is brilliant in really cold climates. Our weather doesn’t warrant having that here but if I lived in a freezing cold climate I would love heated floors.

I do have a fireplace! Of course, it doesn’t get used much here. It’s pretty though and the stockings are hung. 😊

😤😤😬😬😱😱👙👙

Glad,

Brrrrrrrrr!

Hey, I am a southern gal. If temperatures go below 60 I get chilly!

NHWM, Be grateful, we have a watch for wind chill down to -50 for Wednesday going into Thursday and Friday.