Lee (Longblade)

[JohnR]

Lee, hoping for a speedy and complete recovery, prayers sent for you and your parents.

[djknife13]

Praying for you Lee, and your family. ___Dave

[treefarmer]

Lee,
Sorry to hear of your broken ankle. Praying the planned surgery goes well and you will be back in the saddle soon.
Treefarmer

[Tony_Wood]

Prayers you way Lee.

[whitebuffalo58]

Prayers for a speedy recovery, Lee.

I've got a few screws holding my ol' bones together, too. Six months after the surgery, my doctor told me I had a "screw loose". They tightened up one in my ankle, but to this day, I'm still not sure if that's the one he was talkin' about.

Get better soon,


WB

[glennbad]

You've got a great support network here, Lee. If you're feeling down, we're all here to listen.

[Duffer]

Lee I am sorry to hear about your injury and troubles. Praying for your speedy healing and comfort! Also, hope your surgery goes well!
All the best!

[LongBlade]

Thanks again my friends for the prayers and well wishes

Surgery went fine yesterday - glad that part is over - I did need 5 screws and a plate to stabilize the bone - guess I did a pretty good job snapping it - probably looked like a bad piece of stag when surgeon saw it ... now resting relatively comfortably but the nerve block from my knee to ankle wore off today so the pain level has increased but pain is being kept under control by pain meds for the next few days... Thank goodness my wife is a real "gem" - I am unable to leave the bed much except for a few very short times a day to prevent clotting and am totally dependent on her help for all... As I am not one to sit still very long and truly dislike being dependent on help I am learning how to take deep breaths and mediate & stay distracted - lots of reading, abit of TV, and thinking about some new writing projects as well - even will attempt to tie some fishing flies if I can explain to my wife what I need from my studio ... The best part is my wife rented a hospital bed which she had put next to our large bedroom window looking out into the forest and the TV in view for another distraction- and the bed is fully adjustable electronically from head to toe ... Its going to be a 3 month haul of rest and rehab through physical therapy which starts about one month out - no weight bearing at all for one month on the leg... I'll keep you all updated... thanks again and it is really nice to have the AAPK family here ...

[bestgear]

Godspeed Lee. Having a "gem" at home will make the recovery bearable - just remember to properly thank her. I could use some size 10 BWO's for opening day in April if your looking for projects at the vice. Sending much love and prayers your way for total healing.

[glennbad]

Glad to hear everything went well, Lee! Be nice to your gal, she sounds like a keeper.

Sounds like you have some ideas to keep yourself busy. I know, it's frustrating having to sit/lay there and not do anything.

Stay positive, bud!

[whitebuffalo58]

Room service, a comfy bed in a room with a view, all the TV you want, plenty of reading material?!! Three months is a long time, but short term...?


WB

[RobesonsRme.com]

Glad to hear the surgery went well.

The lower 1/3 of the tibia has a notoriously poor blood supply, so it heals slowly. Be patient.

Follow dr's advice re' blood clotting or thrombosis preventives and precautions. Don't lay abed all day and while you are laying there, dorsi-flex and hyper-extend both feet episodically to work the calf muscles. That works the "venous pump" in your lower legs.

I'm a bit surprised they haven't put intermittent compression device on your legs.

Charlie

[LongBlade]

Thanks for the kind words Tom, Glen,WB and Charlie ... Yes my wife is a keeper ...

Glad to hear the surgery went well.

The lower 1/3 of the tibia has a notoriously poor blood supply, so it heals slowly. Be patient.

Follow dr's advice re' blood clotting or thrombosis preventives and precautions. Don't lay abed all day and while you are laying there, dorsi-flex and hyper-extend both feet episodically to work the calf muscles. That works the "venous pump" in your lower legs.

I'm a bit surprised they haven't put intermittent compression device on your legs.

Charlie

Charlie -

It was the fibula and not tibia but nonetheless both do not have good blood supply..... nor do ligaments and tendons...

Importantly and with all due respect Charlie as your heart is in the right place and you give great advice - Thank you! ---- BUT I need to note the following which I never discussed on AAPK for different reasons -

I have my doctoral degree from the Medical College of PA - I went into research (R&D) and not clinical practice - my area of expertise was Neuropsychopharmacology - my career was focused on drug development for psychiatry and cognitive disorders where there is indeed great medical need... while my work focused on understanding the complex organ called the "brain" I am very familiar with the medical physiology/biochemistry of the body as a whole... I was the Therapeutic Area Head for Psychiatry and was inducted into the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology for significant research contributions to the field. I am now retired - I still consult on occasion & when necessary with major pharmaceutical corporations and start-up companies ...

I never noted any of this regarding my career because I did not feel it was pertinent to knife discussions .. All this is fairly ironic because my father suffers from severe progressive dementia (similar symptomology but in a sense worse than Alzheimer's as he additionally lost his ability to remember how to speak...)....

Charlie - I appreciate your concern on possible clotting - I discussed it with my surgeon as well -

First I am on 81 mg of aspirin BID (baby aspirin) - I do need to get up at least 3 times a day and while I am in bed with leg up I do need to dorsi-flex and hyper-flex both legs as one should do on long airplane rides (but absolutely no weight bearing on broken leg so it is difficult and need to be gentle moving that leg in terms of inducing venous pumping).. My cast over my incision extends from my toes to my knee on my injured leg - the cast is very solid & heavy for protection and to keep all from not moving... that is important to recovery...

In addition the possibility, though low, for infection is also being watched closely....

Again I appreciate all the kind words and concern from all... My chin is up and I will get through this...

I will continue to update all on this thread - and appreciate everyone's support!!

[doglegg]

Thanks for the info, I always enjoy hearing about the members here. I had some advice from when I broke my ankle but I think now I will keep it to myself. I will still pray that all heals well and that you get back on your feet. I think wives are about the best thing the Lord ever made.

[LongBlade]

Thanks doglegg

Please do share the advice you were given if you like - it is always interesting to me to hear how Dr's advice can differ ... I am only lucky in the sense that I know when the advice given is sound or nonsense but please know I do not have the expertise or knowledge base of the specialized physicians such as cardiologists etc but can converse on the same level as psychiatrists and neurologists... I am lucky to understand more when I see a physician for personal health reasons because of my education and career... it keeps them on their toes too

Importantly I really had mixed feelings about sharing my career on this forum as it makes no difference what our backgrounds are - and I have great respect for every member and their background though we can differ dramatically - I too find backgrounds interesting but not important in the long run here ... On AAPK we are all the same "brothers from another mother" - we all love knives and the best part to me is the wonderful friendships we all have made just based on knives - knife people are caring and generous folks with few exception - a great culture of people ... Honestly my best friends throughout my life were not those who had similar careers to me ... I have no ego but unfortunately many I did work with had large egos which is not something I look at fondly.... Those with the egos give the rest of us bad press .. Those who know me personally would never have guessed my background in a million years

Thanks for the prayers of healing and indeed wives are about the best thing the Lord created - I agree 200% ..

[FRJ]

The Doctor is in.

[RobesonsRme.com]

5 C's

Charlie

[KAW]

Lee... I just discovered this thread. I'm sorry to hear about your situation.
I hope all is going well as can be during your recovery & that it will a speedy recovery as can be.
I always enjoy your posts here. I guess one silver lining is you have more time to visit the board which will be a benefit to us here.

[RalphAlsip]

I have my doctoral degree from the Medical College of PA - while my work focused on understanding the complex organ called the "brain" I am very familiar with the medical physiology/biochemistry of the body as a whole

Lee can you tell me if I have Knife Fever?

Seriously, well wishes and prayers for a speedy and comfortable recovery.

[LongBlade]

Thanks very much Ken and Jerry - I truly appreciate the well wishes!!! ...

Ken - I'll be online when I can for sure - and thanks for the kind comments!!

Jerry - Yes indeed the knife fever is approaching dangerous levels ... I'm doing my best to find something to score given I missed the NCCA show last week - I need to get the fever under control ...

[gsmith7158]

Lee I suffered a broken ankle many years ago and I do not envy you. It's not a serious sounding malady But it is quite debilitating and even after the doctor gives you the okay for cast removal it just doesn't feel right. Well wishes for your recovery!

[LongBlade]

Thanks very much Greg ... you know from which I speak given you had the same long ago - "debilitating" - no doubt as I'm going pretty stir crazy but doing my best to keep distracted... I am getting pretty good on crutches and my knee scooter ... but I am on my back with foot elevated 23 1/2 hrs a day....

Next week I get stitches removed which are under my cast (so haven't seen the incision yet ) but a new cast will be done again after the stitches come out - RE: -your comment about feeling not right eventually with no cast - I guess that is why the orthopedist said Physical Therapy will strengthen and teach me how to walk again ... and I thought I learned how to walk when I was 2 years old ... PT still doesn't start for another 3-4 weeks but will have a walking cast at that time...

(PS - My orthopedic surgeon has sports medicine as his specialty and a good reputation (very compassionate and a nice guy - that separates good from bad physicians in many cases) - given athletes often break ankles etc in contact sports and he has alot of experience - I have complete faith in him to get me back on track - and the PT rehab center only deals with patients such as myself recovering from broken ankles etc which is important ... I actually am looking forward to working hard in PT to get myself on the road again ...

[FRJ]

All the best, Lee!!

[philco]

Lee I've been able to predict snow ever since I broke my ankle in 1972. Unfortunately I've never been able to figure out how to market that skill.

[Quick Steel]

Wishing you a quick recovery LongBlade.