Our PB&J Adventure Book

I broke my foot.

In what feels like a unfortunate series of events... I broke (technically fractured) my right foot! Read on to find out the whole story and what this means for everything ahead...

Don’t Jinx It

We were having an oddly smooth start to our Friday morning. When you have a toddler it’s generally pretty chaotic, someone is rushing to finish up, there are tantrums about wearing pants... but for some reason it was a good morning. We were all miraculously all ready, on time and on track to get where we all needed to go. PB even commented moments before, “Wow! We’re actually doing a good job getting out of the house!”. My next words have come back to haunt me: “don’t jinx it”.

Five minutes later I was on the ground crying in pain with a broken foot.

That doesn’t feel right

So here’s how it went down. We were heading out of the house to get our day started. I was setting up Ben in my own car in the driveway and PB was getting ready to leave in his  car which was in the garage. Once Ben was all buckled in and we were ready to go I noticed my trunk cover was all the way up and blocking my review window. So as any logical person would do, I hopped out of the car and went to the trunk to adjust it. Then it happened. Our driveway has a little ledge that leads to a soft flower/moss patch and my foot must have caught the edge and rolled (hard) enough that I fell over onto the concrete. Ouch is an understatement.

I immediately felt searing pain and tears trickled down my face. I’ve been told before from my doctor that I have a high pain tolerance, so to feel the immense pain in that moment I just knew something was off. 

Crazy Driveway Lady

My initial thoughts immediately went to "I just broke my ankle". Things were becoming a blur, there was intense pain, lots of confusion, but in the middle of the chaos I snapped back into mom mode. My son was still strapped in his car seat and my husband was in the garage about to back up with no clue about what had just happened, so I had to act quick. I dragged myself across the driveway to get into sight view of PB as he was backing out of the garage. I started waving my hands like a crazy lady just trying to get his attention and figured that he’s either going to run me over or see that I need help. Thankfully the latter happened.

I’ll be 100% honest and say that PB isn’t the best in emergency situations but he pulled through and managed to get Ben safely inside the house and carried me in right after.

You’re Back!

Thankfully, we managed to get an appointment at our local Urgent Care the same day of the fall so we didn’t have to go to the ER. The same doctor who treated me for my broken toe that happened on the same cursed foot...saw me again and she said “again?! Same foot!”. X-rays were done and when she walked in with the sad face we knew it wasn’t good. She showed us the photos and apparently I had a sprain AND a fracture on my foot. Noooooo! Because of the nature of the break she referred us to an orthopedic specialist to get a better look at everything.

Orthopedic Visit

I don't have a good track record when it comes to being referred to "specialists". LOL. In my previous experiences meeting with these specialized doctors has always resulted in some form of bad news or something more serious. THANKFULLY this time was different. We were met by the kindest Orthopedic doctor. She examined my x-rays, my physical range of motion, and a few other details about how the fall happened, along with some other things with the exam. I was fully preparing myself to hear things like "hard cast", "long recovery", "non weight bearing" and the worst "surgery".... but what came next was such a sigh of relief and a surprise: good news!

Diagnosis

The doctor smiled warmly and said that what I have is something called a Navicular Avulsion Fracture. When I fell, my ankle rolled so hard that the ligament surrounded it basically "tore off" a tiny piece of my bone. OUCH. She said that I did have an ankle sprain, but it should heal up nicely in due time. As for that little bone chip fracture? It should also heal up nicely due to the location and size. 

Treatment & Recovery

She bore even more good news, that I wouldn't need any surgery, no physical therapy as long as I continue to heal as is, and no hard cast! I have to continue using my trusty boot, but can start to bear weight (walk) using the boot as long as comfort and pain allows. I was given a series of exercises to begin to try once my foot swelling goes down and to try to regain some movement in my ankle and foot. Recovery time is about 6 weeks, but she said with every week I should feel a little stronger! She was confident that I'd be at 100% in no time!

Once I feel strong enough, I also have a smaller lightweight brace to begin to use to further help my recovery and eventual return to the normal walking world. Ready to recover and get back to everyday business!

The Path Ahead

So here I am now fully into recovery mode. I've already taken some steps sans crutches and have been feeling good! It's been a bit tiring, but overall the pain isn't bad and I feel like with every step I'm regaining a little part of my foot strength back. 

I'll (hopefully) be chronicling more on how recovery goes in the future, as well as how Disneyland will be with a broken foot! Because our next trip is coming up so soon into recovery, it'll be best to still consider some type of assistance in regards to walking those many Disney miles. So we're leaning in the direction of renting a push wheelchair to help if I can't handle walking too much or just to rest my still healing foot. So stay tuned for that, too!

I'd like to thank everyone who has reached out with words of get well wishes, shared foot injury stories, as well as helpful and supportive tips during this crazy time! I truly appreciate it!

Thank you so much for reading and here's to the recovery journey ahead! 💜