I fell 300mm

[rat52]

That's right. I fell a mear 300mm(1ft). I was not being silly and capering like a goat from one rocky craig to another.

I had removed the floorboards pulled all the nails from the floor joists and laid them on flat so they wouldn't roll when trod on.

Then SNAP!!! one joist broke, I fell the aforementioned 300mm and my Achilles Tendon went SNAP!!!

Now I am getting around on crutches in a special boot for 2 weeks to see if it is going to repair it's self without surgery and then 6 weeks before I can get back on to work.

It's not the distance you fall. It's the sudden stop at the bottom

The only up side is I will have plenty of time on the computer lurking on this site.

[DavidG]

Ouch:C

[Tankstand]

Sorry to hear of your misfortune Ratty.

I hope it mends itself OK.

Aside from the pain, enjoy the holiday, think of all the planning you'll get done!:D

[tea lady]

Sorry to hear. :C Hope we can keep you diverted from your problems.:D

BTW, My mum fell 3 inches and broke her ankle.:rolleyes:

[mic-d]

I guess you found your Achilles Heel:) Good luck with the recuperation
Cheers
Michael

[silentC]

Could have been worse. I fell 3000mm and smashed my heel bone (being silly and capering like a goat from one rocky craig to another). While I was in hospital, the bloke in the bed opposite had fallen off a 600mm step ladder and done the same thing.

Hopefully your Achilles tendon will mend and you'll be back to normal. Two weeks on crutches waiting for the swelling to go down, five days in hospital, eight more weeks on crutches, three months of physio and 13 years later, my ankle is still stiff and sore every day. I'd imagine my ward mate went through the same. At least I got a good story to tell, he's probably embarrassed to tell people how he did his :).

Hope it knits itself back together without intervention.

[Fuzzie]

Hi Ratty,

You have my sympathy :C, I busted mine 5 years ago when a cabinet I was working on toppled over and I went with it.:aargh:

I guess you are over 50 if they are going to see if it heals without surgery, there seems to be some sort of ageism involved. Mine wasn't going to reattach naturally since there was a 30mm gap between the ends. I had surgery but I also had a pre disposition to clotting that went unnoticed while I was in the cast and boot. I've sort of recovered from the snapped achilles but unfortunately not from the subsequent DVT and post thrombotic syndrome.

If you have swelling that's not going down or new swelling that's starting in new places like your toes, go straight to your doctor/emergency and insist on screening for a DVT.

As Silent says, work on a good story, I felt embarrassed :blush2:telling people I did mine tripping over in the garage, they expected some sort of good weekend warrior story. The story that got the most attention for me was suggesting it happened when the the leg rope on the surfboard snapped back (I don't surf :U)

Take care.

[WoodJunky]

Bugger, Sorry to hear about your misfortune


All the best and hope it mends itself OK.

[prozac]

Hope it all heals well Ratty. I had a fall of only 1.2-1.4m and it has completely changed the course of my life. If you have any scratches or patches of broken skin then keep an eye on them. If they start to go red and get warm get it seen to and don't let anyone tell you it will be alright. Bloody doctors don't know sh...crap about these things, so better to talk to an old nurse. They know more than most doctors on any given day.

[BobL]

Ooo - errgh - that does not sound good. Hope it gets better soon!

[Stuart]

It's always amazing how resilient the human body is, and yet, how easy it is to do significant damage. I fell over in the kitchen the other week, and swore I had broken my elbow (which I landed fully on)

[Fuzzie]

Bloody doctors don't know sh...crap about these things, so better to talk to an old nurse.

Agreed. After my experience I decided that medicine is definitely not a science, it's an art form. You're lucky if your doc is a good artist, more likely just a session oriented hack. If you have a gut feeling something is going wrong, trust it and make sure it gets proper attention.

Nurses aren't much help these days either. In my experience you won't find anybody who'll take much long term interest in your condition until you meet your physio.....

[weisyboy]

my father always says its not teh fall that hurts its teh landing.

sounds painfull whos gunna get ya floor finished now. or is it gunna stay like that?

[rat52]

Thank's for all the sympathy everyone. It's only been 4 days and I'm already starting to go mental with the enforced inactivity.

Having shed withdrawl symtoms already. I'm in the middle of a home reno. The brickies start mon and I had started machining the window sash stock.

I'm starting to realize and appreciate the strength af caracter and determination of disabled people and in particular the athletes. They are awsome!!

[corbs]

Make sure you get as much physio and rehab into it as possible. Most people who sever or partially sever the achillies tendon will walk with a limp. My mum severed hers playing netball and with intensive physio she now walks fine.

[Doughboy]

Hope the recovery is a speedy and painles as possible.

[prozac]

Thank's for all the sympathy everyone. It's only been 4 days and I'm already starting to go mental with the enforced inactivity.

Having shed withdrawl symtoms already. I'm in the middle of a home reno. The brickies start mon and I had started machining the window sash stock.

I'm starting to realize and appreciate the strength af caracter and determination of disabled people and in particular the athletes. They are awsome!!

How's the archiles healing Rat532? Hope it is all going well.

[Pagie]

Surgery consists of a self tapper through the end of the tendon into the bone. some times a tie instead of the screw. Do it yourself maybe.


Peter