Broken Ankle - tips to make life easier?

Hi all. Last weekend I had myself a little accident. My partner and I both do TaeKwonDo and during one of excersises I broke my ankle. I was in hospital for a few days and had to have surgery to fix the ankle, but now I find myself home alone and going insane with boredom.
All being well, I plan on going back to work in just over a week ( only for a few hours a day as my work is office based) but until then I'm stuck here.

The reason for my posting is, for anyone who has been in a similar position you know that even he simplest tasks become very difficult on crutches and wondered if anyone had found any tips that made life a little simpler to get by day to day. So far, the best tip I found was for making a cup of tea in a travel coffee mug. These hold far more than a mug so I don't need to fill it. I can then put the lid on, wrap it in a carrier bag and hobble into my living room to enjoy it in comfort!

Please feel free to share your tips and if you want to share the details of your injury so I don't feel like such a twonk then go ahead!

One the bright side, since being injured I seem to have amassed quite a collection of Phalaenopsis orchids that people have bought me as a get well gift :-p

 

Sorry to see you are in the wars. Hopefully things will mend well and you will be back on the road again soon. When recovering from replacement hip surgery I had 1 of those grabber stick things which was very useful for picking stuff up off the floor/out of easy reach. I got really quite adept with it when recovering with my 2nd hip and could even put my socks on with it.
Can offer absolutely no advice re the Orchids as I am instant death to any I have been given!

 

In my younger days I did my ankle too. I was drunk and being young!
I ended up using a wheeled office chair to put my leg from the knee down on and sort of scooted around like that. Like kneeling on it with one leg. You do have to be careful with it though.
It can be so frustrating. I hope you heal quickly.

 

Haha, I hadn't thought about it until now!

The flask idea is awesome. Can't believe I hadn't thought of it sooner.

 

Best advice I can think off is don't do TaeKwonDo excercises
Touch wood I have only ever broken a toe , but my friends who have been plastered up say that a back scratcher is invaluable to get down the side of the plaster when you get an itch.

 

Oh no, sorry to hear that. I did break my ankle but i was far to young to even remember it, so cant give you much advice, other then to have everything you need at hand, remote, water, pain pills, books, magazines.

Hope you heal quickly.

 

Hi Coolsox and sorry to hear of your misfortune.

Luckily I have never broken anything but in 1986 I was hospitalised for four days and then 'bedridden' for many days, but as we lived in an old cottage in Bucks I moved myself downstairs (for safety sake, bathroom was downstairs) whilst t'other half was at work. He was brilliant and got everything organised for me in the kitchen, including sandwiches for lunch. So, my advice is, have everything to hand that you may need throughout the day.

Hope you get back on your feet soon ...

 

.........Sorry to hear of your accident Coolsox.....Get well soon

 

That was the first problem I solved! There is not much room down the side of the cast, but I found the best item is a metal kebab skewer. Sounds dangerous, but I insert the ring shaped handle end and it is perfect for the job.

 

Thanks everyone for your get well wishes. It's unfortunate, but I count myself very lucky. Over the last week I've spent a few days in hospital and made repeat visits back for aftercare. I've seen lots of elderly people in a far worse state than me. For me it's just an inconvenience but I cannot imagine how an 80 year old would cope.

 

Hope your ankle heals soon @Coolsox!
I've never broken my ankle but I did tear ligaments in one when I was 15. I kept off it for about 2 weeks then gradually put more weight on it etc. As for tips, I found that anything I could do on my backside was a winner...

 

Hope you feel better soon.

 

I broke mine playing rugby. I knew it was serious as I was virtually looking at the studs on my boot when I propped myself up and looked down to see what the pain was all about

I became very good at poking a hostess trolley around the house with my knee. Get yourself a good mechanical grab too, as whatever you want is never within reach of where you're sat or laying.