How do you prep for this? Sprained my right ankle then completely obliterated my left

[American123]

Well you see, if you willingly put yourself in a wheelchair and rolled yourself around instead of walked, you would have less likely fallen and broken your ankle.

I'm just pulling your leg (pun intended)

 

[eldbillbo]

How do you prep for this? Sprained my right ankle then completely obliterated my left

 

[Knebel]

Have you recovered yet? My wife did something very similar a few years back. Tripped on a tombstone on her grandmas funeral. I heared it snap lime celery and thought her heel broke off. We had to fly back home 2 days later from california, medical care was the worst ever and caused complications and swelling later on... she had to have 2 surgeries and a external fixator for 6 months beforehand just because they didnt want to fix it in the fracture clinic there. After she had her plates installed she was in a wheelchair for 3months. We even did a hawaii trip and I pushed her in a wheelchair the entire trip (couldnt cancel, it was a company trip).

Anyway..... I feel for you, she has early arthritis in that foot now beacuse of the damage. How do you prep for that??? Go to the gym for upper arm strenght. Wear boots that support your ankle. I'm prone to twist my ankle and whenever I go to uneven terrain, I wear one of those ankle support bracelets. Most importantly:

DONT WEAR HEELS ON THE GRASS LOL.

 

[sobo]

DONT WEAR HEELS ON THE GRASS

I'll try and remember that...

 

[Mygrainman]

If you read the OP point is Preping for a grid down… no rule of law situation.
I read/listen to a lot of prepper and post apocalyptic survival books. If say a Rona x1,000 coupled with a solar flare or a a few well timed and placed EMP's put us back a few hundred years… an injury or health issue that normally would be resolved in a night at the ER… would then be a death sentence without the proper prepping. But what level would that take?
@Bushman hit the nail on the head.

No, it would be possible in a prepping group. Surviving alone is near impossible. A group that has medical experts, carpenters, mechanics, trigger pullers, homesteaders, etc.

James Wesley Rawles "Patriots" series of books is a great blueprint. If you are into this sort of thing you probably already read it… if not, I highly recommend you do. It's available on Audible. My Audible library is full of good dystopian-post apocalypse-prepper-fiction. In that situation, when there may only be a few dozen people more or less…Socialism would actually work… that is, until until the population grew to the point where everybody no longer knows everybody else… then forget about it. It would take more than an apocalypse to fix the inherent flaws of humanity.

 

[sobo]

James Wesley Rawles "Patriots" series of books is a great blueprint. If you are into this sort of thing you probably already read it… if not, I highly recommend you do. It's available on Audible.

Read 'em all. In paperback. I just like the feel of turning real pages. Call me a Luddite...

Oh, and you forgot the comma between Wesley and Rawles...

 

[Mygrainman]

OK…I've been getting a lot of interest in the current state of my ankle… so I'll take the opportunity to vent my sob story…get your tissues ready.

The first surgery to fix my ankle put me back together, but the screws and plate were causing a lot of irritation so I had my last surgery to remove all the screws and hardware… all but the one causing the most grief. It is still very much in there(more later)… anyway this was right before China shut the world down, so I didn't go to physical therapy, or to any follow up appointments.
When things started calming down, I went back to have it checked and the doctor said he had never seen such rapid deterioration. I have very little range of motion,It takes a few minutes every morning before I can put any weight on it, then depending on the day/position of the screw… I put on one of 3 braces and walk as little as possible during the day. The one that works best isn't neuropathy friendly so I only wear it when I have a lot of walking to do. I can't walk on uneven ground without a cane, my balance is shot, and I've gained 100lbs due to inactivity. My left calf muscle is way smaller than my right now.. so now I can no longer dunk a basketball.

Not sure why my X-ray has a plaid effect(clears up if you click on it)but there is a healthy ankle on the left, and mine as of early January…


The screw has worked it's way into the joint, and the joint is extremely arthritic with very little cartilage left. Bone on Bone on titanium. Lovely.
Doc said removing the screw is very risky/difficult, and that's why he wanted to fuse it at the same time. And I'm too young for ankle replacement.. my thought… give me a new titanium robotic super hero ankle dammit! Went for a second opinion and second doc said the same thing, so I relented and agreed to the fusion but I put it off to try to get things in order before I was completely out of commission for a couple months. Then my truck blew up, and took 4g out of my pocket to fix..and So much more as I'll explain, but I'm Glad I haven't done it yet.. I spoke to a fellow at a gun show the other day that gave me the name of a doc that specializes in this stuff, and replaced his ankle even though he is closer to my age. Im going into my primary care Tuesday to ask for a referral. Fingers crossed!!!! I have a lot riding on getting my mobility back. Last year I got in a nasty car accident that gave me a serious concussion and a broken vertebrae, then a week later was in the hospital again for a week with a serious lung issue. Oddly the lung issue caused the car accident not the other way around. Massive pain spasm made me lose control and I hit a driveway crossing a drainage ditch at 50+ MPH. Caught some serious air..three times on three driveways. then eventually rolled to a stop upside down. Ankle, Lungs, post concussion, neuropathy, oh and just diagnosed with carpal tunnel in my right wrist..
All adds up to I can't work a normal job.
My wife barely makes enough to pay the bills, but I was able to supplement by buying and selling at gun shows and flipping parts online. I "worked"with my feet up, and at my leisure…but thanks to the current state of things, that is no longer paying out. I miss the trump economy. But at least with trump out of office everybody is now united as equals, nobody is getting offended, and the streets are safe again. The challenges just keep coming…My mother has Alzheimer's, and Dad was just diagnosed with cancer on top of Parkinson's and can't care for her anymore… so he has to sell the house I was renting from him for 20 years to pay for care. The current housing market will net enough to go a long way in taking care of mom and dad… but finding a decent place to buy or rent right now is IMPOSSIBLE. So we bought an RV and parked it on my in-laws property. It's a very nice trailer..and between it and a shipping container parked next to it…there is plenty of room for the me wife and our little mutt. Truthfully we are actually quite comfortable.. what was a temporary solution, is looking more and more like a new lifestyle that makes sense for us. The kids are both grown, and we have no reason(other than health and money) not to be full time RVers. The initial investment put us deeply in debt, but our monthly payments and bills are far less, so eventually we should come out ahead. Honestly even though it's been a hell of a couple of years, I still feel very blessed. No matter how bad things get, they could be much worse. I endured and overcame some of the worst pain imaginable and found strength I didn't think possible. If I can survive all that, get this ankle fixed, and fixed right… literally get back on my feet….the rest should be a cake walk by comparison. If not I'll figure it out… again.

 

[Bushman]

If you read the OP point is Preping for a grid down… no rule of law situation.
I read/listen to a lot of prepper and post apocalyptic survival books. If say a Rona x1,000 coupled with a solar flare or a a few well timed and placed EMP's put us back a few hundred years… an injury or health issue that normally would be resolved in a night at the ER… would then be a death sentence without the proper prepping. But what level would that take?
@Bushman hit the nail on the head.

James Wesley Rawles "Patriots" series of books is a great blueprint. If you are into this sort of thing you probably already read it… if not, I highly recommend you do. It's available on Audible. My Audible library is full of good dystopian-post apocalypse-prepper-fiction. In that situation, when there may only be a few dozen people more or less…Socialism would actually work… that is, until until the population grew to the point where everybody no longer knows everybody else… then forget about it. It would take more than an apocalypse to fix the inherent flaws of humanity.

The same concept of a prepper group applies in both situations

His concern is that he's down and out. Not just now but in SHTF. The group helps cover chores and security in both situations...

No idea what your giant paragraphs have anything to do with whether the prepper group would work in his ankle situation or not, sweet mercy.

 

[Mygrainman]

Read 'em all. In paperback. I just like the feel of turning real pages. Call me a Luddite...

Oh, and you forgot the comma between Wesley and Rawles...

Reading literally puts me to sleep. Nothing better than a long drive listening to good audio books. I turn on the seat heater to relax my back, crank the ac to stay cool, and go. Its therapeutic.
More good prepper/dystopian/post apocalyptic survival reads/listens..

William Forstchen "One Minute After" series… these should be required reading.

Or of course Angry American "Home/survival" series and the spin offs
Josh Gayou "Commune" series
Nicholas Sansbury Smith's "Tracker"series
Tom Abraham's "Traveler" series
Russell Blake "Day After Never" series
Mark Goodwin "American Reset" etc…
Steven Konkoly "Alex Fletcher" series
I was driving while I listen to them all.. some of them twice, as well as most every book in the "Halo" universe… that's a lot of miles!

 

[Knebel]

Oh god. I m sorry to hear. My wife also has two different size leg muscles. This year is the first year she can walk in flipflops again (broke the ankle in 2016). We are just getting back into doing little hijes because she cant do inclines very well. Range if motion is messed up too. I feel like the lack of PT really screwed it up for you, its so much more than just ankle rehabilitation. Your hips/knees/back are all screwed up because of the uneven weight distribution. It's gonna be a loooooong recovery. I'm talking years.

In a situation where there is no medical available... I really dont know. Probably amputate?

 

[Mygrainman]

The same concept of a prepper group applies in both situations

His concern is that he's down and out. Not just now but in SHTF. The group helps cover chores and security in both situations...

No idea what your giant paragraphs have anything to do with whether the prepper group would work in his ankle situation or not, sweet mercy.

I disagree…Pretty sure in a normal rule of law situation, the hospital is still the best choice for a broken bone. Sure after the fact, recovery etc. you may have to call on others for help. But what you call that group(at least in normal rule of law life)is just semantics..

Family, Circle of Friends, The folks in your Church, or yes Prepper Group


by the way "his concern" is my concern… I'm the OP it's my thread I can be long winded if I want to. Also keep in mind, I started this thread 2.5 years ago, and had completely forgot about it until it was resurrected a few days ago.

 

[Knebel]

I forgot to ask, to you have one of those boots for your foot?

 

[Mygrainman]

I had a post op walking boot, but it got lost in the car wreck…I have a special brace that was form fitted to my ankle to immobilize it. It goes on under my shoe. It works really well, but it is makes my neuropathy flair up, so I only wear it when I have to. I have a knee scooter for getting around big events like gun shows, and I use the electric scooter/carts whenever I go shopping.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I agree that a significant injury such as yours in any SHTF time very well can spell doom. I hate to think of the outcome brother.

 

[gunfreak]

I truly feel your pain. While in the military I jacked both ankles. My left has a screw and wire holding it together and on the fifth of August I will have surgery #2 on my right. The MRI showed in looks like string cheese. My advice would be wear boots all the time. I have to otherwise I reroll and end up on crutches. Good luck my friend.

 

[Mygrainman]

I truly feel your pain. While in the military I jacked both ankles. My left has a screw and wire holding it together and on the fifth of August I will have surgery #2 on my right. The MRI showed in looks like string cheese. My advice would be wear boots all the time. I have to otherwise I reroll and end up on crutches. Good luck my friend.

I can't wear boots all the time because I have neuropathy in both feet and tight footwear is very irritating..not diabetes related or anything, I'm just lucky. Idiopathic they call it. If the idiots can find what path to take to fix it, quality of life would be 100x better.

Best wishes on your surgery! Post back here on how it goes.

 

[308]

James Wesley Rawles "Patriots" series of books is a great blueprint. If you are into this sort of thing you probably already read it… if not, I highly recommend you do.

The only problem I had with that book was the lack of caring for others. For example, none of the characters had a disabled veteran neighbor, or parents, grandparents, kids, or any one else for whom they would care. A fun read, but totally selfish in nature and not applicable to those who have concern for others.

 

[billdeserthills]

This exoskeleton is all I can think of

https://assets.newatlas.com/dims4/default/badbb04/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1460x973+135+0/resize/1200x800!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewatlas-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Farchive%2Fsarcos-guardian-4.jpg

 

[Hueco]

Sounds to me like you're an old work horse who broke his leg.

If we're talking about this event after TEOTWAWKI...well, would you like that leg amputated or should we just...

You're call.

How to prevent such an event? Only thing I can think of is constant vigilance and a catastrophe reduction mindset: do you use the handrail going up and down the stairs EVERY time, regardless if that means extra trips to carry stuff? Did you get rid of the carpet on those stairs and replace with grip tape? Are they up to code? Have you considered ramps instead of stairs?

I don't expect an answer, just trying to make my point. It's like baby proofing a house: think up every stupid thing that might cause you grief (or kill you) and remove it from the equation. Change your behavior to avoid scenarios still present.

And, in your case, keep a good steak in the freezer in case it's the last one left...you may be wanting it about now.

 

[Longwalkhome]

Just to give an opinion on how to prepare. The problem I see with old folks is they refuse to accept they are getting old so they harm themselves.

Old folks like me need to use a cane to walk but most old folks are afraid it makes them look old.

A cane or walking stick is a tool that helps you navigate uneven ground. It's the third foot that makes you steady so you don't trip and fall. Folks use a cane to recover but just won't use one day to day to keep from being injured.

Use a cane before you are forced to, I carry one every day and don't have to but it's a good tool to walk with and defend yourself with. Look up cane defense on you tube.

99% of the folks here won't listen and will fall and have a bad injury, break a wrist like I did.