Broken Heel and surgery coming up

Just thought I'd put this out there--be careful on a ladder!!!

It's been two weeks now since it happened. I was trimming one of our queen palms in the backyard, up on the extension ladder to do so. As the frond I was trimming broke off, it hit one side of the ladder and it twisted and started to go down.

I made what was probably the smartest split-second decision to wrap my arms around the trunk of the palm instead of going backwards with the ladder; I was above a concrete patio and on the edge of it was a planter with large river rocks. I held on for a few seconds before I lost my grip and went straight down--HARD. My left foot took the brunt of it and started to hurt like hell.

My wife came out, helped me onto my good foot, and drove me to the ER. My left heel is broken from this, but my decision to grab the trunk meant I didn't land on my back or head, so no spine injury or head injury. Here's the X-ray:


I've been on pain medications since, saw the orthopedist the Monday after and have been going through getting it dealt with. They wanted to wait a minimum of a week before doing much beyond X-rays because they needed to let the swelling go down. I had a CT scan of it and saw the orthopedist two days ago to review that.

The calcaneous (heel bone) is in four pieces right now. Those pieces are all displaced in weird ways, so I go in Tuesday morning to have screws and plates put in to fix it back in the right position. I'm both looking forward to this (to get the heel to stop hurting constantly) and not looking forward to it (it's surgery after all, full general anesthetic, etc.).

It will be a few days off of work after the surgery, fortunately I have a good job where this isn't an issue and also have really good insurance. Like I said, I don't have a head injury or back injury, so things could have been a lot worse. Apparently, the wife of one of my coworkers works in a different ER from the one I went to and the same day I did this, someone came in falling from same sort of height off a ladder. The difference was that he hit his head; he didn't survive.

To those of you who get on a ladder for any reason, take care!!!

I'm sorry as well. I had planter fasciitis surgery last year and my wife had a broken ankle and a small fracture of her heel three years ago. I was required to take three weeks off work and had special boots for weeks after. My wife is a happy homemaker, had a steel rod and some screws put in and she was told to stay off her feet as well for a month. She had a little scooter so she didn't use her foot for two weeks and then boots. Like you, she was in pain for a week as they wouldn't operate until the swelling went down.

On the bright side, she can predict rain pretty well!

Thanks for the ladder tip. I had a close call years ago but didn't fall. If you haven't done so and want a laugh, watch Christmas Vacation with Chevy Chase or find the Christmas Vacation ladder scene on YouTube. Might be too soon. Best of luck to you and I hope you heal fast. You will have lots of time to read.

Oh man I hope you heal up soon.
Broken bones requiring surgery is never fun.

Been there, still feeling the effects. Broke my ankle really badly in 2015 requiring both internal and external fixation. Still feel very intense pain in that joint, my plates and screws, and where one of the external fixator rods was inserted and removed on my foot. Had and still have no insurance so unfortunately paying a fortune.

Hopefully your surgery goes well, very lucky the joint wasn't involved.
Best wishes!

Wishing you a speedy & comfortable recovery!

BTW Lots of personal info on that X-Ray you should blurr out.

I'm sorry to hear about your mishap but I too am glad you didn't fall backwards with the ladder. My wife is still in the rehab/nursing home trying to overcome her spine infection. I think she has a long way to go and could be there another month. She doesn't seem to be making much progress where the pain is concerned. You should do a lot better because the bone in your foot isn't infected.

I broke both my tibia and fibula when I was 14. I was hit by a car and I didn't go back to school for six months. We do find strange ways to damage ourselves!

jeez! i've only been ill with viruses and HS flarings inbetween for about two months. you guys have all the fun :biggrin:
oh, and my grandad died after falling fom a ladder....not that that helps anyone

Well, surgery is done and I'm home. Seven screws and a plate in my heel, and they want me off work until at least December! Damn, gonna have to negotiate that one with the doctor!

Yeah, that's a long time. My wife is in a rehab/nursing home fighting an infection, one of the super bugs. She's in a lot of pain and has a lot of nausea from the antibiotics. I'm hoping she won't be there until December, but at this point, I have no idea. I keep expecting her to feel better, but so far, she hasn't. You should do well though as the bones will heal.