I have shattered my foot. I am told that this is the worst of all foot injuries.
I have smashed the Lisfranc joint in my right foot.
As if this is not bad enough, I am told that every other bone in my foot has at least fragments broken off of them.
I went to the PrimaCare unit directly after it happened, they said they could not see anything wrong with my foot. That I only had a ankle sprain.
Two weeks later, I go to the Podiatrist, she takes x-rays and says I should just wrap it. She was a total loon, so I took my films to Sports Doctor, they say Lisfranc so quick, that it makes me nervous.
So I go for a second opinion and the other Sports Doctor says, Lisfranc and other breaks too.
Now I have had a CT scan, they are all amazed that I can walk.
I really do not have much pain. (oddly enough) and I am walking normally.
I am not sure if I should have the screws and pins put in my foot or not.
It appears that what I am supposed to be worried about is arthritis later down the road (I think).
I have had other fractures, over 10 years ago, and I have no arthritis from them.
Now I have to decide if I should have screws and pins put in or not.
I wonder how it will heal if I just leave it alone.
Has anyone else had this experience, and if so, how have you healed?
Thanks,
Rhonda Tatum - Owner
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Hi Kim,
It is very scary and confusing right? It seems that every doctor you go to tells you a completely different story.
My ordeal began when I went to a Prima Care and they said I did not even have a fracture, only a sprain. Go home, keep your foot up, you know usual care for a sprain, and come back and get it checked out when the swelling goes down.
Well two weeks later, the swelling had still not gone down, my foot was as swollen as a boxer's glove. I could hardly walk so I went to the nearest Podiatrist's office, (she turned out to be a freak, spent 3 hours talking to me about how I needed Juice Plus, It would save my life, and was not at all concerned about my foot) She took x-rays, she said I had a mild fracture, and that there was a ossicle bone (wrong!) where it was really the lisfranc joint had broken off. I had other multiple fractures which she also over looked.
She wrapped my foot, and sent me home, after a couple of days it still was looking really bad, I decided to go to a sports doctor.
I arrived at her office with two sets of x-rays (I had to beg the podiatrist to borrow hers, and she said I could only have them for 24 hours to take to my "family" doctor freak) anyway, the sports doctor was shocked, she said I do not know how, or why you are able to walk! She took out her textbook and said look, you have this (Lisfranc) injury, you are textbook, you NEED to have surgery tomorrow, I am calling my fellow surgon, I cannot perform this one. I was like.. uhhh.. uhhh... I will call you back.
The next day I went to another Sports doctor/orthapedic surgon, (kept the x-rays from the podiatrist office, what was the lady going to do, call the x-ray police?) This sports doctor was a bit more "well its too late to get the proper care now" You really should have had the surgery within the first day or two. Its even really too late to put a cast on it. I would suggest surgery, but it really does not matter very much whether you do it now or see if it heals first, I would suggest that you wait a year or so. Arthritis is what you have to worry most about. I am amazed that you are up and walking, and that you walked in here without anything but tennis shoes on.
They were all acting so weird about it that I thought I should talk to my family doctor about it. He immidiatly sent me in for a CT scan. Here are the exact results:
There are complex fractures of the midfoot. The fractures involve the lateral and anterior aspect of the 1st cuneiform. That fracture is markedly comminuted and extends into the 1st cuneiform 1st metatarsal joint space.
There is a commminuted fractures of the second cuneiform. The fracture likewise on its inferior portion extends into the joint space between the 2nd cuneiform and the head of the 2nd metatarsal. The 2nd metatarsal head however does not appear fractured. There is a comminuted fracture of the inferior aspect of the 3rd cuneiform. I do not see where a fracture in the 3rd cuneiform extends into the 3rd cuneiform metatarsal joint space.
There is however a comminuted fracture of the 4th proximal metatarsal. Its articulation with the cuboid has fracture lines traversing into it. Lastly there is a vertical fracture through the cuboid extending superior to inferior and seen both on the axil and coronal images. There is no fracture in the talus but the cuboid fracture does extend to the articular surface of the calcaneus. The calcaneus and tarsal nevicular are intact. No abnormality is seen in the phalanges.
Impression:
1. Complex comminuted fractures of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd cuneiforms.
2. Vertically oriented fracture through the cuboid involving its articular surface with the calcaneus.
3. Comminuted fracture through the head (proximal aspect) of the 4th metatarsal.
4. Possibly avulsion fracture on the lateral aspect of the cuboid just proximal the the 5th metatarsal head.
My family doctor was just about to go out of town for Thanksgiving, he said to me, I am not an expert at this type of foot injury, but what I will do is look at the results, and tell you whether you need to see an orthapedic surgon or not, I recieved the letter from him, all it said was "Rhonda, I think you should consider getting these fixed!" I warned him before he left that I may neglect to take his advice on this one.
I have been so completely overwhelmed with this injury, everyone who has written to me who has had the surgery have had horror stories, (Kim's is the first positive letter) most people still have problems at over two years later.
I decided to make the decision to not decide anything at all.
Does that make sense? I just did nothing,, and have decided nothing. I did not have surgery, I did not wear a cast, I did not do anything that traditional medicine would approve of at all, after all traditional medicine was clearly not qualified to make the correct diagnoisis in the first place. If they can be wrong this many times, who is to say that what they will do next will be right?
I once had a very close friend who was a Radioligist, and she told me once, always trust your instincts, your body knows best. She said we are trained while we are in medical school to know that at least 50% of everything we are taught will someday be proven to be incorrect. She then gave me a Merk Manual, said read, compare, learn. And most of all, trust yourself first.
I have done some basic care, used essential oils, (I am a trained RMT - registered massage therapist) every night I rub on Ginger oil, Lavender Oil, and Rosemary Oil, Ginger and Rosemary will help with circulation, swelling, and pain, Lavender removes the bruising. I take Arnica 4X daily by mouth, (and the topical gel) and use it before walking during the day, and swallow Symphythum Officinale at 4x daily for bone healing.
My injury happened on October 15-2005, it is December 10-2005, I have been walking normally for about 2 weeks now. Pretty amazing for someone who is never supposed to be able to walk normally again, and who needed pins, screws, and all that jazz. Everyone I know is totally amazed and somewhat freaked out by my healing. My husband has become a total believer in natural medicine. This is my second complete recovery due to altered thinking in terms of health.
My first healing was a serious one. I had suffered from Migraine Headache's so badly that I was taking Zanaflex (skull muscle relaxer) almost non stop, Topamax at bedtime (makes your skin break out and your hair fall out) and Hydrocodone by almost 50 or more a month. A friend told me that her neurologist had suggested that high doses of Magnesium could stop people from getting Migraine's. I figured what did I have to loose.
I did some research, you should take calcium when you add magnesium, and there are only certain types of calcium that really absorb into the body. So I added Maxi - Sorb brand Cal/Mag with vitiman D it has a 1:1 ratio of 400mg of each. I take one daily and I no longer take zanaflex or topamax or hydrocodone. I am pill free! And I no longer have migraine headache's. After suffering from them for 5 long miserable years, they are completely gone.
So Kim you are right, the mind is a very powerful thing. I am lucky that the doctors diagnosed wrong and made me miss the surgery time frame, thankful that I am strong enough to balk at the system, and grateful that there are enough resources, like the web for us to share information, research natural healing, search for good doctors, or compare results.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write about the positive. I think this injury is a serious one, and it does not matter what route you choose to go to try to heal, there is a great deal of emotional trama associated with the potential loss of our mobility. The doctors want to scare us to death. I wish they would learn that patients would like to hear the positive, not always beat us down with the negitive. Doctors have become so morbid in a sense.
Thank you for sharing your story. Feel free to respond. I hope you are back to your trampoline soon. (we have one in our back yard, but we just play on it:)
Sincerely,
Rhonda -
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