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Today I did grocery shopping while driving one of the store's electric carts. Oh my, what an experience!

Reason? Tuesday while I was walking next to my car to open the driver's door there was a rock hidden by fallen leaves and I stepped on it and went down - Wednesday found out I have a broken foot, a Jones Fracture. I'm in good company as Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team has one too.

Have a boot that must be worn while awake - what a pain but at least can take it off to sleep and shower. Now mind you I had surgery on my left thumb in August and finally on Sept 26, after a set back, had the cast removed so I was free and I was driving once again. That lasted 2 weeks and again I can't drive - have an appointment on Wednesday to see someone at the acute fracture clinic at my HMO, think I'll be told this will take at least 6 weeks to heal .

So anyway, don't think you are missing anything by not being able to use the electric cart to shop!

I had a similar injury to my left foot years back. Boot cast, crutches, weeks of healing, and an orthopedist who threatened to use pins to hold the affected bone together. But I didn't try an electric cart. Hope you heal quickly.

Hi Melinda,
Funny - I was about to start a new post 'Silly, sore & sorry'! I had a nasty fall off my bike this morning & am a bit of a mess. Nothing broken, just very sore & whopping bruises all over. . .
I'm sorry to read of your mishap - it can happen so unexpectedly despite how careful you are. I hope you heal soon, & don't go terrorizing the grocery shoppers! Do you by any chance have home delivery available?
mj

Oh Melinda - how awful! I've done the boot thing a few times...it's tough. Luckily it wasn't my driving foot. You get really tired of clunking around in that heavy thing and it throws balance off. I hope it heals soon!

Aoi from what I know so far the bone is broken in the right spot, still gets enough blood to help heal [hopefully] - yours sounds like it may not have been, or close to that point where the blood getting to it was minimized.

MJ you poor thing - oh my word I bet your body is so sore today! Thank heaven you didn't break anything - pamper yourself if you can! I'm so sorry! Be careful!!

Can't wait to see the folks in the fracture clinic on Wednesday - kind of bothers me that I couldn't get in sooner as the will be Day 8, but it is still swollen so guess they know what they are doing.

We do have home delivery for groceries - but my husband and I have been going to the store together since August after my left thumb surgery, I spend less $ when he's with me because he gets his 1/2 of the list finished fast so I don't have time to go up & down the aisles and buy impulse items

Sandi and it throws out your back - I use a tennis shoe for left foot that almost makes that leg as high as the right leg with the boot, so my lower back is taking a hit.

Just bothers me that my wings are clipped after only 2 weeks of freedom.

Oh well - this too shall pass.

Melinda, thank you for your kind words. Very much appreciated!
We bought each other bikes recently (early Christmas present) & I was concerned I would get my feet tangled up & fall over - that is exactly what happened.
I am grateful I haven't broken anything but knee is very swollen & I can barely walk. Very frustrating as we have started harvest & I'm supposed to be out in the paddock helping! I took 2 doses of tranexamic acid but had awful side effects - nausea, dizziness, cold sweats, diarrhoea etc. so stopped.
Meanwhile, I've had a crook elbow (from lifting heavy groceries into the back of the car) for a couple of months, so I need rubbing out & drawing again!!
mj

Yeah, it killed my hips. I can't walk in shoes with any sort of heel because it throws my balance off too much. Good luck at the doctor's!

Sorry about your fall too, MJ.

I've had some close calls lately (slips in the tub, etc) but was able to catch myself. Don't jinx me ladies!

So this fall was your husband's fault huh MJ - he gave you that bike Is it a mountain bike? It does hurt me to think of you getting tangled up like that.

Are you sure your knee is OK? I thought all I did was sprain my foot but my husband made me go in and get it checked - you could have knocked me over with a feather when we were told my foot was broken!

You take care of yourself - the others can take care of the harvest until you feel good!

This boot is the pits - my lower back hurts a lot - did find a gel insert and now raises my left foot up so that it is almost the same as right foot, but not enough - hope on Wednesday they will tell me yes I can still take it off at bedtime and shower time!

Sandi we won't jinxed you - these falls are special to just me & MJ an we won't share our bad luck with anyone, it is ours!

This must be the year for broken bones! Back in September, we were at my sister's place, and my mom started to fall so my brother in law grabbed her arm to stop her; now she has a broken humerus! It's getting better and she's using it more. When we've been at the doctor's office in the hospital, there are a lot of people with broken bones!

She had a boot a few years ago for a broken foot too, Melinda. Hope you heal fast!

MJ, Melinda is right, you should probably go get checked out. Hope you heal fast too!

What kind of boot do you have, Melinda? Mine had a huge heel - I couldn't find any insert that even came close to the boot height. I even looked on the Internet. I complained at the ortho's office and said surely, in this day and age there MUST be something better than this. He said "Yeah, a cast. Would you rather have that?" Uh, no!

Bike is a simple 'ladies' bike, only 7 gears, nothing fancy. Mind you I insisted on a basket for my bread, cheese & wine picnic (dreaming).
Nothing ladylike about my tipping over though!! Knee is very much improving.
mj

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Sandi I get a pair of shoes & 2 sets of inserts a year thanks to having PN - so these are normal looking tennies and in them are diabetic type inserts [not the hard as rock ones - andI do not have diabetes]. So with the tennis shoe/insert and then the gel insert I put on top of the of the other insert that almost makes my left leg as high as the right leg. Almost. My lower left back is really hurting in spite of this. I'm just hoping after my appt tomorrow they will still allow me to take the boot off at night and to shower - the PA said I could so unless I hear differently I am.

MJ I can just see the basket on your bike with the goodies in it AND flowers attached to the front of the basket. You need flowers up there

Very glad to hear your knee is healing!!

Cindy I bet your brother in law felt horrible your Mom broke her arm when he saved her from falling, bless both their hearts!

Still does! It took over a month before he would go visit. We, the family, would rather see mum deal with a broken arm instead of a leg or hip. The arm is healing nicely according to the ortho doctor.

I feel so bad for your brother in law - and I'm so glad your Mom's arm is healing so well! You better believe it, arm is so much better than a hip - unfortunately have 1st hand knowledge of what a broken hip can do to an elderly (don't tell your Mom I said
that ) person - think my Dad would have made 100 years had he not broken his hip when he was 94.

Yeah, that looks close to my boot. I wore it religiously for about 7 weeks when I had my first fracture and only took it off to shower and sleep. Second fracture, wore it for two weeks, then took it off when I was pretty stationary at home and only wore it when I went out somewhere. Third fracture, didn't even bother to go to the Ortho and since it was a different foot, didn't have or wear a boot. I just tried very hard to keep my foot flat all the time. Took all summer, but I think it's finally mending. I'm a horrible patient.

My Mom just went through a broken hip this past winter. Three months of rehab, but she finally got out and is doing fairly well. She needs her other hip replaced and I am not looking forward to that. I am the only person who is available to help her.

I hope all of you get better quick - good luck tomorrow, Melinda!

I really need to comply Sandi - the fracture I have is a Jones Fracture - "Jones fractures occur in a small area of the fifth metatarsal that receives less blood and is therefore more prone to difficulties in healing."

Supposedly my fracture is in an area where it still gets enough blood, but a hair or 2 more towards the toe and it isn't. So I will behave myself and be a good patient as I would rather not require surgery to pin the bones. We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Great to hear your Mom is doing well - hope she will do well when her other hip is replaced. My sister in law broke her hip in a fall, that is scary!

Your boot looks a lot like my mom's. She broke a couple of bones in the side of her foot several years ago. She has also broken her ankle and had a pin and plate put in to help repair it.

Donnie is starting to feel better. And yeah, I think if she had broken her hip, she wouldn't have come out of the hospital. These last two years haven't been the best for her, that's for sure!

I wouldn't tell you not to listen! I just said that I don't.

My Ortho talked about pins too, but I think it's stable for now.

So what happened today?

Sandi I know you wouldn't tell me not to listen - I said that because you know I'm so much like you and question, question, question and tell the doctor things.

Ok - sports med doc said to do what I'm doing - it's not quite a Jones Fracture but he said a Baby Jones Fracture. Boot can be off overnight and to bathe/shower - come back in 5 weeks [that's 6 weeks after break] for x-rays and hopefully we will see that it is healing & boot can come off for good. What happened is when foot stepped on rock and foot rolled/twisted the tendon attached to bone tried to keep foot as it should be and the result was that it pulled away the bone & it broke. Think I got that right.

The problem now could be the neuropathy - with peripheral neuropathy not as much blood is going to the bones at the end of things so that could be a problem. We'll see in 5 weeks.

Cindy did all that happen to your Mom on the same foot?

Melinda, does that mean that a bone on the side of your foot is broken? Is that what it is? No, thankfully, it was two different feet a couple of years apart. The ankle was first and then a bone in the side of her foot. That's what she had to boot for.

Sandi, glad your mom is doing well.

Yes Cindy the outside bone is broken, at an angle - the 5th Metatarsal, just above the joint.

Your Mom had quite a time of it - bad enough to be in that darn boot once, but twice or more, ugh!

What was so nice yesterday was even though I didn't have a cast put on the cast man [know he has a title but don't know what it is] put something in the boot so that I don't feel the hard bottom part pressing where the break is - and he also took my left shoe and made something to put under the insert so that leg is now same height as boot leg, hopefully this will ease the back pain I'm having from hips being not even. Told him he was my angel, and I meant it!

And another nice thing - the young doctor told me this had nothing to do with my age, it happened because of the way the foot rolled/twisted! [at my age one gets tired of hearing "...at your age..."]

Wow, how nice! I didn't get anything like that....just had to clunk around. The thing was too heavy to wear and wiped me out. It's nice that you have a good reason why it broke too. That must make you feel better about it. I had a problem with the boot also pressing on the spot where the break was, so that hurt all the time too. Those things are a PITA.

Hope it heals well and quickly!

Well today was a write off! Went to my local Dr. for a regular check up this am & she was concerned enough about my leg to request a scan. Off to regional health center which showed no clotting issues to worry about. Bought groceries, visited a dear friend who lives on the way & got home at 7 pm! A round trip of 110 miles.
I assume I need to gently massage calf now to work the bruise through. Golly it's sore though & when I rest it it seizes up & takes a while to be able to walk, that is shuffle.
Meanwhile harvest continues without me driving the chaser bin - the timing couldn't have been worse!
mj

Think of it as a probably much needed break, MJ!

I don't like days that get sucked down the drain either, but you got a lot done!

Any time you can see a dear friend the day is not a write off! Glad to hear your scan was ok MJ! Take it easy and pamper yourself. The bruise on my hip is finally starting to fade.

Sandi I mentioned to the doctor that the hard part was right at the break and bothering it so he sent in the cast guy and fixed a padding for it - so I asked the cast guy what I could put in shoe to get my left leg higher so hips weren't out of whack and he made it for me, he was great! I'm just so thankful I can take that boot off to sleep.

Thank you Melinda, for reminding me of the important things in life! We, & our friends, are all in the midst of aging parents, grandchildren & home relocation. Our time together has become less but even more precious.
As for my injury - swelling is going down my calf, ankle swollen & blue. OK while I'm moving, but cramps up & extremely painful after resting. I am trying to make the most of being home to sort out drawers, cupboards etc. & even do some Christmas planning.
Count on Friday was 45 - good for me.
I'm really glad you managed to get some support for your shoe/hips.
mj

My dear friend who lives in another state is caretaker for her husband who has an autoimmune disorder that has destroyed his leg & arm muscles, we barely even email now much less talk as she just does not have the time. I really miss her!

Glad the calf swelling is going down MJ - ankle swelling going down now? My foot is still swollen and toes are colorful. I've done some straightening but can't really get down to the lower cabinets or drawers or I'd never get up again. I'm just being a grump because I do not like to be housebound, I do not like to ask for help as I like to be the one who helps, had about 2 weeks of freedom between getting cast off left hand and the boot on right foot - that's all since August 7!

Today I decided to start early and am turning the clocks back this afternoon since daylight saving time ends overnight. Hope my heart can stand all the excitement of doing this chore

Melinda - when I had the boot on and had to get down low, I'd just crawl until I found something chair level and try to push myself up. Isn't that thing a pain in the butt? I was in the middle of trying to sand and stain my deck when I had the darn boot on. Most of it I could do sitting on the floor, but it was no fun when I had to get up again. Ha, that was also when I had shingles and lost my hand. I had one good hand and one good foot, opposite sides. What fun!

Now this is interesting . . .
Called in to see a neighbour who has recently had both knees reconstructed. She gave me a pack of soda crystals to use for reducing swelling. When I got home I googled it & sure enough there's plenty of information available on how to use it.
So I ground up the crystals, placed them in a cotton cloth, placed it on my swollen leg & bandaged it on. Overnight the crystals absorb moisture & harden. Seemed to make a difference & I'll try it again. Sure beats some of the other advice I've been given!
mj

What are those crystals MJ?

Sandi I'm like you were, an upper and a lower limb on different sides out of commission. Can't push up, can't pull up. The other day I knelt on the family room carpeted floor to fold clothes on the sofa - rolled here, rolled there and just about did not get up. So if it is down low it can stay messy or dirty or whatever, I don't care at this point