Where I’ve been
I’m sharing this post because I know many of you have been wondering where I’ve been or have been curious about what has happened to me in the last little while.
*****Make sure to scroll all the way to the bottom for links to my subsequent posts and recovery progress!*****
What happened
It has been exactly 9 days since I’ve had surgery for the tibial plateau fracture in my right leg.
A little background: having snowboarded for many years I thought I’d give skiing a try this season. I got myself new skis, new ski boots, new snow pants, booked lessons, bought a set of lift tickets for the entire season, and was so psyched to learn a new skill and have fun with it. On my third time out this season I lost balance, fell, and my bindings didn’t release. Cue knee twisting and bone breaking sounds that I’ll never forget.
Surgery
After waiting three days at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto for an available OR, I finally had my surgery. The pain on that first day after surgery was the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt. With the help of some strong medications (and lots of crying), the situation improved after 12 hours, thank goodness.
Back home
I’m currently recovering at home and know that it is going to be a long journey. From what I understand about this particular injury, it’s the worst way one can break their leg. The tibial plateau (top surface of the shin bone where the knee sits on) basically supports your body weight. Mine was smashed to pieces and the surgeons had to sew and screw everything back together like a puzzle. There were also fractures going vertically from the plateau down the tibia so they added a metal plate along the bone. There are varying degrees of this injury and mine is type 6, basically the worst, on the scale. Because of this, I will not be allowed to bear any weight on my right leg until the bone completely heals, which will take about 3 months.
The plan
After three months I will require several months of physiotherapy to regain the range of motion in my knee and walk normally again. I’ve been told that I’ll likely develop early arthritis in the knee and may possibly require a total knee replacement at some point. Oh gosh, I can’t even think about how awful that all sounds right now.
But I’ll get through it.
Thank you to my support system
My husband has been the most wonderful rock for me to lean on and my son, who misses all the things his mommy used to be able to do for him, is learning to be a more independent little man. Both our families are close by and it has been wonderful to have their love and support to help us all through this trying time.
I’d like to thank everyone who’s been close by during this journey so far, both virtually and in person. Your support has lifted me up during some very hard moments and I am beyond touched and thankful to have you all.
Business update
At for my photography business, I’m not taking on any sessions for January and February. For clients booked for March/April/May as well as returning client inquiries, I will be in touch. For all other inquiries and sessions, I’ll likely be back to work full-time starting late spring/early summer.
Below are a few images from my hospital stay (because c’mon, what’s a post without pictures?!)
From left-right/top-down: knee and leg swelling under my ski base layer, swelling continues while in the splint, start of an IV drip, hubby taking the nail polish off my toes to prepare for surgery, post surgery selfie, visit from my little guy, hubby eats my hospital lunch because it’s full of items I can’t eat (lactose), learning how to use crutches, and a glimpse at the leg without the brace (with the huge wound covered up because I don’t want anyone to vomit while looking at my pictures!)
