Why I went to the Emergency Room

Hi friends, have you ever had a bad injury or been so sick you felt helpless?  That’s how I felt yesterday.  Our bodies are a precious commodity & when something goes wrong it can turn your whole world upside down.

If you’ve been following my posts the last couple days, you know I started having Heel Pain while working out on the elliptical Friday morning.  Late Friday night I had a Visit to Urgent Care where they told me it was probably bursitis of the foot (inflammation in the foot).  I was skeptical of their diagnosis, but was trying to be optimistic that my pain would quickly subside.  I was wrong.  Very wrong.

Sunday morning I felt good when I woke up.  I told you about my Mom staying in Arizona another week & that I was going to the gym to bike.  So the little walking I did to get to & from the gym was enough to aggravate my foot.  When I got home, I was in tears.  I was in severe pain with each step I took.  I felt crippled & helpless.  I had Mom take me to the emergency room. 

Why did I to go to the ER and not wait until Monday to make an Orthopedic appointment?  I realized while on the bike at the gym that I had no pain in my foot when I wasn’t on my feet.  The pain was isolated to weight-bearing activities – i.e. walking, climbing, running, elliptical, etc.  Seated activities like driving or biking didn’t aggravate my foot.  The weight-bearing symptom is usually an indication of stress fracture.  Something I know all too well. 

Fourteen years ago, I suffered a femur fracture as the result of a stress fracture.  It was the same deal back then – went to urgent care, had x-rays done, nothing showed on the x-rays, went home & a 2-3 days later the femur fractured completely.  I had emergency surgery to pin my femur back together. 

A stress fracture, in my opinion, feels worse than a break.  The affected extremity feels tight, stressed like a knife jabbing through it & the pain is crippling often debilitating.  The pain can feel so severe, you almost wish the bone would break to give you relief. 

When I started thinking through my previous experience on the bike with my femur breaking, the surgery, the recovery & years of painful rehabilitation, I decided I wasn’t going to risk fracturing my foot or injuring it more.  I needed my foot immobilized immediately & I needed meds to control the pain. 

Mom drove me to the hospital & I couldn’t walk into the ER.  A medic had to get a wheelchair to get me inside.  The wait was relatively short (for ER standards).  They brought me back to an evaluation room where a doctor met me right away.  She examined my foot then ordered pain meds & x-rays.  A cool thing about the ER….the x-ray technicians have an x-ray cart they roll around to patient’s rooms to take the x-rays. 

 

The prognosis?  Well, the x-rays showed nothing which I expected.  However, the doctor confirmed stress fractures don’t show on x-rays and an MRI or bone scan was needed.  This was the case with my femur too.  

The treatment?  Immobilize the joint with a boot & crutches as if it were a calcaneus (heel) stress fracture.  Follow-up with an orthopedic specialist.  I have an appointment to see one Wednesday.

After leaving the hospital, I felt much better.  The meds kicked in & I could walk without pain.  I stayed home from work today to rest & get my bearings together, figure out how to get around this way.  I will be faced with new challenges the next few weeks.  I’m so glad Mom is here to help or things would be even more difficult & I might temporarily, go crazy!

As for working out?  I’m planning to stay active by biking & swimming every morning.  I A few months ago, a guy in my spin class told me I should do a Triathalon (he’s done several Ironman competitions).  My response to him?  “I don’t like to swim.”  Guess that remark has bit me in the you know what….  😉

Questions – When was a time you felt helpless by an injury or sickness?  How did you know you needed it checked right away?  Any interesting emergency room experiences?

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xoxo,

Megan