Hi Donny, I'm going through something very similar. I broke my leg right at the ankle on March 16 so Monday it will be six weeks. I also have been absolutely immobile and I really don't know how long it is going to be. In my case I was taken to the local hospital where they botched the operation so I went to the Yale medical practice and had the head of orthopaedic surgery of the Yale Medical School try to fix it. I had a raging bone infection and nearly lost the lower leg and might very well have if I had not been proactive on my own behalf. The surgeon at Yale said he was appalled at what had been done to me. The hardest part is not being able to do anything and in my case not being able to take care of my totally disabled wife. She needs 24/7 care and I provided over half of it so now we have had to hire a bunch of people including for all night because she needs to go to the bathroom at least once during the night, something I always helped her with. I have no one to drive me around because our live in nurse doesn't drive and my kids are not available. Thankfully we have one close friend who has helped and my daughter has just come back from California to help. I bought a little scooter to get around outside to supervise the huge amount of work that the property requires this time of year not to mention the rose garden with 280 roses. As soon as I finish this I am going outside as there are workers here today. One thing you learn is how much work you do and how much it would cost if you had to pay people to do it for you. I hope you are getting along. I'm guessing that I am in for at least three months more of this before I can be able to do what I could before. The doctor has told me I should be good as new except for a very weak ankle. Good luck to both of us, Henry

You need to call and talk with your doctor ASAP. He will no doupt want to see and examine your ankle, do some xrays and see what's going on. Sounds like you will also need some professionally done physical therapy. Guidance as to the correct exercises to do, how much to do and when to do them. Swelling of your ankle is an idication of several different things and only your doctor can tell you what they are. The fact that by evening your ankle is swollen and "throbbing in pain" says that something is not right. Could be too much pressure on the ankle to soon, not the correct exercises being done, additional damage to the bones from walking to quickly on it, and it could be that some or any of the hardware is coming out of the bone. Remember that the ankle takes much of the weight of your body on it every time you stand on it. If it isn't healed enough when you put full weight on it, you can rebrake or hairline fracture the bones again. As for the plate hurting in cold weather, that's not uncommon to happen. It may be possible in a few months to a year, to have the plate removed, but it's too soone to do so right now, I would think. Talk to your doctor about all these problems ASAP, before anything gets worse. You should explain to him/her about your finances and see if your charges can be reduced. The same goes for physical therapy. There should be some arrangements you can make to lower the cost quite a bit, based on no insurance. It's worth a try, because it sounds like you will need some. Good luck

I had a stress fracture once in my foot. Just plain walking caused it. My doctor told me they are often called "March fractures" because they are common in the military, from all the marching they do. He told me I had my choice of a cast or a pair of really good shoes. He named New Balance or another name I no longer remember. And I was not to so much as put my foot on the floor (except to shower) without my shoes on, for six weeks. I got the shoes, & did as he said. It did take the full six weeks to heal. I guess because of location, things of this nature on the foot or ankle just take time to heal. Even with your 'boot' on, there is strain on your ankle, so it will take time. Let us know how you do. Rusty

Thank you, Cattyles. So sweet of you! Jane recently moved AM to another server so the pictures could be larger. She asked me to update my photos, so almost all of them were recently retaken. DD1 now uses the Shabby Chic room, so most of that is stored. DD2 took the sofa for her MBR sitting area. I'll probably get DD1 to sell the RASC and other bedding on ebay. I really don't need and it's silly to store when someone else could enjoy. Lynn, she made the reins from leather jewelry cording. Perfect touch, wouldn't be the same w/o it. I just took a vase DD2 bought 9 years ago, but has been stored the last 6. Always a chance drilling hole could break, but it wasn't an expensive vase and will make a cute lamp for her MBR sitting area. I also have several lamps in closets... I really should start selling things I don't use/haven't used/don't plan to use. We actually lease to an antique store and the owner has told me to bring whatever I want to put in his space. I need to make a list/take pictures to send him, making sure I'm not overstepping his offer and that there is room. But then I go back/forth on if/when we do move, what bedroom(s) do I want to not have in the next house. Don't want to get rid of something only to regret it later. I kept thinking DD1, DD2 or DS will want something. So far, not.