The Ankle

Joan took a tumble and injured her ankle on the first day of our Off the Beaten Path trip to the Big Bend National Park, walking towards a viewpoint at the McDonald Observatory.

The road on the way up was asphalt, but had crumbled or broken edges in many locations. Walking towards a viewpoint,

Joan took a step onto a section that wasn't there and fell. Her ankle hurt badly -- at one point, she said she was "seeing stars."

 

On inspection, it was purple, very purple, but our guide said it didn't look broken. Joan's boot seemed to stabilize it, and after the second day, she could participate in the group hikes, which had a gentle pace, including the 5.5-mile Window hike. She did want to rest her foot for a while after that one.

 

Back home, Joan went to see our family doctor. She examined it and agreed that it didn't seem to be broken.

 

But the healing process stalled. Our doc referred Joan to an orthopedist, who determined via X-ray that it was broken. But in a very unusual way -- the break was perfectly horizontal, rather than the usual diagonal slice with an ankle. After this amount of time had gone by, using a "boot" on that foot was inappropriate, so the orthopedist prescribed a lace-up device resembling a Victorian corset for her foot. And her ankle finished healing.