Editor’s Note: Baptist Health Resource writer Adrienne Sylver shares her personal story about how Cary Chapman, M.D., an orthopedic surgeon with Baptist Health Orthopedic Care, got her back to her active lifestyle after she was sidelined for months with a severe ankle fracture.

It took fewer than five seconds. I remember standing up from the couch to get ready to go to the gym, and I recall feeling dizzy. Then I woke up on the ground, my foot perpendicular to my ankle, pointing in the wrong direction. I’d blacked out and the awkward fall from a simple standing position in my own home had caused my right ankle to break in multiple places and dislocate.

Immediately realizing that I’d done significant damage, I didn’t even attempt to stand. My husband, Mike, called 911. I had what’s called a trimalleolar fracture, where the tibia, fibula and a bony section at the back of the tibia are broken. To make matters worse, the fracture was open, meaning that when the bone broke, a portion of it pierced my skin.

It’s not an injury you want at any age, let alone 62.

“This type of fracture is a serious condition because it involves the three parts of the ankle that confer bony stability,” said orthopedic surgeon Cary Chapman, M.D., part of the Baptist Health Orthopedic Care team. “And when the bone penetrates through the skin, exposing the bone to bacteria, there are additional concerns, including infection.”

Trimalleolar fractures most commonly occur in motor vehicle accidents, while playing high-impact sports or from falls. Patients are often told that they’ll need surgery and physical therapy and that the injury could have a long-term or permanent impact on their quality of life.

In the Baptist Health Baptist Hospital Emergency Center, doctors “reduced” the fracture by manually pulling on my leg to realign the bones until surgery could permanently fix the problem. Don’t worry, I was under light sedation.

Then, Dr. Chapman took me into the operating room to complete open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) surgery, where I was under general anesthesia. During the procedure, he cleaned the area and used 12 screws and a metal plate to hold everything together so that the bones could heal. I was stitched up, put on antibiotics and placed in a cast, and I remained in the hospital for two nights.

What surprised me the most, I think (other than the gruesome look of my ankle when I saw it briefly two weeks later when some of the stitches were removed), was Dr. Chapman’s warning that it could take a full year to recover. Even though I was already in my 60s when the accident happened on Feb. 25, 2022, I believed I’d bounce back sooner.

After all, I worked out five to six days a week doing high-intensity interval training at Orange Theory, and while I would never call myself an athlete, I was often at the top of my gym’s leaderboard during rowing competitions, coming in with times that bettered those of women two and three decades younger. I also loved hiking and swimming.

It didn’t take long, however, to understand Dr. Chapman’s cautionary words. I wasn’t allowed to put any weight on my right leg for six weeks. Simple tasks like preparing food, taking a shower and getting dressed zapped me of all energy as I moved from wheelchair to walker to a knee scooter to crutches over several months. I couldn’t drive for three months.

Fortunately, my husband and loads of friends were at my side, helping with household chores, taking our dog for walks, keeping us fed and entertained. My daughter even flew home from physician assistant school for a weekend to help me figure out the logistics of getting around the house when I was alone. As a writer, I work from home, so after a week off, I propped my leg up and got back to my computer.

Seven weeks after the accident, per doctor’s orders, I began physical therapy. Every exercise was a challenge, but specialized equipment, including an anti-gravity treadmill, where the amount of weight on the affected leg (which was still in an air cast/boot) crept upward in increments starting at just 10 percent, helped. 

“All fractures take a long time to recover from,” Dr. Chapman said. “Lower extremity fractures such as those in the foot and ankle are particularly frustrating for patients because, often, they cannot bear weight on the affected limb for several months as it heals.”

Eight months after the injury, I posted on social media that I wondered if I’d ever be able to walk down stairs properly again, left right, left right. And although I was back in the gym, modifying many exercises with the coach’s help, the thought that I might never return to my pre-injury activities haunted me.

Then, a month or two later, I noticed that my range of motion had improved and I was able to navigate steps. This past summer, due to some irritation from the metal hardware, I underwent an outpatient procedure to remove the plate and all but three screws from my ankle.

“Patients should see their orthopedic surgeon when their foot and ankle problem causes persistent pain or affects function,” Dr. Chapman said. “In particular, a foot and ankle fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon has the skills to diagnose and treat foot and ankle pathology ranging from the routine to the highly complex.”

More than two and a half years after my accident, at age 65, I feel like I’m at about 90 percent. Doctors never found an explanation for my dizziness and fainting, which hasn’t happened again, and my bone density is good for my age.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I think back on all the great things that have happened since that harrowing day in 2022. Because of Dr. Chapman and the amazing care provided by all of the healthcare professionals I encountered, I not only am walking again, but I’ve picked up a new sport: pickleball. I’ve been able to hike, swim in the ocean and, most importantly, participate in the best moments of life, like my daughter’s wedding.

For more information about Baptist Health Orthopedic Care, click here.