ATR - ER Trip
ATR on 12/13/13. Yup Friday the 13th. I must have walked under a ladder, crossed path with a black cat, stepped on too many cracks…
Other basketball guys helped me to my car after the injury, by that time I really didn’t have much pain but couldn’t walk or move my foot properly, was hoping for the best still, possibly a sprain or strain… I called my wife (38 weeks pregnant) who just put our 2 year old daughter to bed to have her bring me crutches so I could drive myself to the ER.
ER doctor confirmed ATR and took X-Ray to check for broken bones, told me I would get a splint and to call the orthopedic surgeon soon as possible. Really that’s it? no rushing into surgery, no urgency at all, I have a foot that doesn’t work and I am supposed to just call someone else to fix it after the weekend, what do I do in the meantime, just let my tendon flop around??? I had really no clue this would happen. Can I at least get some pain meds?? She got me a prescription of Norco and sent in a nurse to put on the splint.
Nurse walks in 20 minutes later, looks at my leg and diagnoses without looking at a file or anything, “sprained ankle” I’m here to wrap it up. Me “You really think I would come to the ER for a sprained ankle?” Doctor walks by and says “oh no he has ATR, need to put splint in downward position and wrap up until he can go to the surgeon.” Thank God she walked by… so she gets this cast wet or whatever to set it up to put on my leg to form a splint and calls in two male nurses or really they could have been janitors for all I know and left them in charge of putting on my temporary splint, “ok lay on your stomach and point your toe upwards” me- ” Owwww that hurts like hell, my leg is cramping up like crazy are you sure I should be doing this???” Janitor “yes hurry the cast is setting” Me “I don’t have a tendon how the hell am I supposed to do this” I flip around in major pain and hold my leg, I literally had to argue with these broom pushers telling them there has to be a better way to do this why couldn’t i just sit on the edge of the table and they put the splint on that way where my foot will naturally fall and “point down” seriously wanted to punch these guys they just looked at me like I was the biggest wimp.
Somehow they manage to get the splint on and janitor 1 brings me a new set of crutches for my 6′-4” height not the 5”-4” ones I borrowed from my wife and tells me to have a good night. I’ve got 2 sets of crutches a shoe, Jacket, and bunch of paperwork to carry and this guy gives me crutches, me “dude can I at least get a wheel chair out to my car in the snowy parking lot?” janitor 1 “oh, sure” he acts like he was doing me charity service…. $1700 total before insurance
Filed under: ATR and
Can I guess that you’re in the US? There’s a whole long page on this site about ER treatment of ATRs, much of it dangerously wrong. I think the majority of people here who’ve had problems dealing with chronic untreated ATRs got their start in an ER.
Now I’m betting your OS didn’t give you a full timeshare-sales pitch on the new (post-2007) evidence about fast non-op ATR treatment either — but I’m getting ahead of myself. When do we get the next installment?
Yes Chicago area. Non-op was brushed over as I insisted I needed to get back to pre-injury condition and it sounded like non-op was for people that didnt want to jump again, and I really didnt look into it before my surgery decision. I feel like I had quite the experience and my installments are very detailed so they will be coming slowly but surely.
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Your installments are GREAT!