So I broke my ankle while traveling to The Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs. I wasn’t hiking the mountains or zip lining or any other exciting thing I had planned while there. It was literally as I was leaving my house to catch my flight. I fell down the stairs and heard a snap. I’ve never broken a bone before so I didn’t know that you could actually put weight on it. Once I stood up and was able to walk (with a limp), I assumed I only sprained it. I thought it could be better by the time my flight landed in Colorado. This was my first mistake.
In hindsight, I should never have gotten on the plane. But I love to travel and really didn’t want to miss this trip. My husband and I had several fun things planned. Most of those things were active, so I missed them anyway. I just wasn’t thinking straight. By the time we landed in Colorado Springs my ankle was so swollen and in so much pain that my husband had to get a wheel chair to get me to the taxi. I had a smile on my face, but the red nose says it all. I had been crying purely out of frustration when I realized that I might have actually broken it. We headed straight to the ER with our suitcases and everything. Long story short…it was broken.
This was what it looked like by the time I arrived at the hotel. Gotta love my flip flop tan. 🙂 The ER had put me in a boot that I could remove. They told me to ice it A LOT! And don’t put any weight on it. Thank goodness The Broadmoor had crutches and a wheel chair that I could use. I can’t say enough wonderful things about the help they gave me.
It wasn’t the vacation we planned, but I enjoyed a gorgeous view from our balcony and even got wheeled to the spa for a facial. No matter how relaxing and beautiful The Broadmoor was, I should not have gone on this trip. All the walking, flying (which is really bad for inflammation and possible blood clots with an injury like this) and going to a medical facility that I wasn’t familiar with cost me in the end. My orthopedic doctor said it caused me a longer healing time and rehabilitation once I was able to get home and see him. I learned that my health is the most important thing. That seems obvious, but when faced with missing a long planned trip that I was really looking forward to, things just got fuzzy on what the “right” thing to do was.
It’s been six months and I am 95% back to normal with my ankle. It has been a long road to recovery which I will be doing another post on. Have you every broken a bone? Or worse, injured yourself while traveling? Comment below…I’d love to hear from you. Also please share with your friends. I’d love to grow this travel loving community. Take care and travel safe. 🙂
Tell me about a time when an injury messed up your travel plans. Don't have one? Well good for you! Just tell me if you ever broke a bone and how recovery went. Never broken one? Wow, you're two for two. In that case, tell me how you got so lucky! 😉
broke my ankle I days before a trip to prague.great. walking on cobbles was not going to be fun .We had Ubers a lot as my mate also had a fractured foot,you couldn’t make it up lol .
I realised how tired I was all the time .I still am 4 weeks in it’s like carting a bag of cement round all the time. putting off going to the loo because it’s too much hassle .
It’s on the mend now so life is a lot easier,just don’t go out in the wet garden on slippery paths lol with a bloody bug plastic boot on .
Oh my goodness! What a mess! I hope you have an easy recovery. My ankle still hurts from time to time. 🙁