I fractured my foot a couple of weeks ago by walking up the 2 steps we have to our back door. I didn’t fall or trip or do anything except take a step. It’s not the first time I’ve fractured this foot. I’ve got osteoporosis and there are 3 other fractures in it, one of which should have corrective surgery but it’s too risky because of all my other health conditions. I have to wear the moon boot cast again and it hurts, but I filed it away as “annoying, but get on with it” in my brain. My broken foot won’t kill me and it’ll either get better or it won’t, but either way that foot is always painful because of all the other fractures already in it.
I was so casual about it, that I didn’t even bother going to a&e (the ER in the UK) to get it x rayed. I messaged my GP instead and asked them to organise an X Ray because all a&e would do would be x Ray it, tell me to wear the moon boot and refer me to fracture clinic. I wasn’t dying so it’s not an emergency, I already had the moonboot, so why waste people’s time in a&e?
The weird thing is, other people are more bothered about my broken foot than me. Maybe it’s the visual of being able to see it’s broken because I’m wearing the boot. Except I used crutches a lot before so it can’t just be the fact that people can see there’s something wrong. Or maybe it’s because people can appreciate that broken foot means pain and for most people having to deal with that for 6-8 weeks would be horrible and have a big impact on their quality of life. Which I completely understand for non medical, healthy people because they might not have any other experience to relate to. And I don’t mind them asking me how my foot is because it shows that people care. The thing that I find really confusing is the amount of attention I’ve got from doctors and other medical people because of it.
I said at the beginning that I filed it under “annoying, but get on with it” because it’s manageable. Which got me wondering why I have that mentality in the first place, when medics seem to be checking up on me all of a sudden. And I think it’s because that’s what medics have conditioned me to think. When you have a complex, life threatening condition like adrenal insufficiency, lots of doctors see anything that doesn’t kill you or doesn’t risk killing you as a really minor thing that doesn’t need attention. I went to a dermatology appointment recently where the doctor’s attitude was “psoriasis isn’t that bad really, it’s an inconvenience and can give you body confidence issues but it’s mostly just something that you have to learn to manage”. Which I agree with because I’ve been told things like that a lot and in comparison to my adrenal Insufficiency, psoriasis is nothing. But does he say that to every patient who walks through his door? Because if most health conditions are just annoying and don’t kill you, why does he treat any patients if whether it kills you or not is the criteria of what counts as bad? Why does anyone bother to go to the doctor at all, since so many people’s health conditions don’t tend to kill them? Doctors say that kind of thing all the time to me, which means it’s now engrained in me that if it probably won’t kill me, it doesn’t matter and I need to get on with it. Which is not the way I should be going through life!
I had an endocrinology appointment in February where I said I felt sick and dizzy a lot, I’m having hypos and I’m struggling to sleep but feel tired all the time, along with many other symptoms. I didn’t expect them to do anything about most of my symptoms because they never do, but I thought they might offer some advice about the hypos. Hypos can kill you after all. Except the registrar (resident in USA) told me instead that “non diabetic people can have hypos and they’re not dangerous, you’re probably just getting worried about them, you don’t need to do anything”. She dismissed me with a “well keep doing what you’re doing” after she’d made it very clear that she thought I was somehow talking myself into having hypos with my anxiety. Which annoyed me and I went back to my GP and said I wasn’t impressed.
And then I broke my foot. Once it was confirmed I’d broken it with the x Ray, a GP rang me and said I needed to adjust my steroids but I should ring my endo team at the hospital and double check that what I was doing was ok. This then triggered a phonecall from the same reg that I’d had in February who was saying that the exact same symptoms I was describing in February and had repeated to her now along with the words “I’ve fractured my foot” were now a big problem and I needed to see the endo team again.
I’m not sure if it’s a fault with the system or it’s down to individual people, but I’ve felt more cared for as a patient in the 2 weeks since I broke my foot than I have done for a long time. There’s empathy about my pain, how I’m coping getting around, checking up on me… I think my GP/practice staff do care about me anyway, but the fractured foot means they have a reason to ring me up and talk to me, whereas they didn’t before. But my endo team’s attitude baffles me, as does the response from other HCPs I’ve been to for other problems, and their increased empathy about what’s going on.
All this means is that, perversely, I’m quite enjoying having a broken foot! I’m finally feeling listened to about how horrible I’ve been feeling because my pain level, low cortisol symptoms and impact on quality of life are now justified in other people’s eyes. I’ve got an urgent endocrinology appointment in 2 weeks time but when I asked if I could have one in February, I was told there was a 6 month wait. People offer me help in normal every day situations, whereas they didn’t before even if I had my crutches with me. Random side note: It’s weird what people see as “worthy” disability wise- I get a lot more support since I put a “medical alert” label on my assistance dog in training than when he was just wearing his assistance dog in training vest. I’m not saying I want everyone to chase after me and do things for me and check up on me all the time, but I finally feel like HCPs are finally doing what I’ve wanted them and needed them to do for a long time. I feel like fewer people are blaming my symptoms on something psychosomatic or psychological. Question is, why did it take a broken bone, something which will (hopefully) be healed in 8 weeks to prompt care and compassion for symptoms I’ve had consistently for (at least) the last 9 months?
I’m not sure what the point of this post is. Whether it’s me saying I shouldn’t be as blasé about broken bones as I am or whether HCPs should pay better attention to my other more debilitating symptoms without needing a physical/visible injury. Or both! Either way, my broken foot has turned out to be a blessing in disguise since other aspects of my care are now headed in the right direction.
okthenwhatsnext 