If you have stumbled across my page, I'm going to guess you have recently seen a doctor and been told "You have Lisfranc a very uncommon fracture..."
Well this is my story & journey through this injury.
First: the quick facts: Female, 25, no kids, in a dating-cohabiting relationship, and I'm a police officer assigned to a parole/probation detail.
Second: How I became acquainted with the word Lisfranc?
May 15, 2013
My partner and I were conducting a probation search inside a residence. When conducting these searches we have to assure our safety, so we conduct a quick search for possible threats. We entered a bedroom with wood floors and I immediately slid on the slippery surface that had a water spill. I attempted to stop myself from slipping but I collapsed right on to a bed in immediate pain. The pain was excruciating!! Other officers helped me up off the bed. I brushed myself off, limped myself out of the room and down a flight of stairs. The pain was sharp, burning, and frankly the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. I tried to walk on my foot. I couldn't. I was wearing heavy duty patrol boots (Danners), and I felt my right foot throbbing inside my boot. Officers asked if I wanted an ambulance. I said, No. After all it was just a little ankle twist. The pain would go away. It didn't! My supervisor drove me to a worker's comp clinic. Where Xrays were taken, and the doctor said he didn't really see any breaks and he would like to see me back in the next few days.
In short, In a month I saw three different city workers comp doctors all who said it didn't look like a big injury. CT scan was ordered and revealed a fracture in my foot. City doctors then said, "it's really small." I was in a flimsy boot, a cane, and they signed me up for physical therapy. All the meanwhile I was no longer in excruciating pain, but there was A LOT of discomfort. I couldn't walk normal, so that was the big indicator to me that something was not right. I finally saw a specialist and he looked at my chart for about three minuets and said, "You have an injury called Lisfranc.and you need surgery. You can opt not to have the surgery but the outcome will be very painful."
My world came crashing down. Surgery? I've never had a serious injury. Or had surgery! Foot surgery!! Am I going to be able to walk? How long will I be out of work for?? I could no longer concentrate on the doctors explanation. When I left the office, I contacted friends from work who all directed me to a different specialist (One of the best in Southern California, works on the athletes from the LA Dodgers, Angels, Lakers, Clippers).
The second doctor said I didn't necessarily need surgery, but requested weight bearing X-rays. As soon as he showed me the X-rays. I knew I needed surgery. The large gap between my first and second metatarsal, said it all.
It's now been two months since my injury. Because it's a workers comp injury, I have to go through all the workers comp paperwork, authorizations...and mostly a lot of waiting.
Surgery is scheduled for next week. Finally.
I've done my online reading on the surgery, frankly I'm nervous. I'm nervous mostly about the livelihood of my career. The stories online are so negative, the amputations, the severe chronic pain, the limps, the discomfort. It all scares me.
All I can do now... is have a little faith.
