I've been lurking around the site for a couple of weeks now, so now I guess it's time to tell my story. At the end of the school day (Nov. 23) I was walking and talking with a colleague about school stuff. Teachers do love to talk! Apparently, I was pretty close to the edge of the sidewalk and when I turned to hand her something, my foot slipped off the sidewalk, my shoe went flying, and I hit the ground. I heard a snap and I knew something was broken. For just a minute, nothing hurt. My friend went to get the school nurse and by the time they returned I was in excrutiating pain. A crowd began to gather and I didn't like the looks on their faces. The nurse called 911 and I was taken to the hospital. I thought it was my leg that was broken, but I wouldn't look at it. As soon as I got to the ER, I was shot full of morphine and x-rayed. When the OS arrived, he said I would need surgery and that I had broken my leg and ankle. He told my hubby that I would have a hip to toe cast and that it would take a year to fully heal! I had surgery the next day and fortunately the splint was from my knee to my toes. I was now the proud owner of 2 rods, a plate with 6 screws on the outside of my ankle and 2 more screws on the top of my foot. I was in the hospital for 4 days and then home on lots of pain meds. After 2 wks, I returned to the OS and was given a hard cast. Four weeks later the cast came off and I came home with a Darth boot. I saw the OS 2 days ago and he said for me to leave the boot off at home and try to hobble around with the walker putting a little weight on my foot to get used the idea of walking again. I'm excited about recovery, but it is soooo scarey to touch my foot to the floor. Swelling is still an issue, so I can't even begin to try wearing a shoe. He said it will be 2-4 more weeks before he will release me to go back to work. I begin PT next week, 3x a week for 2 wks. This site has been so helpful. Thanks to everyone for sharing.