@flachon3 You have been through a lot and ankle injuries are extremely painful. My ankle fracture and related surgeries hurt more than spine surgery and for a much longer period of time. I am still learning how to improve.

I had 3 surgeries. First there was an external cage screwed into the front of the tibia and sides of the heel bone. It was a compound fracture and the wound was cleaned and closed, but bones were not fixed. I had this for a couple weeks to let swelling ease. Surgery 2 removed external cage and fixed fracture with plates and screws. Surgery 3 removed all hardware after a year and a half.

My ankle would collapse as I was stepping off my toes and pinch in the front with pain. Recently, I figured out how to loosen the scar tissue that caused this because of increased pressure on the joint. I have it moving better and I am slowly trying to build strength and endurance gently and without causing pain. What would happen is my ankle would give out and I would spend a week staying off of it. It is like living with a sprain all the time. I now have the tension more equal between the stronger side of the leg and the injured side and that is making a big difference. My ankle is not collapsing now. I hope to be able to hike this summer.

My cousin is a radiologist and when I showed him my x ray , he said I was lucky I can walk after that injury. It sounds like you have been through a lot too prior to fusion. My mom went through surgery lengthening Achilles and moving ligaments and avoided an ankle fusion. She doesn’t walk now and uses a wheelchair.

Walking will be different for you now. There are some shoes that are not totally flat and rock. That might be question to ask if that could help. Pay attention to your knees because you can get wear and tear there because of the ankle. A physical therapist can help direct that. Alignment issues and abnormal movement can cause knees to wear out which you want to prevent. Pelvis alignment affects this too.

Jennifer