@brucedr Hello. I wanted to welcome you to Connect. 4 years ago, I had a very bad ankle fracture. It is difficult to maneuver when you can't weight bear at all on one leg, but you will get good at figuring out how to do things. You can ask for some occupational therapy help to figure it out. I used a walker a lot and it would help if you could push on your hands on handles when getting up. I figured out a kind of sling with webbing straps (like tie downs for a car) so I could put weight on my knee into that and kind of use the walker like a person uses crutches. You could opt for a wheelchair so you don't have to get up so much, but transfers to and from it would be leaning on your hands on the arms of the wheelchair after you lock the wheels. Your good leg becomes a super-leg with extra strength. I noticed that at about a month after my injury. I got good enough that I could scoot up or down a staircase, and then just stand up from that on one leg. I kept a walker at each end of the staircase so I didn't have to try to take that up or down stairs.

Do you have a date for your ankle replacement surgery?

Maybe you’re already doing this, but I'd suggest practicing now so you can feel confident about getting out of a sturdy chair. Chairs with arms are easier so you can push yourself up. Low chairs will be more difficult than high. You could add a pillow or something to make it higher. Having something sturdy close by to steady yourself can be helpful.