My mom’s broken ankle has really changed everything at our house. A week ago things were great, but then Mom came limping home from her run with Bailie and life as we knew it was changed for the next few months. It is very true that one needs to enjoy what you have because things can change in a split second! Over the past week, we have all learned a lot and I wanted to share with you the 5 ways we have come up with to survive this setback.
1. Huggles help everyone feel better!
Mom is the most upset about her broken Fibula. Being such an active person who can’t even sit still, it is a huge blow. For over 30 years, she has been walking or running every single morning. To have to suddenly quit her morning workouts is like giving up brushing her teeth. It is extremely difficult. We dogs feel the pain too, as we all have had the same morning walk/run routine our entire lives.
Not only does Mom miss the exercise, but it makes her really sad and frustrated. Seeing us dogs waiting at the door to go for a walk breaks her heart. We all have some short fuses and are not quite sure how to handle this new lifestyle we have been blessed with for the next few months. The one thing we have is each other. We can snuggle, huggle, and hang out. Nothing beats being together, and it will get us through. We are darn lucky the break is not all that bad! Things could be even worse, so we look on the bright side.
2. Find your new normal with a broken ankle!
Finding a new normal is pretty tough when most of our lives were based on activity. Madison spends a lot of time looking out the window looking for her new normal. Figure out what you can do, and how to best do things that need to be done. The new normal is not forever, only long enough to let the broken bone heal. Thankfully we have a fenced yard we can go out and run around in to burn off some energy.
3. Call others for help!
Of all the things one can do to help get through a broken ankle, this one is one of the most difficult! Mom is very independent and doesn’t like to ask for help. Now is the time where you need to pick up the phone and call friends and family. They will understand and help out. Others can take us for some walks, help with shopping, shovel snow, or just hang out and have some fun. People really do want to help! Don’t be shy, ask!
4. Work on Training!
Not being able to run around doesn’t mean a dog mom can’t do anything with her pups. Training is a great way to get us focused and wear us out mentally. We’ll be using low cal, but tasty treats for training. Mom already started by training Bailie and Madison to finally learn to ring the doorbell. Bailie learned to ring the bell last fall, but never used her knowledge. Now she has to ring to come back in, and Madison is learning too. Mom also plans to work on some tricks with them, as well as basic obedience. I’m years older than my sisters and am content to hang out, so I won’t have to train as much. We can all practice our nose work too.
5. Watch those calories!
We spent two to three hours a day walking, running, and doing our sports before the dreadful broken ankle. All of us girls and Mom are in great shape. We could eat whatever we wanted and never worried about gaining weight. One of the first things Mom did as soon as she got the news about the break, was to tell us we would all be restricting our calories. She doesn’t want any of us getting chubby while she is incapacitated. Madison is the exception as she is a growing puppy. Our food portions have been reduced, and snacks have been cut back too. I guess it is a good thing as we don’t want our furs to start feeling tight, but it is a bummer. Once we are back on the road, we can get back to our regular food and snack schedule. None of us, especially not Mom, want to fall into a lazy lifestyle where we overeat and gain weight.
Those are the 5 tips we have so far for dogs to survive their human breaking an ankle. My best advice it to make sure it never happens, but that is tough. Bailie was with Mom when it happened, and she feels so bad she couldn’t keep it from happening. We’ll all be back to our regular routine in a couple months, but in the meantime, these tips will help us to get through the tough time.
Poor Mom….that is an awful adjustment for sure. The only good thing about it is that it happened in the winter and not in the spring, summer or fall. Mom will be as good as new by Spring. Sometimes the Universe works in mysterious ways when sending us messages to slow down. ((((hugs))))
Winter is our favorite time of year, so it is a major bummer. It’s just sad and hard on all of us, but we are looking forward to how happy we will be when she is better.
I feel so bad seeing this through Emma’s eyes. I would just sit on the couch and watch TV but I understand how hard this is for you!
Lots of people would probably see it as a great reason to relax and do nothing, but Mom is terrible at that and we dogs are not good at it either. We will appreciate our walks and things much more after this!
that were great tips… and we hope so much that her ankle heals up very quickly and without any complications…I’m glad you are very good furkids and you give your momma the time to heal… I remember the first night with my cast it ended as a cast-away done by Dr. Easy :o)
We remember your ordeal. One never thinks it will happen, but it can and it did!
yes.. we humans are no playmobil people , who can buy a new arm or leg at eBay ;O))))
Oh no! Ouch. You better take her for only slow walks
Lily & Edward
We can’t do walks as she can’t walk that far which is a huge bummer!
It’s not any fun when you can’t do what you want to do. Great job looking on the bright side, enjoy the huggles and snuggles they make everything better.
The snuggles are the best medicine!
Those are great tips. We hope you mom can survive her recovery. You three will probably adjust to the new normal more readily than she does. If your mom does what the doctors say she will be back in full function before long.
Millie & Walter
She is resigning herself more and more to inactivity as moving around is so hard. Time will pass, and we are all stuck in this together.
Great tips! We understand…ever since my mommy’s accident she has had increasing problems associated with her back. Walking is ruff on her. She does go to her gym to work out in the warm water pool several times a week. I do huggle and snuggle with her. XOXO, Sparkle
I think for most dogs, a parent out of commission is a real nightmare! Back issues are no fun. Hope your mom can get the pain under control.
I kniw y’all sure will be happy when the healing is done, especially the Mom!
It will be so great! We are focused on the day we can walk again!
It is hard. When i tore my ACL and couldn’t run, or ride my bike I was a basket case. When exercise is something that is a huge part of your life, it’s super tough to give that up. But, this to shall pass. You’ll look back and think, wow, that time went pretty fast. It’s probably good this happened in winter, summer would be harder to stay indoors.
Actually, we don’t like summer and love winter. Mom and we dogs don’t like heat at all, so summer would be better in that respect. For dog sports, winter is better. We know it will be over with in weeks, but each day it seems like forever.
Emma, I have been thinking about your mom and sure hope she feels back to normal as soon as possible. I also have a hard time not walking/running every single day and as you know your mom inspires me to get up early and walk Remy first thing in the morning (we were up at 4:50 today!). I can only imagine how frustrating that broken ankle must be. Like you said, I hope she asks for some help because I’m sure there are friends/family who would love to come take you or one of your sister for a walk (especially that cute puppy!). How is Bailie doing with less exercise?
We know you would be in the same boat as we are! Bailie and Madison love to play together, so they are doing alright just being wild in the yard. I’m old enough to be content with less activity, but I won’t do my business in the yard. Mom has to drive me to the park, put me on a long line and let me do my thing. I am trained too well on the yard is not a bathroom thing! We will survive, and it will be so awesome when we can do our first walks again, even if it will be short! Thanks for thinking of us and Mom says to do an extra mile or two for her.
Those are SUPER tips… butt we think you should add NAPPING… to the list.. More and LONGER ones.
I do quite a bit of napping, we all do, especially since there is nothing else going on! Only mom doesn’t nap.
Great tips – we know this is going to be hard for ALL of you! I think snooter kisses will help your mom a LOT.
Yours sincerely,
Margaret Thatcher
It is definitely a bad situation for our lifestyle, but together we will survive.
It is always hard to be sidelined by an injury. We are thankful that it wasn’t worse and hope you heal in record time. ♥ Wish we were close enough to help but we are sending huggles♥
Bentley, will you go on a virtual walk with me? It is hard around here as everything is a major project for Mom, but we are getting by. Check in tomorrow…see who my special guest is. It will brighten both our days.
adding napping is a wonderful 6th tip! Our mom tried to teach us fetch in the house when she broke her leg and wrist. It was pretty hillarious, as she was in a wheelchair and we just stole her slippers (actually traded them) for whatever she threw for us to retrieve. You girls will have to learn patience. We boys did ( sort of), GOOD LUCK and remember, in a few more weeks your mom will be right at rain again (what does that mean anyway?) Your friend, Chablis
We know it will pass by and in the scheme of things it is not that long, but when you are in the midst of it, it seems like forever. Luckily, we all behave pretty well. We know something has happened and we have to help our mom. You guys know first paw it is not easy.
Hang in there gals!! I think you have come up with some great tips and bet you will use those and bunches of others to power through this!
Smiley Hugs!
Dory, Jakey, Arty & Bilbo
We are doing our best. Paws crossed the check up tomorrow goes well!
I felt your Mom’s pain last week when I was sick and on the couch most of the week. I thought of her having to endure slowing down so much for weeks; when I could barely stand just a few days of not being able to do all I wanted.
It sounds like you have some good plans in place to get through it, and it’s so true that having each other is the most important! Luke stuck by me on the couch and that made me feel so much better! Hang in there!
At least when you are sick, you want to sleep and have no energy. With the ankle, it is 100% go feeling, but body says no. Oh well, we have to deal with it.
I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with this! I’ve only had a few minor injuries that kept me from being able to walk for a few days at a time, but I know how hard it can be to adjust to new routines! It looks like you have a solid plan for getting through it, though! I’ll be sending good thoughts your way.
Thank you. Mom always thought some day she could get hurt, but never really thought it would happen. One week down…87 to go!
My momma would be going nuts – she works out for 2 hours a day plus walks us. Hope your momma heals quick.
Yeah, my mom is losing it too. She cries, gets mad and frustrated, not easy right now. There is nothing we can do to change it but wait for it to heal. Hope it never happens to your mom.
Food restriction is a tough nut to crack. Your plans do sound doable for the next couple of months. But I’m pretty sure the food restriction will be the hardest part. Good luck, girls.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
We are all bummed about cutting back at mealtime and on the treats, but we will be back to our old eating habits in two months or so, hopefully. It is all just difficult right now!
Those are great tips, sounds like more nose work training might be in order? Good luck with the healing process, hope all is going well.
Nose work is pretty good to do with the broken ankle, and I love that. Mom has a dr. appt today, and we hope things are coming along well.
I suffered the exact same injury a few years ago, and finally had to enlist help with various chores including dog walkers. It seemed like forever before I was back to 100% but nice times were spent with the dogs helped my mental health. The time we spent together was good even if boring as all get-out but eventually we got back to our regular active routine. Hope your mom hangs in there and feels better soon!
We focus on being able to get back to normal. Heck, at this point, even a walk around the block would be fantastic, but it will have to wait! Glad you healed up and got back to normal. It’s all new to Mom having never broken a bone, so we are taking it one limp at a time.
Those are great tips. I am wondering if your mom can do non-weight bearing exercise during her recovery (swimming or an exercise bike?). I know that still leaves you out – but it sounds as if she has some great ideas for keeping you happy. I love the training idea 🙂
I hope that your mom heals really fast!!!! Our paws are crossed for her.
Thank you. She has to wear the boot 24/7, so biking or swimming are out. We have all pretty much resigned ourselves to a lot of boring non workout times until the boot comes off. I know she will need to rebuild muscle at that point, but at least she will be able to move around better.
We feel bad for all of you! It is such a huge adjustment if you are used to that type of activity. I struggle with mobility issues so…have the opposite problem. Wishing you quick healing and hope you feel better soon!
Everyone seems to have their own things to deal with. It is just a shock going from all out to zero in a second. We are coming to terms with it and trying to adjust to this new reality for a couple months. Before we know it, we will be back on the road.
So sorry for your Mom.
Time for you dogs to set some stretch training goals – what are the 5 tasks your Mom least enjoys? Get busy learning how to do them for her!
Ask your mom if now is a great time to write a book? She’s a brilliant wordsmith and storyteller.
Thank you. We try to help out, but lots of things she needs done, we can’t do. We will all survive and look back at how quickly time flew by, but when you are in the middle of it, it seems like forever.
Ouch. What a bummer. We have been in this mode since hubby’s surgery in September. It is very hard to just stop what you are doing due to illness or injury, but it is necessary in order to get better.
It’s been pretty tough so far, but we are just thankful things are not even worse.
Have no fear – this too shall pass.
The first ten days or so were devastating, but we have adjusted and time is passing. We can’t wait to get back to the normal here, but we are doing alright.