Wedding Disaster Averted - Kinda

[loverocks]

Ok Ladies....I have a kinda bad situation on my hands. Last week I fell down the stairs at work. Aaaggghhhh.....
Seriously, I almost passed out laying there on the floor. I swear I thought I broke my foot (I heard it snap and oh, the pain). The first thing I thougt of was - OMG my wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Fast forward - my foot is not broken, but I pulled and tore ligaments in my foot. It is swollen and bruised all over. I just did a follow up appointment with the orthapedist, and when the ligament tore it took a little chip of bone with it that is now floating around in my foot. The upshot of it is that I need to stay in the soft cast "boot" for another 3 weeks. Thankfully, I am mostly free of the crutches and can drive myself around again and kinda walk. In 3 weeks I need another check up and then probably a little rehab.

Okay, so my wedding is October 17th. I will definetly be okay by then. But - my dress just came in and I need to schedule my first fitting and get things underway with that. I have not yet picked out shoes (Freke?), and I was planning on doing 2/12 - 3 inch heels. Since I am swollen I don't know what to do about that. And, even if I find shoes, I really can't stand in them yet because of the pain, etc. What do I do about this? Do I wait 3 more weeks to do the fitting? Will it be cutting it too close?

Also - I was into this whole workout regime where I was doing about 1 hr. a day - 6 days a week. Now - I can't do anything

. What do I do??? I really want to loose about 10 lbs!!! I guess I maybe can get a month of good working out prior to the wedding after I heal a bit - but won't that mess with my alterations? I mean, I think you really can't loose weight after the final fitting, and isn't that about 3 weeks prior to the wedding? If so, then whatever I am weight wise I will just have to stay at? Oh, I don't know what to do.

I am so sad and at a loss. I really want to be beautiful on my wedding day, and now I am worried I won't look as great.

Thank you for coming to my pity party

 

[WishfulThinking]

Oh, what a rotten situation! I am glad nothing is broken, but it is such a bummer. I feel for you.

I have nothing construction to add, just a ton of pity to throw into the pot. I hope you get some good suggestions on how to proceed. Maybe you should call the people doing your alterations and get their advice about it? I''m sure they''ve encountered many a disaster in their day, and might know what to do.

Good luck, and heal fast!

 

[Sabine]

Awe, that really stinks, and I hope you heal as fast as possible! As for the fittings, I think you have plenty of time. You could definitely call your seamstress and ask how busy they will be in late September and October, and maybe they will have some suggestions. Also, I wouldn''t suggest this for the stress of it, but I ended up having my final fitting 3 days before my wedding because I ended up having my seamstress modify the neckline and then she had to resew on some beads, so last minute alterations can be done if you need them to be!

 

[FrekeChild]

Is there any exercise you can still do? I''d talk to your doctor about it and see what they have to say. I''m thinking maybe swimming or something where you don''t have to put much, if any weight on your foot. Maybe a stationary bike? I dunno.

What style is your dress? I''m thinking that if there isn''t much to do with the bottom, like it wouldn''t be that big of a deal to hem your dress, I think I''d let the seamstress do all the other alterations first, and then do the hemming last-and deal with the shoes when you can at least stand in them. Not to mention get them on your foot, which sounds like it may take a while for the swelling to go down.

The most important part is that you heal properly.

I can''t believe I''m saying this, but shoes can wait for a bit. And alterations can as well. If it''s major stuff that needs to be done, perhaps start it now, but this is why you have several fittings-to rework things and to alter it to make it fit perfectly.

Ugh. I''m sorry this happened, but at least it wasn''t a couple of weeks before your wedding, right?

 

[Octavia]

I'm so sorry, and I hope you're healing well!

My mother's co-worker's friend came down with some health issues just before her wedding, and somehow her feet were affected. She couldn't wear the shoes she had picked out, and needed to find something easy to wear with only a few hours to spare -- and ended up in fuzzy slippers! Apparently the photos showing the slippers were hilarious, and she just owned them and didn't let it ruin her wedding.

I think that whatever you wear, you should make sure it's extremely comfortable and supportive. I probably would go with flats, or some sort of wedge if you really need a heel. Regular heels just seem like they'd be asking for trouble, since your ankle may not be back to full strength by then (my brother sprained his badly and it took over a year to heal fully). I'm not trying to scare you, but you won't want to be uncomfortable on your wedding day. Can you find something quirky and fun that will make you laugh when you look back on it years from now?

 

[lliang_chi]

I''m glad you''re not seriously hurt and nothing''s broken! You''re still going to look beautiful on your wedding day, don''t despair! I don''t know what to say about the fittings. Maybe they can work on taking in and repairs and save the hemming until you can get into your shoes?

About the exercising you can still do stuff!!!

1. Stuff like those ab-rollers, crunches, core excercises etc.
2. Some yoga/pilates moves can help out too (one ones on your back and or stomach).
3. You can use free weights & Thera-bands so you can work your arms and legs.
4. Also there are some balance ball hamstring exercises. It''s hard to explain correctly, but if you want I can try.

I think you best bet is to go to a Physical Therapist or EXPERIENCED personal trainer and tell them you want to work out still but don''t know what to do since you''re "laid up". None of these are serious cardio, which I think you should avoid so your body can focus on healing. You might be able to get your insurance to cover the Physical Therapist, justified under "pre-hab" that they do for certain injuries.

Just some thoughts, good luck!!!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

I am sorry about your foot, ow ow, ow!! ((Hugs)) Until you can exercise, have you considered doing stuff in a chair? I know it sounds pretty lame and usually it''s for elderly people, but it''s better than nothing! I know there''s a whole video of it on comcast on demand..if you''re in super great shape it may not help much, but it might be better than nothing.

 

[loverocks]

wishfulthinking - thank you for your sympathy

sabine - I had no idea alterations can be done that close to the wedding! Good to know, it does give me some comfort

freke - I can not believe you said the shoes can wait!!! You are right, healing is most important. I made need to solicite your help in finding really cute flip flops / flats / wedges

octavia - OMG! I love the fuzzy slipper story. You know, I totally agree...sometimes you just gotta rock it!

lliang - Thank you so so much for the work out tips! I think crunches, ab stuff is possible. I can also do free weights too for the arms/back. The lack of cardio is really going to suck though. I appreciate all of your suggestions

sarah - thanks for the hugs I actually have comcast, so I will need to check that out. I had no idea they had workout stuff!


Thanks everyone for your sympathy/suggestions. Since this is a work injury I am pretty much covered with doing physical therapy, so that will be a good thing. The alterations dept at my bridal salon is not open until tomorrow, so I will have to wait then to see what they say. I am crossing my fingers that it will work out okay.
I asked FI to help me devise some sort of work out plan, so tonight we are going to see what I can do and make a plan for working out in a modfied way. He is so good, did I mention I love him
Thanks ladies, I need all the PS dust I can get !!!!

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 8/8/2008 2:23:03 PM
Author:loverocks
Ok Ladies....I have a kinda bad situation on my hands. Last week I fell down the stairs at work. Aaaggghhhh.....

Seriously, I almost passed out laying there on the floor. I swear I thought I broke my foot (I heard it snap and oh, the pain). The first thing I thougt of was - OMG my wedding!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fast forward - my foot is not broken, but I pulled and tore ligaments in my foot. It is swollen and bruised all over. I just did a follow up appointment with the orthapedist, and when the ligament tore it took a little chip of bone with it that is now floating around in my foot. The upshot of it is that I need to stay in the soft cast ''boot'' for another 3 weeks. Thankfully, I am mostly free of the crutches and can drive myself around again and kinda walk. In 3 weeks I need another check up and then probably a little rehab.


Okay, so my wedding is October 17th. I will definetly be okay by then. But - my dress just came in and I need to schedule my first fitting and get things underway with that. I have not yet picked out shoes (Freke?), and I was planning on doing 2/12 - 3 inch heels. Since I am swollen I don''t know what to do about that. And, even if I find shoes, I really can''t stand in them yet because of the pain, etc. What do I do about this? Do I wait 3 more weeks to do the fitting? Will it be cutting it too close?


Also - I was into this whole workout regime where I was doing about 1 hr. a day - 6 days a week. Now - I can''t do anything

. What do I do??? I really want to loose about 10 lbs!!! I guess I maybe can get a month of good working out prior to the wedding after I heal a bit - but won''t that mess with my alterations? I mean, I think you really can''t loose weight after the final fitting, and isn''t that about 3 weeks prior to the wedding? If so, then whatever I am weight wise I will just have to stay at? Oh, I don''t know what to do.


I am so sad and at a loss. I really want to be beautiful on my wedding day, and now I am worried I won''t look as great.

Thank you for coming to my pity party

Aw, Loverocks, first off, breathe! It''ll be alright. If it''s not too presumptuous, may I offer a few suggestions?

(1) Injury. As a former athlete myself who has had a fair share of ankle injuries from falling off balance beams and the like, there are definitely some things you can do to help with that first issue of getting that foot of yours as "back to normal as possible". On the simplest tack, to reduce swelling, RICE:
Rest
Ice
Compression
Elevation
As often as possible, elevate your injured foot *above* your heart to encourage fluid draining. Apply ice as frequently as you can manage, 20 minutes on and twenty minutes off. Have your PT show you how to gently apply an Ace Bandage wrap properly to encourage fluid draining as well. If you can tolerate it, also take Advil, which helps reduce swelling.

(To "power-reduce" swelling, there is a course of action that PTs often have their clients do: ice bath/warm water bath. Basically, it''s like the 20 minutes on/off with the ice bag I mentioned above, but more effective. The downside is that it''s less convenient. Basically, you set up two buckets, one filled with ice water and some ice cubes (to around 40 degrees F) and one with warmish water (about 100-105 degrees F). You submerge the limb in question for 5 minutes cold, then 15 minutes warm, and keep alternating for about an hour. It''s messy and the cold bath is quite uncomfortable though.)



(2) Alterations length. Can you take a box, book, or small plank of wood whose thickness elevates your heels to the same height your shoes will elevate you and stand on that for your fitting?



(3) The Last Ten Pounds. Eh, with a timeline of a couple of months, you''ll probably find diet-modification and strength-training far more effective at reducing inches in all the right places anyhow! Are you part of a gym? Could you hire a trainer for a couple of sessions to teach you how to use some of the machines which don''t require use of feet? Routines with light free weights for your upper arms and back? Buy and exercise ball and power your abs? That, combined with the "eat lean meats, no sugars, no white carbs, lots of green leafy vegetables, and cut out all those processed drinks" probably will be more effective than spending hours on the stationary bike anyway! No worries, right?


f-d-l

(P.S. Okay, this isn''t relevant at all, but I''m loving your wedding date. My grandparents wedding anniversary was October 17th, and they were married for over 60 years-- so I think it''s a great date on which to be wed!

)

 

[bettina]

Windsor Pilates: Total body workout. It''s about $20 at walmart and it works. 18 minutes but you sweat. I swear by this and there are very few moves that involve pressure on your feet.

 

[gtn]

I wouldn''t worry too much about the fitting. You will be amazed at how quickly a seamstress can work. Especially since your wedding is in mid-october. Work on getting yourself healed.

 

[Junkenpo]

...okay, i sympathize with you becuase I just fell down the stairs on my way to work. I tweaked my ankle enough that I decided to call in and take it easy today, but thankfully I didn''t hear any snapping. I''m on my feet all day at my work, so that would''ve been a bad idea, but I''m going back tomorrow.


My husband separated his shoulder about a month and a half before our wedding.

hugs to you! hope your healing goes quickly!