THIS POST IS PART OF THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO FOOT AND ANKLE INJURIES
Like most 7-year-old boys, Jameson Juliano has a lot of energy and enjoys running, jumping and playing. However, when Jameson hurt his ankle last winter, he found himself in a lot of pain that limited his normal lively day-to-day activities.
“It happened by me jumping off the stairs. Because my brother, Jace was like, ‘you’re weird’, and I tried to prove I was not weird. So, I jumped off the stairs, so he would think I was like a cool brother,” said Jameson.
Immediately, Jameson complained of pain and his mom Lena wasn’t sure what to do next and decided to give it time. Lena and her husband have three kids under 8 years old who all have as much energy as Jameson. With three kids in school and sports, injuries are common. Lena assumed he sprained his ankle and it would eventually get better.
Unfortunately, Jameson’s ankle wasn’t getting better and Lena started to worry. “As the days passed, he complained less, but I started to notice he was favoring his other foot to avoid putting pressure on the ‘sprained’ ankle,” said Lena.
Looking for a quick answer
Lena decided to take Jameson to OrthoIndy Urgent Care West in Brownsburg where he had his ankle assessed by physician assistant, Julia Williams, MPAS, PA-C.
“Ankle injuries are one of the most common problems we encounter in our urgent care,” said Julia. “After hearing Jameson’s story and examining his ankle, I was suspicious of a fractured ankle, also called a broken ankle, due to swelling and tenderness directly on the bone. However, it is often difficult to confirm whether or not someone has a fracture without X-rays.”
After Jameson had his X-ray, Julia determined Jameson had a broken ankle after all.
“When I found out he broke his ankle, I was devastated. I felt awful. I couldn’t hide it and cried in the office,” said Lena.
However, Jameson assured her that it was okay and they were ready to take on the healing process together.
“The physician assistant did a good job of role playing what he could and couldn’t do. This helped me to remind him throughout the healing process,” said Lena. “He also made sure to remind me sometimes too. I would be too strict, and he would say ‘the doctor told me I could do this mom’.”
Fortunately, Jameson didn’t need surgery, but he had to wear a boot to restrict ankle movement while the bones healed.
“We found that Jameson had a small break which explained his persistent symptoms. Most ankle fractures can be treated in a walking boot, which is what I offered,” said Julia. “He knew that if he stayed in the boot at all times while walking, his fracture would likely heal very well, and he could get back to all the activities that he loves to do.”
Lena was relieved to have a plan for Jameson and appreciated the ease of OrthoIndy Urgent Care.
“OrthoIndy Urgent Care was great. The location and hours are convenient. Instead of taking my son out of school, I was able to go afterward. There was almost no wait, and they handled my little one quickly and with care.”
OrthoIndy Urgent Care is open seven days a week with weekend and evenings hours
Limited activity with a broken ankle
On the other hand, Jameson was bummed at how the boot limited his activity at school, while playing and preparing for the end of the school year music program.
“Well, I couldn’t jump off the stairs. I couldn’t jump off certain steps. I couldn’t go swimming…but I was happy about that,” said Jameson. “I couldn’t do gym and that stinks! I was practicing for the end of year music performance and I wanted my boot off because when I practiced, I couldn’t jump.”
After the initial diagnosis at OrthoIndy Urgent Care, Lena scheduled a follow-up appointment with Dr. Bradley Jelen, an OrthoIndy trauma surgeon. The follow-up appointments were necessary to ensure Jameson’s ankle was healing correctly.
“The follow-up was easy because you could pick one of many doctors based on my own schedule versus the typical ‘wait two months to see one doctor at one specific timeslot’,” said Lena. “This allowed me to work around our hectic schedule and not have to work around a limited inconvenient time.”
Jameson also appreciated his experience with OrthoIndy.
“I liked the doctors, they were nice. They made me feel happy and think that when I noticed I broke my ankle, they made me feel grateful that they are going to make it feel better,” said Jameson.
Life after a broken ankle
Jameson’s goal was to perform in the music program without his boot and luckily, he got his wish.
“Happily, the doctor said the boot could come off the day of the program, and I jumped,” said Jameson.
Now Jameson is back to playing soccer, football and any other activity that involves running, jumping and having fun. Next time Jameson gets hurt, he already knows where he plans to go.
“So, I was at my friend’s house playing tag, and the tagger can’t go back behind the couch. There was a gap behind the couch and the tagger put their hand into it to tag me, but my foot got stuck behind the couch and now it may be broken again,” said Jameson. “My mom said we will only wait a few days this time and if it’s not better, we’ll come back to the OrthoIndy.”
Learn more about treatment for foot and ankle injuries at OrthoIndy.
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