We went down to Mary's on the long weekend, to see them and pick up the 4WD that Bob had bought, literally off Danny's truck! Leaving the village, as we got back into mobile range, there was a message from Evelyn: "Mum, get home NOW!”
Rang home, no-one there. Tried Evelyn's mobile, it was off, so we left a message. Rang Wollongong. Lee, vague and still asleep at noon, said Evelyn's keys had been stolen out of her bag while she was in an exam, so she had got a friend to take her to Canberra to get a spare set. But her house keys had been on the set that was stolen, so she climbed over the brick wall to get the hidden key. Unfortunately, the key was not there, and all the doors and windows were securely locked. So she climbed the wall again to get out. She fell off the wall, of course!
She yelled so much that a neighbour came out. He unscrewed the latch of the gate to get her out of the yard, and rang a friend who took her to hospital. The doctor at Emergency said it was sprained, gave her a pair of crutches and sent her home. They went to Jon's place, and he let her into the house. The next day, Jon drove her back to Wollongong. The mobile message had been sent when she was on the ground screaming! The hospital called the next day, saying there was a mistake; maybe the ankle was broken after all! She had to go to her Wollongong doctor for a referral for a scan.
She came back a week later, still on crutches, and her foot like a balloon. We got the scan done as she hadn't had time, and took her back to hospital. Another X-ray, and still no conclusive idea of what was wrong. Referral to an orthopaedic surgeon for review. We got her in for an appointment, and he said her ankle was definitely broken, but he was going to go on school holidays, and wouldn't operate for 4 weeks (6 weeks after the injury). We kicked up a fuss, and asked for a referral to a Dr in Canberra or Sydney who could do it sooner. Maybe we worried him - he changed a few patients around, and did the operation later that week, instead.
She had shattered the edge of the ankle bone (talus). He tried to screw it back in, but the remaining pieces crumbled. So he vacuumed out the broken bits, stitched the tendon back on and repaired the ligament that had been torn. Her foot after surgery was one continuous lump, from toe to shin, but should heal completely over 6 to 12 months.