Gravity_pirate

Hey, I just recently had a pretty painful spiral fracture, breaking the fibula about 3 in. above the ankle, and also the little nobbley part of the tibula. I had surgery in China as I was living there (had been there for 2 years teaching english). I broke it doing tae kwan do. You're messages have given my a lot of hope to get on my skates again. I'll give you some background... I'm a 21 yo male, and I love sports, My surgery consisted of ankle reconstruction, with six screws and a plate placed on the fibula and one longer one on the tibula. Since the surgery I have been in a splint, not a cast, for about a month now. No pain so far... but I have a couple of questions for you... 1. With the plates, can you get up and start walking more quickly? slowly? 2. How much does the hardware get in the way of your every day life after healing? 3. Does having the single screw removed hurt at all? I know you aren't doctors (maybe some of you are...) but I'm curious about this because I want to get up and onto my feet as soon as possible. And I think the best way to know what I'm about to experience is learned by other's experiences. thanks,