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Injured both of my ankles before a 3 weeks trip

Hey guys!

I've been reading a lot of great advice on this forum and I decided to take a leap of faith. I injured both of my ankles 2 weeks before a 3 weeks trip in Europe. There is no way my husband and I can postpone since we're going for a friend's wedding. We're going to do London and area (Stonehenge, Bath, Oxford), Edinburgh, and Iceland. A lot of destinations. It was supposed to be perfectly tiring for my husband's first time in the European continent

My husband and I are well-seasoned travelers, but with this injury, I have no idea what to do. I cannot use crutches since both ankles are hurting. A wheelchair is possible, but a bit inconvenient. If I would do that, how would you approach this? Rent a wheelchair in every city I visit for a couple of days?

I liked the idea of a seated scooter, but I don't know if I could travel with a portable one or something? Anyone have a creative idea to help us out? I'll take it!

Thank you so so much,

Posted by
3 posts

Thanks! You're right. I've been injured for 11 months and just re-injured myself. I'm trying to see another doctor because my current podiatrist isn't very good :(

Posted by
5837 posts

Arrange with your airline for wheelchair service at the airports. Some airlines require pre-booking the wheelchair assistance.

Posted by
2145 posts

I agree. Go for the wedding and postpone the rest. I hope you purchased Travel Insurance for any non-refundable expenses.

Key thing is to take care of yourself and to get better. While a wheel chair could work in many places, that means your husband would have to push you in many places. Not knowing your age, his age/general physical condition, it's hard for anyone else to judge how much of a strain that might put on him. Three weeks is a L O N G time if you are not feeling well/hurt and for your husband to " push you around " in unfamiliar locations.

If you are determined to still go, I would suggest emailing each of your hotels to see what suggestions they might have or assistance in each location....ditto for any sights you plan to see (are golf-cart type things, individual seated scooters, wheelchairs, etc. available?). The last thing you want to do is take a fall that could result in even more injuries. Are you able to navigate stairs if you were to be faced with them? Will each of your overnight locations have elevators (or guaranteed ground-floor rooms)?

Best wishes to you and speedy recovery.

Posted by
439 posts

I don't know how badly you have injured them but I sprained both ankles 1 month before going to Greece. I kept them elevated, iced, and compressed. Except for seeing the Pope in Central Park, I stayed off of them as much as I could. About a week before I got a shot from dr in the one that hurt the most. I walked 20,000 steps a day, they hurt but it was manageable. I also had a prescription for naproxen, stronger version of alleve.

On a different trip, my husband brought a cane with a seat. Didn't kneed it but an option.

What did your dr say?

Posted by
11731 posts

It appears you will be flying in/out of London and stopping in Iceland before/after the wedding.

If that is the case, I would rent a wheelchair in London and keep it until your departure. Rent just once and return when you return vs rentals in each town.

Get a rental for Iceland, for your time there.

Oh, and stop jumping off the roof!

Posted by
4181 posts

It sounds like you cannot walk at all. But, when you see that other podiatrist or orthopedist, be sure to get x-rays to rule out broken bones and ask about ankle braces or ankle sleeves. There's always the chance that those might help.

Good luck from a bad knees person.

Posted by
11658 posts

I have been thinking about what I would do in your shoes and I would loathe to cancel my trip. How about something like this? Possibly less expensive than canceling the trip.

Make sure you have a note from your doctor and see if you can get bulkhead seats on the plane, too.

Posted by
3 posts

Hi everybody!

Thanks so much for your support. I can walk a bit, but not for too long at the moment. I'm very careful. So far, my husband and I have decided to go with what some of you advise, and we will get a foldable wheelchair rental wherever we go. We'll see how it goes in the first few days, if it doesn't work well we'll rent a scooter along the way. My husband and I are both young adults, and he wants to take care of me, so we're trying to find a way to make our trip not too inconvenient.

Unfortunately, we have booked Airbnb for our sleep arrangement, so I won't be able to have much help but the piggyback rides from my husband to help me out going up the stairs if they have some.

I will buy very good ankle braces and sleeve as well as I'll make sure I can elevate and ice my feet as needed. I've been injured on-and-off for a couple of years (I have hypermobility joint syndrome), so I'm learning to try to accommodate my life around my injuries, but not stopping living for that reason. Someone asked me what my doctor said, my podiatrist, told me to rest and take probiotics ;) haha that is why I'm looking for another doctor! (when you're hypermobile doctors don't know what to do with you ;) I injure myself without having a proper "accident").

Thanks again! I'm sure my husband and I will have an amazing time in England and Iceland!

Posted by
989 posts

This will change your trip. You have to accept that.
But at least you know that going in.
I just returned from a 3 week trip. On day 4 in Prague my left knee just failed. Every step was painful but I tried to just keep powering thru. I had been doing 6-7 miles daily prior, I just gritted my teeth and kept going down to 5 miles, then 4, as I slowed down and took more breaks.
It changed all my plans. To compensate, I did a golf cart tour in Cracow and took taxis.. I did the HOHO bus in Budapest for three days but did very little hopping off and on. It was all I could do to hobble to the HOHO bus stop. By Vienna I was practically immobile and spent two days in an easy chair waiting to find a private orthopedist. A shot helped get me back to about 40%. I had two friends in Vienna so taxis and a private car allowed me to do about 2 of my dozen must-dos. For the first time ever I was happy to come back to the US.
I've been told I really exacerbated my condition by continuing, but I was in Europe, so of course I did. So please Just don't overdo on your ankles. The wheelchair is a great option, but might limit your ability to visit some sites. Electric scooter batteries are only good for a few hours before requiring recharge, but I'd get one even with that limitation.. Look for guided tour or private driver tour options. The golf cart tour was wonderful but I found them only in Cracow and I did all three tours. Taxis can be your Best Friend!!
Good luck.!!! Enjoy!!! it's Europe!!!

Posted by
1928 posts

My daughter can walk, but needs a wheelchair on every trip because she is limited in her walking. I don't know how much experience you have with wheelchairs but they are big, and heavy and don't "pack" well. On each of our trips we go to a medical supply store locally and rent a "transport" chair. I think it is around $60 for a month. It folds up very small and only weighs about 25 pounds. It has been perfect for us because it will fit fine in the back of a rental car and since it is light it easily managed. It does, however, have to be pushed by someone else. My husband gets pretty tired of pushing, but it works.

I think it would be too hard to try to find a rental in every city, and a scooter is huge, and heavy, as nice as that would be.

Posted by
1482 posts

Since ice trays in rentals can be non existent, or for those one ounce cubes, you might throw some ice cube trays in yr suitcase.....im assuming yr going to have to check at least one bag at this point for yr ancillary props.