Irene has been a scheme manager with Caledonia for 25 years, she lives with her husband and has 3 children and 5 grandchildren.
Irene had recently moved to a new housing estate, and on a cold, harsh morning last Christmas Eve; she noticed some rubbish had made its way onto her driveway. Thinking nothing of it, she left her home to put the rubbish back into her bins.
However, given the time of year and the heavy snowfall from the night before, the roads and streets were coated in snow and ice. Unfortunately, she slid on the ice and her ankle hit the concrete. Immediately, she began to feel the sharp pain radiating from her ankle and slowly limped back to her home. Once inside, she took a couple of painkillers and put frozen peas on her ankle to help with the pain. A few hours later she drove herself to work from Monifieth to Dundee, where she took calls for a while and came back home.
On Christmas day she went to visit her daughter in Edinburgh for Christmas celebrations. Her husband drove her there and back. Initially they were hoping to spend the night, but due to covid regulations they had to come back home. All throughout Christmas day, the pain from her ankle was growing more and more unbearable.
It is now Boxing day, and Irene is not able to cope with the pain any longer. Her husband was really worrying about her, so he drove her to A&E. She went to reception and after all formalities was given a bed.
After 20 minutes however, she was transferred to the plaster room by a nurse and was under the impression that she was going to need a plaster. Although to her surprise, she was informed that her ankle suffered a clean break, with her tendons and ligament also needing time to heal. Feeling overwhelmed, she asked to speak with the consultant, who reiterated the clean break but informed her that if she were to manage with a boot, there would be no need for a plaster.
As a result, Irene was given a boot to wear for the next 3 months and a stick to use if going outdoors, all of which was incredibly difficult to get used to. She was struggling in the beginning, with the staying at home and reduced mobility impacting her mental health negatively as she was unable to do as she pleased. Not to mention the disruption of her daily work life which she values very highly.
Nevertheless, Irene focused on her recovery and went outside for short, frequent outings to maintain a good degree of activity. Which she believes massively helped in keeping her mental health in check.
Now, Irene has managed to make a full recovery and is back doing what she loves.
