I was at my skating practice last night when my medical skills were called upon… One of the other skaters had fallen and hurt her ankle, and the couple of people helping her had some first aid skills, but they were a little unsure of what to do. They were asking for a nurse, and I said “well, I’m a doctor, what do you need?”

So I examined her and came to the conclusion that I thought she had broken her ankle (specifically, her distal fibula) and she needed to go to an ER for X-rays and splinting/casting. She wasn’t feeling (or looking) that great (kind of shaky and pale… Hello, broken bone!) so we called for the paramedics to give her a temporary splint and transport her to a hospital. They said they didn’t think it was broken, and I just thought… “Well, I hope it’s not (for her sake) but I really think it is.” and off she went in the aid car.

This morning I stopped at Starbucks on my way to work and I saw another skater who had been helping out with her last night: “It’s a broken fibula.”

Ahhh, victory. (Though I am sad for her that it is actually broken.) 🙁