Consulting Dr. Google

The urgent care center called today to confirm that the x-rays showed a fracture in my right foot. The nurse said it was the 5th metatarsal that was broken. So, like any good netizen, I trotted off to Google with that information to see what I could find out. I know that you have to take the results you find on the internet with a grain of salt, but I've usually had good luck in finding accurate information. After consulting several sites, this is what I found out:

--This is a common injury among athletes. This made me laugh because I am definitely not athletic. The hip injury that I got a few years ago is common among sedentary old ladies; that makes more sense.

--Rest, ice, compression, and elevation are recommended.

--This type of injury can take up to 20 weeks to fully heal if we opt for non-surgical treatment. This mainly depends on whether I have an avulsion fracture or a Jones fracture.

My biggest concern is that I haven't seen an orthopedic specialist yet. It was my understanding from the urgent care doctor and my reading that the RICE treatment is supposed to be a temporary measure to mitigate the symptoms until I could see the specialist. I thought I would get in yesterday or today. However, since my employer is paying for this I have to wait for an authorization from the company that handles their workman's compensation issues. The HR person at my job called me this afternoon and said to expect a call from them within the hour. After a couple hours, I didn't get a call and was going to call HR back, but one of my coworkers sent me a text saying the office had been closed early because of bad weather. I pray that waiting until Monday won't cause further damage to my foot.