Conditions + Treatments
Ankle Injury/Condition
Broken Ankle
On Saturday, May 9, 2020, I was out running some errands to prepare for Mothers’ Day the next day. As I was leaving the Garden Center in Cullman, I stepped off the curb onto a stick and rolled my left ankle. I immediately felt more pain than I had ever experienced.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I decided not to go to the emergency room. I heard that Andrews Sports Medicine had opened a Cullman location so I called them and was able to get an appointment for the following Monday, just two days after my injury.
My appointment was with Dr. Monte Ketchum. He took x-rays of my foot and ankle and told me I had severely broken it. After explaining my injury, he gave me a number of treatment options I could choose from. I really liked his flexibility and consideration for my opinion on how I wanted to move forward.
Dr. Ketchum also has a style of communication and attention to detail I appreciate. I decided to wear a soft cast and use a scooter, and after we settled on that plan, he clearly described how to wear the cast and what to expect in the coming weeks. He even warned me I would experience bruising on different parts of my foot and that it was nothing to worry about, and he was exactly right. My foot turned blue in many places aside from the location of my injury, but I didn’t panic because Dr. Ketchum prepared me for it. Had he not taken the time to pass on that detail, I definitely would have shown up to the clinic worried something else was wrong.
I consider myself an active person; I love walking, gardening, swimming and just overall being out and about. Because of my active lifestyle, I was anxious to get back to my routines as quickly as possible. However, Dr. Ketchum did not try to rush my healing and I am very thankful for that. My progress was slow and steady, but I now feel completely healed and am back to many of my normal activities.
Dr. Ketchum told me at my first appointment that I would heal well by the 4th of July and still have lots of time to enjoy my summer. He was right; I had a wonderful 4th with my husband Wendell, our children Ethan and Hollie, our wonderful new son-in-law, Zack, and our dogs Zoe, an AussieDoodle, and Buster, a lab.
I am a business owner of 46 years in Cullman. My husband and I own Cullman Kitchen and Bath Company where we design, install and fabricate countertops for kitchens and bathrooms. With Dr. Ketchum’s excellent care, my ankle never caused me to miss a day of work.
As a proud Cullmanite, local business owner and Andrews patient, I couldn’t be happier to have Andrews Sports Medicine and Dr. Ketchum in the Cullman community.
