A mother who broke her leg after falling into a hole at the beach has revealed that she is facing thousands of dollars in medical bills and still can’t walk.
Sally Dixon, 58, from Milton, Georgia, issued a warning to beachgoers about the importance of filling in the holes they or their children dug in the sand after she suffered an unexpected accident while on vacation in August.
‘I’ve been to the beach a million times with the understanding that everybody knew it was beach etiquette to fill your holes,’ she told Today. ‘I’ve never stumbled or tripped over a hole… this could happen to anyone.’
Sally Dixon, 58, from Milton, Georgia, fell into a hole in the sand while walking on the beach with one of her sisters in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on the evening of August 21
She fractured her tibia plateau and had to undergo a two-hour surgery that required pins, a plate, four screws, and 17 staples
Dixon was enjoying the start of her vacation with her five sisters in Gulf Shores, Alabama, on August 21 when her evening stroll turned into a medical nightmare.
They had just finished dinner and watching TV when she and one of her sisters decided to go for a walk on the beach. They used their cellphones to guide the way, and after dipping their feet in the water, they turned around.
‘I took a couple of steps and I just fell,’ she said. ‘I didn’t really know what had happened to me.’
Dixon explained that her leg fell straight into the knee-deep hole in the sand, but her body kept moving, leading her to fracture her tibia plateau — the flat top portion of the shinbone.
Dixon shared photos of her injury on Facebook while issuing a warning to beachgoers about the importance of filling in any holes that are dug in the sand
Dixon wrote that the break was ‘probably the most horrific physical pain I’ve had in my life’
The mom spent four days in the hospital, and when her husband came to pick her up, she had to lie flat in the car during the entire six-hour drive back to Georgia
She recalled grabbing her knee and writing in pain as her sister called 911.
Dixon had to take short-term disability from her mortgage job as she heals
Beach patrol was the first on the scene, and she was put in the back of the truck before being driven offshore.
They were met by an ambulance that took her to the emergency room.
Dixon wrote in a Facebook post that she spent eight hours in the ER and two hours in surgery.
She noted that it was ‘probably the most horrific physical pain I’ve had in my life.’
The broken leg required pins, a plate, four screws, and 17 staples.
She spent four days in the hospital, and when her husband came to pick her up, she had to lie flat in the car during the entire six-hour drive back to Georgia.
‘I left my vacation never having slept in the beach house we rented with a split tibial plateau fracture,’ she wrote in her post, which included photos of the staples in her leg.
Dixon’s health insurance covered the cost of her treatment, she still expects to owe thousands of dollars in co-pays
Dixon told Today that she still can’t put weight on her broken leg six weeks later and has been relying on a walker to get around
Dixon told Today that she still can’t put weight on her broken leg six weeks later and has been relying on a walker to get around.
She also had to take short-term disability from her mortgage job as she heals.
And while her health insurance covered the cost of her treatment, she still expects to owe thousands of dollars in co-pays.
‘Please! Please! The next time you vacation at the beach please remember this post,’ she pleaded on Facebook.
‘Never, ever walk away from the beach at day’s end without filling the holes you (or your kids) made.’
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