At the Hospital

Mrs. Clarke has had an accident. She is at the accident and emergency unit in the hospital waiting for an examination…

Doctor: Good evening Madam, what has happened? How can I help you?

Mrs. Clarke: Well... I slipped on the wet floor a couple of hours ago and at first, it seemed to be nothing serious, but now I have a terrible pain in my knee and in my ankle too, and ... I can barely walk now... I’m worried that my left leg might be broken!

Doctor:  OK, let me see… Please, take off your sandal gently. I’m going to ask you to move it a little bit… Does it hurt if I twist it like this?... We’ll have to X-ray your leg to check for any broken bones...

Mrs. Clarke: Oh yes, it does! Please...I can’t bear this pain any longer! To be honest, I’ve just taken a pain killer at home, but it’s not working.

Doctor: Your ankle and knee are both swollen and a bit inflamed. Your ankle doesn’t seem to be broken. It’s probably badly sprained. Ankle sprains generally heal within a few days. Let me check your knee now... can you bend your leg this way?

Mrs. Clarke: Well...it aches a lot, but I still can bend it. I hope I won’t need a splint...What do you think?

Doctor: There’s no need to get worried...a bandage will be enough for a few days. I recommend resting your leg for some days and avoiding exercise.

Mrs. Clarke: OK. And what should I do to soothe this pain?

Doctor: I’ll prescribe you some strong painkillers. Take these tablets every six hours for five days and apply this ointment twice a day for a week. You should change the bandage every two days too. That’s all.

Mrs. Clarke: OK, I’ll do that. Thank you so much!