well since she fainted & she's 73, that instantly meant to the doctor that she needed an EKG & blood work to make sure it wasn't anything with her heart that caused her to faint.
every single nurse that came in her room said, in effect, "duh, you broke your ankle - of course you fainted"!!
but i guess, better safe than sorry. she's still in very little pain so i'm very thankful for that. she'll bounce back just fine.