Thanks for the answer! Yeah, the backboard (or, alternatively, Reeves, according to another commenter) were what I was expecting - from popular media, not prior personal experience. For the ankle, in all honesty, my porch was only three steps off the ground and I had an EMT supporting both sides. The hopping sucked but it wasn't the worst part of the evening.

I just was amazed that calling for help with a (very badly, fwiw; I had tried to twist it back into place and stand on it twice before someone found me and recommended not doing that) broken ankle would result in three separate instances of me hopping around.

For the back surgery, they lead me to the prep area, told me to strip and wipe down any areas where my skin folded, then get in the stretcher. I didn't (knowingly) leave that stretcher for most of two days. However, at some point after I was recovered from the anesthesia I said "hey, wait a minute! This isn't the bed I was in before!" (The nurses thought that was pretty funny.) I guess they moved me at some point, but whether I was actively involved in the process I do not know.