Overdue....

OK...once I started walking I neglected this blog. It's been nearly 11 months since surgery and have had my final ortho follow up. My xrays show the screw in my heel to be intact. There is and should never be any movement as the surgeon did a great job countersinking it into the bone. I feel no lumps, bumps or anything in there.

My 4 inch scar is still numb and it has been determined that I will never regain nerve sensation on the side of my foot. From time to time I feel as if I am standing in a cold puddle of liquid...when the floor is in fact dry. Even though my sural nerve was never cut, it was moved around and stretched during surgery to render it useless. I don't mind the lack of feeling on my foot....it just bothers me that I can no longer move my pinky toe. I never will....I have tried...I still try...even using the force will not prompt my pinky to to abduct. The force is obviously not strong with this one.

So...overall...am I happy I had this surgery? Well...yes. I can no longer roll my ankle out. There are few times when I have walked on an uneven surface and my ankle has turned, but not enough to do any damage. Plus I have been rather diligent with proprioception exercises that I am really quick to correct my foot/ankle. The ridiculous pain from the peroneal tendons is gone. I can operate a clutch on my jeep or on a bike with no worries or discomfort. I am pleased with that. The only downside of this entire ordeal is the fact that my calf muscle was compromised in the two years prior to surgery. I had torn my calf in three different places but my Achilles was intact. Still...being casted and non weight bearing caused enough atrophy that I am still working on this leg. My Achilles is extremely tight so not only do I work on calf raises regularly...but I have to stretch often!!!! My doctor did suggest going in there and doing a release...but we're gonna wait on that. Love him dearly...but I am not trying to be cut open anytime soon.

Well....I'm not playing hopscotch....and I'm not jumping rope...and I'm not playing softball yet...but I can walk... Soon...with some more hard work on my part I will be able to resume those activities. I cannot wait.

Day 63 post op

I was standing in my kitchen tonight and I just had a feeling that I could do it. I just wanted to do it. When I walked my dog around the building for the first time in 2 months, I kept putting a little more pressure on my booted foot with every couple steps. While making dinner, I just did it. I called out to my boys in the living room and said, "Boys, look at what I am doing!!!"

Both Max and Dallas were excited and ran to get a closer look. All I heard was, "Mom!!!! You're walking!!!" I had my hand outstretched and I was taking small steps. I walked into the living room and then turned to go back into the kitchen. I needed this. It hurt a lot. The seam on the heal of the walking boot is cutting into my foot....well, not cutting but putting pressure on it. Regardless, this foot hurt. It stings when I put pressure on it, I can feel the plantar fascia stretch out when I put weight on my foot and I have tenderness in my heel. I know this is going to take some time but I really needed that little boost of confidence of walking on my own.

I will still use my crutches for late night bathroom trips and every time I am out of the house, but tonight I walked for the first time. Yay, Me!!!!

Day 61 post op ....the ugly details

I left the clinic without the cheese grin on my face. I'm still happy, but now I have to concentrate on how to walk normally with crutches. I know the first rule of walking with an injury is to slow down and DON'T LIMP. In order to get my muscles to grow back and achieve a normal walking gate, I need to do just that...slow down and not limp. This is hard...it was so much quicker to just use the crutches and one leg.

The first thing I did when I got home was take a bath with both feet in the water. I had grabbed a new razor, a jar of exfoliating scrub (sugar and oil mixture) and a really rough cloth before getting into the tub. I had to soak this skin and then scrub like mad.

My hair was just over a half inch in length on my lower leg...on the way to Xray I could feel it moving from the little bit of breeze I was creating down the hallways. I tried to ignore it but even the doc said, "That's so haute." I looked at him and said he was a very sick man and he just chuckled and said, "You are the third woman to come in today for cast removal, I have to give every one a hard time about their leg hair." Ugh..I just wanted to get rid of it.

I scrubbed off as much dead skin from me lower leg and foot as possible and peeled the rest of the dried blood and old scabs from my incision as possible. I didn't pull anything that gave me resistance as I was sure it would eventually just fall off later.

All the itching in my cast was coming from the slew of ingrown hairs I had along the outside of my leg. These little suckers were annoying and the sugar scrub was going to have to be used more than a couple times to get all those hairs out from under my skin.

I am scared to death to walk without my crutches. Even though he said I can stand on it barefoot, I just can't. I am nervous and afraid that I will fall and ruin the work that was done. I hope to get over this feeling quickly. It's annoying to say the least. I know I want to walk and I know that I want to play ball next year, but right now at this moment I am so afraid to mess this up.

Day 61 post op. Cast removal day!

So...I crutched into the clinic today and had a huge smile on my face. In fact the cheese grin began when I got into the vehicle to drive to the clinic. I was on cloud nine for the entire 60 miles to my surgeon's office. This is the day I have been waiting for. Nothing could bring me down, the slow drivers, the crummy attitudes I encountered...nothing. Everyone was greeted with a smile and a "Hi how are you??" whether they wanted it or not. This was my day!!!!

I didn't have a long wait and when my little "applebees style" buzzer when off the nurse was already standing in front of me to bring me back. She had a new nurse with her and explained everything she was typing into the computer in my room. I knew I was getting my cast cut off, I knew I would be crutching into X ray and I knew that I would be fitted for a boot. Everything was going along as expected.

The guy with the saw came in first. He introduced himself but I quickly forgot his name...I was far too eager to see this foot. He showed me the saw, told me that while it looks circular, it's not... it's a semi circle and does not rotate, it vibrates. He pulled up my leg and began to cut. OH MY GOSH does that saw freakin' tickle!!!!!! I had to grasp the sides of the bed thing that I was sitting on to keep from jerking my leg back.

When he peeled my cast off I got the first view of my poor atrophied leg. Oh and the hair. I had calluses that have peeled off within my cast so skin was falling off everywhere. My surgeon stepped in for a second and peeled off the strips that were placed over my incision prior to being casted. Once he left I was waiting for Xray to come get me and began to peel off dead skin patches while I waited. I found a portion of a suture left in my ankle. THAT's what has been driving me insane for weeks. Of course it was in a location that I couldn't reach but man could I feel something irritating me on the back of my ankle.

Got my Xrays done. Surgeon pulled up my images and said, "Well, the bone's all healed." I could see where the cut line of my prior images was no longer a clean line, it still showed up but now as healing bone. Dr. Davis then rolled his chair to the other side of my bed I was sitting on and said, "Ok...now get up and step on it." I had a dumb look on my face (I just know I did I could feel it when my mouth dropped open) and said, "Really? Just like that? Just stand up???" He laughed and said, "Yes, the bone is healed, you can bear weight now." I know my mouth hadn't shut yet and again said, "Really??? Just stand up???" He said, "Yup, take off your shoe and put both feet on the floor, I wanna see you stand on it."

I put both feet on the floor, one in a sock, one bare and I leaned on the right side out of pure habit. Doc told me, "put some weight on it!" I said, "I can't, really...I'm freaking out here right now and I'm just so scared to hurt something." He reassured me that it is fine now. I have no limitations beyond my own tolerance. He could clearly see that I still just wouldn't put any weight on my foot, it was thinner than my right and just looked dead. Once I did put more and more weight on it, Dr. Davis asked me, "how does it feel?" I said, "It stings on the bottom of my foot." He told me that this was normal since I have been off it for so long.

He commented on the shape of my heel and how he was pleased with the lack of varus curve it once had. I couldn't see anything past the swollen deformities that I once called my ankle. He had me sit back down and demonstrated how my right foot is still capable of rolling out at will while my left foot is stable. I kind of knew what he was implying and quickly said, "after all of this, you will not be touching my right ankle until I rip it apart like I did my left one." He chuckled and put notes in the computer for someone from PT to come up and fit me for a walking boot.

I got my instructions from the doctor that I have no restrictions, it's all about walking from here on out. I am to progress from walking with crutches to walking in my shoes by the time I return to his office. My appointment date is in two months. He said that if I was a runner prior to surgery, I would be running within a month. All I know is that I have become accustomed to the crutches and while I am one step closer to being back to normal..it just felt like it was another 100 years away. I had to get my mind right toward progress.

8 weeks post op

monday, Monday, MONDAY!!!!! This cast comes off on Monday!

I absolutely positively cannot wait to get this cast off my leg!! I know that I will be going directly into a walking boot and will still use crutches but just the thought of being free from this cast is enough to put a perm-a-grin on my face.

Ok..of all the gross stuff...but if anyone reading this is about to have the same procedure done, this will happen to you as well.

Last night I was doing a dry skin check on my toes. Typically to keep them looking presentable and not causing any offending odor, I will take a well wringed out washcloth and clean as much of my toes as I can. I learned that any lotion on this skin will actually make the skin look more dry and flakey. Yuck... A wet washcloth will provide just enough scrubbing action to remove most of the dry skin that can accumulate overnight.

Well...last night I was checking out my toes and as I lifted my toes up I could see the former calluses on the ball of my foot. Of course I had to pick at one of them. The layers are deep and I recommend anyone doing this to keep a vacuum close by. Peeling the skin is rather addicting but on the downside, any fragments of old dry callus that happen to stick to the lining of the cast will come back to haunt you later on. I discovered this while at work. It feels like any sharp object jabbing into the foot. Ouch!

I will update on Monday or Tuesday. I am debating on whether or not to take a picture of my hairy leg as my cast is removed. I suppose I should but I just know it will be rather hideous to look at. The surgeon did joke about my leg hair status at my last appointment. I have yet to decide on this.

Till next time!

Day 42 post op

Today was my first day back to work. Ok...there are people there that will totally drive me insane on a daily basis but today was just another one of those moments where they make me laugh.

I crutch down the aisle to my cubicle and the really noisy girl and her noisy neighbor stand up to see me. The comment that came out of one of their mouths was, "Oh my gosh, you're still on crutches, should you really be at work yet?" To which I couldn't help to reply with, "I am capable of working, I just can't walk. Last time I checked, I didn't need my feet to process insurance claims." Of course they thought I was being funny but in reality I was trying hard to hold back some word vomit. I had more to say but figured it was best left alone with the comment I made.

So...work went well. I was rather rusty as six weeks of not doing my work tends to make one forget things. I forgot how to look up pricing schedules for vision claims, I forgot how to read my home health care charts, I was a mess. Two more days and I should be fine but today I was just tired. I had fallen into a habit of taking a little nap before my boys would come home from a half day at daycare. Well today I wasn't trying to break that cycle. I made it though. Barely.

My foot held up fine. It's getting colder outside and I decided to cut a sock up so my toes could have some coverage. While this is a great idea and all...I can't stand the feel of a baggy sock on my toes....I had to keep tucking it into my cast so that it felt normal to me. I swear my little peeves are just stupid. Anyway I did get some swelling action going, I could feel my ankle filling up my cast by the afternoon. Sure I can elevate it to hip level, but that only does so much.

I did start taking ibuprofen for work just to stay on top of what any swelling in there will do. Oh..and today I started getting the oddest sensation on the back of my leg. Throughout today I was getting this icy cold sensation in my Achilles region. I know that nothing spilled, dropped or crawled in there but where the cast is formed a little tighter around my ankle, I kept feeling like that one area was cold and wet. How odd is that???

Other than all that, my crutches are driving me insane and making my sides rather raw where they rub. I was supposed to have a knee walker by the time I returned to work but there seems to be a huge lack of money in the household. School supplies, groceries, bills and a super short paycheck that I have been contributing just aren't enough for trivial things like knee walkers. Oh well. 19 more days till the cast is off. I still can't find my walking boot and I was out at storage yesterday helping with my jeep hard top installation for fall/winter. I never saw the boot out there and have a feeling that it was just never returned from the kid that borrowed it. Most likely it was returned and my husband just didn't take it out of his vehicle until he needed more space and tossed it in the trash. I wouldn't put it past him to do that....it wouldn't have been the first time either. Lovely huh???

Alright it's 9:30 and I normally never turn in this early but I did fall my prep stuff for the morning and I am just plain worn out. It would have been nice to return to half days of work to transition into my normal schedule but it is what it is and I'm beat for the day. I will be getting up nice and early to do my leg raises and donkey kicks and get to work by 6 am.

Toodles!

Day 38 post op

It's Labor Day weekend and I will be returning to work on Wednesday. I still have swelling in my foot/ankle when I stay upright for longer periods of time but it does ease up inside the cast when I can elevate to hip level.

I have been off Ibuprofen for two weeks now and my pain levels have been extremely low. I have noticed with periods of elevation when my cast is its loosest that I will get an aching in my heel. At times it can be a rather stabbing pain but overall it is only there when I can move fluid out of the joint. I also have some pain just above the lateral malleolus that is located right on the tendons that have been joined together. This is exactly why I went off ibuprofen...I wanted to give my kidneys a rest but more importantly I wanted to be able to have an accurate mapping of my pain. Had it been more painful, I never would have stopped taking it. Most likely I will resume when I return to work to ease up any inflammation.

I still cannot move my pinkie toe laterally. I am a bit bummed over that. My little toe will only curl at this point and I realize I should be happy that I can still feel touch to my toe. At this point I am counting down the days to when this cast is removed. I cannot wait scratch (and shave) this leg.

I am doing my little floor workouts regularly and straight leg raises are not helping to maintain my quads...my left thigh is feeling a bit weak and mushy when compared to the right. I hope I can build it all back up again.

OK...I will report back when I return to work. Yay! Adult interaction has been missed.