How it happened & visit to th ER
Late at night on 6/1 I was dancing with friends at our local tavern. It was dreadfully hot but the mood was happy. After a long winter everyone was excited to kick off our short summer season. Sometime after midnight it felt like someone kicked me in the back of my leg. When I took a step I almost toppled over. The ‘kicked’ leg no longer ad strength to hold me up. I thought that it was a bad Charlie horse which I assumed would be gone by morning. I found a ride & with much difficulty I hobbled home.
the next morning it was even more difficult to walk. I still thought that I was suffering from extreme leg cramps. I posted for suggestions on how to alleviate leg cramps on Facebook and it was then that my friends convinced me to go to the ER. I have never been injured before and I avoid traditional hospitals like the plague (and at the moment I also thought hat I was uninsured) but with my pain levels increasing I started getting freaked out thinking that perhaps I had a blood clot in my leg. I hobbled/pulled/dragged myself to my car and it was then that I realized I could not push on the gas or brakes and that driving myself to the hospital was not an option.
a friend drove to the hospital. I had prepared myself for a long wait and was pleasantly surprised when a nurse called me in after a mere 30 minutes. At this point I was crying- both from the pain and fom the realization that this was a bad situation. The nurse immediately suggested an Achilles injury when I told him about feeling like I had been kicked immediately prior to the pain and weakness. Hopefully, he said, it is just a strain and not a tear. I cannot recall all of the rest of the conversation as my mind immediately became clogged with worries. How will I drive? How will I get to work? How will I pay for this (as I mentioned before, I thought that I was uninsured)? With a heavy heart a fat splinted leg and foggy vicodin-ed mind I called for a ride home. I was to call an ortho doc in 3 days and to stay off my feet and keep my leg elevated at all times.
on June 11th, 2013 at 2:46 pm
Oh no! Good luck on your road to recovery. This site has answers to almost everything AT related! I am a right footed injury and it stinks not driving. I got through this with a great network of friends who drove me to and from Dr visits, so be prepared to ask for a lot of help. Keep us posted!
on June 12th, 2013 at 10:11 am
Thank you!
this s a great site and your support is greatly appreciated… Asking for help is proving to be very difficult. I am very stubborn and independent but am doing my best to accept and ask for help gracefully.
Thanks for the support & happy healing to you.
on July 4th, 2013 at 2:04 pm
Your blog posts have been delightful, but with unfortunate circumstances. It seems like the right foot has been popular with achilles injuries.
I am a week behind you. I didn’t get treatment for two weeks. I thought it was a calf muscle pull and I did feel better afterwards. Once I started falling and reading the posts on this site, i got my affairs in order and then went to the doctor.
I also am fiercely independent and asking for help is really hard. I like what you mentioned on another post, about not recognizing what a serious injury this is.
You have a great spirit, and I hope you continue to do well in your recovery.