Going commando
February 10, 2010First of all, many thanks to MaryK, diane, 2ndtime, Ultidad, Kevin, Highflyer, normofthenorth and Frouchie. Whether or not positive thoughts and vibes will result in the accelerated cosmic healing of my achilles, they have helped no end in keeping me chipper. Thank you.
I went for my follow-up with my surgeon yesterday. The surgical wound appears to be healing really well - obviously good news. Those long days of lying down with my leg raised have clearly paid off.
I’ve been put straight in to an Aircast boot with five wedges. That was a surprise. He’d told me he wanted to get me in the boot ASAP but I wasn’t expecting it quite so soon. That said, I am strictly NWB, and have to treat the boot like a cast for four weeks. That is, no weight at all on it, and avoid taking it off.
After four weeks, I work my way down the wedges over the next eight weeks, allowing weight on it as is comfortable.
This is clearly an aggressive approach. I had the option of going in to a series of casts over eight weeks, but his reasoning for the boot was that early, small movement and eventually pressure on the tendon encourages stronger healing. I’m delighted that’s a good option. I can even loosen the boot to have a good (careful) scratch if needed.
However, it’s all resulted in me “going commando” today. The key question I forgot to ask my surgeon was: How do I get my trousers on and off?
After washing this morning, I carefully took the boot off to get my trousers on. I managed that before putting the boot on, then realising I hadn’t put my boxers on! It’s a very precarious affair getting in and out of the boot so that’s how I stayed today.
Apologies for the detail, but it’s my first lesson in my new situation. Put your boxer shorts on first!
I also discovered last night I’d been given the wrong wedges for my boot. I’ve been given left foot wedges for my right foot. I didn’t notice in the day, as I’m not putting any weight on the boot. But they begin to dig in to the outside of your foot when you lie down in the boot. With Aircast boot wedges, the long bit should be on the instep. I’m back to the fractures clinic tomorrow to get the right ones.
If it does nothing else for you, an ATR keeps you thinking. You could say it keeps you on your toes…