Good ole CAM boot saved my repaired AT this afternoon. Nothing like ambulating with crutches on a slick floor. Yep…I was “hot doggin it” and BAM….girl meets floor. No bruising or pain to the foot. Everything seems to be in working order….My doc did warn me that a fall was bound to happen and to keep the boot on……Glad I listened. But I do wish I could burn the crutches…..9 more days and I’ll be starting the fire to melt the wicked things.
Sutures out….yeah! Two wedges gone with permission to walk with one crutch. Huh? Going to take a while to figure that one out….any suggestions? I am allowed to stand as long as most of my weight is on the good foot. My calendar idea worked. I have the plan now….July 8th ( 18 days) FWB, then August 1 (42 days) Two Shoes. In addition to flexing my foot, I can do ROM….just no forced movement. So I plan on doing the ABCs as described in another post. PT not yet…..will talk about it on the 8th. Also, I talked them into a smaller CAM boot….much lighter and it does not rub my ankles. I am beginning to feel like me again.
By the way, taking the wedges out did not hurt. Also, I was prepared for major pain when my foot was manipulated..not as bad as the sutures coming out!
Everyone keeps on asking about my pain….which is none except for my butt. Like ya’ll I am not a person who sits. I think every inch I am losing in my calf is finding a new home on my butt. Even with the new padding, it still hurts.
On a brighter note…..my salvation has been gel ice packs. They are thin enough to slide in my cam boot and come in various shapes/sizes. The round ones are perfect for the ankle/the heel and the rectangular ones are great for the back of the leg. I plan on taking some to my orthopod ………I think that is why at the end of the day I have little/no edema.
Five more days until my sutures are out and I can begin to be me again. I hoping to start PT and get rid of a wedge. It seems like that I zone out during my conversations with my surgeon, so I am going to take notes on a calendar. Does anyone know the sequence….ATR, surgery, splint, cam boot with PWB and crutches ….what comes next? All I can remember is 9 months to regular activity and possibly 18 months to my mountain biking, hiking, and being me.
Does anyone have any knowledge/advice related to Vitamin C intake? How about any other supplements? I have increased my protein….any other ideas? Alice
I am always the first to arrive at work. The first challenge was to unlock the door and turn off the alarm while balancing on two crutches with a backpack. Success! Getting changed into scrubs with a cam boot was another new experience. Success! I was exhausted by the time I hobbled to my desk to attack the mound of paperwork. After the initial panic, I recited my mantra…make a list, make priorities, and make a decision to do one thing at a time. So that is what I did all day….one thing at a time. It is much like dealing with my achilles….one step at a time.
Working with a healing achilles is going to be the hardest thing I have ever done. It is going to challenge me physically, mentally, and emotionally. One of my strengths is to problem solve…. all my life I have trained for this one! Let’s hope I am up for this challenge and thanks to all of you “coaches” who have been there. Your words help so much.
Crazy….It really seems like this experience is a terrible nightmare and I will wake up walking. Every evening I leave my walker in front of the futton, so I will remember that I am injured in the morning. Somehow I think I need to change my mindset from “injured” to “healing”. About all I can control at the moment is how I process my thoughts.
On the positive side, I am learning how to use my crutches to PWB. Additionally, my backpack has allowed me a degree of independence. I carry my own ice, my food, my books, the phones, etc. Yesterday, my family provided me with a “trial run” to see if I could manage on my own. I passed, so today I am independent for 8 plus hours. Tomorrow, I am going to work for a few hours to catch up on paperwork…..all positives.
