8 1/2 weeks and doctors checkup!
This morning I went back to the Orthopedic dept at the hospital for my 8+ week checkup. Felt ridiculously on edge about it (maybe because I feel like I’ve been making progress but the last time I felt like that and went to see the other physio I wasn’t as impressive as I thought I was!), but all is good 
He made me kneel on the bed and did the Thomson test on both legs and I could see my bad foot definitely move… so it has healed and now has to get strong again… (which I know is still going to be a long and careful process…)
Was a bit of a fleeting visit by the doctor, but then the NHS physio came in to do an assessment. He pushed against my bad foot to see how much range of movement it had and was impressed at how easily it went into neutral, so he doesn’t want me to do any stretching exercises just strengthening ones: so a week of doing towel resistance starting with 2-3 sets of 8-10 reps 2 or 3 times a day, building up to 10 sets over the course of the week… Then will be double heel lifts from a flat surface, and then single heel lifts - when I have the push off strength! (And he demonstrated normal calf strength by pushing against my good foot with me pushing back and him being unable to move my foot, and then showed me on the bad side where there was no resistance on my part! The poor thing…)
I am cleared to keep walking in 2 shoes, but to keep the boot on for out of doors until I feel comfortable/stronger, and have to try to not develop too much of a limp which is going to be hard until have push off strength again (suggested practicing walking holding onto kitchen counter to get the motion right). Doctor said I could stop sleeping in the boot, but the physio thought I should keep it for another week until I get a bit more strength back, and as I normally move around a fair bit during the night I think I will do as the physio says. (It is difficult sleeping in it, but I think the first night I try without it I probably won’t get any sleep as I’ll be worrying too much!!)
So this is all good - and will enjoy the moment before I slow down again with the careful 2 footed walking
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Sounds good. I think the limp is pretty difficult to avoid. That weakened foot is out of practice. For me, walking was the best medicine–even if you have to shorten your stride a little or slow down.
I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you can ditch that boot at night soon. It’s heaven sleeping without it! Good luck.
AnnieL, congratulation on your continued progress! I know exactly what you mean about getting anxious for doctor/PT appts–I seem to always have high expectations for their assessment of my progress, and come away a little disappointed that the progress is just OK/as-they-would-expect. Nonetheless, in this context, all progress is good! -David
I am looking forward to not sleeping with the boot on Kelly - but did you find that your tendon tightened up overnight without it?
And thank you both for the congratulations… It is good to feel that am still going in the right direction. (Although this afternoon/evening I have been frustrated at how slow I am out of the boot! It really is a roller coaster of a recovery isn’t it… but as everyone says, just have to keep going with the exercises and the walking and it will get better.)
Can anyone advise on the best way to negotiate stairs out of the boot? I know I read somewhere some tips from Norm, but I can’t remember where/what…
@annie: I didn’t notice any tightening over night. I was non-surgical though. I don’t know if that makes a difference. I remember having to catch myself in the am when doing my morning stretch in bed–forgetting that the injured leg wasn’t as flexible as the other side! As for going down the stairs, I used to go one step at a time and hold on to the rails. Eventually you can place the foot of your injured leg over the step (at the arch) and kind of roll off. I got that tip from Norm. Early on though, I just went slowly. It’s so hard to be patient but it really does seem to work out in the end. You will be bounding up and down the stairs on the balls of your feet in no time!
I’ve put that tip up lots of places, including one of my newest pages. Between the site’s search and your browser’s ctrl-F search in page, it should be easy… KG nailed the elevator-pitch (UK: lift pitch?) version above.