bobfv’s AchillesBlog

Today marks 9 weeks to the day since my ATR surgery. In my last post I wrote about my outing to the ball game in shoes (boots) over the weekend. The following day I had a great PT session, working on standing calf raises and gait normalization, then yesterday my wife and I flew from Washington DC to LA. I wore my Aircast boot and had no problem at the airport, went right through “TSA Pre” without any extra scrutiny, and had no problem boarding. We sat in first class so I had enough leg room, and I took my Aircast off and replaced it with a comfortable street shoe with a heel lift as soon as I was seated. It worked out fine, I used two shoes to walk from my seat to the lavatory. A couple of hours in to the 5+ hour flight I put my vaso-pumps on my calves and let them run  for about 90 minutes, a hedge against blood clots. When we landed I put the Aircast back on.

At LAX we picked up our bags and took the shuttle to the car rental place. I am an LA native and learned to drive here, my wife is a little nervous about jumping on to the LA freeways, so I took off my Aircast, put on my tactical boots (see previous post) fired up the rental car and jumped on to the San Diego Freeway at rush hour. I had not driven in about 2.5 months, but I had absolutely no problem. No pain, no issues whatsoever. My heel just rests on the floor of the car and I plantarflex to operate the throttle and brake. Piece of cake! I am so happy to be driving again!

When we got to our destination in LA my ankle felt fine but it was swollen from the flying and driving, and I iced it down. I had not had any swelling in weeks but all those hours with the leg down on the ground took their toll. The swelling went away after icing and I didn’t even need to take a Motrin or Tylenol.

Today, celebrating my 9 week anniversary, I got up early and went to the gym. I went in two shoes - I picked up a pair of Hoka One trail running high-tops to give me support in the gym and they worked great. I rode the exercise bike for 45 minutes, then I did most of my PT exercises including one leg balancing, step ups, basic proprioception, and 2-legged calf raises. I recommend these great shoes for transition workout shoes. I put a 1cm heel lift in the heel of the right shoe.

That’s where I am at week 9. I feel like I am making great progress now and getting my old life back!