bobfv’s AchillesBlog

Well the time really does pass quickly.  We returned on Monday from 2 weeks of vacation out West, and today marks 11 weeks to the day since my ATR surgery.

While we were gone I did not go to PT, but I did go to the gym each day the first week and I progressed through most of my PT exercises.  I did standing balance on each leg, leg raises in four planes of motion, massage and Theraband resistance with the assistance of my wife, toe presses on a leg press machine, and eccentric strengthening on a leg press machine - pressing down with both toes and then back to neutral under resistance with just my repaired leg.  Also, I did at least 3 sets of 10 of two footed calf raises every day.

Most all of my activities were fine.  I wore mid-height hiking boots with a heel lift for extra support.  My gait is pretty normal but I walk pretty slow, some steps feel perfectly fine, others make my repair site feel like someone is squeezing it with pliers.  Range of motion is the same in both ankles, which is great.  The biggest problem I have had is with walking down stairs, but we are starting to work on that specifically in PT.

I went back to PT on Tuesday morning, the morning after my flight home.  I was excited to show my therapist how strong I had gotten and how I could do two legged calf raises with ease.  That was a mistake - never gloat to your physical therapist.  He proceeded to kick my butt for an hour, even having me walk around on my tiptoes with resistance bands, which really hurt a lot.  It helped to have him work with me on my stepping and I think before long I will be fine walking down stairs much better.

I continue to drive with absolutely no problem.  I got another set of boots - side zip lightweight mid-height black boots from Under Armour, they work great!  I added a 1 cm heel lift to my right boot. They are “Men’s UA Valsetz RTS Side-Zip Tactical Boots.” Extremely comfortable, lightweight, and supportive.

My scar is healed and gives me very little trouble.  Around the house I still don’t go barefoot, I use light shoes with a heel lift to remove some of the stress from my Achilles.  I took walks up to about a mile on vacation and plan to continue walking as much as I can.   Being out of the boot, I feel my strength and muscle tone returning.  The hardest thing for me now is my balance, it is taking a while to come back.  I bought a stability pad to help me work on my balance at home, and will be doing some one-legged exercises in my spare time too.

Next appointment with the OS is next week - looking forward to that.  Will concentrate on improving strength and balance before my next OS visit.

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!