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!

Normal Post-Op on June 19 visit four weeks to the day after my surgery.  Dr. Kartelian performed the Thompson test, everything looked good.  Wound site looked fine, the surgi-strips hadn’t fallen off yet, no problem with that.  I showed off my range of motion, rotating my ankle and lifting my toes up to neutral.  He performed a strength test with me pushing against his hands.  Everything was great!  He told me to continue to wear the boot, keep the heel lifts in the boot, continue physical therapy, continue with the vaso pumps, and over the next two weeks go to full weight bearing (FWB) as long as there was no pain.

Great!  I was so happy I put my boot back on, picked up my crutches, and walked right out of his office on my own two feet.  To be honest, I had been "cheating" a little throughout the week, putting full weight on my right foot while still on the crutches - no pain at all, everything felt fine.  At home I used one crutch a little but mostly no crutches and that night I walked up the full flight of stairs to my bedroom without crutches!  What a relief to be able to use my hands to carry things while I walked, and to be able to bear my full weight for personal hygiene activities in the bathroom!  Taking showers is still a little tricky, taking my boot off while sitting in a shower chair.  I actually started kneeling with one knee on the shower chair which makes showering much easier.

Looking forward to the next two weeks of physical therapy in which I will begin "mini-squats" and other exercises to begin lengthening the Achilles and increasing my range of motion.  By protocol weeks 4-6 will see me wean down form 2 crutches to FWB, but I am already there!  No pain whatsoever, and no pain meds since the surgery.  I still elevate, ice, and use compression pumps in the evening for a few hours, and I strongly recommend that regimen to eliminate pain.  Still sleeping in the boot, I hardly notice it now.  Yesterday my wife told me I "look good" in the boot, and with the full beard that I started growing on the day of my surgery.  Walking with this boot I guess I sort of look like a pirate - the beard stays until a client meeting or other exigency dictates that I shave it off!

I have mentioned the vaso pumps a few times - here is a photo of one on my right leg - I love these things.