Mar 27 2012
day 8-11, the sequel continues….
As I write about the last few days the only constant has been my lack of pain. This is of course always a good thing! I think the biggest item that is still affecting me is “frustration.” I define “Frustration” as - having your mobility taken away from you, having to stay home with your leg up or it will swell, being stricter about your diet so you don’t gain weight (ok not such a bad thing), forgetting about your injury then trying to walk (yes, that actually happened last night and no it didn’t end well), having people walk into you or better yet cross right in front of you while you’re trying to navigate with your crutches, someone walking thru a door right in front of you then watching close in your face, or my personal favorite someone telling you “maybe this is God’s way of telling you that you need to slow down and not do so much” and the list goes on and on… If anyone wants to add to it, please feel free… And yes, I do feel better venting 
I have managed to take little trips out of the house to either get a haircut or pick my kids up from school. I enjoy sitting at a coffee place reading or working on the computer, but I feel a bit funny about putting my foot up on the chair as it may bother other patrons. When the weather is sunny and nice outside it’s just so hard to stay indoors! I find simple solice sitting on the front or back porch smoking a cigar while I work on my tan, sorry couldn’t resist throwing that last part in, haha.
Does anyone have a favorite place or thing they like to do while they have been convalescing?
I wish I could say more but I think I will save it for tomorrow. I have my first surgical follow-up appt. tomorrow so wish me luck. I am curious to see the incision since the surgeon said he had to make it longer than previously planned due to the tear being higher up.
All the best to my fellow ATR friends….. PJ
Good luck on your app’t!
The swelling will stay around for a while. And, you will have good days and not-so-good days. Today is a not-so-good day for me - feeling like someone drove a nail in my heel, through my ankle! But, I know it’s only temporary, and hope that tomorrow will bring a better day.
Working has been a challenge for me, too. When I feel my ankle/foot is swelling too much, I take a few minutes to put my foot up on the desk, and lean back in my chair, so my foot is higher than my heart. I seem to feel immediate relief, however temporary it is. Keep the Ibuprofen at hand, and if you have an ice pack that you can wrap around your ankle once or twice during the work day, that helps, also.
I didn’t really have much time off, post-surgery - just a few days. Then, I worked from home the first two weeks, so I didn’t get too much free time to enjoy. It was nice to be at home, though, and much more comfortable on the couch than it has been since I’ve been back in the office. My favorite part was to be able to take my naps a few times a day! Can’t do that at work!
Good luck on your recovery!
Hey LoadMaster - I just had my first post-op follow-up visit today. Wrote about it on my blog. You and I seem to be in the same boat; basically on the same timetable. I am 9 days post-op and have been keeping the foot up as much as possible. As much as it is uncomfortable and sometimes embarrassing to do, it will help you recover much faster. Just think, if you walked into a coffee shop and saw someone in a cast with their leg on a chair, would you think twice about it and think it’s embarrassing? (If you said, “Yes, I make fun of them,” then never mind!)
I am with you on this being a pain in the ass to deal with. The injury definitely has some psychological connotations that come with it. I just want to get up, walk to a pub down the street and drink beer while standing at the bar. But alas, it will be a while before that happens and I’m stuck on the couch for a while and need to beg my wife for some snacks as she rolls her eyes. But if we recover the right way and follow the docs orders, it won’t take as long as it could.
I am on the same pace as all of you - about 8 days in now and fairly miserable. Not being able to move around and basically being chained to a bed for a long stretch in impacting my ability to work - very frustrating. I am looking forward to getting this splint off as it will be the first small sign of progress. I cannot imagine the cast being any better or worse than the splint…but from a psychological standpoint it is one small step forward.
On the bright side, once you get out and moving a bit you’ll find people are generally considerate and understanding — whether you’re at the supermarket, pub, whatever.
I think a problem you’ might find however is that colleagues and loved ones have no idea of the timeline — that you’re in say a 6 month to 1 year recovery process to get back to where you were before.
Full strength, range of motion, and previous activities. When this injury happens to a professional athlete, everyone knows that that athlete is out for the season at least. But when it happens to you or me, somehow we’re just shirking. I wish.
Ending week 10 now post surgery, and frustration still part of the challenge. But things also get better.
All best.
I feel very frustrated with the lack of mobility, so I’m with you on that one. Also, the other day I actually had someone let the door close in my face at a gas station…I was appalled! They saw me on crutches and I guess just didn’t want to help!
Honestly, the weather was nice where I leave the week following my surgery, so my favorite place was sitting outside on my front lawn with my foot propped up and a good book….I couldn’t stay too long because the sun was gleaming directly into my cast, but it felt good for my soul, it was something I definitely needed. Make sure you go outside at least once a day because I stayed cooped up for a few days in a row and I felt like my mentality was crashing!
Good luck!