My Story

Good morning,

I am a 40 year old very active male (Basketball, Golf, Running, young kids, etc). I tore my right Achilles on 2/18 playing basketball which I recently picked back up. I went to plant and felt the all to common feeling that I was shot in the back of my ankle. The pain was excruciating but not as bad as my mental state of knowing what had just happened and the long road that lies ahead. A conference trip to Arizona canceled. A spring break trip to Florida….currently on the ropes. Two young toddlers that will be devastated if we don’t go. Golf season possibly down the tubes. All that was difficult to digest to say the least.

I was lucky enough to get in for surgery the following morning (2/19) to get it repaired. I have been in a caster splint since then and managing to get around mainly with a scooter and crutches at times. Certainly an adjustment to my lifestyle to say the least. I go back in tomorrow for them to remove the splint, take the staples out, and go from there. Initial plan was a cast for 4 more weeks and a boot for 6 weeks after that before I can start any type of official PT. As far as pain goes, really haven’t had any since the surgery with the exception of my calf muscle being very tender. I believe the cause of that was stretching my legs during the night and tweaking that muscle. I’m finding the timeline of 12 weeks before I can start PT a bit hard to swallow especially after reading many posts on this site where folks are starting much sooner. My appointment tomorrow may reveal new information and a quicker timeline. I will do whatever the Dr advises but I’m also very stubborn, don’t like asking for help, and will push the boundaries of what’s acceptable as long as I’m not having pain.   Patience is definitely not my strong suit and can’t wait to get back out to play with my kids.  It’s been a bit of an emotional roller coaster and I have to remind myself to stay positive and think long term and that it could always be worse.

I’ve found this site very helpful and encouraging to know I’m not alone in this journey.  I know it will get better!