Posted on April 23rd, 2014 by dmbfan32
OK….I got CAM boot at 8:30am this morning. Still used my scooter to get around but now I am starting to feel like an idiot. I cannot walk with my CAM boot without my crutches. My doc told me I can start walking with it but I am not sure if my leg is just not co-operating, if I am just that uncoordinated now, etc. I do feel extremely tight in the calf and Achilles when I fully weight bear. I know this is normal as this is the 1st time I am putting weight into my leg. I have 2 heel lifts as ordered and will go down to 1 heel lift in 2 weeks if everything goes as planned.
I am a physical therapist and know to land with a heel strike and then shift my weight forward but my leg is just not listening. I will practice more at home with my crutches. Hopefully this will just take some time. I did order the "evenup" as many of you have mentioned in your blogs as my left leg is feeling very short right now.
Anyway, if anyone else has experience this or is going through this, please let me know.
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Posted on April 23rd, 2014 by dmbfan32
Hey everyone:
My name is Greg and I underwent ATR surgery at the end of March. It has been about 4 weeks since my surgery. I am not used to writing blogs (this will be my first) but I will do my best to share my experience in the hopes that it will help someone else or create a good dialogue and aide in my own recovery. I have a unique situation in that I am an orthopedic physical therapist who treats patients very often after ATR surgery. I am not used to being on this side of the waiting room so to speak. Here is my story so far…
Injury : Every year I get to do a "Guy’s Weekend" with some old high school and college friends. Its the one weekend we get a hall pass from the wives and basically camp out at my friends house for the start of March Madness. We play golf every morning, start watching the games about 9:30 and this continues through Sunday. We had a larger than usual group this year and Friday night we started to shoot around on the 1/2 court in the backyard. Messing around turned into a game of HORSE which turned into a mini 3-on-3 tournament. 40 mins in I went to drive around someone, pushed off with my right foot and "POW!!". Instantly fell to the ground and looked behind me to see who kicked me. No one was there. And my friend Drew who was guarding me said, "I heard that pop". At that point I new exactly what I had done.
Surgery : Luckily because of what I do I started calling some of the orthopedic doctors I know. I got a hold of 2 of them who said there was nothing I can do this weekend; just keep it wrapped, elevated, use ice, and do not walk on it (i.e. use crutches). I saw them on Monday and surgery was scheduled for the next day. Surgery went well. Last surgery I had was back in high school and I did not do well with the anesthesia. However, this time after the surgery I literally felt like I just woke up from a nap. Also, they did a nerve block to help with the pain (I highly recommend this!!!!) and my leg stayed numb until the next morning. I was given pain pills and the world’s biggest cast. I was then told to come back in 2 weeks to get a smaller cast. I was also told not to shower (i.e. had to sponge bath it). Of course I have a 2 story place with my bedroom upstairs. Luckily my left leg was up to the challenge and I was able to hop up pretty easily. I was actually shocked at how well I was feeling. Later on that day I got the laptop out and was able to do some work and charting from home. I thought this was going to be a piece of cake.
After lunch the next day, I could feel my nerve block wearing off. Leg started to tingle and the pain started to set in. I usually have a good pain tolerance and I hate the effect pain pills gave me. I took 1 thinking I would be OK. It did not help much so I went for a 2nd. Then I got the feeling I hate" delayed eye reaction, brain just feels slow, etc. Sadly, I had to put up with that for 2-3 days for if I tried to reduce my meds, it got really uncomfortable. Long story short, by day 4, I no longer needed the pain meds.
2 Weeks post-op : at the 2 week appt I got the massive cast off and it felt so good to wiggle my foot a little. It was short lived as the new smaller cast got put on. I was now getting around on a scooter for work and going out and about, but then just using my crutches at home. I was horribly bored from staying home from work and very excited to go back 3 weeks after my surgery. Had to promise the surgeon I would not do anything stupid though. In 2 more weeks he would remove the case and then transition me into a CAM boot with a heel lift. I would wear that for 4 weeks and then see where I am at.
4 Weeks post-op: Here I am today after my 4 weeks s/p appointment. I got the case off and that felt even better! My swelling was a lot better than I expected. I should have known better though doing what I do. I was so looking forward to just getting my boot and then walking back to the car. But it was not that easy. My leg was sore with every step (could feel my calf and Achilles stretching) and my leg was so uncoordinated. I ended up using crutches and just adding weight into my leg. Got a feeling I am going to be very sore tonight. Now I cannot wait for 4 more weeks so I can start to stretch my Achilles an calf more aggressively.
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Posted on March 28th, 2014 by dmbfan32
Hey everyone:
My name is Greg and I am a 39 year old male who tore his Achilles on 3/21/2014 playing basketball. I am looking forward to sharing some experiences, getting some helpful hints/tips, and just being part of the community. Thanks!
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