Yo Mom…you missed my heel!

So the good news is that my PT is pretty sure my wound is not infected.  She said the lack of heat, redness, and odor indicate that it is probably not an infection.  However, since the wound doesn’t seem to be making progress (it was making very SLOW progress before I started PT last week) she thinks I should call the doctor’s office and at least let him know that it is not making progress and that there is a small amount of yellowish tinged drainage.  My fear now is that he will tell me to stop PT.  He wasn’t that keen on PT to begin with, and this seems like the perfect excuse.  The problem is that I can see real progress (however incremental).  I find it easier to do the exercises with the bands every day, and I seem to be more sturdy when balancing on my bad foot.

So for now I am exercising and icing as normal…I will be calling my surgeon in the morning to let him know about the drainage and see what my next course of action is.  Thank you for all of your advice and help.

Deanne (aka DREAMS)

So…I started PT this week (12 and a half weeks post op)- the good news is that with the stretching and strengthening exercises, my swelling seems to be going down.  The bad news is that the spot on my wound is acting up again.  Seriously- almost 13 weeks and it’s not healed yet.  I feel like there should be some worry, but no one seems concerned. Should I be concerned…or am I over reacting.  It doesn’t seem to be infected yet at times it feels irritated (kind of like me).  Does anyone have experience with a slow healing wound (not the whole thing- just a small part).  Right now I am covering it with a band-aid during the day, and airing it out at night.  I can’t decide if it needs to be covered more….or aired out more.  I’ve been told to put nothing on it, but when I use neosporin (sp) on my other cuts and scrapes they seem to heal much faster.  Does anyone know why this isn’t recommended for surgical wounds?  Well- at this point I don’t see my PT for another week, and I don’t see my doctor for another 4 weeks, I guess it’s still just a wait and see game.

On a side note…I can’t seem to walk without a pronounced limp.  My PT said that my brain was still holding my injured foot like it was in the boot.  As a test she turned me around on the treadmill and had me walk backwards - no limp.  I guess my brain is just as stubborn as I am:) I was waiting for PT to be this torture that everyone talks about, but I found the challenges to be …well…challenging (in a good way).  I never felt I was pushed to the point of frustration, and other than being a bit sore last night, I really didn’t experience much pain.  So as a note to all of you who have not reached the PT stage…no reason to fret.

Deanne (aka DREAMS)

So I had my PT eval today.  Apparently my biggest problem right now is the swelling.  I didn’t even notice how swollen my calf was until the therapist said something about putting my foot up several times a day.   There’s nothing like PT to prove just how impaired a person is.  My flexibility is almost non-existent, but the worst part was when the therapist asked me to stand on my left foot and raise my heel…I’m pretty sure that for a split second you could have moved a penny under my heel (but I could be just humoring myself).

The good news is that the pt thinks I should be able to progress fairly quickly.  She’s also checking with another therapist who specializes in wound care to see if she can help me with my slow healing wound.  For now I was sent home with some stretching and strengthening exercises.  Friday- it’s on the treadmill to work on my gait…it seems my limp may be semi-correctable.

All in all….I’m really glad that many of you pressed me to ask for PT….thanks for all the good advice.

Deanne (aka DREAMS)

I went to see my surgeon yesterday for yet another wound check.  For some reason I have a very small spot (less than an inch) that is taking  its dear sweet time to heal.  It is now close enough for my surgeon to approve physical therapy.  He was lukewarm on the idea, but I really don’t like the fact that I am limping significantly and it doesn’t seem to be getting better.  I have very little if any pain so I’m not sure if the limp is physical, or my minds way of avoiding injury.  I have been told on several different occasions that I need to be careful because of my high pain tolerance, and I think that I am overcompensating.  I am hoping that the PT will help me determine how far I can push things without causing injury.

I’m scheduled twice a week for six weeks.  Am I expecting too much to hope I can take the stairs by the end of the 6 weeks, and walk without a significant limp?  My primary goal is to be able to join my cousin in the Zoomba class by the end of the 6 weeks.  I also want to play in a charity softball game in May.

Those who have been through the whole process.  Did you ever feel like you were back 100%?  and Did you return to the activity you were doing when you ruptured your Achilles?  I was playing volleyball…and I’m suppose to coach again next fall.  At this point I am most worried that I won’t be able to get past the thought that it could happen again.

Deanne (aka DREAMS)