How time flies! It seems like it’s been like a week or two since I’ve posted last, and somehow it’s almost 16 weeks post-surgery, already! Time flies when you’re having fun, right?!!!
Oh, man! Where do I begin? Let’s see - since my last post, my PT is now finished! It wasn’t nearly as bad as people would have you believe, but it did get more and more difficult each week. That’s ok - I guess they were pushing me, cuz they knew I could handle it. There was another guy I saw every now and then doing Achilles PT also. He was probably 10-15 years my younger, and had been in for 1 month longer. I feel good cuz I caught him in my treatment, and now I’m done, and he’s still going! Well, he had a more physically demanding job than I do, but still - it feels good to be done! My ROM is pretty much normal, and my strength was 5/5 in all directions.
Yes, I’m walking in 2 shoes. No boot anymore. I’m still limping, as the Achilles is still tight, but I’m learning to concentrate on my gate, so I don’t limp. Getting better, but it’s like breaking a bad habit - sometimes you don’t think about it, and then you realize you’re limping again for no apparent reason! I’m mowing the lawn now, and doing other yardwork. Getting along mostly like a “normal” person. Not that anyone has ever called me “normal”, before! Sad thing is that I no longer have the use of the Temporary Handicap sign, so I have to park 6 blocks away from the office, rather than right next to the door! Oh well, more PT for me!
Over the past couple weeks, I’ve been back on my bicycle (mountain bike w/ platform pedals). I think it was week 13: The doc told me I should start by riding 1 mile, and then adding 1 mile every third ride or so, but to let pain be my guide, and quit if I’m feeling it. So, the first ride I took an easy 2 mile ride (~8mph ave.). No pain. The second ride, the next day, I did a 4 mile ride (~8mph again). No pain! The next weekend, my wife and I did an 11 mile ride (~10mph ave.) on Saturday and a 10.5 mile ride (~10mph ave.) on Sunday. No pain!!! Yeah, I let pain be my guide, rather than doing the “1 mile + 1 mile every 3 rides” thing! Tomorrow, I’m going to try to get on my road bike (w/ clipless pedals) and make it to the mall and back, but push a bit harder. It will be about 9 miles of road riding, and there’s a considerable hill, down and up that I’ll have to tackle. I need to see if I can do that hill, cuz on Thursday I need to bike commute to work and back (kids need the car), and that’s 13.5 miles each way (and that hill is on my route)! Wish me luck!
As for my recovery, I was supposed to have my last PT session this Thursday, but since I won’t have a car, I’m going to cancel it. I’m still trying to do my at-home exercises…….sometimes. I need to force myself to keep doing them consistently! Especially the ankle/calf stretches and the heel raises. I’m still tight in the ankle and calf, and still have some pain (or, tightness) pushing off when walking. I still can’t do a one-foot heel raise on my bad foot, either. That frustrates me, so I really GOTTA do those strengthening exercises! On a good note: I was able to hit a volleyball around the yard with my wife and daughter on Saturday! It felt good to do it, but I was leary of lunging for any ball that was out of my reach (that’s how I tore it in the first place!), so I would just let it drop! Weenie! And, another good note: I was able to “jog” from my mailbox to my garage when I went to get the mail and it was raining!
I still do have swelling every day, also. I ice it every now and then, but mostly it goes back to “normal” while I sleep. We had one crappy, rainy day, and my ankle was swollen and hurt more than usual that whole day (I couldn’t not limp). I wonder if I’m going to “feel the weather” in my ankle for the rest of my life.
I had 2 big goals for my Ortho and PT: 1. to get my back on my bicycle this summer; and, 2. to get me into walking shape so I could do the hikes when we went on our vacation in Hawaii, later this summer. My Ortho said, “Don’t worry. We’ll get you there.” I’m confident he was right!
Good luck with your recovery, everyone! And, DO YOUR EXERCISES!!!
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So nice of them! Just kidding - I would not have had them stop playing. So, I watched until the time was up.
