Week 8 checkup

Just had my 8 week checkup. Well, it’s 2 days shy of 8 weeks, but who’s counting?

Doc says I’m still healing really well. The AT looks and feels really good, and I’m getting a little strength and ROM back! See - actually doing my exercises regularly is actually paying off!

So, next steps for me: I can walk in a shoe at home instead of the boot!!! But, I should wear the boot outside, for now. And, over the next two weeks, he wants me to wean myself out of the boot, completely. Yep - two shoes by week 10! And, I can start PT.

So, he walked me over to the PT (just down the hall from his office), and I scheduled my first meeting with them for next Thursday. If I recall, the first one is just a diagnosis with the PT, with very little, if any, actual therapy that day.

I’m excited to be in a shoe, even if just at home! But, I gotta tell ya - it sure feels funny “walking” without that boot on! Foot feels squishy/floppy! I’m freaking out a little bit! But, it’s all good - I’m progressing!!!

Happy Healing, everyone! Keep up your hard work - we’re all getting there!!!

5 weeks and 2 days….I’m pumped!!!

So, I had my check up with my OS this morning - just over 5 weeks from when I found out I couldn’t have AT surgery and he put me in the boot to heal naturally, and almost 6 weeks from the rupture.

To say that it went well is an understatement! He was very pleased with how well my AT is healing. I’ve been a good boy, and have been doing ROM exercises (from neutral to plantarflexion, left/right, and alphabet) 3x/day for the past three weeks. And, it has been paying off! But, I did admit to him that I’ve also been a little naughty and have been adding weight to my crutch-walking (he wanted me to just put about 30-40 lbs on my foot while walking with the crutches). I’ve felt good, so I started adding more weight, slowly. Over the past week and a half, I’ve been testing more weight, and have actually been “walking” (more like peg-legging - , really!) around the house without the crutches. I still use crutches and the knee scooter when out of the house, though.

He wasn’t upset that I was pushing forward. Actually, he agreed that I could do it. He said my AT felt really good, and that I’m healing really nicely! And, he gave me the green light for the following:
* He took out another heel wedge, so now I’m down to one wedge in the boot.
* I can start doing exercises with dorsiflexion, also.
* I can ditch the crutches and knee scooter, and start walking in the boot only! Yay!
* I don’t have to wear the boot while sleeping, anymore.
* I can ride a bike - without the boot! But, at the beginning, very low resistance, and no hills. I might start on the stationary bike for a bit - just to get the foot used to moving in that way. Also, I’m a little nervous about if I have to quickly stop and step off the bike. So, I’ll take it slowly on this one.
* I can start driving again!!! He suggested I have my wife take me to an empty parking lot and test it out, first. But, he thinks I should be ready to drive. I thought that would be at least 3-4 weeks, yet! So, that made me really happy! Gonna have to work out the logistics of that, as I would drive without the boot, but have to put the boot on to walk. But, I’ll figure it out!

I see him again in 2 weeks, and then he’ll probably have me start PT. I’m pumped and ready!!!

Happy Healing, everyone! And, Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms out there!!!

Two week check-in

I had my follow-up visit with the doc today - 20 days since my right Achilles tendon rupture and 16 days since I found out I couldn’t have surgery and needed to try the non-op route. That’s when he put me in the boot.

So, today the doc checked out the ankle, and moved it around a bit. Had me push down on his hand with my foot (plantarflexion), and there was some movement there! It looks like I’m healing well! He took one of the wedges out of the boot (down to two, now), and said I can start partial weight-bearing (with crutches and the boot) - about 30-40lbs. And, I can start at-home exercising, but plantarflexion only.

Woohoo! One step at a time!

Happy Healing, everyone!

Well, so much for that….no surgery for me.

I was supposed to have AT repair surgery this morning. But, I had a heart attack at the end of November and had a stent put in. And, the cardiac protocols say that I shouldn’t have surgery until 6 months after the heart surgery. The anesthesiologists (3 or 4 of them discussed my case) all agreed that the risk was too high, and convinced me to cancel the AT surgery. I messed up, and didn’t time my AT rupture very well!

Six months is up at the end of May. So, I needed to talk to my orthopedic surgeon to figure out what I’m supposed to do, now. I can’t wait another almost two months - by that time, my AT could be totally messed up, for sure! The doc decided it would be best for me to try to heal non-op. Yes, the tendon won’t be quite as strong. And, yes, there’s more likelihood for a re-rupture. But, he thinks we should be able to make this work, and I should be fine.

I don’t know what the protocol is for non-op AT recovery - gonna have to do some reading on that. I thought you still start in a cast for a week or two, and then transfer to a boot. But, my doc said the cast isn’t necessary, and put me back into my boot from 5 years ago, with three-high wedges at the heel. I’m supposed to weight-bear whenever it feels comfortable to do so. Tried it. I can put some weight on it, as long as the foot is in line with my body or slightly in front of it. But, I tried to take a step with my foot going behind, and that was NOT working.

So, are there any non-op people out there? What protocol are you going through? Is it odd that I’m directly in a boot, and weight-bearing as tolerable?

Thanks, and Happy Healing to everyone!!!

I’m baaaaaack!

Hi everyone! I missed this crowd and this website so much since my first AT rupture (Feb 2012 - left leg), that I decided to rupture my right AT the same way, just so I could come back here and chat with all of you again! I don’t know if there are still any people on here that were on 5 years ago, but if so, hi to all of you long-timers, too!

So, my story begins again - and it’s very much the same as my first rupture. I was playing indoor volleyball. I lunged forward in preparation to dive for a ball in front of me. POP!! Goes the heel - felt like someone threw a baseball at my ankle. I immediately dropped to the ground and grabbed for my leg, and instantly knew what I had done! The pain subsided in about 2 minutes. Luckily, the other vball players there took care of me - brought me to the side and got me some ice and a chair to elevate my leg, while they continued playing! :) So nice of them! Just kidding - I would not have had them stop playing. So, I watched until the time was up.

Since I had the crutches at home, I sucked it up until today, so I could see my Orthopedic Surgeon, rather than wasting time going to Urgent Care and having them tell me what I already knew.

So, I saw the Orthopedic Surgeon this morning (he was booked up, yesterday), and he got me in for surgery tomorrow! Things are moving fast! Am I nervous? Of course! Especially since I had a heart attack on Nov. 30, 2016, and am worried about anesthesia, and all the other meds, and how that’s going to react to the 6 meds I’m now taking for my heart! Am I glad it’s going to happen right away? Yes. That way, I don’t have to think about it too much.

Wish me luck! I’ll be here on achillesblog.com quite a bit in the upcoming months! I hope to get to meet/know some of you and work together to get through this! Happy Healing, everyone!

23 1/2 weeks. Going strong…

Just a quick update. At 23 1/2 weeks, the AT is feeling good. The calf, however, is still weak. Gotta keep doing my exercises! I got lazy, and it’s showing. Gonna start doing them again, right after I post this msg.

The training for the Century Ride is going well. I did 25 miles yesterday, and 42 miles today. The AT and calf feel pretty good. But, the quads and knees are feeling kinda tight. Gotta keep building up strength and endurance.

Happy healing, and have a great day!

Century Ride? *What* did I just commit to???

Well, 5 months have come and gone since my surgery. All is going pretty well. I’ve been getting lazy with the exercising, though, other than the bicycle riding - I’m commuting to/from work twice a week (27 mile round trip), and riding w/ my wife 2-3 times a week (10 mile round trip). So, my calf is getting stronger, but still way weaker than my right calf.

I’m surprised, tho - at 5 months, I can walk without a limp (most of the time - unless I forget, and fall into my bad habit). I can ride my bike fairly well (ave. speeds of 16-17mph for my 13.5 mile commute). I can jog a little bit - just to go fetch a volleyball, or to get under the garage door before it closes on me! I’m doing most normal things - mowing the lawn, etc. I’m going to be hiking in Hawaii in a couple weeks! We’ll see how that goes!

But, am I stupid?! I just committed to a Century Bike Ride w/ a buddy this Sept. or Oct.!!! I’ve always wanted to do one, but have always had an excuse not to. I’m not getting any younger, so I figure I should get the first one out of the way. And, I’m using this as good incentive to get my leg stronger! So, I’m committed (or, should be!)!!! Time to get back to doing my daily exercises, and get a training plan in gear!

17 weeks post surgery - commuting again!

Today is 17 weeks after my ATR surgery. All is going pretty well, for me. I’ve been reading some of the other posts, marveling at how well some of you are doing, and wondering if I should be happy or sad about my own recovery. I seem to be ahead of some people in the recovery process, and some of you seem to be progressing much, much faster than I am, and are doing things at 9 weeks that I’m not even doing now. I’ve decided to not let that get to me, though – I’m happy for you if you’re healing fast! I really am! Every person is different. Every recovery is different. Some of you are younger than me. Some/many are more fit than me. Some are trying much harder at their exercises than me. That’s great! Each person has their own recovery process, and we’ll all get back to “normal” in our own time!

 So, in my last post, I mentioned that I’ve been on my bike a few times. Last Thursday, I bike commuted to work and back – 13.5 miles each way. Yep, I made it! A little slow – about 7 minutes slower door-to-door than my average time (56 minutes vs 49 minutes average – and, yes, I DO stop at lights and stop signs!) – but I wasn’t planning to push for any land speed records! I found that it was uncomfortable to stand on the climbs (just kinda weak), but I could gear down and spin uphill. It felt soooo good to commute again! Of course, during the day my leg and ankle tightened up and I had limping issues. But, I expect that, until I get that calf and ankle stronger. But, I made it to work and home, no problems.

 Sunday evening comes. The 16-yr.-old says she needs the car on Monday and Tuesday cuz she has Marching Band Section Leader tryouts during the day both days (she made Alto Sax Section Leader, BTW! – hooray!). Yikes! That meant I needed to bike commute two days in a row – 54 miles in two days! I wasn’t sure I was ready for that. But, Monday came, and I hopped on and made it to work. The ride home on Monday was a bit painful…….but not in the ankle……….in the rump!!! Apparently, I need to toughen up the butt muscles/skin again, in order to ride hours in the saddle!!! Lol I dreaded Tuesday’s ride, as I didn’t think my tender butt could handle another 2 hours of that punishment! I did ok, though, and even shaved 2 minutes off my commute (54 minutes, door-to-door)! One strange thing happened on the way home yesterday, though: I noticed that if I pushed too hard uphill, my Achilles felt the pull, but on the side of the ankle; but, it didn’t really feel like a normal pull, and it wasn’t painful – it felt cold, like someone put an ice cube to my ankle. Was very strange, and it would go away as soon as I backed off a bit. So, I paid attention to that, and backed off if I felt anything strange at my ankle. I actually felt pretty good at work, yesterday, and at home last night. Doing ok right now, too. I might even ride again on Thursday or Friday, just because! 

Anyway, where was I going with all of this??? Oh yeah – recovery. Although I may or may not be ahead of some of you by bike commuting at 17 weeks, I still can’t do a single-leg heel raise with my bad foot (frustrating). I still walk with a slight limp, unless I concentrate on my walk. I’ve been negligent with my at-home exercises (too busy/lazy), so that may be the reason I have less strength in my calf than I probably should. I read of some of you running again at this point in your recovery. I can jog clumsily for a short distance, but wouldn’t think of running. I don’t let that get me down, though. I just keep going.

 For those of you who are either early in the process, or are having a hard time coping with this injury, mentally/emotionally: Don’t worry so much. You have to remember that this is a temporary, relatively minor injury in the grand scheme of things. You won’t be “crippled” forever. Your leg hasn’t fallen off. You don’t have a terminal disease. There are so many worse things you could have. But, you don’t. You have an injury. You got hurt. You may or may not have had surgery to repair your injury. You heal. You rehab. You WILL be better! They say a year recovery. But, in reality, most people are feeling pretty good at around 4-6 months or so. The rest is to get back to physical peak. Keep your heads up. Keep doing what the doctors and Therapists tell you to do. Don’t do anything stupid. DO YOUR EXERCISES!!! DON’T LET IT GET YOU DOWN! YOU WILL GET BETTER!!! 

Have a great day, and Happy Healing, everybody!!

(Oh, and an early Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there!)

Woah! 16 weeks!

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!!!

Two shoes! Two shoes!!! ……..kinda.

Had my 3rd PT session today. I’ve been a good boy, doing my at-home ROM exercises as directed, and even a little more. Today, my PT said she talked to the Ortho, and they decided I could start weaning myself out of the boot! Hooray!! That came a week or two sooner than I expected, really! I’m so psyched! I did my PT and proudly walked out of the office holding my boot in my hand!

Of course, they had to remind me about the "weaning" part - not just quitting the boot completely! But, it’s still cause for me to celebrate, today!

Hope you all have a great week of recovery!