ernhtvt’s AchillesBlog

Well, the days of the Vacoped are now behind me. 9 weeks after surgery, “walking” in two shoes feels really nice, but everything is very tight. I put the walking in quotations as I think what I’m doing is not pretty walking, but it gets me from point A to point B. Also, my foot has forgotten what it is supposed to do. I have to consciously think about moving and placing it…. heel down, roll, lift heel off of floor, “push” off w/ ball of foot, then move it forward… I’m scared with the “pushing” off the floor. The fear of re-rupture is ever present in my mind. Physical therapy starts in 4 more days so I’ll get more guidance then.

Does everyone else have major swelling by the end of the day at this point? When I first get up in the morning, the ankle is mostly normal sized, but by the end of the day it’s really swollen w/ pitting edema. An ice pack and elevation helps a lot at night. After the PT appointment Friday morning, we are going to a weekend concert event in Maryland. 2 stages to go between and a lot of walking….. We’ll see how the ankle fares with that.

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Hello everyone!  I have never done a blog before and I don’t really know what I’m doing so please bear with me.

My name is Chris and I am a 49 y/o physically fit guy who likes to lift weights and do cardio in the gym.  I am a very active person, veterinarian, husband, outdoor enthusiast…  I don’t have time for this Achilles rupture.

The rupture occurred on Monday, February 13.  My wife signed us up for a “couples Valentine’s” exercise class at our gym.  I’m not a “class” taking kind of person, but I went along with it.  We were doing a lot of boot camp style exercises (and was actually having some fun).  My wife was in a pushup plank position.  I had my hands on the upper part of her back and was jumping side to side over her body very quickly.  When my feet hit the floor I exploded back up and over her to the other side hopping quickly.  We heard the pop and I kind of just fell down.  It felt like someone landed on the back of my ankle, but when I looked back, there was no one there.  I am happy that I was in the category where there was zero pain.  I sat on the floor for a minute, thinking something here is just not right.  I stood up with both feet flat on the floor, and it felt like my right foot was pointing straight down through the floor.  It was at 90 degrees, but felt like my toes were  pointing down.  That was a weird feeling.  I felt the achilles and it felt like mush compared to the left side.  CRAP!!!  I knew what this was.  We went to the ER that night, diagnosed w/ Achilles tear - but they didn’t know if it was partial or complete.  An appointment with the orthopedic physician the next day confirmed my worst nightmare - full tear.  I was given the options of surgery or conservative therapy.  I’m active and wanted a better long term outcome, so I opted for surgery.  That was scheduled for the 16th.

I went to work the next two days, dragging my foot around slowly, but still glad that I didn’t have pain.  There was a little swelling, but nothing excessive.  My orthopod gave me an aircast to wear, but it feels really clunky and uncomfortable.

Surgery went well on the Thursday the 16th, and now I have a splint cast wrapped almost up to my knee.  This is where the pain in the butt stuff starts.  I was given regular aluminum crutches / torture devices.  Learning to use them is a literal pain.  My lats and underarm area were getting so sore just from trying to walk around.  I borrowed a walker from my mother in law which helps around the house, but it is still exhausting.  My leg with the cast feels like it weighs a hundred pounds so holding that up off of the ground is very tiring.  The orthopod recommended a knee scooter, so we were researching them when I came across the iwalk 2.0.  I’m physically fit and need my hands free to be able to work, so I ordered it.  The iwalk arrived on Saturday and was easily put together.  I strapped it on and started walking around the house.  Not too bad, stumbled up a little but never fell down.  I rested with my feet up during the weekend.  That is one of the hardest parts for me - I have a hard time sitting still, there is so much to do around our house and property.

I went back to work on Tuesday - the boss put me on a half day schedule at first to see how I would function.  Overall, the iwalk is a great device, but that thing REALLY wears me out towards the end of the day.  My hip flexors, hips and especially my right knee were killing me.  Putting extra padding with a hand towel helped some, but I still needed to ice the knee at the end of the day.  The iwalk does get some really funny looks from my clients when I enter the exam room.  From the front it looks like you don’t have a lower leg.  One man I saw was giving me a look with disgust like I had some incurable disease.  It was all I could do to not kick him in the butt with my peg leg.  Some people are just jerks.

The next weekend, I bought a gel knee pad from Lowe’s to stick up in the front of the iwalk to pad my knee better.  Works great - It actually raised my knee a bit higher and opened the angle from my femur and tibia- hopefully that will help with the blood flow.  I still find myself exhausted at the end of the day.  It gets to the point that I will trip some when trying to pull the iwalk leg forward.  I haven’t fallen yet, but it may happen.

I will be going in for my 2 week recheck tomorrow to change the cast and get the sutures out.  I’ll let you know how that visit goes.

I never realized what a life changing event this is.  Being non weight bearing on a leg changes everything.  Just walking down the hall and going to the bathroom is like trying to get Congress to do something.  Making breakfast, showering…  all of the little things we take for granted are now drawn out chores.  My wife has been a blessing in helping me.  One thing that I’m worried about is that I am scared of  rupturing my left achilles from hopping around on that leg compensating for the right one that I can’t put any pressure on.

Overall, I think the iwalk is a great device so that I can work and do things with my hands, but from my personal experience you may need to be fairly fit to be able to use it well.  I am fit and that thing just plain wears me out.  (maybe I’m not as fit as I think).  Crutches can go to Hell, I can’t wait to throw those things out.  The walker helps but only for a short distance.  We did buy a DryPro waterproof half leg cast cover for showering.  Got it on Amazon and that thing is awesome.  It is a thick rubber boot that you can slide over the cast (we put a trash bag on first to let it slide easier).  After it is up to my knee, there is a bulb you use to suck the air out of it creating negative pressure that seals it to your leg.  My cast has not gotten a drop of water on it.

I do have a question - I believe I am going to be in a cast for another 2 weeks, but after that will be the boot.  It seems like most people really like the Vacoped as opposed to the regular aircast.  I am looking for the most comfortable option available - I don’t care what it costs.  I will run this by my orthopod tomorrow - but my question for those of you reading this - is the Vacoped really worth it, or will the aircast do just as well (I already have the aircast and my insurance company has already “paid” for it.)  The Vacoped will be 100% out of pocket expense for me.  I want to be able to work comfortably, feed and water the chickens, get around our property, go to the gym for upper body workouts…  I realize I will still be limited, but can you get around more easily and comfortably in the Vacoped vs aircast.  Thank you all for bearing with this long post and I really look forward to hearing any advice.

Chris

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