firemedic1’s AchillesBlog

I had my first post op appointment approx 2 weeks after my surgery date.  If you read my last blog, you’ll recall that I had a spill on my “death mobile”…I mean, knee scooter!  Oops!  I haven’t had any pain or lasting effects from my fall and I’ve been very much looking forward to getting my stitches removed.  During my appointment after my fall I received an ankle wrap which has gotten loose from time to time.  It wasn’t a big deal for me to unwrap and rewrap my foot in order for the ACE bandage to stay nice and tidy.  I was also able to unwrap my foot in order to clean my leg and foot for the first time since my surgery.  That was a nice feeling.  I used baby wipes as to not contaminate my incision and I didn’t do much to clean around the stitches, I just left it alone.

Goodbye Stitches!

My appointment went well and was pretty uneventful.  The doctor palpated my tendon and confirmed that it was still attached and said it felt good.  She did some small ROM exercises with me and advised that I would do some dorsiflexsion of my foot but keep it minimal as to not stretch the tendon while it was still in the healing phase.  She removed the stitches, which I expected to hurt a bit, but I hardly felt it.  After she removed the stitches I spent a few moments gently scratching/itching my incision site.  She looked at me strangely and asked if everything was okay and I said I was great and it just felt good to itch my leg a bit.

Toward the end of the appointment, which was pretty short, the doctor advised that I would remain NWB for another 3 weeks, until the next appointment.  I’d have to say that I wasn’t entirely pleased with the 3 weeks which was 1 week past the minimum time frame she had initially told me on surgery day, but what really could I do?  I chocked it up to my accident 1 week post op.  And right before I left, she told me that I’d be losing the knee walker after the next appointment.  As this was pleasant news to my ears, I was a little concerned because I didn’t feel like I’d be ready.  On top of that, she said that I’d roll into the appointment and at the end I’d be WALKING OUT!  This was a shocking turn that I hadn’t expected and I did not believe that I could be walking in 3 weeks.  Again, it was pleasant news that excited me and I want nothing more than for that to be true and to walk out of the appointment in 3 weeks under my own power on my two feet.  I know I’ll be weak but weakness is only temporary and strength will come back over time.

Preparations for my first steps…

I’ve been sitting around being pretty sedate after my injury and even more so after my surgery.  I can literally feel that I’m more exhausted now doing menial things than I ever had been in the past.  I determined that it was time for me to get back into the gym.  Aside from that, I know that increased bloodflow always helps with the healing process and nothing gets the blood moving more than exercising!

I got back to the gym and had to improvise some things in order to get the job done.  I began with using the row machine.  I was able to successfully row by putting my good foot in the foot strap and resting my injured foot on top of the foot rest area.  I was able to row only using one leg and having the injured one doing nothing.  It was tough at first and I didn’t row very far or very long as my cardio was shot, but things have improved over the past couple weeks.   I also have been using the Airdyne bicycle and using my arms and good leg to get my workout.  I, again, just let my injured leg sit on the peg below the handlebars, doing nothing.  Finally, I’m able to utilize some free weights here and there.  Its more difficult to get and use heavy weights while NWB but I was still able to get the flat bench close enough to the weight rack to use dumbbells and again, get a good workout in.  So, I’m proof, this injury is no excuse to not workout and continue to be somewhat active.  It just takes a bit of motivation.  I hate not being able to do the job I love and my motivation to get back to work is the reason I refuse to stay sedate.  The faster I heal, the faster I can come back to work.  And that’s my desire at this point.

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 21st, 2016 at 11:15 and is filed under In the middle.... You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.