grannygoose’s AchillesBlog

I went to my OS yesterday. It was Week 5 being in the boot. I took my last wedge out yesterday in the morning. Incision looks good. OS was happy with it. I have to wear the boot for 2 more weeks, FWBAT, then he said I could wear shoes. That’s kind of scary to me. I will start PT on March 12th for gait training and ROM/Flex and Strengthening exercises, for 4-6 weeks. I’m excited about that. I think what I am most excited about is starting to walk on my foot. It’s getting old using the crutches in the middle of the night to get to the bathroom. I finally had some questions to ask OS after being on this site. I had no idea what to ask before. My rupture (tendon completely apart) was extremely close to the heel bone. It was difficult for him to get the sutures near the heel sutured to the other end of the tendon. Interesting stuff to me. I think that’s why he had me in the boot with 5 wedges - wanted it stretched out gradually. I will see the OS in 8 weeks.

I do have some bumps in my arch. OS says they are on the plantar. Doesn’t sound like he was worried about them. I have been massaging them at night with Arnica Gel and massaging my incision. It still feels a little numb but the massaging feels great. I have been walking around without either the walker, knee scooter or crutches with the boot on. Feels pretty good but by the end of the day I’m pretty tired. My heel hurts a bit more now that all the wedges are out. I’m sure that’s the nerves waking back up.

I’ve been luxuriating in the bathtub for about a week now. Well, about an hour a day, that is. This is what I missed most!

Happy healing everyone!

Vicki

Today is a big day for me. I went to the grocery store and did all the shopping walking through the store and not riding on the seniormobile. Shopping is much more enjoyable my myself - no husband looking over my shoulder at what I am purchasing, lol.

I’m down to one wedge in my boot and will return to the OS on Friday. On that day, I will remove the final wedge. I did have some pain last Friday when I went down to one wedge. I rested all afternoon and felt better on Saturday. I have been in the boot since January 17th. I started walking around the office and house last week with nothing. Feels pretty darn good!

I’m down to 2 wedges in the boot. I will go to the OS 2weeks. What a difference it makes having 3 wedges gone! I actually have been walking a bit without any assistance (no crutches or walker). It feels good. I’m trying not to over do it.

I finally made it back into the gym today. I was actually a little apprehensive as this parking lot was where I did my swan dive. I rode the spin bike for about 10 minutes and it felt amazing. I just had slight resistance. I did some leg exercises and abs. My trainer was in the gym and we tried out the incumbent bike as well. I think it will be good to switch up the bikes. All in all, I was in the gym about 40 minutes. Oh, I also walked 1 lap on the track. 5 laps equal about a mile. I’ll get more laps in. I just received the Evenup in the mail. I think that will make a big difference in walking.

I’m proud of myself!

Hello, fellow Achilles club members. I have read so many of your blogs and have gotten so much information from all of you. Thank you very much!

I joined this club on 12/16/13. I was leaving my athletic club around 6am after taking a 5am spin class. It was dark (that’s one excuse), I was sweaty and tired (that’s another excuse) and I tripped over a parking bumper taking a short cut to my car. New Year’s resolution - use walking pathways through the parking lot. I tripped with my right foot and my left foot landed on the curb of the planter, bending my foot backwards with my toes pointing to my shin. OUCH! I heard a pop and headed towards the ground. It was all so surreal - seemed to be happening in slow motion. Luckily, there was a dead bush handy, so I grabbed it and made it to the curb without injuring anything else. I was able to call my husband to come and pick me up. We headed to the Urgent Care right away. They took an x-ray, as I told them I thought I broke my foot - never even thought of Achilles tendon. As soon as the doctor came in and looked at my ankle, he told me I had probably ruptured by Achilles. I was able to get an MRI a few hours later, which confirmed the rupture. This was all on a Monday. I was able to get into see an OS on Friday. He gave me the option of non-op or op. The first question he asked was “how active are you?”. I’m pretty active and I have 2 new grandkids that I need to be able to play with and take care of so I opted for the surgery. They put my leg in a splint with ace bandages wrapped around it. I don’t know all the technical terms so bear with me. The splint was probably at a 90 degree angel - not with my toe pointed downward. The surgery was scheduled for 12/31/13 - what a great way to bring in the new year! When I woke up from the surgery, I had another splint and ace bandages and LOTS of padding. My lower leg looked gigantic! This time my foot was pointing down. I was to be NWB until my next appointment.

I was scheduled to return to see my OS (Holman Chan with Nevada Orthopedic is awesome!) on January 17th. They removed the staples and I was sent upstairs to be fitted with the Bledsoe Air boot. I started out with 5 wedges in it. Talk about uncomfortable! I was instructed to remove 1 wedge each week and return to see Dr. Chan on February 21st. I could do PWB with crutches. I hate crutches and had access to a walker, so I chose to use the walker. I saved the crutches to use when I had no boot on. So far I have removed 2 wedges. What a difference 1 inch makes! I don’t wear high heels at all, my friends, so this was pure torture.

I can’t wait until February 21st to meet with my OS again.  Hopefully, I will be able to start some PT.  I have started to do some ROM exercises with my ankle.  I can move it up and down a bit and back and forth.  I was doing some small circles last night.  kellygirl inspired me to get up off my butt and get moving.  I’ve been doing a lot more and I feel so much better.  I intend to get back to the gym and try out the spin bike again.

Happy healing!

Vicki 

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