New surgeon, new outlook
August 6, 2012
Well it’s been 7 days since my rerupture. They haven’t been the most fun, as I noted in my last post. Hopping around on one leg is terrible, but the knee scooter is really helping me out, yet again. If you’re currently on crutches and reading this, stop reading, and go here . You can also order these things on eBay for $200. They pay for themselves almost immediately.
Anyways, I made it down to Houston rather uneventfully. I had a packed bookbag, my crutches tied together and strapped to my back, and my knee scooter. It was quite the getup. I gate checked the scooter and shoved the crutches in the overhead. Everyone was very nice and accommodating. It could have gone much worse. I was able to drive myself back to my apartment, which was good, since I drive a manual. I have been wearing the CAM walker pretty much non-stop just to give me some stability. I try to sleep in it to avoid any weird calf contractions and the pain they bring, but I always end up taking it off in the middle of the night because it is so hot. My calf has completely atrophied back to where it was 3 weeks ago after a week of non-use.
I saw my new surgeon today. Granted I am bitter about my past experience, but I got a really good feel from this guy. The staff was nice and the office ran like a machine. He came right in and saw me and actually asked me questions, did a real exam, and quoted literature when explaining his thought process. From his exam, he thinks that perhaps there is a little bit of tendon still in continuity, but for the most part it is reruptured. He said that if I went non-operative for this one, it might be really hard for the two ends of the tendon to reapproximate. He strongly advised surgery (he’s a surgeon, that’s what they do), and said he could do it this week. So I’ll be having operation #2 in 2 or 4 days.I’m planning on spinal anesthesia again, with single-shot sciatic and saphenous blocks for post-op pain control. I don’t think the sciatic catheter helped much at all last time - just left me feeling numb in an area that didn’t really hurt. At least I hope it didn’t do that much. I guess I wouldn’t really know if it was or wasn’t working since I was completely numb.
My dad is being AWESOME and coming down from Maine to drive me home from surgery and look after me for a bit. I am living on the 2nd floor of a new apartment complex and it will not be easy for the first few days. Another update to come in 2 or 4 days.
August 6th, 2012 at 21:43
That sucks you reruptured it, just from where the incision is I think the sciatic catheter would cover most of th pain but if you thought the saphenous helped more get a saphenous or fem cath. Have they delayed your start date? Good luck with the surgery and fellowship.
August 6th, 2012 at 21:45
Finding a good doctor is very difficult, finding a good surgeon even more so. Glad to hear you found someone you can trust. Good luck and keep us posted!
August 7th, 2012 at 10:07
Dude, im so sorry to hear this. Hang in there, in the big scheme of life this is nothing..
August 7th, 2012 at 10:33
Sorry to hear you’re going through all this
Sending you positive energy for a speedy recovery from surgery!
August 9th, 2012 at 12:21
Good luck. Having a Doc you trust is a Very Good Thing. Try to follow a good protocol (like bit.ly/UWOProtocol ) so you don’t get TOO much use out of the knee scooter! (No help here on the nerve blocks, sorry.)