An Ironman’s recovery from an Achilles Tendon Rupture

Today (July 3) I had my second cast removed and the 3rd one put on.

I had my mind set on a pink cast but saw the purple, loved the colour and changed my mind somewhat. The cast technician told me this is my last cast so not going back on the promise I made on this blog, I added some pink to the cast (so I didn’t wuss out brendan and screwdriver). Check it out below. I dressed it up with one of my dogs once I got home. More pictures can be seen in my Cast 3 page post at the top.

Sawing off the cast was quite a cool process. It is still hard to believe how that thing can hack off the cast and still leave your leg without a scratch. Reading the many blogs on here prepared me for the loud and somewhat scary ordeal. Therefore, I was relaxed (that would end minutes later) throughout.

As soon as my cast was removed, I helped convince a kid (who was a bit scared to get 2 casts removed) that everything was going to be ok. He started off scared as heck, but at the end he wanted to see the saw cut off more.

Once my cast was cut off, the surgeon came in, took a quick look, and told the cast tech to get me to neutral (if I could handle it) and put the new cast on. I was excited to hear he wanted my stretched right out until the cast tech started doing it. Wow! Or should I say “Owww!” Man was it painful. It gave me a quick reality check to remind me that I am not even close to 100%.

As he continually stretched my Achilles and tried to put my foot in a neutral position, all that kept going through my mind was re-rupture. The pain was excruciating. But he convinced my to put up with it because the more he could stretch me out and cast me in that position, the better it would be for my recovery. Once he was satisfied, he applied the first layer of the fiberglass cast, then added a few layers of purple, re-confirmed I wanted to add pink, and proceeded to add pink stripes. We had a good laugh at the end result along with the others in the room. I got some weird looks coming out of there but who cares. Who is going to mess with a surly looking guy with crutches?

I say surly because this new neutral position was more painful indeed. It almost reminded me of the first 2 weeks all over again. Fortunately, only certain positions brought out the pain so I could easily get relief by varying my foot position.

I was told I have another 3 weeks in this cast, and then I get to go in a walking cast. I can’t wait to gain just a bit more freedom and start the physiotherapy. As we have learned from the many unfortunate re-ruptures that happened recently (my cast tech told me of one that happened to someone who slipped in the shower), we must remain patient, and smart about our recovery. I say this especially to the 25 plus people that have joined this community of bloggers since I suffered my ATR 35 days ago. This is getting to be an epidemic. Scary stuff! Thank goodness for this invaluable site. You are the man Dennis!

Going back to last week, to celebrate Canada Day, I had my first shower on July 1st. This may sound gross but I have been cleaning myself via baths (I hate baths), sink showers/baths, and baby wipes. My shower is especially slippery so I did not want to risk slipping or getting the cast wet. I felt especially gunky so after reading a few blogs, I got the urge to shower so I taped 2 plastic bags to my leg and had the best shower ever. Some water still managed to seep in despite the detailed taping job. I will add another 1 or 2 bags at the top of my leg next time to solve that problem. Otherwise, all went well.

Right now I’m investigating places near my house get physio. I’ve also made an appointment with a top notch sports medicine doctor to investigate issues with my right side and to get advice about rehab for my left side. I believe the right side could have ruptured just as easily so I want to head that off at the pass. Maybe he can pinpoint what it happened.

Until next time. Happy healing everyone!