Hi all,
I am ever so glad to have found this group! You all have alleviated that feeling of uncertainty and hopelessness that can come over one after an injury such as this. I was resigned to surgery until a ray of hope came through in reading some of the posts on AchillesBlog.
Injury occurred last Saturday, May 14, while playing recreational soccer and my friends and I immediately suspected it was the old achilles. Saw the orthopedic surgeon on May 16. His diagnosis, full achilles tendon rupture; his recommendation, surgery asap. I do not like the word surgery. Just to be sure I asked for an MRI. In the meantime I had been reading up on ATR and had come across AchillesBlog. To my delight I learned that there is a good chance that even full ATR’s can be treated non-operatively, and with outcomes comparable to surgery, and without the attendant risks! Oh joy, oh joy!
The diagnosis was confirmed by MRI on follow-up visit on May 18 and the doctor’s professional opinion, which I fully respect, was to schedule surgery as soon as possible. Knowing that I had perhaps up to 2 weeks (thanks AchillesBlog!) I decided not to schedule the surgery immediately but to keep sniffing around and let surgery be my absolute last resort.
I was looking desperately for a doctor in my area who would oversee non-operative treatment protocol. No luck… until, you guessed it, AchillesBlog came to the rescue! (Deep breath) On AchillesBlog I found a link to an article that referenced Houston TX, whose co-author I emailed, who gave me the name of a surgeon in Houston, whose assistant I called, who said “of course we can, send us your MRI report”, which I dug up and did, and was ready to go to Houston, from Dallas, if that’s what I had to do in order to heal without surgery (whew!). I am waiting on confirmation that I am a good candidate for non-operative treatment in Houston.
In the meantime I thought “I can’t drive to Houston so… how would I get there? It surely would be good to get treatment closer to home”. Said my very sharp wife, “can the insurance company help you find a doctor in Dallas?” “Hmmm”, said I, “that’s a thought”! This morning, May 20, I called the insurance company, who dug up one doctor in Dallas who will hopefully go non-operative. (Did I mention that my wife is, like, really sharp?) I scheduled an appointment for Monday May 23. Keeping my fingers crossed. If Dallas does not work, then I plan to get to Houston by hook or by crook next Wednesday or Friday, May 25 or 27. I would still be within 2 weeks of the injury. Meanwhile I work out of the house the best I can and keep checking email for a response from Houston, and keep seeking Dallas doctors in case the one I see on Monday says, “I have to cut!”, in which case I will cut and run. And so it goes.
A couple of requests to AchillesBlog users:
- does anyone know of doctors in the Dallas, TX area who would go non-operative on full ATR?
- is there a cheat sheet somewhere to help me decipher some of the acronyms I’m finding on the site (NWB, FWB etc.)?
Thanks!
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