4 months
Last monday marked 4 months since surgery. I’m really excited about my recent progress and I feel like the one-hour-per-day rehab that I have been doing for the last couple of months is really beginning to pay off. To be more exact, I am 18 weeks. This is what I have achieved so far:
-I am able to walk almost normally. Sometimes I walk perfectly, but there are also times when I relapse into my regular slight limp if I am tired or sore etc.
-I can ride the stationary bike
-I’m able to balance on one foot well
-I am able to do one-leg heel raises without aid (woohoo!)
-I can jog for about 15 to 25 steps at a time, at which point I suddenly have to stop and take a break before trying again
-I CAN JUMP! I have done some skip rope as well as hopping up one stair at a time, all with 2 foot take off.
Most of these were achieved in a short time, I was unable to do a one-leg heel raise about 2 weeks ago but now I am able to do that as well as the things listed below it. I have been working extremely hard at range of motion and strength ever since I was allowed to start and although it felt as if nothing was changing for a long time, my work is finally beginning to pay off and my slow slant of progress is now making a sharp turn upwards. It’s really exciting and encouraging for me to actually SEE some change.
This last weekend was my volleyball nationals which I was not quite prepared to play for and it was difficult to see my team lose in the quarter finals and end up 5th, but I know if I got out on that court something would have gone wrong. That was monday, and yesterday (tuesday) I began playing beach volleyball under the instruction of my PT. I didn’t try to jump but I was able to run around in the sand and play pretty well suprisingly. Today my whole leg from the calf down is extremely stiff and sore but that is the best kind of rehab I’ve done yet 
The sand is pretty forgiving since it falls around my foot when I push through it and it’s a whole lot safer than running around on the indoor court (there is very low risk of rolling an ankle etc.). It was a great workout, good for strengthening. If you’re at a similar point as me I might recommend asking PT about getting into the sand, there’s so many good things about it including the fact that it’s a low impact surface for running/jumping and it helps out with ankle stability as well. I think in my case it’s also a good start to regaining some confidence in my game, of course at this point my reaction time is very slow and playing on the beach is a good way to ease back into it.
I will continue to gradually ease back into volleyball using the beach courts during the summer, and hopefully by september I will be able to play back on my high school team again. My current mindset is that hard work pays off eventually. I will get better!
That’s great, Jenn! I’ve toyed with trying beach v-ball for the past few weeks, but I haven’t done it. In my case, I’ve got a badly-aging Aortic heart valve to think of, too, though it’s been enjoying all my bike riding.
But I completely agree about your (and your PT’s) comparison of beach and court volleyball. There’s just no way to get the same explosive “pop” (you’ll forgive the expression!) on soft sand as you can on the court. That’s why I don’t think it’s just a coincidence that I tore both my ATs on the court, even though I was playing some very aggressive 2-on-2 beach ball (with a bunch of athletic 30-somethings while I was a 60-something!) for the past few years.
I’m at about 5-and-a-half months now, lifting my “bad” heel right off the floor but still only with a bent knee, not a REAL 1-leg heel raise, so you’re ahead of me there.
But I haven’t even THOUGHT of limping when I walk for about the last month — until yesterday evening, after TWO hours of late shopping completely wiped me out, and I’m pretty sure I found myself with a little “limp-dip” at the end of my stride, especially when carrying a bunch of groceries! A blast from the past, and not my fave blast, either!
If normal bicycling used to be part of your life, it’s also a great form of exercise, transportation, and “spirit lifting”, in my experience!
BTW, are you at the top of your High School class? You’re writing is wonderful!
Norm,
I’m impressed that you keep up with those 30-year-olds, way to go!
Today my calf muscles are BEYOND sore! That wouldn’t be a problem normally but the AT is still a bit too restricting and I can’t get a proper stretch in the calf. I’ve been instructed to take a rolling pin to the calf and give ‘er :)Hope it works!
I generally don’t ride my bike, not since I was a kid. It seems pretty popular amongst the recovering people on this site though and I think I might give it a try. How did you find it the first time you hopped on after your rupture?
PS: That’s really funny that you ask if I’m in the top of my high school class, because I’m definitely not! I do attend a private school with a good education system and I enjoy writing but I’m considered a very average student, so thank you!
My first few trips on the bicycle (which I normally use a lot to get around town) were in a boot, after both ATRs. It’s a little clumsy and clunky, but it was so great to be bicycling again after the crutches and all that it made be grin and giggle!
My first few trips without the boot (both times) made me a little nervous, and I was certainly at risk of doing something terrible to my AT if somebody had opened a car door in my face or the like. I tried to be careful, and it worked out OK. The part that most “got my AT’s attention” was bouncing over potholes, with some of my weight on the ball of my “bad” foot. That sudden “shock loading” was something I changed my technique to avoid for a while. After a week or two, it wasn’t an issue any more.
I can’t imagine growing up, through High School, without a bicycle! It was such a big part of my gradual emancipation from parents and home — maybe MORE important even than when I started driving or got my first car! You’re not alone, of course, and most of the kids in my wife’s family (mine is far away) weren’t allowed to bike in the big bad city. There may be a connection to the current obesity epidemic, maybe. . .
BTW, my fave recollection of “keeping up with the 30-somethings” happened when 3 young buddies and I rented an indoor beach volleyball court for the afternoon, maybe 2 years ago. It was in a facility we’d never been in before. (Toronto has FIVE indoor beach places in the city itself, each with 5 or more courts!)
We expected to find a bunch of other people playing at about our “speed”, and we’d end up playing together, 4-on-4, which is what we played most of the time. But no. There was only one other court in use, and the players on it weren’t at our level. So we started playing 2-on-2.
We juggled the teams around until we found an alignment that gave us brutally close games and good points. And we played and we played, breaking only long enough to suck back some water and stuff down a granola bar. THREE HOURS of solid 2-on-2. Lots of huffing and puffing, and not many people saying “nice shot” without scrambling or diving for it first!
Toward the end, I was serving a couple in a row, when my (30-something) teammate completely “pooched” a routine ball. Huffing and puffing, he apologized: “Norm, I’m sorry, but I just needed 5 more seconds to catch my breath before you served!” That “video clip” instantly went into my mental scrapbook!!
Haha that’s awesome! Sounds really fun! Also the idea of indoor beach courts is pretty cool!
Thanks for the bike tips - I think I’ll try it out when the weather decides to quit whining. I’m getting pretty confident in my calf as well as AT strength so I should try to gain back some confidence in other areas as well.
I take regular walks several times per week and PT has encouraged me to try a bit of jogging while out in the neighbourhood. He suggested I see how many jogging steps I can take and then when I fatigue, take a break for a minute and do the same thing over. Sounds pretty intimidating but I’m up for the challenge.