joauer77’s AchillesBlog

With great excitement and some nerves i speeded off to my first physio appointment last wednesday in my moon boot…meet my lovely physiotherapist who also had done her ATR 20 years ago (she is lovely and we connected really well..she understands that being a full time mum and and the adventure bunny I am that this injury has been not just a physical one but a mental challenge for me but with the right therapy this next part of this journey i can fully heal and get back into my life before…
My physio gave me some gentle ROM exercises to do but also some mental preparness for me to get my head around and that I would see her in a couple of days for the next step…the boot off!
She informed me that my wings will be clipped for a little while as i get used to shoes BUT I WILL BE IN SHOES!!!!…I left excited and nervous.
(We are also watching how my toes are going and see if physio can improve that as i have no movement or feeling in the little three toes so off for a MRI next week to see if there is nerve damage..)

TS DAY ARRIVED…..
To actually be able to stand on two feet and then take those first 4 steps was exhilarating….I felt so encouraged…I cried tears of joy it had been 9 long weeks since being able to take any steps and I finally did it…..I left with an extra exercise added to my therapy and the knowledge that come in about 4 weeks time I will be able to walk unaided.
YET…..
I never realised how speedy I actually was in my trusty moon boot!!! I AM SO SLOW AGAIN…I know that being in shoes is a huge step, just frustrating that when my physio said “when your wings will be clipped for a time” i did get what she meant I just didn’t really realise the magnitude and that frustration would be there again…..
Its like when the cast came off and the boot went on I thought “YES I can do more..which I could but not straight away…same again when the boot came off I know I will be able to do so much more but NOT STRAIGHT AWAY…and people see me in two shoes and its like “yay your healed..all fixed”…that is the frustrating part….
and the other thing is how much we actually rely on our boot for protection…I am not a nervous person but at the moment I am very nervous when the kids or anyone for that matter comes near me at the moment… and sleeping in the bed with the hubby I wear the liner of my boot more for my peace of mind I think….
Anyway this journey at the moment I am trying to learn trust, patience, and honesty.

Oh the excitment of little things….yes thats right finally my foot is now in the neutral position (after a horrible experience with a different Dr at the hospital for my last appointment on Friday - who didn’t read my clinical notes and thought I was further along the recovery stage and on a different non-conservative protocol and just about flipping snapped my achilles again!!!! thank goodness i screamed and he stopped and listened to me when I finally argued that I couldn’t walk on it without the boot or crutches and I wasnt about to try as I have only just figure out how to walk in the boot without the crutches!!!!! - Also He didnt know the protocol I was on (7 different consultants at hosp so 7 different protocols) so I (ME) had to explain it to him whose I was on and what that was…thank goodness I had a copy on my phone with me….then he couldn’t answer some simple questions for me eg when and where does physio begin…..anyways I have also just finished officially complaining in an assertive way…just incase someone has a similar experience but worse of a result….

So the exciting small thing i hear you ask is?
WELL…I can now wear my skinny jeans…I know that is not much but before I couldn’t quite get my foot flexed enough to get into them in the leg but today I can…YAY i can wear something other than shorts and trackies and the jeans fit inside the boot as my other jeans cant fit over…and the blessing is that the jean leg goes inside the boot so you cant tell that my miscle in my calf is GONE and the skinny jean now looks like baggy jeans on one calf and on my right leg it is nice and tight…..