Week 7/8 - 2nd Week In Boot
Refresher: It’ll be 8 weeks since my ATR on July 14th. I’ve been in the boot now for almost 2 weeks. The ortho doc gave me the green light to go into 2 shoes at the end of the 4 week boot period.
I went to the doggy beach in Huntington Beach this weekend (Labor Day) and gave my boot a "run" for its money in the sand. I gotta tell ya walking in sand is not the easiest thing in a boot. You really have to be careful not to over extend your tendon. A few times the sand wanted to send my foot in the wrong direction but fortunately if you walk slow enough you don’t have to be too concerned. What was concerning was what I’d do if my dog (a small Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) got en-snarled in a vicious fight with one of the other larger breeds that were looking to chew their way to dominance!
I took the boot off to get some badly needed sun on the pale area that was covered in Cancun with the cast. And as I was sitting there enjoying the beach with the family and watching Uno happily play in the sand I realized if one of the other dogs decided to make him a chew toy I had no way to get to him quickly without re-rupturing my Achilles. Well, that wasn’t going to happen and if it did they’d probably have to drag me away in cuffs for tearing all four tendons on the poor dog that chomped on Uno. I can’t say I’m a violent type but a man has his limits!
Anyway, I didn’t make the news that night but ironically my daughter’s friend’s brother did! I should really be thankful that all I had to worry about was hobbling over to rescue my dog. Our friend’s son was nearly shot when some thugs showed up uninvited to his party and robbed some of the guests. His roommate wasn’t so fortunate and ended up being shot in the chest. He’s in critical condition and recovering but will have a much tougher route to recovery than any of us ATRs. Apparently a girl at the party who also was shot was the reason he wasn’t killed. Seems the bullet was deflected off of her finger before hitting the roommate. Crazy circumstance! The university is one of the greatest in the US but happens to be located in a rough area of the city. Our friend’s son is a senior and a great kid and student.
Oh yeah, my Achilles. Well, not too much to report this week. Like others here I’m really nervous about going into 2 shoes. Most days my tendon feels flexible but it is still slightly tighter than before. It seems to be tighter at various times and after I walk more. I do walk around a bit out of the boot at home but I’m extremely careful not to stumble. I don’t have any noticeable swelling but I suspect there still may be some because parts of the bottom of my foot still feel "unfamiliar" when I walk on it. I’m putting a little more weight on the front of my foot and I notice that it’s starting to feel more natural again. But I stop immediately whenever I feel a tug on my tendon.
As I mentioned before, I have a lot of motion and can barely detect a difference between the good foot and bad. However, I do feel the tightness when I pull my foot all the way towards me even though I can reach the same distance as my good foot. I think PT will help with this. My foot itself is pretty loose and I can move it like before with no problems.
My calf is still loose and there clearly is a difference in muscle size primarily right where the muscles meets the Achilles. My thigh and gluts are feeling strong again but I think I need to get on a stationary bike to get things moving along. Today is Labor Day so I’ll try to spend some quality time swimming in the pool before hitting the tasty barbeque ribs!
Oh, and I had time to customize my blog page with widgets and a new header. Check out the page I added on Thetus and Peleus, the mythical parents of Achilles. I’m sure you’ve all read something but I thought it be fun to post it here! Just think, if Thetus had dipped Achilles’s heel in the Styx river maybe none of us would have to worry about ATRs!
