The Empty Cast

I came out of my cast on Friday, and it felt great to be free from an ortho roll-cast “tomb.” No, wearing a cast was no where near lying in a sepulcher, but highlighting the fact that now it’s empty seemed to me praise worthy. My foot is not there. It’s now returned to its boot. However, I kept the cast as a memorial to once-broken things. Now let the rehab begin.

Casting Calls in Pink and Black

I winced like a whiny bugger as if a wasp’s stinger was impaled under my skin when Mike pulled out the first few sutures. He and Dr. Ptaszek, my ortho through the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute, had declared that my leg looked good; that the healing from the surgical procedure had closed the wound nicely. It seems though that a second look at the “Wild Weasel” itself via doppler was unnecessary. Amy Jo is rather confident about her work. My confidence is in the Lord. She is a rather enjoyable doctor.

My rehab will consist of two days per week for two months PWB , “Partial Weight Bearing” at 100%. I’m still advised to “go easy” in terms of my range of motion. So before I return in two weeks for a check-up on my well-casted leg, I need to decide on which rehabilitation services to employ.

If I had to announce a casting call for the “Wild Weasel,” I guess I would choose someone who was confident enough to wear a pink and black cast. Yes I said it: “A pink and black cast.” Black because it looks rather sleek on my leg like a black leather boot; and pink because it’s the “new black.” Plus, my only niece had surgery on both of her feet in order to promote proper development in her tender soles prior to her third birthday. She soldiered through with two pink casts on both feet (of course). So the pink is for her. She turns four next week.

So a medley of Harley Davidson and Victoria’s Secret seems “manly” enough for me. Think Pink Panther in black leather eating up highway on a Black Iron 883. Yeah. Then hum the theme music.

Bowel Movements and Other Musings

I had my first bowel movement since pre-op last Thursday, and it was no Beethoven’s Ninth of symphonic relief. Gosh, I guess I realized that constipation was a side-effect of the medications by Friday because I rarely have trouble “doin’ da doo” as I would say. However, this one’s the first ever that’s left me in pain. My butt hurts more than my leg, go figure. Musing over this and trying to sleep has got me thinking about everything from hemorrhoids to colorectal cancer. Just hoping that the walls were simply dry and needed the hinges well greased for smooth expulsion. I know this post sounds a little crude, but it feels like “number 2″ just kicked my…

Hopping on One Leg, Laughter Pulling the Other

My walker was a little further away from me today than I would have liked it to be. So I hopped over to it on my good leg to get the darn thing. Lakers were hosting the Thunder, and I wanted to get at the remote. However, as I returned to the sofa and swung my leg over to elevate it on my pillows, I felt a pain down my calf and near my Achilles. Of course I panicked a little because my pain had diminished tremendously since Thursday, and I was using the pain-killers less frequently. Can pulling on the calf muscle stress the repair? And no, I wasn’t really laughing. The wild weasel was crying…on the inside.

Joy and Pain

I am officially post-operative.  I am laid up here on the couch in quite some pain.  The leg is iced up and elevated.  I’ve been prescribed the Norco along with diazepam (valium) for the muscle spasms.  I start the xeralto tomorrow to prevent clotting.  I’ll be in a cast when I schedule my next appointment.  Thanks to the nursing team and doctors at the Glenbrook Hospital in Glenview, IL part of the North Shore University Health-System.  Amy Jo Ptsazek performed the surgery through the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.  Thanks to my wife Tiffany and parents who drove from Detroit to support and encourage me.  Pops will be here through the rest of the week.  And praise the Lord for empowering me to make through the surgery.  Now strengthen me for the recovery.

A Clearance for Pre-Op: Lovenox, Xeralta, Norco, and Other Drugs We Love to Hate

I visited my primary care physician today for pre-op clearance. I am now a big proponent for streamlining the health care system so that if one has had several doctors over the past ten years or twenty years, his health history would in theory go with him to the new one. The shift from paper filing to computer/virtual filing is long overdue. I had to complete a new profile and health history because I’m not on record with my new primary care physician. Much of this is my fault for being to stubborn to visit my primary care physician for regular check-ups at least once a year. However, no better time then the present.

I had a blood draw today in order to test my blood count in preparation for the surgery. Blood-thinners actually concern me. Although I am not diabetic nor have had previous heart conditions (all to my current knowledge), the thought of bleeding easily is one I’d rather not have. However, blood-thinners seek to reduce the chase of clotting in my casted-leg. Any thoughts about lovenox and/or xeralta, the two blood-thinning medications I may have to face? And as it relates to pain killers, can Norco become addictive?

How the Wild Weasel Popped on Friday the 13th

I ruptured my Achilles tendon on April 13, 2012. It was a Friday. I currently work as a teacher’s assistant at a therapeutic day school in the Chicago area. Although the students had a break from school that day, the staff arrived for a full day in-service. During a morning circle activity involving a blow-up beach ball, the freakish thing just happened. We all heard a loud pop and down I went to the floor. I have officially renamed the sinister Achilles “The Wild Weasel.”  It even has theme music: 3rd Bass - Pop Goes the Weasel.

I’ve been using mass transit for a year now to get to work, walking moderately about 1.5 miles per day. My role at work not only includes supporting students academically and social-emotionally, but also supporting them using a crisis prevention intervention model that seeks to preserve the care, welfare, safety and security of everyone involved. I also do a fair amount of physical movement throughout my day including PE support for my classroom.

That said, I’ll be out of commission for a while based on what I’ve learned so far from my doctor and this blog site I happened upon.  I will be receiving surgery through the Illinois Bone and Joint Institute.  I would like to have a successful recovery. With prayer, the help of the Lord, my wife Tiffany, friends and family, and the countless encouragers who have walked in my boot on your blog, that will happen. I welcome everyone’s support, encouragement, and wisdom over the course of my recovery.