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.

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.

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.