next surgeon appointment in 4 weeks

3 wedges this week, 2 week after and then 1 and 1

First PT appointment next week - gentle gentle

Review continued use of boot after 4 weeks

Had a couple of cheeky glasses of red wine yesterday to celebrate what is essentially an important step forward in the recovery process!

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article1508333.ece

Presumably I am not the first person to have done this??  It just shows how easy it could be to go back to square one and I have read other posts about momentary mistakes or ‘over confidence’ that have really set people back.

I am interested in your advice/viewpoint on 2 topics:

1) What have people (men in particular) worn to work when wearing an air-cast boot?  Do you just roll up your trouser leg or have you cut off your trouser leg? 

2) Has anyone tried out these shoes before - MTB, the ‘anti-shoe’.  The manufacturer claims it helps with several problems including tendon damage - http://www.swissmasaius.com/Products.aspx - I would be very interested to hear your views.

Thanks

Laurie

p.s. can you tell I am dreaming of weight-bearing

Day 3 and I have had my second shower, aided by my wonderful wife.  Well, it was not so much a shower as me perching on the end of the bath, trying to keep my right leg straight outside of the bath and holding onto the edge of the bath to keep my balance - it would take Russian gymnasts years to achieve the same balancing act, but needs must!  I had a shave and my wife washed my hair and I feel pretty damn good all things considered.  I managed to get one of these special water-proof cast protectors which was recommended to me by my hospital physio, known as a ‘limbo’ - www.limboproducts.co.uk.  It does look completely ridiculous, but I don’t exactly have much of an audience.  By the way, that is not me modelling it in the picture above!

“What specific advice were you given by your doctor for your post operation recovery?”  It would be useful if you can state which country you are in.  Here are my instructions (I had a full rupture of the right achilles tendon).

Pre-op outlook - 3 weeks minimum in cast, 6-8 weeks in air-cast boot.  no driving for min 2 months and no vigourous sport for 9 months

Post op - no weight bearing on right foot, rest as much as possible, elevate leg as far as possible.  He was happy for me to use 1 pillow under my leg and did not especially mention that it needed to be ‘above the heart’.  I was given 60 Co-Dydramol Tablets (Dihydrocodeine & paracetomol 10mg/500mg) to be taken as required, no more than 8 in 1 day.  I can also use ibuprofen as well if needed.  I have to see him in 10 days to have stitches removed and to check progress.  Am assuming I will be given new cast then as well for at least 1 week if not more.  There has been no mention of icing my knee but I guess that is up to me? 

How do I feel?  So far, I have not noticed any visible swelling.  I can move my toes OK.  when i have to move around, I can feel a bit of pain and I have generally been taking painkillers with my meals, more just to stay on top of things rather than to let any pain build up, which was the advice of the pharmacist.

So, there you go.  Would just be interested to see how this differs from advice being given elsewhere?

(1) my wife - I can tell she is exasperated after only 24 hours, so this will be a real test of in sickness and in health!

(2) my daughters - i love the way they just carry on regardless and keep bringing me pictures of ‘daddy with his sore leg’

(3) Satellite television - let’s face it, there is a massive amount of cr*p, but at least there is some choice

(4) medical staff - they should really be in a category of their own, but since my op, I have a strange compulsion to wath ER and lot’s of documentaries on the medical profession!

(5) pyjama trousers - simply the best

(6) Blackberry - how did we manage to do business before it was invented?  I can lie flat on my back with my leg on some pillows and keep things going no problem

(7) Facebook - if you can’t get out to see them, it is still nice to know what is going on in a virtual sense

(8) Wireless Internet - blogging from my bed is great fun and let’s me check this forum easily

(9) Pee bottles - sorry ladies, but these are essential for guys and save risking the stairs

(10) 24 hour news channels - I am hopelessly addicted to what is going on in the world

Things I am less grateful for:

(1) stairs

(2) my ‘dancing knee’ - has anyone else had little muscle spasms in their knee?  The surgeon told me this was quote normal given that I have been walking around for a few weeks without an achilles tendon in place and probably put a lot of strain on my knee.  It appears to have a mind of its own just now

(3) The hot weather

(4) Daytime television - there really are some weird people out there

(5) can’t think of another one, but it won’t be long!

28/7 730am - I checked into Wimbledon Parkside private hospital.  After sorting out the paperwork and signing my life away, I was immediately shown to my room by a porter.  It was simple and comfortable.  Within minutes, a nurse came in and gave me my robe, took details of height, weight, blood pressure, pulse etc.  The surgeon popped in for about 1 minute, drew a downward arrown on my right leg and said ‘it would all be fine’.  I did ask him if he reckoned that it would be more complicated given that I had been walking around on it for 4 weeks.  He said that sometimes it just means that he has to make a slightly different repair and that it can mean an extra week in plaster.  He reassured me by telling me that he had repaired people who had gone undiagnosed for 6 months.  The anaesthetist came by - he was cheery and again said ‘don’t worry, all will be fine’.  He also asked the same questions that the nurse had asked re allergies and whether I had had an op before, to which the answer was no.  I told him I was quite apprehensive (in the hope that he might suggest some pre-med) but none was offered.

As things turned out, I was the only ‘over-nighter’ on the Surgeon’s list - he is a specialist foot & ankle surgeon and only does these types of operations, both private and on the NHS.  Because of this, I was last to go to Theatre and I had to wait 4 hours before the nurse finally came in and said ‘we’re ready for you’. 

12pm - I must admit to being nervous, although not uncontrollably so.  I wasn’t really nervous about the operation - rather, it was getting the anaesthetic that I was nervous about, really through fear of the unknown rather than any rationale fear.  I did some breathing exercises whilst getting pushed down on the trolley.  I was taken to the basement of the hospital where the business end of the hospital is - it was very cold and brightly lit.  I went into the Anaesthetist’s room and one of the team asked me a few questions re how I injured myself.  He also asked what I would normally be going today and I said ‘anything other than being here!’.   A normal response he told me.  The team got to work, attaching cardio monitor etc and they then tried to put the IV feed into a vein on the back of my left hand.  It didn’t hurt, but I could tell from the reaction on their faces that it was not going in to well (I subsequently discovered that it had hit a valve in my vein which was causing it to spurt blood). So, they pulled it out and went for my right hand instead.  Once in, the anaesthitist said he was just going to give me something to start me off - I recall an instant sensation of a rush through my vein and it must have literally been within 1-2 seconds that I went out.  The next thing I knew, was that I was waking up in recovery, leg already in cast.  I felt fine to be honest.  I had a slight pain that I could feel but it was very manageable.  The nurse was by my bedside and I chatted to her and a porter whilst I fully came round.  I could hear a women next to me struggling a bit with the anaesthetic wearing off - she was in fighting mode for a few minutes - and my nurse said that it affects everyone a little differently.

1.30pm - I was wheeled up to my room.  My immediate sensation was one of mild euphoria at having come through the op and also wanting to phone my wife.  Not 10 mins after coming out of recovery, I phoned her on my Blackberry - at that point, the surgeon popped his head round the door to tell me it had all gone well and told me to get some rest and that I shouldn’t try to make phone calls!  My wife said I sounded a bit drunk and reckoned I told her the same story about my initial IV insertion not working twice.  Anyway, I had absolutely no sensation of nausea - I was just incredibly thirsty and luckily the nurse had brought me a big jug of ice cold water.  I was also hungry and they brought me some sandwiches.  I made a couple of more calls and checked some e-mails (ridiculous, I know) and then just watched TV.  I had my pulse and blood pressure taken every 30 minutes for the first 6 hours or so.  The readings were all a little high and I think my problem is that I worry too much - therefore, when the nurse came in to take a reading, I would immediately get anxious, thinking my readings were some how abnormal.  However, I suppose I had to bear in mind that (a) I had just had my first operation (b) that I was in unfamiliar surroundings on my own and (c) I had just had a pot of coffee!

The anaesthetist came in to see my at 8pm and said that I had done well and that the surgeon had made an excellent job of the repair.  The surgeon came in at 930pm and also said that it all went to plan and that there were no complications from me leaving it 4 weeks - he said it was completely torn but that he managed to get a very good join and he expected me to be in a cast for 3 weeks, with stitches out within 2 weeks.

The rest of the evening was uneventful apart from a massive lightning storm outside which I could see through my window.  I didn’t have any real pain at all, but to be on the safe side, I took a couple of mild painkillers.  I had my pulse and blood pressure checked again at 2am (which was annoying) and at 6am (which I was awake for anyway).

29/8  - I woke up early due to blood pressure/pulse check at 6am.  Got my newspaper, had breakfast and then watched some TV.  Physio came in at 10 and showed me how to use the crutches - found it amazingly tiring and kept needing water.  She basically advised that I should try and rest as much as possible and said that going anywhere far on the crutches was not advised.  She also gave me a leaflet for mobility aids that could be hired - I decided on a table similar to the ones they have in hospital that I could lay over my bed or chair, which would help me to work and eat whilst keeping my leg elevated.

I was discharged at 1130am and got home at 12pm to be greeted by my wife and kids, who were of course full of questions about ‘daddy’s sore foot’.

So there you go - I am now post Op.  Definitely no where near as bad as I thought it would be and I am officially on the road to recovery, which is important in itself given my 4 weeks of pain not realising what I had done.