I’ll miss my boot.
I’ll miss my boot. It comes off in a week. I don’t know why I feel like I would miss it. Maybe because it was so damn hard to get. Well the boot was readily available but the heel wedges were not. I called my insurance company and they were ZERO help. I was given a script and I had to fill it. Every medical supply store I went to looked at me crazy when I asked for the heel wedges. One even said they can make some for me… yeah… no thanks. The last thing I wanted to do is rerupture my tendon because of DIY wedges. I gave up and did my google thing. Why didn’t I think of this before? AMAZON! why not search Amazon. I found a walking boot. The Aircast. It has inflatable bladders that offer support. It was like buying a new car and deciding on options. Should I get the premium model with the built in pump or settle for the hand pump. I went the route of the hand pump as the boot looked slimmer. I’m glad I did. The air bladders didn’t offer much more support while the heel was raise, more on this later.
I bought the Aircast walking boot, some boot liner socks (get at least a couple of pairs) It gets funky down there) and some heel wedges. Now Aircast has wedges in a bag with an Aircast sticker for like 40 dollars but there is a merchant on Amazon that offers prime shipping that has identical wedges for more than half the of the Aircast “branded” cost.
I brought the boot to my surgeon and he was impressed. I was impressed. I got everything for under $100. Next the cast came off. I was no longer a super hero. I was left with just a pencil that used to be a leg. I had dead scaly skin on the bottom of my foot but no where else. I was happy. They told me to calm down before I hurt myself. They fitted me into my cast and off I went. One more month before they see me.
OH HOW IT FELT SO GOOD! water! I felt bad because California is in a drought but I left my feet under running water for at least 5 mins. I scrubbed off all the dead skin and left my scar alone. There was still scabs. My doctor told me to remove one wedge in two weeks and another in another two weeks. I said, ok but in my head I was like, HELL NAH!!
I felt it was safe to remove one wedge every week. The first day was funny. My foot didn’t know how to handle the pressure but by the end of the day I was walking fine. I used a crutch for a day or two. After that I was rocking my way everywhere I went. I finally got back to the gym. THE GYM! It felt so good. I was easily tired but it was great feeling that way. I didn’t do any leg work my first week with the boot.
The second week with the boot- there goes a wedge. I didn’t know one wedge would make such a difference. My foot felt so much better. I was rocking less. I had a scare. After the shower I forgot to lay my shower mat down and when I jumped out the shower, I slipped and tried to catch myself with my bad foot. Oh boy, it hurt. I felt it pull. I didn’t hear or feel a pop but it was gut wrenching. I was feeling down there making sure it was still once piece. I decided not to take off a wedge to let any possible swelling to go down. After a couple of days I took off another wedge and it felt more amazing. I know I went against my doctors orders but there was literally no pulling or pain. Even he himself was unsure of how fast I should remove the wedges. Originally he said one a week but changed it to one every two weeks. I didn’t hear him the second time…
The third week with the boot- I was back on the court putting up shots. I would sometimes forget I had a good and would try to run. The boot hit me with reality real quick haha. But the point is that I’m pain free and my mind isn’t even on the injury anymore. I feel normal now. My leg actually feels normal, no more tip toeing around. The air bladders actually added support, I guess the flatter your foot is the more room it has to wiggle within the boot. I bumped into a few other guys I see at the gym. Two of them came back from ACL surgeries. It was just cool bouncing stories off each other.
When the boot comes off next week it would mark week 12 post op. My scar is healing up nicely. I’ve been rotating silicon strips when I’m on the go and bio oil when I’m at home. My doctor did a great job suturing. There aren’t any keloids but there is some discoloration. My calf is still tiny but it’s firmer than before. Right after the cast came off my calf was soft. Just walking around in the boot got the blood flowing again. My feet regained all it’s color. The vascularity is back too. I’ve been massaging the scar to break up any scar tissue. I’ve been doing ankle movements and seated calf raises. Tomorrow I will be removing another wedge. That would leave me with one wedge left. If it’s tight I will put the wedge back in until my appointment. I want to start rehab. I miss work and work misses me. They are stressing out and I miss stressing out.
One thing I would like to mention is that anyone in the boot process, be careful when you fully extend your affected leg while walking, especially going up stairs. I felt my knee lock a couple of times and there was literally no support. For me, the muscles weren’t there anymore. The last thing I would want is to sprain or tear any knee ligaments.
I can’t wait for rehab. Not so much the mechanical part because that I can do myself. I was a very active and healthy person before the injury. I want to work on the scar tissue as much as possible. I’m going to call around and see how rehab centers treat post achilles surgeries. I’m looking at sport clinics first.
What are some methods you guys felt did the most help during recovery. Graston? Ultrasound? Electrotherapy?
I want to post pictures but photo bucket is really cooperating right now.
Until next time, Ima boot on!
