lindaF’s AchillesBlog

I am right at 12 weeks and I guess over the major threat of re-tear. I am in two shoes full time, though the most comfortable shoes for me right now are sandals. I am 9 degrees past neutral- which I hope is not too much. PT seems happy with where I am. I have gotten my walking up to 2 miles- and my split today was just under 22 minutes per mile. Still walking with a limp/hitch. The only thing really bothering me is on the outside of my ankle and a little above my foot on the side. It is swollen and painful. The PT called it a bursa- is this something I should be concerned about or is this just part of the normal healing process? He really did a deep massage in that area today and it seemed to help, though a little painful as he worked on it. We added calf stretches against the wall today and did my first heel drops on the total gym. Everything felt fine and I feel my progress is on track.

I celebrated my 11 week post op milestone by removing my boot and going for a 1 mile walk yesterday. It took me 30 minutes and was somewhat slow, however, it was also a great feeling to get back out there. I plan to track my progress on the MapMyWalk App. It tracks distance and time. I also plan to add a 1/4 mile each day to see how far I can go. I did not want to push it the first day- and since it caused no pain and no more swelling than usual- I think I am ok. PT continues and it feels like I am ready to take it to the next level. I do have some calf atrophy, though at the same time it looks like my muscle tone and size is coming back pretty quickly. I have done a lot of stationary biking and seated elliptical during my recovery with the boot on ( though for the last week doing without the boot) so I think that helped. Overall I feel like I am doing ok and look forward to getting over that 12 week threshold. Thanks everyone for your support over the first 3 months. I couldn’t have done it without you

I saw the PA at OS office today. He said everything looked good and gave me the go ahead for two shoes, as my last wedge was removed from boot on Wednesday and my foot is easily at neutral. However, when I saw PT on Wednesday, he said I would be in boot for another 3 weeks, though he told me my foot was about 2 degrees beyond neutral. I told PA that my PT said I would be in boot for another 3 weeks- which the PA thought was very conservative and not required. So who knows best the PT or PA at the OS office? We kind of settled on two shoes in the house and boot outside. I asked PA if I needed boot on steps in house and he said no. Not sure if I am ready for stairs without boot or not?

Anyway I tried two shoes when I got home and it felt ok. Obviously limping and tentative but no pain. I then tried just walking in my bare feet and everything also felt fine.

One thing for sure- I am sleeping without my boot for first time tonight and showering standing for the first time in 9 weeks. Progress and happy