And now for a short video for those of you who have new ruptures and need a little inspiration. There is some light at the end of this long [Lincoln] tunnel. Click the link–> Maestro walking

Happy New Year to all ATR members!! Another hurdle down, many more to come but I am now walking on my own! It couldn’t get here soon enough. Hopefully 2009 will be better for me and my Achilles. I have now been walking without crutches for 2 weeks. Feels great as all you 2 shoes people can attest to. I have to put myself in check every now and then now that I can get around. When I’m out I have to stop myself from trying to walk as fast I did pre-ATR. Careful around stairs and in the shower, don’t want to hit the high hurdles at this point in the race, I mean marathon.

How do I feel at this stage? That’s a good question. Overall I feel good. The physical therapy helps a lot. I suggest to those of you who can get some sessions to do so. Mornings getting out of bed the Achilles is tight. It loosens up after i stretch with a towel and I walk around a bit. Anytime spent sitting causes some stiffness but that’s the worst of it. Patience, patience, patience. I know, I know. It’s hard when you don’t have any patience but I’ll have to find some.

I plan to go back to work on monday after 3 months away. Never thought I’d say it but I’ll be glad to be going back.

Maestro,

Go Giants!!

Brace/Boot

So, I’m all excited. It’s Friday November 14th time for cast removal! I troop down to Union Square for my appointment. I actually spend more time with the P.A. and the tech fitting me with the Bledsoe Brace. No biggie though. P.A. uses the saw to cut me out of the cast. Takes out the remaining sutures and there I am. [On a side note my foot flopped around like a dead fish once out of the cast] SHOCKING!! I knew it would happen but to see your own leg wither away like that is astonishing! I’m already thin but now my left leg looks Somalian! Doc reassures me that in time that my calf will come back. I’ll be working that bike from the first chance I get till the end of summer. Lance Armstrong style. You feel me!? Gonna turn my legs into pistons. At least that’s the hope. Doc says I can now rest my foot on the floor and I will have to wear the brace for 5 weeks. Showers and baths are okay but be careful. The tendon still is not strong enough to bear all of your weight. Everything looks okay. Wants me to press down on his hand like stepping on gas pedal. I’m able to do it but with minimal strength obviously. Gives me a prescription for PT. “Come back in 2 weeks to see me.”

Physical Therapy

Today, November 25th, time for my first visit with the therapist. She was pleasant enough and good looking too. We went through a few exercises and the standard questioning. “How did you hurt yourself?” “When was surgery?” so on & so on. By the end of December I should be walking normally again or close to it. I was given the same exercises to do at home to build up ankle strength and improve my ROM.

1. Point foot down/bring foot back up

2. Roll ankle clockwise/counter clockwise

3. Point to the left/right

4. Place foot on towel on floor and slide back and forth

5. Place foot on towel on floor and try to pick up towel with toes.

At this stage in the game I can’t move in any direction very much but I am able to move in all directions a little. No worries though. I’ll be back soon enough. CAN’T STOP ME! YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN ME! A little levity :).

Giving Thanks

Just want to take this time to say thanks to all the Achilles Bloggers for sharing their stories. Your knowledge, information, research, and humor were all welcome to someone in need of up lifting. I had never been hurt before and this blog helped me tremendously. Shout out to Richard,  Hoss, TomTom, MarilynRd, Mandy, ToddRyan, verse402, Jacksprat, Sgtmo, Despina, Alfia, eriedutchgirl & many others. I can’t name you all you know!

Extra super special shout out to Dennis the creator of this blog site. Thanks for giving us this voice to help ourselves and others in ATR recovery.

Happy Thanksgiving to all ATR’s across the U.S.A., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK.

Almost forgot. Click the tab at the top of the page for new pics.

Maestro

I haven’t been able to read everyone’s blog but if there were an award for most detailed blogger I believe if would have to be a tie between jacksprat & tomtom. What else can I say but give these two guys a shout and a pat on the back. Very thorough, detailed and informative. I want to say thanks for all the work that you two put into your blogs. It has been very useful. I hope for continued success for each of you in your recovery and hope to continually read your posts. Thanks again guys.

You can read them here—>http://achillesblog.com/tomtom/        http://achillesblog.com/jacksprat/

Since my ATR I have been scouring the net looking for all sorts of info related to this injury. I thought I would share this link I found a few days ago. It’s a brief run-down about minimally invasive surgery for Achilles ruptures. There is a little video as well showing the procedure. Was wondering how many of us have had this type of surgery. I know I didn’t have this type.

Note: NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH

From the Hospital For Special Surgery in New York City [lot of connections to pro sports teams]
Here’s the link—>   http://www.hss.edu/conditions_14383.asp

Am I the only niteowl up at this hour?

This day couldn’t get here fast enough.  2 weeks and it’s time for suture & cast removal. What a relief that was. The condition of my leg was good. No swelling and no bleeding or stuff oozing. The would is healing and no infections. The doc didn’t remove all the stitches, he kept half of them in till the next visit. The tear was pretty routine and everything is coming along nicely.

I can rest my foot down and I don’t have to continuously keep my foot elevated anymore.

New cast is fiberglass. Little bit tight but light weight. That could be because my foot was adjusted up some. Bearable pain and I could feel the tension when he pushed up on my foot. You know it’s connected but it’s still good to “feel” it.

So in two weeks time I will return and have the cast removed and start with the boot. I already have one of those so I’m ahead of the game on that front.

Ball & Chain is gone!! Cast protector from Amazon is on it’s way!

So here I am waiting and wishing I could fast forward through the days. Tired of feeling like James Caan in “MISERY”. In two days time I will get this damn cast off. Pretty sure I will get a lighter type of cast on Friday. The one I have on now is plaster with a splint inside and my foot pointed down. Feels like an anchor. With my leg withering away inside this cocoon it really feels like I’m dragging a ball with a chain.

Anywho, I am patiently awaiting the arrival of one of my neighbors/friends. I need to borrow a hair dryer because guess what? I got water into my cast trying to take a shower! GOOD GRIEF! Just when I was having a good day too. I forgot to tape up the top portion of the plastic bag on my leg. Didn’t take long to realize I screwed up. I hurried up and got the hell out of Dodge! It’s not soaked but annoying as all hell. Calf is a bit damp and the top part of cast is a little moist but all in all I gotta say it isn’t too bad. Not bad enough to go see my doctor. Damn, how did I mess this up? I really hope this hair dryer thing is a help. This damp clammy feeling is not cool. Didn’t get the foot wet so that’s a blessing.

Will post again after new cast on Friday and hope to have some pics too.

Can I fast forward to April of 09?

Although I have yet to have my cast removed. I have already prepared myself mentally for rehab. My question to my brothers & sisters in the struggle is this. Is there a particular brand or type of shoe that I should look for when the time comes?

Asics, Nike or Adidas? Cross trainer or running shoe? Air or Gel?

I’m not a runner, don’t play tennis, squash, ski, racquetball, or tennis. I bike and walk a lot.

I was just wondering if their is a particular one that is better for the Achilles.

Probably just a personal choice.

Thanks to all.

I don’t know if it’s already been posted but we should all get some type of tattoo. Once we have completed the one year marathon we could all get some kind of PROUD MEMBER of ATR CLUB  type thing.

Any tattoo ideas club members???

Let’s go back a bit to Thursday october 2nd, 2008. My co-workers invited to a game of softball that afternoon. “Cool!” is what I thought. So I get on my trusty Fuji mountain bike and head over to the ball field. When I arrive I see the guys are hoopin’ it up. “Yo, Maestro, we’re shooting some hoops until we can get the softball field [kids were playing a game at the time]. Okay, I thought, I’ll wait this out on the sidelines till we can get the field. They’re short one man which means I have to play. Maybe about 40 minutes in I could have sworn someone kicked the crap out of me with a pair of work boots in the back of my ankle! As you all know it hella hurt! So I continued on till the game was over limping all over the court. Once the game was over I sat on the sidelines thinking that I would be okay. Once the pain didn’t go away I told the guys that I couldn’t continue and that I was finished for the day.

So I hop on my bike and I can’t pedal! I can’t really push down! Now I’m thinking I am REALLY hurt! Anywho I make it home which was only about 12 minutes away. Throw my foot into a bucket of ice water and soak my ankle. My next move is to just chill out and do the R.I.C.E. method. Next morning I see my doctor [who I won't be seeing anymore] [HE SUCKS!]. I ask my doctor if he thinks there may be damage to my Achilles? “NO. Just rest it and you’ll be fine in about a week.” Fast forward to the next Thursday October 9, 2008 when I go back to my doctor. I don’t feel like I’m getting any better. I can’t push off my foot. I can’t walk. Hence my reason for coming back to see him. Dr. jerkoff doesn’t seem too concerned in helping me find out whats wrong. If he had given me the Thompsons Test I would be further along right now.

I’ll jump ahead to the next day when I see my podiatrist who treated me for plantar fasciitis. Just my luck. All the surgeons are out and the one who is in is preparing for surgery. “Come back on monday and we’ll take care of you.” Monday, Columbus day and my podiatrist is on the ball. I get an ultrasound taken, send me out for an MRI and both show the tear in the achilles. I get set up to see an orthopedic surgeon tuesday october 14th. From there I get  scheduled for surgery on friday october 17th 2008.

Where to begin. So much to say. This is the first time I have been injured where I needed surgery. Had surgery today to repair my ruptured achilles. I’m home in bed with my leg propped up with blankets. Leg is still numb from the ankle block. Leg/foot feels heavy. Damn, it’s gonna be a problem taking a shower. Not looking forward to that. I’m very independent and having to rely on others really sucks! I think I’ll try to get some sleep now, kinda tired.