4 weeks post surgery
By mandy000 on Nov 30, 2012 in Uncategorized
This past week has been like a miracle in comparison to the previous four weeks.
When the surgeon initially fitted me he did try the medium vaoped but I couldn’t stand the pain of it around my heel, if felt too narrow, which is why he put the vacocast one…now I’m thinking it was cast-to-boot shock combined with mini-freak out. After putting up with it for a week and rubbing a blister on the underside of my foot I started to complaint. Forget the grin and bear it!
I emailed vaco people at head office, they explained the vaocast was not designed to put wedges inside that I really should be in the vacoped boot. They put me in touch with their Australian rep who offered to swap the boot (shell) over for me with just paying the price difference of the two boots, the inners are the same.
On Tuesday I swapped out my vaocast boot for a vacoped boot, a size smaller. Not only is it smaller, lighter, less hot and without the painful hard wedges inside, I slept! The vacoped small now feels like a comfy ug boot in comparison. And I’m starting to feel like a normal person…..ok one that still has to relie a lot on others, but not sleep deprived.
On Wednesday I went from NWB to PWB to taking four steps without crutches. Ok they weren’t graceful but the sense of progress was amazing. This morning Saturday aussie time, I’ve roamed around doing things in my apartment, unaided. I’m not suggesting I’m now FWB but am for periods of time. Might even take myself off outside and enjoy summer that has finally hit.
Anyway just wanted to share a happy update, and if you’re struggling with your boot, if it feels too big and cumbersome, maybe it is the wrong boot or incorrectly sized boot, it doesn’t hurt to fire off an email and ask the experts.
Happy healing!
10 Comment(s)
By kkirk on Nov 30, 2012 | Reply
Awesome Mandy! Its a great feeling to leave your NWB days behind, even if it is a slow process. I’m still professing towards FWB slowly I might add. Happy Recovery Mandy.
By darryn on Nov 30, 2012 | Reply
Glad you got the boot sorted. Sounds like we are at similar stage. I made transition from NWB to part-time FWB over last few days. Unfortunately not summer here.
By mandy000 on Nov 30, 2012 | Reply
Thank you! I don’t start PT until Dec 28 (8 weeks) I have been wiggling my toes around, and seeing how far things will move (not far kinda congested in there) when I’m in the bath - warm water feels good, but it could be because I’m free or those few minutes too
xx
Keep moving
By normofthenorth on Dec 1, 2012 | Reply
Mandy, you may be the first person here besides me who’s used the word “congested” to describe how an ATR-recovering, ROM-limited ankle feels! That’s what it reminded me of too. And after my ATR healed and I got a bone bruise on my OTHER leg that ended up bruising and inflaming/swelling my other ankle, it felt almost exactly the same. (Details on my blog, somewhere.) I concluded that most of that initial feeling was from swelling. Control that, with R-I-C-E, and the ankle should feel more normal, and regain ROM quicker, too.
By mandy000 on Dec 1, 2012 | Reply
Maybe after reading your blog it stuck in my head cause it’s exactly how it feels
xx
By Xplora on Dec 1, 2012 | Reply
At 4 weeks you should be safe to write the ABC with your foot with the boot off while you sit in a chair. Make sure your leg is supported. I couldn’t sleep with the boot so at 3 weeks I took it off but kept it beside the bed. You could also start some gentle massage of the area. This will all help with the congested feeling and will not endanger your tendon. You are about on track for FWB the way you are going but there will be more swelling so more RICE. Glad I moved out of Sydney. Too hot and humid.
By mandy000 on Dec 1, 2012 | Reply
Thank you Stuart, this site, and the community, is amazing for the advice and information shared. Yes Sydney is very humid at present. Your blog is great, thank you for being so comprehensive and breaking it down by weeks - very re-assuring/helpful. Hope your house is all finished and you are settled-in for your first Christmas.
By Xplora on Dec 2, 2012 | Reply
Mandy - still a long way to go on the house. We are building it all ourselves except for the electrical and plumbing which have to be done by qualified tradies. We have one of each to choose from and it took the plumber 8 weeks to come out the last time I called. We are also 2 hours from any building supplies. Yesterday marked 12 months since we moved into the shed and we have just got our first flushing toilet and running hot water in the main house. We take much of the things we have in life for granted until we lose it. A little bit like this injury. Every day we add more to the house and our lifestyle improves. A bit like our recovery. It is a slow process but the end result is worth it. I am looking forward to a good hot shower inside. Our outdoor camp shower in winter will not be missed. Life is not all about building a house for us. Again a bit like this injury. We moved here to enjoy the outdoors so we make an effort to get away to do the things we like but in saying that we have to be in before next winter. Don’t obsess about your recovery. Put as much other normal things into your life that you are able. Try to keep a positive attitude and a sense of humour. Your lifestyle will improve dramatically in the next 3 or 4 weeks. Good healing.
By lizzie on Dec 2, 2012 | Reply
Hi Mandy,
That is pretty exciting for 4 weeks post-op. I had my first PT a couple of weeks ago and it felt great to move my foot — couldn’t move it that far but it was like breaking up the congestion of the area. I can’t say enough about finding a really good physiotherapist. It is important to not just think about your foot working again, but your whole body being reconnected. I have a great PT who thinks about the big picture. Good luck in this next phase.
By doryt on Dec 13, 2012 | Reply
Thanks for the nice words to my email. I have not heard back from Elisabeth yet about her interested in buying my Vacocast. Endure the little pains and feelings as you continue your PT. Embrace those baby steps and pretty soon you will be healed!