Michael’s Achilles Rupture

I had been looking forward to this day more than any day in a long time.  Including my departure for Tanzania 4 months ago - getting that damn cast off my leg and beginning the road to full recovery.  I always said one of the best feelings ever is taking off your ski boot after a long hard day on the mountain.  Well, I think this has that beat.

I was shocked to see the atrophy in my leg though.  I was hoping for some kind of miracle that my leg had not atrophied more than what I imagined.  It was sobering to see the extent for sure.  After plantar and dorsi flexing for a bit though, I felt like I was able to regain a little muscle memory and begin to activate my gastroc and sloeus.  It is nice to see where I am at, and see where I need to be.  I have a clear path, and clear goals now, and I am anxious to get rolling on rehab.  I never thought unassisted steps with both bare feet could feel so good and be so satisfying.

Next step, another meeting with my surgeon, and PT in two weeks.  I think I am finally feeling like I am getting somewhere.

It has been a long hard 7 weeks since the operation, and I am looking forward to getting my cast off tomorrow more than I could articulate.  I have been through the fire academy, live fire training, confined space rescue, scuba diving, cave exploring, and yet at times in the past weeks I have felt more claustrophobic and trapped than at any time in my life.  I knew this was going to be a long hard road for me, but now I am aware of what that really means.  Tomorrow I get this trap off of my leg, and I get into a walking boot.  I know I will still be confined with the boot, but I am so excited to be able to begin the active rehab process.

With all that said however, for the past three weeks I have been in a walking fiberglass cast with my foot at 90 degrees.  I have seen great progress in the last few weeks in my ability to get around decently well without any aides.  I even took back my scooter yesterday, and banished my crutches to the far corner of the unfinished basement.  I had the happiest moment since the injury the other day, on Christmas day, come to think of it.  The greatest Christmas present I ever could have received.  With my ski season at a tragic end, my wife, two friends and I arrived at White Pass Christmas morning from my dream cabin just 5 minutes away.  My wife and friends with gear in tow, ready to snatch up stashes of waist deep, dry untracked powder.  Me, with my book, laptop, coffee, and my Alaskan Malamute.  I was bummed about not gobbling up the powder, but soon decided the hell with it, I am going to try to take my dog for a walk.  It was a very quite day on the slopes, so I took my dog, Taiya, on a walk a little way up a little used side run into the trees.  With a cutoff sock around my toes and a plastic bag secured around my foot, we went for it. It worked so well, I can’t tell you what that did for my psychological state.  I was not moving so quickly, but just the ability to be out in the snow on a walk with my dog (off leash of course less she pull me over) with no assistance, was the best Christmas present I ever could have had.

I have been pretty happy with my progress so far, and I can’t wait to get the cast off and continue the healing.  With the new confidence of my mobility, I have set some goals for next year.  Climbing Mt. Rainier in June namely.  I had just returned from climbing Kilimanjaro when I felt that tell tale sign of being whacked in the back of the leg, but I still have the mountaineering bug.  Mt. Rainier is next in my sights. For work next year though, I am planning on taking a group of clients to climb the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu in August, so ultimately I have to be back in climbing condition for that.  Plenty of time I hope.  By the way, if anyone is interested in doing this adventure travel package to Machu Picchu, my company, Hildebrand Fitness and Guided Adventures is still filling spots for this trip.  Check out my site at www.hildebrandfitness.com, and www.go-south-adventures.com.  We can get back in climbing shape together!

Happy New Year to all!

I got my second fiberglass cast this afternoon.  This one required that I bring my toes up to 90 degrees.  I have never felt such tightness before.  It took a good 15 or 20 minutes just to loosen it up enough to get up to 90, and then some will power to hold it there while it was casted in that position.  Not the most fun I have ever had.  There is some odd attachment to the bottom that helps keep the weight back on my heel, and I am told to start putting a little weight on it and walking in as normal a stride as I can.  With the help of the crutches of course.  So that is good news.  It is nice to be making progress and moving towards the rehab phase.

It is very tricky to try to walk with this crazy thing that is attached to the bottom of my cast.  Partly because I am nervous to walk at all and put any weight on it at all, and partly because I have not walked at all in a month, and I feel unsure.  It’s going to take some figuring out for sure.

So I just got home from the much anticipated first post-op appointment.  I had been looking forward
to having the splint taken off and seeing what the hell this incision was going to look like.  Having the typical ten day period fall right on Thanksgiving, my doctor said to come in seven days later (today), and we’d see what it looked like, and get into a fiberglass cast if we could  Otherwise we would wait another week.  For the past week I conjured up this image of what I thought it would be, and was anxious to see if reality would verify my image.  After the nurse cut off the splint and opened it up, it was finally revealed, and it looked great.  I was shocked at how clean it looked.  It looked like the doctor had implanted a zipper up the back of my leg.  No redness, no big fat scabs, just a nice clean incision with staples running down the length of it.  After reading about people’s painful experiences with having the staples removed, I was bracing myself, but after she removed the first one without my even realizing it, I relaxed and the rest came out no sweat.

So, ten days in this cast, and then into another fiberglass cast with plantar flexion at as close to 0 degrees as possible for another ten days.  Then it’s into a walking boot and the rehab process begins for real.  It doesn’t look like my immobilization phase will be quite as long as I had anticipated, so I am stoked about that.  The best of the day though….my doc gave my the go ahead to start doing some light anaerobic workouts!  Wahoo!  He said as long as I don’t over do it, and I don’t sweat into my cast which could cause dreaded infection of the incision, I would be fine, and my body would thank my for it. Maybe I’ll get one of those sweat bands and put it around the top of my calf.

Tomorrow we venture home for Thanksgiving via air travel.  I’m looking forward to riding in those annoying electric cars they have that take the handicapped and physically impaired to their gates.  I also reserved a seat in the bulk head row, so hopefully there will be enough room to get my foot up.  I’m haunted by something somebody wrote about the swelling in their casts vaguely resembling a can of biscuits.  

Happy Thanksgiving to everybody!

Well, It’s now day 2 of my post-op recovery.  It was a longer road getting to this point than I would have liked, but I am happy I am finally on the road to a full recovery, and a clear path.  

It was election night, Nov. 4th, and I had our first playoff game in Volleyball.  We were the first cede, and were subsequently playing the bottom cede, so I was debating whether I should stay and watch the returns from the election, or go, win, and come home quick.  I went.  After being on the court and warming up for no more than five minuted or so, I accelerated forward, and felt a big snap at the base of my right calf.  I was confused at first, thinking one of my buddy’s made it to the gym and was messing around by tripping me up or something.  It felt exactly as if someone had kicked me in the back of the leg.  After a few seconds, I realized what had happened.  I tried to take a few steps and it felt as if I was stepping in a deep hole with my right foot.  I knew then it was bad.

I went to the ER then next morning, and they confirmed after a positive Thompson’s test, that I had at best a severe tear in my achilles.  Surgery was likely she said.  I got in the next morning to see a orthopedic surgeon who was just beginning at this practice.  I was his first patient it turns out.  He gave me good news in that he didn’t think I would need surgery, and that he did not want to immobilize it either.  Good news, but it did not sit well at all.  Luckily I have been in Health and Fitness for along time, and I have knowledge of the mechanics of the lower leg, and I know how serious an Achilles Rupture is, and the typical treatment protocols.  None of which was done by this doc.  I tried to listen, him being the doctor and all, but after week of nothing being done, of extensive bruising setting in, and of things jsut not being good, I decided to seek a second opinon.  I was lucky again to get in to see Dr. Watt the day I called.  A very well respected Orthopedic Surgeon who has done many Achilles injuries.  He’s worked with the SeaHawks, he was a volleyball player in college like me (an outside hitter as well), he was a climber like me, and his name is Michael.  It was serendipity I guess.  He told me what I had suspected and what I had expected my first doc to tell me.  He laid out my options which were operating or going a conservative route which requires being in a long leg plaster cast.  After weighing the pros and cons, the risks and benefits, and my best chances of getting back to 100% and beyond, I decided to go ahead with surgery.

The experience with surgery was awesome two days ago.  I was so impressed with the service, the compassion, the empathy.  They took wonderful care of me.  After it is done, Dr. Watt came and talked with me and told me that the tear was much more severe than was previously thought by the first doc.  It was about a 90% tear, not a 40% as was thought.  Had I not had the operation, I probably never would have run or jumped with same gusto again.  What a relief!

I am now two days post -op, and I feel pretty good.  Some pain, but all in all, not too bad as long as I keep it up.  It feels so much better to know that I am on the road to recovery.  Next step, out of the splint and into the cast next week.