Wow- what a difference having your foot at 90 degrees makes! Guess I was nervous going into this appointment for a few reasons. First, would all that stinging around the stitches lately signal bad news? When they took the cast off, would I be prepared to be re-united with my useless floppy foot? How much, if any, progress was being made?
Turns out that 8:30 in the am is an awesome time to have an appointment. Not only is there parking galore in the hospital garage, I only had to wait about 5 minutes if that.
Ushered in to the oh-so-familiar back examining room area and they started removing the cast immediately. Had some issue with it so it took two people and a bit of time. Apparently my cast wasn’t as ready to part from me as I was from it.
First stark realization- wow, muscle atrophy acts fast….. my poor calf muscle now looks like your Granny’s tricep!
Once it was off they had me flip over to my stomach and keep it raised. Guessing all that red around the stitch area is why it’s been stinging/burning so badly lately. Looks a little lumpy and swollen too (and well, to be honest, more like an amputated leg here than an ankle/heel).
As I waited for the doc to come back and check it, couldn’t believe how light my leg felt so…ever so slowly, I tested it out. I was surprised that it felt OK. It still moves and the parts are at least communicating…. Phew!
Because of the whole red/swollen area closest to my heel, the stitches coming out felt like someone pouring rubbing alcohol on a fresh wound….sting! Thankfully though, it wasn’t the horrifically painful experience a couple of colleagues had warned me about. Guessing I’ll have a scar but how much of this scene goes away over the next month?
Once they were out I could sit back up and wow… my leg felt so free!!!! I can only imagine the feeling of getting the cast off for good & slipping into a boot. Here’s where the really odd sensation kicks in. Foot is feeling Ok and you’re super excited to actually see it again… but you’re kind of frozen, afraid to move anything for fear of injuring it in some way.
Now the biggest decision of the day- so many choices for colors on the new cast. Are the colors pretty standard or did you have more options?
So then we tested out the leg — flexed it up to a 90 degree angle to set the cast and while not painful, you could still feel the strain in the tendon. While your mind is saying "please don’t pop,…please don’t pop" you are also grinning ear to ear realizing your ankle is holding strong and is not fighting you on where it should be. We’re making progress!!! I can actually see AND FEEL progress!
Then the sad part as they re-cast you.. First time I’ve actually seen them put a cast on since I was knocked out cold the last time so it was cool to see the process..
The new cast was set, it dried faster than the one that covered the windowed check-up post surgery, and the doc gave his approval so we were officially off on this new month-long journey!!
Getting it checked in two weeks but wow.. what a difference already. Maybe part of it is mental in that you are relieved that everything is OK and progressing as it should but I swear the 90 degrees feels so much better physically. My leg hangs better while walking with the crutches, getting into the car and driving is more comfortable, and being 3 layers lighter, this new cast feels all nice and cozy like a snug sock. Now once the burning/stinging stops harassing me, we’ll be set.
Day 1: Definite improvement in my mood