pegleg’s AchillesBlog

I am delighted and somewhat shocked to say that I have officially moved to two shoes status and that my boot has been put away into storage.

I have been given the all clear to drive and slowly return to old daily activities……. WOW, didn’t see that coming, knew I was doing well but looks like I have exceeded myself! (Don’t worry Norm - miss sensible and careful will resume instantly, this has not and will not go to my head!)

The last four weeks of my journey has seen a huge improvement in my recovery. Since my last OS appointment I have never used my crutches, they have been filed in the corner of my bedroom collecting dust! This was liberating to say the least and I have found that everyday my walking technique in my boot improved as did my speed. At the end of week 8 I decided that I was ready to ditch the shower stool and stop wearing the boot in my bed, wow I had started to feel ‘kinda normal’ again and could feel the strength returning (slowly) back to my leg and foot. I had been doing daily 20min sessions on the stationary bike + floor exercises + a reasonable amount of walking - I did still require plenty down time where I massaged the scar and kept the leg elevated but have to say my spirits were kept alive with the ability to see my improvement.

By week nine I was walking about the house in two shoes or bare feet for approx 3-4 hrs a day and by the end of that week I was hardly wearing the boot at all, only for walking the dogs etc as the terrain is a bit uneven and had a fear of being knocked. I have had to really pay attention to my walking gait/style and make a conscious effort not to limp, I have found that the easiest way to achieve this was to take small steps and pay attention to feeling your feet roll through from heal to toe. Admittedly by the end of the day I would be tried and the old leg required elevation, ice and a gentle massage but boy do I now see it was worth it!!

Frustratingly the OS still thinks that I do not require physio as I have good movement and strength, he firmly believes that by getting back to my daily activities I will see a continual improvement. I however have decided that I am going to have some private PT as I truly believe that this will be what make the difference of a good recovery to a great full recovery.

I am in absolutely no illusion that I have a LONG WAY to go yet and that GREAT care must be taken, but today has really made all my concise effort worth while. All a bit strange because at the beginning I thought and it looked like I was on a go slow protocol but seems that was not the case and instead seem to have progressed at reasonable speed. My foot/ ankle is still very stiff and movement although good is restricted so I still have a great deal to work upon.

The next stage is for me to check in with a very good local physio and see what they have to say to me and get them to give me a rehab plan with the aim to eventually getting me back to tough mudders, mountain biking, kayaking, spinning, skiing………………

Hang in there fellow ATR’s I can safely say it really does get better and those dark first few weeks soon almost fade from memory. Take care.

Wow I have just made an interesting/worrying discovery this morning!

Three weeks before my ATR I was bitten by a dog (my hand was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time - not the dogs fault!)
I was put onto two different antibiotics. Fast forward to now and the old saying ‘once the horse has bolted’ - Since researching ATR I now realise some antibiotics can weaken tendons, so today I decided to phone the doctors and asked to be reminded of the drugs I was prescribed. I wasn’t quite prepared for the outcome!

It turns out that both the drugs I was on were listed as having ‘tendon rupture’ as a possible side effect, always within the first month of taking them. I was not warned nor aware of this at the time or I would have stayed away from my high intensity training classes. Yes this could just be a coincidence but my gut instinct says ‘no’.

So wearing the boot is quite a different experience from a cast, it is liberating and opens up a whole new angle to what you can and cannot do.

Thankfully I have managed to sleep well for the last two nights with boot the on but must admit it does feel like I have a lead weight attached to my leg! At the moment I aim to keep it on whilst in bed for at least a week and as I gain confidence I may consider removing it. I use the crutches if I get up through the night and first thing in the morning whilst my foot works through the horrid ‘hot, pins and needles feeling’ as it adjusts again to having weight on it after a long period of rest (I have found this feeling passes quickly if you persevere and keep the pressure on your foot).

Throughout the day I walk without my crutches (I parked them at the end of my bed when I got home from hospital) which is the most wonderful feeling, WOW, it really is such a pleasure to be able to use my hands again whilst moving. I even went out to to my workshop and did some work yesterday, that was empowering and satisfying. I listened to my body and went back into the house for seated rest, as and when required - I certainly still require rest but not nearly as much as I did in a cast, my ankle/foot doesn’t seem to swell up as much.

So much of this is a mental journey, for example, it would be very easy to say ‘ouch’ I don’t want to loose the crutches because it hurts but the strange thing is that within 10 steps everything settles down and the discomfort eases (I appreciate this may not be the case for everyone and for those who it is not, I fully sympathise and sincerely hope you get there soon). I have to admit I feel slightly queasy when I take the boot off first thing in the morning and stand on it to go into the shower, I think it is my balance readjusting - at first my foot feels further away than the normal one, almost like how it felt just after the tendon rupture…..yuck. Again this feeling passes quickly then all I notice is just how stiff and pathetic the injured ankle is!

I am now working on getting my good foot raised up to boot height as I can already feel my lower back/hips getting very stiff and unbalanced. I will also start some floor based back/hip stabilising exercises - any suggestions welcome here.

in a cast - where has my muscle gone?” width=”600″ height=”800″ class=”size-full wp-image-99″ />[/caption]I had my follow up appointment this morning so here is the update!

The nurse removed my cast to reveal a very small lower leg, with extreme dry flakey skin and lovely long hairs, yep as lovely as it sounds, but hey most of you have been here already! My scar looked good and on the whole my leg felt great - it was such joy/excitement getting the cast off.

Firstly I have to say my OS is on the ball after all……..before I said a word he talked about ‘the modern protocol’ with its pros and cons so he was immediately off the hook from me waffling on and making requests!

He was very impressed with my healing (no pun intended) and even more impressed with how much movement I had, it looks like all my, toe wiggling and pressing against the inside of cast whilst keeping active has paid off. They weren’t big movements inside my cast but must they have been enough to stop everything from seizing up. He also made me push against his hand and again was happy with the strength I had…. wow, it was such a relief to be getting positive feed back

So without a word from me he said my next move was to be put into the boot, FWB and once I was used to being on my feet to ditch the crutches!!! Holly smoke, this did bring a smile to my face especially after my slight downer over the weekend. It would seem that there was to be no mucking around after all, but obviously extreme care still to be taken I have a LONG way to go. I am to be in the boot for 4 weeks, I can remove it when ever I want as long as I always wear it for walking. My only concern is that I am not being given PT at hospital, my OS feels because of the amount of movement I already have that I will not benefit much at this stage - as long as I continue doing seated ankle exercises and keep everything flexible. I should be able to drive a further 2 weeks after the removal of the boot which makes the return of my independence 6 weeks away, I can deal with that.

So all in all things are looking up, the light at the end of the tunnel that you all mention has been ignited and I have a renewed determination to win this battle both physically and mentally. Now for the hard work, I have to keep things moving positively forward without being stupid and rushing things.

So in my attempt to amuse myself, I decide to sort through the ever increasing mountain of magazines ‘filed’ under my side of the bed. Really BAD move, just about every magazine is fitness/health related…. Trail running, Runners world, Womans Health, Kayak Session, Outdoor fitness …. you name it I probably have it (don’t worry they are not all on subscription, I am not that obsessed!) So, I am flicking through all the pages ripping out interesting reference material, exercises, food ideas etc when suddenly my mind wanders to the big question…….just how much of this will I get back to?

I am not going to lie, it’s on my mind quite a bit at the moment, I know it is really early in my long recovery and know I WILL get back to a lot, but this is this first day that I have felt some real sadness/concern that my wilder days (especially involving running) are behind me, must be my mind reacting to my bodies current inactivity…… Stop…. Snap out of it girl - you don’t ‘do’ negative!

Be positive…..

Maybe this will be the catalyst for a new start, it may be that once I have recovered I will start something different - a whole new adventure - triathlons, road cycling, more kayaking or even take up yoga, hmmm now that’s something which I have always meant to do!

I would love to hear how everyone else has handled these moments of ‘mind weakness’ because let’s be honest, we all must have these thoughts at some point?!

It all started on the 9th May 2014, 40 minutes into a body conditioning class. We were doing sprints across the sports hall in between boxing, I had already successfully been back and forth a few times when I heard and felt the classic ‘pop’ and the feeling that someone had kicked me in the heel, followed by ‘the looking over the shoulder’ to see what or who had attacked me to find nothing. It all happened in split second with absolutely no warning, it was just as I was doing my pivotal turn for my return sprint. I managed to take one stride with my left leg then went to use my right only to find that it just wasn’t going to happen so I promptly landed in a heap on the floor! I kind of knew there and then that it wasn’t good and suspected my achilles, but being the ever positive one I said ‘oh it’s fine just get me some ice and I’ll sit with it elevated’ so that’s what I did. On standing I found that I didn’t have a clue where my foot was or where my leg ended, it was a mighty weird feeling, but off I waddled to sit at reception icing my ankle. The ice worked a treat, it numbed me completely, I felt no pain and had no bruising….. result. I then started to think it could just be a bad sprain, all be it like one I have never felt before, so I decided to drive myself home, I know, on reflection a really stupid idea but be rest assured I did so without causing harm to anyone or thing in my path - thankfully.

On arriving home I knew that things weren’t good and also knew that if it was my achilles, prompt action was the best, so I phoned a friend to come and take me to A & E. I didn’t have a long wait at all to be told the news I was dreading, that yes I had a complete achilles rupture, on looking at my ankle I could see a 2cm gap where my achilles was missing, fan blooming tastic - not!!! I requested if I could have surgery (I know this is a controversial area i.e. what is the best protocol etc but I personally felt this was my best chance to get back to my way of life). Thankfully the consultant agreed that this was definitely the best option for me and so I was told that I would be operated on that weekend. As a stroke of luck (and let’s face it any luck at time point is welcome) the surgeon on that weekend was meant to be one of the best in Scotland and I was assured that if you ever wanted an achilles repair he was the man to do it! So there it is, I had my operation on the 11th May and so my long journey of ATR recovery began.

At this point I would like to say that although this injury is serious and a real inconvenience to my life (I am a Mrs keep fit and active, always outdoors, never sit down kind of girl). Whilst in hospital I had a stark reminder that things could be MUCH worse, we ATR folk will make a recovery but some of the people I met were not so lucky and were facing a very different life ahead. Never again will I take the simple things in life for granted, being able to put one foot in front of another is a privilege never mind anything else.

I woke up from my op to see my leg bandaged with a hard back plate, hmmmm this wasn’t what I expected, I was told I would be in a hard cast. Even more shockingly this is what I was actually sent home with, yikes, very little protection to say the least. Even the staff nurse hadn’t seen anyone sent home like this, but on investigation it would seem that the surgeon thought I was ‘a keen bean who may try and rush things’ so they decided to do this to slow me down!!!! On that they succeeded, until I slipped (doing nothing daft, just going through my utility room) I was on the floor before I knew it and in complete agony whilst in fear that I had just undone two weeks of repair. Thankfully I had my hospital appointment two days later and was told all was well.

It is amazing how you can look forward to these follow up appointments, I was desperate to see my wound/scar and I have to say it looked great but what the heck, my leg looked like that of a 80yr olds, it was black and blue, wrinkly and my muscle had already wasted a bit and the hair OMG, where the heck did it come from, it was black (I’m usually blonde), rough and long!!! I had a good laugh with the consultant and told him I would take a Bic razor the next time, he agreed but then said I could always take a comb……. what a laugh, even at moments like these there is always something to lift the spirits! My foot was set at 90 deg, now that was painful, I realise that rehab is going to be much more painful than the actual injury, oh great. I was told that I would be like this for 4 weeks, yet again the surgeon stated that he thought he had to make sure I didn’t rush things….. I just wish he realised that I would only do as I am told, as it means everything for me heal properly and allow me my life back.

So there it is I am just over 5 weeks post op, refusing to be beaten by this and trying to stay positive, I am a great believer in PMA and will do what ever I need to, to get back on my feet. I have started doing some seated arm weights, core work etc as I know I need to keep in shape for this long journey and must not fall into the trap of sitting on my bottom, stuffing my face and feeling sorry for myself. It is amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it, it may take a lot longer to do and you may have to keep taking breaks to allow the throbbing in your foot to pass, but I believe it is setting myself these small simple tasks that will give me the correct mind set for a good recovery, I hope I am correct.

My next appointment is a week today and I hope that I will be given a boot so I can get beyond this ‘toe touching’ stage and start partial weight bearing…… watch this space.