Rebekah’s Achilles Lengthening (ATL) Story…

Hello All,

Just a side note: when leaving comments (which I really like when you do) please let me know what kind of surgery you had so I can know how it relates to what the docs tell you all and such.

Anyway, Just wanted to all to know that today was my first FWB and it was kinda hard…because my left leg (one that had surgery) is so SLOW! Its like my legs are arguing with each other while I am walking. My right leg wants to go go go, while my left leg is trying to keep up…so I end up having to walk pretty slow which I guess is good for me. The boot is pretty heavy so that, I am sure, has something to do with it. Everything is still healing, but not as sore - though the muscle is because I am working it now. I also wanted to clarify something as well that deals with my length of limp/legs. It may be a good thing in my case. Anyway, here is the deal. My right leg is already longer then my left, so the boot doesn’t give me the high left leg…on the contrary, my right leg is longer, so I had to put padding into the boot so I would be even. When I go back to the doctor, if I have to continue wearing the boot that is, I will ask him for something more suitable to put in the boot as a lift. I know that when I walk in normal shoes again, I will have an insert for my left shoe…which will take care of the length issue.

So yeah…I guess I will update in a week or so when I get better at walking and in progress there. Let me know if you have any tips or suggestions for me, etc.

Thanks

G-d Bless

Hello all,

Its been a week with my boot and my leg is getting stronger everyday. For the first couple of days of having the boot, I treated it like a cast…not putting any wright on it. Then, after that, using the crutches still, I started putting some weight down, very little, and then each day putting a little more. This really helps…and by Wednesday, I should be completely FREE of the crutches! These past couple of days…I finally I have been able to take a couple of steps without the aid of the crutches…yet I do this VERY little and only in my room and around the dorm floor. It is a great feeling after not walking for almost seven weeks. So, for the most part…I am still putting most weight on the crutches…and my leg gets very tired when really walking without crutches and it takes awhile for it to "get rested" again. Sleeping with the splint is much easier now…now that I am used to it.

The incision area is closed all the way…and the bruising (kind of dark red, but not bright or anything - and not painful. I think the marks are from the stitches, which are fading a little more every day.) So, overall everything is going well…and I will let you all know how Wednesday goes without the crutches….

Please keep up the prayer as well.

G-d Bless

First, some clarification for commentators, which have asked for some…I had my left Achilles Lengthened only and I praise the L-rd the right Achilles is normal and will not need surgery. As for main pain, everything from the foot to the calf is sore, which I believe is just for the simple reason it was immobilized for a good six weeks…so moving it out of the position of a 90 degree angle is a weird and sometime sore process, which I am sure it will pass in a couple of days when the muscles get used to moving. The discomfort comes when I point the toes of my foot, extending it (plantarflexion). The Foot has been in a 90 dorsiflexion which it has been in for close to three weeks in the last cast I had. - I had to work up to that 90 degrees the prior three weeks, in steps…so it was a process. I admit…I am not good at all the terms…haha…I will do my best to be more clear.

Now for the update…

Last night was the first night with the splint and I am still working on getting my foot to stay in that 90 degree angle without the cast…oy! It is not easy because my foot "LOVES" being out of the cast and so it "wants" to move and do what feet do while you sleep…relax…which I am forcing it not to do. So, it took a long while before I got it right and got to sleep. I am sure that it a couple of more nights, my foot will relax enough to stay in position. The Foot has been very tense since getting the cast off and I have to really concentrate to get the what little muscle there is to relax. Anyone else have this happen to them? It could just be from my slight CP I have in my left side…but it sure is more tense than I remember before the surgery. So, I will just wait and see if it relaxes in a few days.

Also, the skin, after being in a cast for so long…is very very dry and is sore and brittle. I have tried lotion and olive oil. Do you all have any ideas to help get the skin back to normal?

Well…I got to go…school is waiting

Keep praying and G-d Bless

Hello all!

So, I had the doctor’s appointment this morning at 8:30am. It went very well which I am thankful to the L-rd for. The doctor took the cast off (which I had for three weeks) and that along felt SOOOOO good! The surgical incision is almost completely healed and is a good, healthy pink.

So, I was happy to find out that everything was healing. Even better was the fact that he said that he didn’t need to put another cast on! He gave me a walking boot and a night splint for when I sleep. I have to use the crutches for about 10 more days and then I will be able to try walking with the full weight. So, when I got back to my dorm room, I took the boot off and "studied" my leg for close to 10mins. I was surprised to see how small my calf and foot were due to the lack of use. However, when I compared my feet, they both are now able to flex back! It was an amazing feeling because it was the first time in my life that they were the same. I know the foot still has some healing to do…because it hurts to flex it forward (toe point) too far but I am sure that’s because I haven’t done so in six weeks, so the muscle is very weak and the tendon is still healing.

The boot and night splint will help keep the foot at a 90 degree angle and the boot will help support the weakness of the leg when I start walking again…and really for the first time with a normal gate…wow! While not being able to walk during the next 10 days, what i will be working on is the skin on the leg because right now…it is very dry and fragile. I have already put three layers of lotion on the leg…and it absorbs it so fast…so tonight, as strange as it is, I will be putting a thick layer of olive oil on the leg…which should help get the moisture back…

So, that’s it for the update!

I praise the L-rd for helping me through this…it has taught me so much about myself and about how faithful the L-rd truly is and how loving!

G-d Bless!