Dec 17 2011
OMG… My scare!
I had one hello of a scare the other night. We had our staff Christmas party at a local Mexican restaurant. It had been raining, and upon entering, the floor inside was extremely slick. It felt greasy & wet. Needless to say, when I walked it both of my crutches slipped on the floor, and flew out from underneith me. I took one big hop w/my good leg and grabbed onto the cashiers counter. My bad leg, in a soft cast w/splint, was protected but it felt like my left foot shot straight up! I know it did not b/c of my hard splint stopped any type of movement upward, although it sure felt like it!
Today I showered and got a great foot massage from my better half, and she noticed some distinct bruising on my foot. I wonder if it was from my “scare”??? Has anyone else out there experienced a scare like this regardless if it was good or bad?
By the way… I am only 9 days away from going into a boot (Vacocast Achilles boot)! This nearly 6 weeks of NWB has felt like an eternity:(
9 responses so far
I slipped at home, but nothing like this. Ouch. I do agree that 6 weeks NWB has felt like eternity - I am heading into week 7 tomorrow.
I think that ONE of the many good arguments for a faster (and proven) rehab schedule, like bit.ly/UWOProtocol, is that you spend fewer weeks on crutches, at risk of all kinds of injuries. I still remember crutching in to a friend’s house from a slushy sidewalk, and making it to the lovely hardwood floor in the dining room before one crutch went flying — YeeYikes!!
I think it’s unusual for an OS to keep a patient in a soft cast for that long. Usually if they’re not progressive enough to put you into a boot after a couple of weeks, they opt for a hard cast, usually fiberglass. (The main advantage of the soft cast, AFAIK, is that it’s absorbent, which is important post-op when you’re still bleeding and oozing.)
BTW, I remember a fair amount of visible bruising during the healing, both with and without surgery, so it’s possible yours is not from the scare. Maybe.
Finally, if you can install the “ATR Timeline Widget” from the Main Page, it would help us all make intelligent and informed responses.
I had a bad fall at the 6 week mark. The next day it felt like my ankle was detaching from my leg, so I was freaked out. The next few days it started to feel better. There was some swelling but no bruising. I am now 8 weeks and everything is great. I am in 2 shoes and going to PT.
This injury really plays games with your head, keep positive it will all work out.
norm thanks for the input. i’m not able to load the timeline widget onto my blog, but i have sent an email to have it done for me. i’m basically at the 5 wk post-op point, and i’m now starting to develop stiffness in my right (non-injured) leg especially in the calf/achilles area. then over the last 2 days my left (injured) leg i have experienced a dull, sore, somewhat of a throbbing feeling in my calf. i really feel like i need to be out of this soft-cast as of about a wk ago (the 4 wk post-op point).
i don’t know what to expect next tuesday when i go into a boot. i’ll be nervous, anxious, apprehensive, and happy all at the same time. like i’ve said before, i d/k if i’ll be FWB or PWB. will i still have to use crutches (sure as hell hope not), or can i get by w/a cain?
i’m reading so many people who are going into a boot at wk 4 post-op, then into 2 shoes w/in 6-8 wks post-op, and i’ll just be getting into a boot at that point. i really hope i can start jogging at the 4 month mark, but i was told it wouldn’t be until the 6 month mark that i could do that. i WILL NOT rush my recovery/come back, but i’m feeling a bit depressed and down. i know, y’all just need to tell me to quit whining & be thankful LOL. i’d really appreciate your input…
I think we all experience those heart stopping slips. I’m sure all will ne fine. Just take it easy LL x
Rome, I’d be happy to tell you to quit whining & be thankful LOL.
I’m a firm believer in comparing our progress to the well-tested protocols in recent studies (like UWO’s), but I DON’T think there’s much use in comparing our progress to each other’s. We really are all different, and it’s natural that our strength and flexibility (&c.) recover at different rates. We’d all like to be in the top few percentile of the group, but that’s not how statistics works. And if we all have to be in the top 10% to be content, then 90% of us will lose the mental game!
Besides, if we follow solid evidence-based protocols, the vast majority of us will end up in a good place once we finish healing and strengthening. In hindsight, a few weeks or even a couple of months plus or minus should not be a deal-breaker, after we’ve suffered an injury like this one. (And BTW, jogging at even 6 months is quite a bit faster than I went with either of my ATRs, one surgical and one non-op. Jogging at 4 months would be pretty freaky, IMHO.)
Norm makes a very good point Rome. Also as I’ve said many times, ignore everyones beginnings. If you check around the 16 week plus mark you will see most people are quite similar and then at 26 weeks (6 months) everyone is virtually the same.
With regards jogging, not that I’m advocating it, but there was quite a large scale (for achilles stuff) monitoring of a protocol within Hawaii which had all patients treated equally and the final “task” was to start jogging at 12 weeks. From memory, they had re-ruptures within the usual amounts but interestingly all could be attributed to something they had done eg. had a fall early on.
I would link to the study but I’m having a real issue finding it again (it was found during one of them long nights googling about achilles stuff
)
Who you calling freaky Norm?
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