May 15 2008
10 Weeks Post Op
10 week post op visit
time goes slow the first couple of weeks but now……..
Follow up appointments are so surreal now…walking in, seeing others with crutches, boots, casts and thinking I was just there..
Scene 1: surgeon feeling ankle, moving it arround, saying ahhh,,,ohhhhh, not looking patient in the eye.
Surgeon: ” You are ahead of schedule, doing great”
Me: ” I bet you say that to all your patients”
S: “No, I’m serious”
Me: ” So now what”
S: ” Start easing back to normal life”
Me: ” hike 10 miles??racquetball??, running??, golf ??, mountain biking??”
S: ” Oh……that’s not a normal life!!”
Me: ” for me it is……so then what can I start to do??”
S: ” definitely golf, jog light, and increase calf strength”
Me: ” Some swelling at times , should I be concerned??”
S: “No it will take 6 months to a year for new blood vessels, lymph chains to be repaired so you will experience periods of swelling depending on your activity level”
Me: “so do I need to see you again”
S: ” yes but only on the golf course, you owe me a round or two for the great work I did”
So there you have it, time to get back to an easy, light normal life. Will start to jog and increase weight load on leg. Curious as to how long it takes to actually do a one legged calf raise??
that’s my next goal. In the beginning it was goals like surgery, cast off, boot off, NWB to PWB to FWB, then two shoes and now a one legged calf raise. Set dates of June 1 for walking 18 holes, July 1 for a mountain bike ride, Sept 1st for an 8 minute mile and January 1, 2009 to step on the racquetball court and play.
Excited about my trip, this Saturday to the Canyon so I’ll have pictures of an ATR on the Colorado river, soaking in the sun and loving life. thanks for everyones support, encouraging words, and insight on this chapter of my life. Will report back in 2 weeks so keep up the fight…and
never, never, never……give up………Winston Churchill
Doc Ross