sagehen0347’s AchillesBlog

Hi Everyone!

I don’t have that much to update from Week 2. My constant googling has contributed to my ever growing list of pro athlete ATRs (and their comebacks, if any) and I recently added John Wall (Go Wizards!) and Misty May-Treanor, who went on to win gold at the 2012 London Olympics after her 2008 injury! My 2nd week post-op was me getting back into the swing of things around the house and getting used to sleeping in my boot again. It’s not that bad but sometimes it feels too tight or too loose, especially since I naturally have tiny ankles and calves:/ The tingling along the outside of my foot is still present, along with the numbness, but I saw that nerve damage from surgery can take anywhere up to 6-12 months after surgery to heal so I’m not too concerned. My days consist of me meandering around my house and stretching my Achilles to try to get to that 90º (or 0º if you’re in a hinged boot) flexion. I stretched 2-4 times a day with hopes of having my foot flat in my boot by my 2nd post-op.

At Week 3 second post-op was even quicker than the first. My foot was able to get to that 90º stretch which my doctor was happy about. The tape over the incision hadn’t fallen off so my doctor said I could go ahead and take it off after my next shower. He told me he wants to be proactive with my recovery so he cleared me to start physical therapy next week! I am to be NWB for the full 6 weeks so my physical therapy will initially be focused on stretching, mobility, and range of motion and I’m allowed to put up to 20% of my body weight onto my leg in some PT exercises. I’m super excited because this gives me something to look forward to and to focus on in the meantime since quarantine life is pretty boring! I’m a little scared of how hard and long this recovery is but I’m also determined to come back in equal, if not better, shape than before! If Misty May can do it, why can’t I? I’ll write back after my first appointment to explain how it went and what my treatment is going to look like.

Thanks!

Vicky

P.S. My doctor is super thorough but once I get home from my appointments, I think of so many non-urgent questions I meant to ask him but forgot that aren’t important enough to call his office about so if anyone is reading this and has any answers or advice I’d appreciate it!

Random Questions

• When did you stop elevating your foot whenever you were lying down and during sleep?
• When did you stop wearing your boot to sleep? *Bear in mind, I am an extremely active sleeper*
• I have gauze and an ACE bandage on under my foot but the incision doesn’t bleed anymore, do I still need the ACE bandage?
• Is there any easy way to wash my boot???

P.P.S. I’m not as consistent a blogger as I’d like so I’m just catching up with my old posts

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