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7 weeks ago I’d visited my doctor in an effort to get my foot out of a cast (and his 3 month cast plan) and into a boot.  He said no, but when I went back a week later, he put me in the boot and said I was basically on my own since this isn’t his protocol and come back in 6 weeks. In the 6 weeks that followed, I regularly did my exercises, kept the foot in the boot unless sitting or taking a bath (which of course still involved sitting! ).  I did the ROM excercises, but nothing that forced or pulled on the foot.  And before I stood, the boot went back on.  I started sleeping with the boot off after 3 wks, and only the last 2 weeks or so have I started taking the boot off at home, but still put it on before walking out the door.   And last week, I began “water therapy” with a friend.  I got a walker and used it to help balance myself in the pool and concentrated on walking heel-toe, heel-toe.  She’s also helping me learn to swim, something I had not done before.

So this morning was the big day - the 6 wk follow-up after getting what I thought I wanted.  :0  The foot has felt great, minimal soreness (basically only when I press firmly on the scar), good ROM,  minimal swelling, and even the scar tissue had thinned out (maybe in part due to the massages?).  But, i didn’t know what was happening inside, so I had no idea what to expect from the doc. I wore the boot, but took no crutches with me.  When they called me into the back, the tech said, “WOW! You look great!” as I walked (with a short stride, I can walk almost normally, even in the boot).  I took the boot off, she saw the foot and was impressed.  She said she understood why I wanted it as he is very conservative. They had to move me to another room,  so she asked if I needed help carrying anything, but I picked my backpack and the boot up and walked barefoot down to the other room.

My doctor came in and immediately said, “OK, you were right, I was wrong!”.  I appreciated the comment, but I told him I didn’t see it that way - I was determined to be cautious in large part because i didn’t want to have to limp back into his office with a re-rupture!  So, we came to an understanding and appreciation for one another’s position.  He said the it look exceptional and asked if i was doing PT.  I told him about my stretches and the work in the pool and he said those were great. He said he wanted to put me in a brace that would limit the movement of the foot up, but allow full range down, and then he hesitated and said unless you want to argue with me about that.  :)  I told him no, I was good with that.  :)   I took the scrip for the brace over with a shoe and was fitted and will pick that up on Weds.  I started PT Tuesday afternoon.

So, all in all, I feel great about where things are for me.  The foot looks and feels great and my progress has now been approved by my surgeon.  I owe a huge thanks to so many of you here for sharing your treatment experiences and protocols to help me create a plan that worked for me, and of course the priceless emotional support this site provides.  Thank you all!!