A Mom’s New Challenge

PT seems to be going well.  Every week I am able to do new things, so I see that as being on the right track.

I am doing lots of balance exercises, like balancing with one foot on the bosu ball, on the trampoline and the wobble board on 2 feet.  I can balance without “being an airplane” (as my physiotherapist calls it) so now I’m working on doing the exercises with eyes closed.

Strength exercises:  Doing 2-legged calf raises now.  I can get just as high with both feet, however I am working on putting more and more weight on the ATR foot.  Not really much pain, just very weak.  Also doing some 1-legged bouncing on the mini-trampoline… trying to work the calf. 

Getting ultrasound and massage on the scar tissue, soleus and gastroc, which is “good pain”.  I am doing a lot of friction massaging on my own as well. 

New pain:  the tendons on top of my foot (extensors) are really painful when I walk.  Has anyone had this?  It is frustrating because this is preventing me from doing as much walking as I would like to be doing.  It is SO painful.  I don’t know if I should be working through this, or if it sort of tendonitis and I should be taking it easy…  It’s frustrating because my Achilles actually feels really good, it’s my foot that’s holding me back.  But I guess it’s from being immobilized for so long, or maybe my new gait.  ???

I have been doing my physio exercises every day.  Now I need to start to concentrate on my fitness, which I have totally let slide during these past 3 months. 

Today I took my 2 girls to visit my brother’s new baby boy (YAY).  I was walking down the hall at the hospital carrying our diaper bag, my 10-month old, winter coats & holding my 2-year old’s hand.  My 2-year old said “mommy’s broken foot is better so she can drive now”  and my brother said “oh I forgot about your foot… you are getting around so well now”.  HURRAY for looking somewhat normal again.  HA HA.

Patience and hard work…  we will all get better!

Things have progressed really quickly during the past 2 weeks.

I saw the surgeon for my 9-week post-op appointment and he cleared me to start physio. 

PHYSIO: 

My range of motion is great.  At 11 weeks, I have the same ROM as my good foot.  The tendon is still tighter than the good side when I do a wall stretch.  The calf muscle is considerably weaker and I have lots of strength work to do.   I rode the stationary bike for 10 minutes - hardly any resistance.  The movement felt really good.  My balance is pretty bad on the right foot.  Trying to stand on one foot on a spongy foam pillow.  I’m working on that at home.  Doing seated calf raises while pushing down on my knee with my hand (not my body weight yet).  Going twice a week, but doing my exercises every day.  Massaging the scar and calf muscle hurts quite a bit, but feels good.  Does that make sense?

BOOT:

Mostly in 2-shoes but still wear the boot for a few hours in the evening when my foot is tired & sore and I am in (what I feel is) a high-risk situation.   Around 5 o’clock, my living room is like a mine-field with toys scattered everywhere.  I have to carry the baby (plus get my 2-year old) up the stairs, bathe them, put them to bed (which can be a task).  At the end of the day, I am worried I would not be focusing on where I am putting my feet, so I wear the boot just in case.  My physiotherapist said I should be able to ditch the boot completely by next week, although I am a little nervous about doing that.

DRIVING:

 Hurray!  Started driving at 10.5 weeks. Kinda had to.  My parents (slash chauffeurs slash babysitters slash generally helped me with everything) left for Florida for the winter, and since my husband is working, I wanted to see if I could drive.  I took a little cruise around the neighbourhood on a quiet Saturday morning and practiced putting the brakes on pretty hard.  No pain, so I guess I am good to go.  This is AWESOME!   I am probably happiest about this step in returning to normal more than any other these couple weeks. 

EVERYDAY LIFE:

I can do more and more every day.  Put up our Christmas lights, raked leaves, dinners, clean-up, laundry, etc etc etc.  Great to feel like I have some independence again.  I bundle the girls up and take them for a walk every day in the double stroller, along with the dog.  Only about 1km (1/2 mile) and slow, but I really enjoy it.  My neighbour saw me and was laughing… she said “I don’t know how you do it”.  ha ha.  It is a crazy time, that’s for sure, I feel better getting out instead of sitting in the house all day going stir crazy.

MY FAMILY:

I was very worried about my parents leaving for Florida last weekend because they have been so helpful during this whole recovery process.  I was scared I couldn’t do this my own.  Actually on Saturday, my parents left and my husband was away for the weekend as well, so I was totally on my own with the girls.  My confidence is coming back quickly and I feel like I can handle my role as mother in this family again.  My husband is away for a 4-day weekend again this weekend, so we’ll see how this one goes!

Well, I am very happy with the way my healing has been going.  I’ve been reading a lot of the posts and I find it has been so helpful and encouraging to read about all of your experiences out there.  I was surprised at the number of new people who have joined this wonderful club after me.  I’m so grateful to have found this site.  Hopefully it will help you newbies out there as much as it’s helped me. 

Just remember.  This time will pass. 

Good luck.

Having some really great days lately.  I just love spending time with my girls and my husband.  I really am enjoying some special moments with them - moments I may have been too busy to appreciate had I not ruptured my achilles tendon.

These are my moments with my girls at this age:  2&1/2 and 9 months now.  There is no rewinding this time and experiencing it with 2 good feet.  I am not trying to just get this over with so life can be back to normal.  When is life “normal” anyway?  This IS my life right now.  This is how I get to experience this time in my life.  It sure is a bit of a twist to how I was used to getting things done.  But maybe “getting things done” is not the main purpose of life. 

This past weekend, we celebrated my husband & sister-in-law (his sister) both getting inducted in the sports Hall of Fame here.  So we had family and friends here together from all over Canada.  I had SO MUCH FUN and was smiling pretty much the whole weekend.  It made me realize that these little speedbumps along the way really don’t matter in the grand scheme of things.  Something so minor (although ATR is pretty major) can’t prevent us from enjoying life and being grateful for the good things.

Life is good.

A great week this week.  Went to Ottawa for Thanksgiving and attended a wedding.  Just what I needed mentally. 

I have been feeling a little trapped going on 8th week of depending on others to drive me around if I want to get out of the house, or get the kids out of the house.  So going away for the weekend, and especially leaving the kids with the in-laws for the evening for a night out with my husband was WONDERFUL!  I felt(somewhat) normal again.  I even got to dance a little bit (I LOVE dancing).   Well, if you would call it dancing.  It was still lots of fun!

I bought my CAM walker today (removable boot) for my appointment with the doctor next week.  He told me to come in with it because they will be removing my fiberglass cast and I will be leaving with the boot.  I am so excited to get into this stupid boot.   ha ha.

My husband is laughing at me because a few years ago, he tore his plantar fascia (the tendon in the sole of his foot) and had to use the boot for a long time.  But he went straight to the boot no cast, so to him the boot represented restriction of movement and generally a pain in the butt.. he hated it.   

As for me, I just can’t wait to get into the boot.  After what will be 9 weeks in a cast, the boot represents one step towards freedom.  Showering BOTH legs, physio…  Oh the little things that make me happy these days.  LOL.

Well, that’s it for this week.  Happy healing everyone!

Things are getting better and better as it gets easier to move around. 

I can walk FWB now.  Not using the cane or crutches anymore.  I’m pretty slow (even slower than with crutches), but I think it’s the cast that makes it hard to walk, not the tendon.  So I’m really looking forward to getting the cast off.  Only 3 more weeks to go.

I walked to the park with my 2-year old and our dog (about a 10-minute walk each way).  My casted foot feels fine, although my heel is a little sore, but my so-called “good” achilles is killing me.   It was worth it though.  I’ve felt like I’ve been missing out a bit on playing with my 2-year old because she loves to run, dance and is always active.  It was nice to take her to the park, just like the “good ol’ days” 6 weeks ago.  ha ha.  Actually, I realized that I did go to the park with her the morning of “the incident” and ran back & forth, back & forth, back & forth to the fence at the far end of the park.  Maybe this fatigued the tendon for when I went to play basketball later that day.  Who knows?  I guess it doesn’t really matter at this point anyway.

I went to see a massage therapist today to work on my good achilles.  She said my calf is very tight and the deep tissue massage she gave my calf was really painful.  But she said I need to stretch more and ice at night.  Gotta take care of it…  It’s the last one I’ve got!  

Starting to take care of my girls on my own now, which feels good.  It’s nice to feel like I can actually take care of my family again.  Still need help at dinner & bedtime though.  I find it hard to get up & down the stairs.  I go up backwards on my bum holding the baby facing out.  She seems to enjoy the ride and it gets the job done. 

I still find it very difficult to NEED so much help.  I used to try to take care of everything and everyone myself.  I guess there is a lesson there.   

Well, that’s it for this week. 

Good luck everyone.

I saw the doctor this week for my 4-week post-op appointment.  They told me to take some pain-killers before coming because they were going to push my foot to 90 degrees and re-cast.  I didn’t take anything before going in because I am still nursing my baby girl and I can’t take medicatioin, but I was confident I could handle whatever pain would ensue because it would just be a short duration.

Turns out I could flex my foot to 90 degrees on my own, with very little pain whatsoever.  I was so glad.  Incision looks good and everything seems to be healing well.

The doctor told me to start partial weight bearing as tolerated.  I thought I was going to have to wait for 6 weeks before PWB, so I was so excited to hear this news.  I asked how much weight to put on, and how slowly to go, and he said just let pain be your guide.  If it hurts, it’s too much.  See ya in 5 more weeks when he wants me FWB.

So, I tried a little pressure at a time.  Felt some tingling shooting up my calf the first few times, then turns out to be not much pain at all.  First day took my time with it.  Didn’t want to overdo it and be in pain in the evening.

Second day PWB, down to one crutch, can put a fair bit of weight on my foot.  Not much pain, but still didn’t want to push it.

Third day, got rid of the crutches!!!  Using a cane most of the time, but can walk without it to get around the main floor of the house.  I am thrilled to be able to get around no crutches.  Makes life tremendously easier for me already. 

I don’t feel like I am pushing too hard because the doc said let pain be your guide and I don’t really have much pain at all.  Feeling very grateful for that.  I am a little concerned that I may be going too fast just because this is happening so quickly and I don’t want to hurt my achilles.  But from what I got from my doc, I don’t think I can damage the AT in a cast, and the weight bearing doesn’t seem to cause me problems.  Any thoughts on this?

At what week did most of you guys start PWB/FWB?

Other good news:  initially I was told that I would have to wait until 12 weeks to get out of the cast, then 4 weeks in the boot.  I asked if I could get into the boot earlier than that, to get a head start therapy.  He said he was worried about re-rupture if I get out of the cast too early.  But said as long as I wear the boot, I will be protected, so said at 10 weeks I could go into the boot.  Then immediately said “OK 9 weeks if you’re good”.  LOL

So I promise and pinky swear to wear the boot as long as he tells me to.  But I think it will help me in the long run to start massage & therapy at 9 weeks instead of at 12 weeks.

Anyway, I’m feeling pretty good about all this news.  And I truly believe that being positive helps healing.  So positive thoughts to all of you out there.

I got in to see the cast technician today and it turns out that my cast wasn’t fitting me properly, that is why my cast was rubbing against the incision.  I didn’t want to go in for no reason, so I was glad when they said it was no big deal to change the cast and that I was right to come in if it was causing me pain.  Good to know.

They discussed whether or not to try to push the foot up closer to neutral position, but I’m not close enough to the 4-week mark yet, so they decided to wait, and I will have to keep my appointment next week to get it to 90 degrees.

Here’s a picture of my sporty new look…

My incision has felt fine up until now.  Today it has been so sore.  Feels like it is rubbing against the cast right at the bottom of the incision site.  I don’t see the doctor for another 10 days but I don’t know if I want to wait that long if I have an infection or something. 

When I saw the doctor last week, they asked me if I had gotten my cast wet (which I hadn’t) because the bottom part of the incision wasn’t closed yet (after 2 weeks), but they didn’t make a big deal of it.

I did fall on my foot 2 days ago, which hurt pretty badly.  I was wheeling around (way too quickly) in my desk chair at home and hit a speedbump between the kitchen and the living room.  I landed on my foot, then fell to the floor, chair on top of me.  Nice.  I’ve read about people stepping on their bad foot and nothing became of it, so I thought no big deal. 

Sidebar:  my 2-year old daughter said to me what I always ask her when she bangs herself in the house:  “Were you fooling around?”  And I sheepishly answered:  “Yes, I was fooling around”.  They pick up on everything, don’t they?  LOL

So now I’m worried that it’s something’s not right and it will be covered up for 10 more days

It feels like rubbing on the skin that is making it sore, and not the tendon itself.

Anyone have this happen?  I think I will wait & see how it feels tomorrow.  Should I try to get in to see the doctor to take the cast off to check the healing?  Or just wait until my next appointment one week from Thursday?

 Thanks.

Two weeks down… ??? to go!

Saw the doc (and my foot) for the first time since the surgery 2 weeks ago.  That little saw they use to cut off the cast scared me a bit.  LOL.  I said to the cast tech: “Have you ever cut anyone’s leg off with that thing?”  He replied:  “Only two, but they still hired me back.”  Great sense of humour, these guys.  All the people that work at this particular clinic are so upbeat and funny.  It is like comedy hour. 

So off with the bright green cast.  My 2-year old signed (scribbled) her name and everyone else’s name in the family who wasn’t there.  How thoughtful! 

My incision was a little more crooked than I expected, but not as long.  Seems to be healing well. 

My right calf is a little smaller than my left.  I’m sure it will get even smaller after the 10 weeks in the cast.

I like putting pictures in the post.  This is fun.  I like looking at others’ pics and I was so excited about my appointment today, I thought I’d include mine too.

So today, I just flexed my foot as far back as I could on my own, probably about 75 degrees, and they re-casted me for another 2 weeks.  My 2-year old’s favourite colour is blue, so she was SO excited to see my new cast. 

I asked the doctor about my trip to Florida in November.  I was worried I would have to cancel.  But he said it should be no problem.  I should be FWB with boot, or 2-shoes by then.  So I’m happy to hear that.  Some things to look forward to.

Well, that’s the news for today.  Already looking forward to the next appointment, 2 weeks from now.  Feels like progress, although slow-going. 

Good luck everyone.

One week post-op and it actually wasn’t so bad.  Well, at first I didn’t know how I would even manage 1 day taking care of my two little ones, but everyone has been truly amazing helping me out.  My husband has tried to do some of his work from home and is here a lot, my parents are here just about every day, my brother is a big help (although he has an aversion to dirty diapers and baby spit-up) and my aunt & uncle have offered to take one shift per week.

I just have to recruit enough helpers and schedule everyone in for their shift.  Ha Ha.  I figure it will just be until I am weight bearing enough to be able to carry my baby girl around, because until then I can’t really take care of her on my own.

My Mom hooked me up!  She can get anything… She asked around and borrowed a wheelchair, a bath seat and get this…. a motorized scooter (in racecar red).

So yesterday, we were laughing till we had tears as we raced down the driveway.  My Mom pushing my 2 girls in the double stroller, my brother wheeling himself in my wheelchair and me in my power scooter.  I can only imagine what the neighbours thought!  Also played some wheelchair basketball in the driveway (with my 2 year old on her mini-hoop). 

Don’t know if I’m overdoing it.  How long are we supposed to be lying down with foot elevated?  I haven’t had too much pain, so I’ve been lucky that way.  In the evening it’s a little sore, but I elevate and it’s fine. 

Sometimes I feel like I just want to tear the cast off and do some ankle circles.  That would feel so good.  I kind of feel like my ankle is tightening up from not moving it at all. 

Well, one more week until I see the doc.  I don’t know why I’m so excited, I’m just getting a new cast put on.  But I want to see the incision and see what my foot looks like I guess.  And just to have the cast off for a short time will be great.  Hopefully the doc will tell me healing is going well.