squashedat’s AchillesBlog

It was a routine squash game, the weekend before Thanksgiving, Saturday, November 22nd to be precise. We were one point away from wrapping up the game and it’s right then, that it hit me, felt like someone took a hammer and hit me on the back of my heel! Turned around and no one! WTF?  That’s right, that’s how I felt at that instant (realized later that this was a common feeling among all those who had been through an ATR).

The initial pain was bad, but it seemed to calm down with time. little swollen, but not too bad!…..BUT I could tell that something was not right and that in all likely hood I had torn the dreaded Achilles. Managed to get back home and through the weekend, it was RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevate) though I found that I was able to limp along for most part without pain, the ankle area did swell after some time of activity.

Saw the doc, on the 25th and was advised that surgery was the best option for a quick recovery and ability to get back to an active life style (not sure if a non-surgical plan was even an option and was never discussed). Based on the x-rays they took, he thought that in my case the tendon was intact and that a piece of the bone had chipped off with the tendon on it. I think they call it an Avulsion Fracture.

Given family and work conflicts, the date for surgery was set for 12/10 (~2weeks later) giving us an opportunity to wrap up lose ends and be prepared. Also, a bit of information, I was advised that surgery should be done as early as possible after the injury, and definitely no later than 3 weeks. I was also given a boot at this point and asked to use it for extended walking or walking in unfamiliar surroundings (anytime I went out of the home). At home I was pretty much bare foot with minimal pain or swelling, but very limited in my ability to walk much. I also opted not to drive around with an injured leg and play it safe more for others than myself. After about a week of this, was ready for them to get the surgery done so that the focus could shift to the rehab and progress rather than the status quo.

The pre-op process and surgery went quite well and I was out of there in less than 5 hours, actually feeling relieved and for most part painless at least on my injured leg. The surgery was done under general anesthesia with a nerve block on the injured leg and the leg was wrapped in a splint. The one thing that bothered me most on gaining consciousness was a pain on my left shoulder (I have a partial rotator cuff tear) for which they gave me some pain killers. I later found out that my arms were in an above the shoulder position throughout the surgery and that may have been the main contributor to my shoulder pain. I wish someone had asked or offered an option on this and am not sure why the arms were not left along the side of the body…..

Upon discharge, I was asked to come back and see the OS on 12/26 for a 2 week post op at which time I could be put in a boot and was advised 4 weeks of NWB.

In retrospect, I should have seen this coming or should have done some proactive work to address the injury. I say this because over the last year or two, I had pain on my heel(right where the AT is attached) that would show up with excessive use (walking, running, playing, etc). It wasn’t a bad pain - enough to bother me slightly but one that went away quickly upon icing and an anti-inflammatory and there was some evidence of calcification/bone-growth as well. Again noticeable but not enough for me to get it checked out…..

A few regrets that gnaw at you while you go through this….the most obvious one, throwing life into a frenzy for not only me but that of the entire family especially my wife (who was so looking forward to some relaxing holidays and getting stuff done around the house) who had to now work the thanksgiving week so that she could drive my son to Florida for a soccer tournament the week after and then drive back  in time for my surgery….to my kids who had to either skip on after-school and other fun activities or find rides to take them around…..Yes painful, but learned quickly that one had to accept it, be thankful for their presence and be patient and let time be the healer as this was just a temporary set-back and it too shall pass.

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