Surgery/P.T.
5/5/15 was surgery day. My wife brought me to the hospital where they prepped me for the big event. I was given a nerve block and prior to the nerve block I was given Fentanyl through and IV. This being only the second time I received pain medication through IV (my first being 4/30/15) I did not know what to expect. About two minutes after they gave it to me I quickly realized that I was rocked, flying high, not a care in the world and it was great!. I watched the anesthesiologist put a large needle into my leg to administer the nerve block and could not care less. I was whisked away to the operation room where I took a few large breaths of gas through a mask and that was it.
Two and a half hours later I woke up in a recovery room feeling well rested. After the nurse in the room realized I had regained consciousness, she told me that while I was in the process of waking up she had asked me how I was feeling. Apparently after appearing to collect my thoughts for a few seconds I looked and here and responded “alright, alright, alrighttttttt” in my best Matthew McConaughey voice. She quickly asked me if she was talking to Matthew McConaughey and I regrettably told her “Nah, I’m Magic Mike!.” I then promptly went back to sleep. Needless to say I had no recollection of this and I spent the next few minutes telling her I was not a stripper. And for those read my previous post where I told you my job requires me to be in shape, no I’m not a stripper or in any related field. Had the nurse not shared this embarrassing detail I would have woken up none the wiser (but wouldn’t of had a story that apparently has given joy to many people…)
Anyways…. the doctor told my wife it was a full rupture of the Achilles tendon but the surgery was successful with no complications. I was put in a soft plaster cast that came up to my knee. This cast kept my toes pointed down and restricted any movement of my ankle. I had this cast on for two weeks. My nerve block lasted 24 hours after surgery which was wonderful as I felt no pain or anything for that matter in my leg. I was given oxycodone for pain management over the next two weeks. I took the oxy for about a week post surgery for pain. It worked wonderfully but it frequently caused me to fall asleep shortly after ingestion so as soon as I was able to tolerate the pain, I stopped taking it.
Two weeks went by relatively quickly. Probably because I was high on oxycodone half the time. After two weeks I saw the doctor who removed the soft cast and took out the stitches in the back of my leg. They told me that everything looked as though it was healing properly and I set up my physical therapy appointments.
I started physical therapy on 5/20/15, three days after having my soft case taken off. At first it was slow going and being off of work completely I had a lot of time to complete the required stretches on my own at home. After a slow start physical therapy began going very well. I was actually 2-3 weeks ahead of where I was supposed to be in my P.T. program. At just 4 weeks post surgery I was full weight bearing and able to walk in a walking boot without assistance virtually pain free and without significant swelling. Then I got the best news I had heard in over a month….my physical therapist told me he was optimistic I could get back on the golf course at the end of July!!! I was ecstatic!
Since I had been off work this whole time, I had wanted to visit friend in North Carolina for a few days. I thought, why not? I have all of this time off I have never had before, what a better opportunity to visit a friend? My wife was skeptical at first and did not want me to go. She did not want me to chance re-injuring my leg. After seeing how mobile I was and how well physical therapy was going, she cautiously gave me the green light. I made the arrangements and learned that there would be a pool party in North Carolina with my friend for he and his girlfriends birthday. After learning this I got the go ahead to go in the pool from my physical therapist with two conditions, could not try to swim and I had to wear my walking boot. On 6/4/15 I began the long voyage of driving from Wisconsin to North Carolina….left footed. I have not yet been married a year but I learned a valuable and painful lesson…listen to your wife’s concerns…because on 6/6/15, tragedy struck.
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