I haven’t written here for a few months. It was actually a doctor’s order! He felt that reading the blog every day, comparing my progress to the ones of others, etc.. made me too anxious about the recovery. I think it is probably only natural to worry about the outcome of the AT repair (especially considering that it was my first ever surgery!)
But I always meant to come back to the blog and share my development for the benefit of others who may be just starting the recovery process. Right now, I am approaching my 7 month mark and doing great. For me, the things have changed significantly at 5 month (20-21 weeks.) It was the point when swelling, pain, and limping just went away and never came back. The fear of other people accidentally stepping/bumping on the back of my leg went away as well. Currently, I do feel just like my normal healthy self, just like before the injury. Yes, I do have a scar/bump on my ankle, but the back of my leg looks and feels like a tendon, not like some post op mess it was. When I go about my everyday business, I am not continuously aware of it as I used to be.
I still do wear pants, not only to protect the scar from the sun, but also to hide my asymmetrical calves. My injured gastroc is about half way back and I wonder whether it will ever come back completely. No, I cannot do a full unaided heel raise on an injured leg — only about half way – but I am not worried about it. I have half a muscle, I raise half way. Once I get the whole muscle back, I am sure I will be able to raise my heel all the way and higher.
In terms of physical activity in general, I do not feel any restrictions at all – I walk any distance, run, jump, squat, lunge, use all possible machines, and can perform all sorts of exercises – I can do everything I was doing before the injury (except a single heel raise.) At the moment, my favorite exercise for getting back my calf is stepping on the Stair Master. I feel it just does what I need — works my gastroc and AT to the point of exhaustion, plus offers some serious cardio as a bonus. But on the other hand, it exercises the other leg to the same degree and the danger is that with this workout my calves will never catch up! 
But this is a different story… I wish everyone smooth and speedy recovery!
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