Bunk’s AchillesBlog

Just sprinted at full speed on the way back from taking out the garbage. I can jump. I can do twists and turns and flips and dips lol. Obviously I cant do these things as well as I did them before the injury, but I can DO THEM–easily and comfortably.

Feels good.

wow i cant believe its been this long. i havent forgot about this place, i’ve just been on the progress train. i’d say im at about 85% back to normal. i have virtually no swelling. i have no limp (that’s noticeable to the untrained eye). i have 100% range of motion, including full dorsiflexion and plantar flexion. i crush all balance exercises.

i’d say the last 15% is all upper calf strength. i’m still very weak there. i cant lift my body up on the ball of my feet. but other than that, everything is peachy.

I ditched the boot full time about 4-5 days ago. I was originally told to only do it for about an hour a day, but I quickly out-grew that. I’ve been having difficulty pushing off my toes but my PT says that will take a while. I’m also back in the gym full time again, and I’ve been riding my bike every day. It feels good.

So Im now 9 weeks post op and 2 weeks post-cast. Over the course of the last 7 days I ditched the crutches and am now FWB full time in the boot. My therapist also told me to remove all of the wedges and save them for the transition to 2-shoes. I am pain free, although the botom heel of my foot gets sore after extended period of walking. I have been able to mostly alleviate this with a Dr. Scholls insole. Im not sure how much of it has to do with overall foot recovery from the injury or if its just a side-effect of the boot itself.

I can now limp barefoot around the house with very little pain (I’d put it at a 1 or 2 on a scale of 10). And its not really pain–its more tightness and discomfort. I can put pants on standing up without a crutch (my balance on the bad foot isnt 100% so I do it slowly beside a wall just in a case I fall over). I can now move around in the shower like a normal person.

My dorsiflexion is improving slowly but surely. I have no idea how measure it but I’d say I’m about 55%-60% of the way there. Coming out of the cast I was probably at 10%. PT is getting less and less challenging. The pain during scar tissue breakup sessions is a lot more tolerable now. I’ve been crushing all of the exercises. My therapist told me to bring an extra shoe next week….shit is about to get real.

I am now 8 weeks post op, and 1 week out of the cast in the boot. I’ve had 4 PT sessions since I got my cast removed last week.

The progress I’ve made in the last 7 days:

1. I can now walk in the boot with just one crutch full time. I still get aching pains in my ankles while walking in the boot. It comes and goes depending on my stride and form. I feel nothing in the achilles area.

2. I can now stand stationary while barefoot with zero pain and complete balance. This is great for showers. When I first got out of the cast this was a very difficult thing to do. Every part of my foot would ache, I had poor balance, and I would have to extend my bad foot out about 6 inches above my good foot just to relieve the tension on my achilles. I can now stand completely straight up with my feet even with each other without any problems. I can bare probably 60% of my body weight on my bad foot before the pain kicks in.

3. I’ve upgraded from the yellow resistance bands to the red ones. The red ones dont appear to be much of a challenge either to be honest.

There are probably a few more I’ve missed, but those are the biggest. I think this is solid progress considering I’m only 7 days removed from the cast. There are some things I couldnt do last week that I still cant do, but I’m okay with that. Different parts of the foot show progress at their own pace I guess. Hopefully next week I’ll be able to say I’ve made more progress.

Never thought this day would come. Casts are evil. Casts do not represent progress, they represent purgatory. You are not on the road to recovery, you are at the bust stop waiting for the recovery bus to pick you up. But it WILL come. If you are in a cast I feel sorry for you. Just hang in there. It sucks and there really isnt much more to say about it.That’s just the cold hard truth.

I was in my cast for 7 weeks…until today. My ultra-conservative doctor wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve recently learned that the reason he is this way is because he had a string of terrible patients and has turned into a cynical asshole. But all of that is over now! Not only did I finally get put into a boot, I had my first PT session shortly after. The doc told me to remain NWB until I reached 8 weeks, by my PT team thinks he’s a idiot (they are the ones who told me about why he’s so conservative) and told me to go ahead and go PWB if I want—which I have. Crutching while PWB is a million times more comfortable. I can even go to one crutch, but that is a bit more difficult, but doable. I attempted FWB with no crutches but that’s just not possible at this point unless I feel like taking 30 minutes to walk 10 feet.

The PT was pretty awesome. I’ll be going 3 times a week and they are aggressive. We didnt do too much, and just went over a few different exercises and discussed what I have to look forward to. I had a 20 minute ice session and did some stretches with resistant bands. They also told me to ignore the doc’s heel lift plan, and instead of taking one lift out every 3 days they want me to take them all out completely in a week and save the individual lifts for when Im in two shoes.  As for the boot itself, I’ve heard people say the transition is like “starting over”. Like hell it is. I’m just as fast crutching while PWB as I am NWB. The only difference is that I’m not exhausted like I was before. I dont have to sleep in it, its about the same weight as my cast was, and I can take it off anytime I want. It does get hot, but I dont care.

Anyway thats pretty much all I have. I wish I had a better doc and was further along than I am, but none of that matters now. I’m back on the road and I couldnt be happier. I probably wont blog again until I’m done with the boot or something crazy happens.

2 week post-op visit. Got a new cast and told to come back in 2 weeks for another cast, then one week after that for another cast, then finally a walking boot at my 6 week post-op mark. I have spent the last 2 weeks reading dozens of blogs and articles and told him Id like a boot at the 4 week mark but he said no. It seems to me most people are in a boot and at the partial weight bearing stage within the first 4 weeks of surgery, but I wont be so lucky. Apparently I will be starting PT as soon as Im in the boot, and it will be an aggressive PT, so I’m glad for that.

Meanwhile my spirits are up. I’m probably at the tail end of the 5 stages of grief. I dont get many “what happened to you?” questions anymore. God that was annoying. Everyone seems to treat me like a normal person again, without looks of pity on their faces. Im back at work too, so that helps. Life with crutches is terrible. My wrists and elbows are sore. I get so tired that I crutch with bad form so its just a continuous cycle of pain and misery. Im tired of hopping up and down stairs. Pooping is awkward and annoying. Bathing/showering is a daily adventure all in its own. The level of respect I now have for people with permanent disabilities is astronomical.

Went to see the doc for a 1 week checkup. He just cut a hole in the back of the cast to check the wound. All was good. Putting on a happy face in front of everyone.

Im not happy.

The reality of my crippled existence is setting in. Popping percs to combat the emotional lows. I fucking hate crutches. I hate being in the way. I hate being slow. I hate being a burden. I hate asking for favors. Learning quickly who my real friends are.

Nerve block wore off. Holy shit.