OK, it's official - I'm a medical anomaly. Well, I'm not sure I believe that, but that's what my doctor told me yesterday. See...a few months ago, I noticed something ominous happening to my right ankle. I noticed a stiffness in the Achilles tendon, pain when I got up in the morning...OH NO! I immediately started resting it, putting ice on it, elevating it sometimes in the evenings...and for awhile all that seemed to help. But over the course of a few months, I noticed a very familiar looking lump on the back of my right ankle...just like the one that had developed on my left ankle three years ago. WHAT THE HECK!
So...finally I had to admit this wasn't going away, and off I went to the doctor again. Same great doctor, same great team - and they couldn't believe it when I walked through the door again with the same symptoms on my OTHER leg. They scheduled an MRI right away and I went in the next day for the results. Here was the conversation:
(Door opens and PA walks in and takes one look at me and starts laughing)
Him: "I really can't even believe this MRI. Do you know how weird you are? If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was just looking at a mirror image of your left ankle three years ago."
Me: "Well, what I want to know is this - was the last surgery a Buy One Get One Free deal?"
Him: "Uhhh, no. Honestly, I've never had a patient with a situation like this. Both your Achilles tendons have basically just degenerated. That's so weird. I talked with Dr Langford about this and he's never had this happen to any other patient either. Do you have any other family members who have had this?"
Me, feeling like a freak: "No. Could it be the way I walk? The shoes I wear?"
Him: "No. I hate to tell you this, but we think that your Achilles tendons were doomed from the moment you were conceived. It's got to be genetic. They've both just shredded from the inside out. Anyway...the good news is, we fixed the other one and we think we can fix this one too."
Well, I got all excited, because in spite of all my angst, the results of the last surgery were awesome. My left Achilles tendon is FIXED, baby! But the doctor did temper my enthusiasm a little.
"Melanie, I have to be frank with you. People make this mistake a lot with bilateral surgeries. This is a different ankle, a different Achilles tendon, and three years later. There is no guarantee that this surgery will be as successful as the last one. But for all we know, this surgery could be MORE successful, LESS painful. We just don't know. But don't assume anything. This is a new experience all the way around."
Well, that flattened my sails a bit, but then he did tell me something that cheered me up. He told me that since my last surgery, they've been trying the concept of less time in the cast/splint and moving faster into the boot and weight bearing mobility. That means LESS TIME ON CRUTCHES!
So...surgery/Round Two is scheduled for February 12, and I'm back in the Robocop boot and a knee brace till then. GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES!
So...finally I had to admit this wasn't going away, and off I went to the doctor again. Same great doctor, same great team - and they couldn't believe it when I walked through the door again with the same symptoms on my OTHER leg. They scheduled an MRI right away and I went in the next day for the results. Here was the conversation:
(Door opens and PA walks in and takes one look at me and starts laughing)
Him: "I really can't even believe this MRI. Do you know how weird you are? If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was just looking at a mirror image of your left ankle three years ago."
Me: "Well, what I want to know is this - was the last surgery a Buy One Get One Free deal?"
Him: "Uhhh, no. Honestly, I've never had a patient with a situation like this. Both your Achilles tendons have basically just degenerated. That's so weird. I talked with Dr Langford about this and he's never had this happen to any other patient either. Do you have any other family members who have had this?"
Me, feeling like a freak: "No. Could it be the way I walk? The shoes I wear?"
Him: "No. I hate to tell you this, but we think that your Achilles tendons were doomed from the moment you were conceived. It's got to be genetic. They've both just shredded from the inside out. Anyway...the good news is, we fixed the other one and we think we can fix this one too."
Well, I got all excited, because in spite of all my angst, the results of the last surgery were awesome. My left Achilles tendon is FIXED, baby! But the doctor did temper my enthusiasm a little.
"Melanie, I have to be frank with you. People make this mistake a lot with bilateral surgeries. This is a different ankle, a different Achilles tendon, and three years later. There is no guarantee that this surgery will be as successful as the last one. But for all we know, this surgery could be MORE successful, LESS painful. We just don't know. But don't assume anything. This is a new experience all the way around."
Well, that flattened my sails a bit, but then he did tell me something that cheered me up. He told me that since my last surgery, they've been trying the concept of less time in the cast/splint and moving faster into the boot and weight bearing mobility. That means LESS TIME ON CRUTCHES!
So...surgery/Round Two is scheduled for February 12, and I'm back in the Robocop boot and a knee brace till then. GOOD TIMES, GOOD TIMES!
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