Well, it's been awhile, so I figured I better update this blog and give out a little more sunshine and light for all you Achilles Tendon Injury Sufferers.
To summarize - things have gone very well for me. October 15, 2010 was the surgery. My cast was removed in just a few weeks and replaced with the biggest boot in the history of mankind - an instrument of torture that I grew to hate with every fiber of my being.
But right before Christmas, I was liberated from DAS BOOT, as we called it around my house. At that point, my doctor told me that I was not to do ANY sort of exercising other than gentle stretching, and walking carefully in flat shoes, resting whenever I felt pain or had swelling (which I did through the first few weeks of January).
I've noticed a couple of things. First of all, though the scar has healed nicely, my tendon is still significantly swollen, so wearing any sort of shoe that puts pressure on the back of the ankle is impossible. I didn't realize that even most athletic shoes put a lot of pressure on that area. So - I've invested in several pairs of clogs, which are fine in the American South - just throw on some cute woolly socks and you're stylin'. I have also found that I can wear loose, soft boots - but no heels, and no shoes with any sort of stiff material around the back of the ankle.
I've also noticed that once I get up and walking, my ankle doesn't hurt much - but notice that word "much." One dissappointing thing is that three months out of surgery, I still have constant, albeit dull, pain in that pesky tendon.
The biggest frustration for me right now though is that I still have a limp. It's lessening, but still definitely there - and if you've ever walked for long with a limp (and I'm sure most of you have at this point!), you know that this eventually causes all sorts of other aches and pains - tricky knees, an ankle prone to twisting, and even a stiff back and neck. So yes, I've got all that going on!
So where's the sweetness and light? Here it is - I AM OUT OF A CAST, OUT OF A BOOT, AND WEARING TWO MATCHING SHOES AND WALKING. Considering that some of these recovery times for this injury and surgery can drag on for up to a year, three months out I'm feeling pretty dang good about everything! Next post - physical therapy, because that's what's now a big part of my final stretch of recovery.
To summarize - things have gone very well for me. October 15, 2010 was the surgery. My cast was removed in just a few weeks and replaced with the biggest boot in the history of mankind - an instrument of torture that I grew to hate with every fiber of my being.
But right before Christmas, I was liberated from DAS BOOT, as we called it around my house. At that point, my doctor told me that I was not to do ANY sort of exercising other than gentle stretching, and walking carefully in flat shoes, resting whenever I felt pain or had swelling (which I did through the first few weeks of January).
I've noticed a couple of things. First of all, though the scar has healed nicely, my tendon is still significantly swollen, so wearing any sort of shoe that puts pressure on the back of the ankle is impossible. I didn't realize that even most athletic shoes put a lot of pressure on that area. So - I've invested in several pairs of clogs, which are fine in the American South - just throw on some cute woolly socks and you're stylin'. I have also found that I can wear loose, soft boots - but no heels, and no shoes with any sort of stiff material around the back of the ankle.
I've also noticed that once I get up and walking, my ankle doesn't hurt much - but notice that word "much." One dissappointing thing is that three months out of surgery, I still have constant, albeit dull, pain in that pesky tendon.
The biggest frustration for me right now though is that I still have a limp. It's lessening, but still definitely there - and if you've ever walked for long with a limp (and I'm sure most of you have at this point!), you know that this eventually causes all sorts of other aches and pains - tricky knees, an ankle prone to twisting, and even a stiff back and neck. So yes, I've got all that going on!
So where's the sweetness and light? Here it is - I AM OUT OF A CAST, OUT OF A BOOT, AND WEARING TWO MATCHING SHOES AND WALKING. Considering that some of these recovery times for this injury and surgery can drag on for up to a year, three months out I'm feeling pretty dang good about everything! Next post - physical therapy, because that's what's now a big part of my final stretch of recovery.
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