Month: March 2019

Back in the Saddle

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, SurgeryLeave a comment

It’s been just a few days shy of four months since surgery. It seems so unreal! I had another post-op followup today and I’m now allowed to transition into regular shoes! I have to wear a special padded lift inside the right shoe for quite a while, but it’s so nice to not have to wear the walking boot all the time. With the amount of difficulty I’ve been having with work, the surgeon told me it would be wise to use the boot at work for extra support if needed until I recover more strength and range of motion. I’ll be bringing it along to each shift just in case I need it; I can already tell it’ll probably still be a few weeks until I can really get rid of it for good. I just keep telling myself it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and I have to pace myself.

It’s amazing the difference a day can bring. I was feeling really low a few days ago, exhausted with being dependent on people for rides and not being able to do the things I wanted to do. I feel so useless at work because I’m only there 19-ish hours a week right now. I’ve been trying to push myself as much as I safely can because I don’t want to risk losing my job, but the amount that I can do is still not up to what I consider full standard. I’ve been praying for the strength to make it through the challenging days.

Then today happened: I GET TO RIDE MY BIKE AGAIN! I stupidly forgot to ask at my appointment this morning, so I had to call and get permission. I waited four long hours for the phone to ring with an answer to the message I left, and it finally did at 1:50 p.m. By 2, I was changed into my gear and pumping up the bike tires. The ride went pretty well, but my speed was awful because I have to ride in a low resistance gear. I still managed to ride 7.27 glorious miles in 41 minutes. It was cold and damp out, but there were a few moments of sun along the way. It felt amazing, like I was finally living again! I didn’t have any pain while I was riding, and I probably could have gone farther if I wasn’t sick with a slight cold. I’m trying not to do too much too soon, and I’ll ask at physical therapy how to judge what’s too much so I don’t hinder my progress.

Now if only the pain I feel with extended weight bearing at work would lessen, I’d feel a whole lot more confident about everything. I’m still ecstatic to be gaining some new freedoms, though. Things will fall into place eventually, and I’ll be ready when they do!

Weary Workdays

On By LeraIn Life, SurgeryLeave a comment

It’s been a week since I started back at work. I wish I could say it was easier than the first day, but that would be a lie. Every day I work has been filled with pain. I did get to take the last wedge out of my boot, which helped marginally, but nowhere near enough to increase my comfort levels. Each step is like a slow torture, and by the end of the night I can’t walk anymore.

I scheduled some extra physical therapy to try to calm things down a little. Even the therapist seemed baffled that I was having pain in some of the areas I was. It’s just my luck that I would have to be a special case. We talked about work and its impact on my foot, and I was told that it wouldn’t be wise to work more than just part time hours right now. I was working full time before my surgery, and I was hoping to be back to that by the end of the month, but I don’t see that happening. I got called in for a shift tomorrow, which is supposed to be short since I have an appointment later in the morning. I was really hoping for another day to recover from the weekend and get it back to feeling better, but I should have known that wasn’t going to happen.

To end this very short post on a positive note, today one of the other physical therapy patients brought his dog in from his truck after his appointment was over. It was a five month old King Shepard, and super cute and friendly. It was interesting seeing everyone go into their “animal talk” voice, even the staff. I guess that’s what everyone does when they like animals. I’ll reiterate how much I love my physical therapy clinic. The other patients and the staff are so friendly, and everyone has the weirdest conversations. Today a different patient than the one with the dog was talking about how much one of the staff was “beating him up” with the exercises, and suddenly he said he needed a safe word, like couples use in the bedroom for… ahem… “stuff”. That took my mind off of how much the manual therapy was hurting because I was laughing so hard. I really don’t see why people seem to hate physical therapy. I always feel so much better after a session, even if it hurts during.

First Day Back at Work

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

I sit in the office with my head down, trying desperately to keep the tears forming in my eyes from spilling out. My foot is throbbing and I’m only about halfway through a short shift. The next three hours seem daunting, a long, dark expanse that has no end.

Photo by Juan Pablo Arenas on Pexels.com

So went my first day back at work yesterday. I knew it was going to be difficult, but it was at least three times more challenging than I thought. I have a job where I’m on my feet all day. If I’m lucky, I can squeeze in a break to eat something at some point during my shift, but it’s not a guarantee that I get break time, which is a serious downside to being in management. The whole work day was a disaster from the moment I walked through the door. None of my applications worked properly, and I couldn’t even use my employee number to clock in. As annoying as those issues were, they were the least of my problems, and I didn’t even work a full shift.

Time: 3:55 p.m.; Pain Level: 0

I finally got the time clock to accept my punch and I was ready to start my day. I was a little apprehensive, but ready to see how things would go.

Time: 4:43 p.m.; Pain Level: 2

I was feeling a little pain at this point, but I was able to ignore it if I didn’t think about it.

Time: 5:36 p.m.; Pain Level: 6

I tried in vain to sit down and prop my foot up for a few minutes. The minute I hit the chair, I got paged. There was no more ignoring the pain. I was limping by this point in the evening.

Time: 7:30 p.m.; Pain Level: 8

I was hungry so I heated up my dinner. I was able to sit for about 15 minutes without being interrupted, which was a welcome break. Severely limping and moving very slowly. At this point, it was more like dragging my leg behind me than limping.

Time: 9:10 p.m.; Pain Level: 8

I couldn’t focus on working any more. Each step was more excruciating than the last. It wasn’t busy, so I took advantage and sat down for another 15 minutes with my head down, desperately trying not to cry from the pain.

Time: 10:29 p.m.; Pain Level: still 8

I was never more grateful to be able to punch out early and get home. I needed a painkiller for the first time since my surgery day. I was so glad I still had a full bottle on the counter at home.

Today I’ve been icing off and on all day, trying to keep some of the pain and swelling down. I was in more pain last night than I was before surgery. If it’s that severe again tomorrow, I’m going to have to call my surgeon’s office and ask their advice. I’m not about to ruin this repair, but I need the cash flow again. It’s not even just my foot that hurts. Most of my lower body is sore from walking with a limp all night, especially my left hip. I know I did a terrible job at work last night, but I’m hoping for some understanding from my boss for the next few weeks. I work hard and I always try my best, and I hope that counts for something, even if I can’t do 100% right now. I’m trying to overcome the extreme frustration I feel at this point because I know it’s only temporary. I’ve been leaning heavily on God lately, and He’ll see me through this.

12 Weeks Post Op!

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment
3 months after surgery!

This week was my last week of medical leave, and I’ll be starting work again on Tuesday; I’m definitely nervous about how it’s going to go. I get a lot of pain and some swelling in my right foot when I’m on my feet for shopping trips, but I’m hoping after a week or two working, my body will be used to it again. Some of the weird swelling from before surgery is starting to come back, so that has me troubled. I really wish I didn’t have such a physical job. I’m afraid I’m going to mess up my Achilles tendon again, and I went through too much to deal with all of this a second time. Luckily my boss was agreeable to just put me on three days next week, and possibly a short week the week after, so it should help ease me in. He told me he’d give me a day off between shifts next week to let my foot rest up. I’m certainly going to miss having unlimited time for reading (and iced coffee)!

Can’t read a good book without delicious iced coffee or tea!

It’s hard to believe it’s been three months since my surgery. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long at all. Things are going well. Like I said above, I get pain with prolonged weight bearing, but I was able to take one of the one inch lifts out of my boot, so it’s easier to walk now. With my foot lifted only an inch now instead of two inches, it’s in a more natural position, so I’m hoping that will help with the pain as well. I still get sore where the screws in my heel are, but that’s been improving. The scar in that area is still raised, so I’m hoping it won’t rub too much with the increased walking. Both scars still have quite a bit of thickened tissue surrounding them. It’s less than when I first started physical therapy, but it’s unlikely to decrease too much until I can go back in three weeks and continue. It’d be really nice if the health insurance company wasn’t so stingy with benefits. I can’t believe they won’t allow any extensions for physical therapy, even with proper documentation. They pay out only $27 per session; how do they not realize that improper recovery after surgery could potentially lead to another surgery, which would cost them tens of thousands of dollars? I think the tiny extra cost of more therapy sessions would be an obvious choice, but when has anything in the American health care system made sense?  Sorry for the rant, but it’s nice to get it out of my system. I’m hoping that maybe if I need more therapy, I can do cash pay for a reasonable rate. I could need up to a year of therapy, so I’m hoping an arrangement can be worked out.

One of the heel lifts in my boot. There’s no padding on the lift at all, so it’s like walking on cement all day.

I don’t have another follow-up appointment with my surgeon until the end of the month, at which point I’m hoping to be in regular shoes again. The plan is to have a half inch lift fitted into my right shoe, which I’ll be wearing for a long, long time. I think I should be able to start driving next week; I’m going to have someone take me out to a dead parking lot and make sure I can make my foot work properly. I feel like such an inconvenience because I can transport myself anywhere. By the end of the month, I’m hoping to be fully mobile in terms of driving. Most of all, I should get medical clearance to start trying to bike again! I think my surgeon will probably defer it to my physical therapist like he did with driving, but I’m okay with that as long as it will minimize my re-injury risk. Life will soon be so much more exciting! I can’t wait to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, the breeze through my hair, and that feeling of flying that only biking can give me 🙂