Tag: tendonitis

Roller Coaster Week

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

This week has been a wild ride full of highs and lows. Yesterday was probably the worst day of my life so far. I lost my grandfather to cancer after he fought it for several years. He just celebrated his 85th birthday Monday. My family and I all went to visit him the Saturday before his birthday and brought him a cake–chocolate, his favorite. He was still able to eat at that point, so I’m glad he got to enjoy it. The changes that took place this week were so fast it was hard to believe. I visited him again on Tuesday and he wasn’t awake the whole time we were there. Then yesterday I went down to see him and it was obvious it was going to be one of the last times. He wasn’t very lucid, but he opened his eyes when I spoke to him. I mostly just sat next to him and held his hand, making sure to tell him how much I loved him. He couldn’t respond back, so I just talked about whatever came into my head so he knew he had some company. He passed away just a few hours after I left. I wish I had been able to be there so he didn’t have to go alone, but having to depend on a ride makes it hard to control your own schedule. His passing was something we were all anticipating for a while, but it still hurts deeply.

As far as my first week of physical therapy is concerned, all is going well. My range of motion is already improving noticeably. I can’t work on strength for a few weeks yet, but I can bear my full weight on my right foot now as long as it’s in the boot. I can’t put a lot of weight on it without it, so I’m still going from station to station at therapy with my crutches. The first time I could climb stairs without having to crawl up and down them or use a crutch was amazing. It’s nice to feel more normal now and be able to walk without the extra help of crutches. I can’t walk very fast, but I can walk! I’m trying to celebrate the little victories and take things as they come.

I love my physical therapy clinic. I live in a small town, so a lot of the businesses have that characteristic charm to them. I’ve even done a couple of sessions with my neighbor this week; I didn’t know he was still going there. Everyone at the clinic is so friendly, and you get to know the other patients there in addition to the staff. I was in stitches listening to the conversations this morning. I barely noticed how much the manual therapy was hurting because I spent a lot of that time laughing. It’s not exactly pleasant having my scars, fasciae, and muscles massaged. It’s definitely not relaxing like a spa massage is. When the therapist hits a knot or rubs the scar where the screws in my heel are, it’s very painful. I try to bear with it the best I can because it’s going to be beneficial one day, but the screw area is still incredibly tender. I’m hoping that by the time I start wearing normal shoes in 5 or 6 weeks, it won’t hurt so much to have pressure on it.

I’m so excited at the improvements I’ve made in my first week. I know I still have a long way to go, but seeing improvement this quickly is really motivating. I think I worry my therapist a little bit, though, because he’s told me twice this week to make sure I don’t overdo things and to take things slow so I don’t anger my tendon and ankle. He knows me too well, because I really do need to be reminded of that. I’ve always been someone who tends to go overboard, for better or for worse. I’m not good at seeing that fine line between enough and too much, so I’m even more grateful I’m able to work with someone who knows me and my case well.

Rehab Plan

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

Today was my first day of physical therapy. After surgery, my mom and my aunt couldn’t wait to tell me how painful it was going to be, but based on today, I think it’ll be just fine. They also complained that it was such a chore when they had to go through it, but I don’t view it that way. Last year, I enjoyed my sessions because I was getting some improvement and some of my leisure activities back. This year, I’m even more thrilled to be going to therapy; if everything goes as planned, I should be a lot better than I was before surgery. I’m excited to start training my body again, and I’m looking forward to signing up for some cycling events this year.

My physical therapy plan is a little unusual in that I’ll be going for two weeks to work directly with someone, then I’ll be doing four weeks by myself at home until the boot comes off. I only get 30 visits per year, so this way I can maximize them and have the majority of my sessions when I can do more. Until I lose the boot, there’s not much sense wasting the visits on stretching and range of motion that I can do at home. By the end of March, I’ll be back there doing more aggressive rehab; it’ll certainly be more worthwhile when I can put my full weight on it.

I’m going to the same physical therapy clinic that I went to last year. I never even considered going anywhere else; they did an amazing job before, plus I like that they know my case. They know where I was a year ago and where I am now. Everyone is really nice there and I feel comfortable being myself, which is something I definitely struggle with since I have an introverted personality. The therapist I’ll be working with knows my passion for cycling from last year’s sessions, plus he lives on my bike route, so we see each other on occasion while I’m out riding, so I know for sure he knows how important cycling is to me. He recommended my surgeon to me; I’m so grateful to be able to work with someone who really seems to care about his patients. Apparently he’ll even attend doctor’s appointments for orthopedic cases as a way to improve continuity of care so that he can speak with the doctor more easily. I’m told it’s a new service they started offering and that it has a really positive response from other patients. However, unless I have an unusual problem or things start going poorly, I would feel bad putting any extra work on his schedule. I can see where it might be a good idea for some people, but as long as everything is going smoothly, I don’t think it’s a necessity for myself.

So what happened on my first day? Nothing too eventful, honestly. I had my initial evaluation and then we started right in with some exercises. I warmed up my foot and ankle in a hot whirlpool, and then my therapist started working on releasing some of the scar tissue so that the area around my incisions won’t be all thick on the sides. After that, I just did some gentle stretching and range of motion exercises before calling it a day. The only pain I had was when my therapist was rubbing the scar tissue and he got to the place where the screws in my heel are located. It was only a temporary pain, and he eased off a little when I told him it was sore. Some pain is expected, of course, but now that seven hours has passed, I have zero pain. Something that was amusing to me was the fact that my therapist was all excited to see that I had the Even Up on my normal shoe. He said he’s never seen anyone with a walking boot come in with one of those before and that it was clever because it keeps the body more in balance. He asked where I got it from and I told him the doctor’s office gave it to me. I guess it’s not really a common device, so I’m even more impressed with my surgeon than before.

I’m hoping the next few weeks go well. I probably won’t have much to report on until I go back to work, but I’ll keep y’all posted if anything changes!


9.5 Weeks Post-Op

On By LeraIn Surgery2 Comments

It’s been close to ten weeks since my surgery. I had a follow-up appointment with my surgeon yesterday. I’m happy to report that everything is going as expected.

I am stuck with this walking book for six more weeks, which takes me out to the very end of March. I have two heel lifts inside the boot, each one being an inch tall. Couple that with the boot already sitting up higher than a normal shoe… Yeah, it’s hard to walk when one leg is almost three inches longer than the other one. The doctor’s office gave me this thing called an “Even Up”, which attaches to the bottom of any shoe (except heels). It gives me an extra inch of height on my good leg, so if I wear an athletic shoe on the good foot, my legs are closer in length. I do still lean, though, so it’s a bit challenging to walk. One of the lifts can come out in about three weeks, so things will be easier then. I am allowed to bear as much weight on it as tolerated, so I’m hoping to work myself up to full weight before I return to work in three weeks. Right now, I estimate I can only place between 25 and 50% on it.

Not the best quality image, but you can see the Even Up on my shoe.

Monday is my first day of physical therapy; I’m so excited! I’ll be going twice a week for at least six weeks, but I have a feeling it will be more. My surgeon gave me a rehab protocol to give to the therapist that goes to 11 weeks out, so I really don’t know how long it will be for sure. It’s going to depend on the progress I can make. I’m certainly going to give it everything I’ve got; I can’t wait to get back to normal again. I’m ready to get back on my bike and get back to tennis, but in the short term, I’m ready to get back to walking normally. I knew it would be hard to start walking again, but I had no idea it would be so exhausting! It’s painful, but not too bad, and definitely not as bad yet as it was before surgery. I know that will diminish in time, but it seems so far away. I’m just going to keep my head up and count down the days until I can get back outdoors!

Crutch Tips and Tricks

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

It’s been 8 weeks since my surgery, which is hard to believe. I haven’t worked since December, and I’m not due back for a little over a month from now. If I had the choice, I would have went back to work a couple of weeks after, but I work a physical job where I’m on my feet all day, and it’s not possible. If I had a desk job, I would have been back right away. It’s definitely lonely being stuck in the house the majority of the time. Since it’s my right foot with the problem, I can’t drive yet. I’ve been out a couple of times for some fun stuff with friends, but usually my big excursions are just doctor’s appointments or the grocery store. It’s rough not having much of a social life these days. I’ve had days where the boredom of too many hours to fill and the frustration of the little things being hard to accomplish get the better of me and I just break down and need to cry. So here is my list of some of the problems I’ve encountered and some tips I’ve discovered along the way. These may not work for you if you have a knee issue, so please keep that in mind as you read.

  1. Not driving. This might not be a big issue if you live in a big city, but in small towns with no bus routes or taxis, and expensive Uber/Lyft rates to go the next town over, it’s difficult to get around. If you’re lucky enough to have close friends and family, they’re usually willing to help out, especially if you treat them to a coffee or lunch.
  2. Loneliness. If you can get out, do so. Talking to the animals all day makes for a lonely day. I love my pets, but it’s not the same as spending time with friends.
  3. Boredom. This ties in a bit with the previous point, but there’s a lot you can do to occupy your free time. Sometimes you want to do something but just can’t seem to enjoy it. I think that’s natural. That’s where having a lot of hobbies is to your advantage. I have a lot of things I can do by myself, such as studying Japanese, reading, video games, working jigsaw puzzles with the radio cranked up, or catching up on movies.
  4. Cooking. I can manage to cook most things with relative ease, but I’ve kept it more simple than I would prefer. The last two months I’ve really favored one-pot meals for two reasons. First, they’re usually fast to cook and don’t involve making a lot of trips from the stove to the fridge or pantry and back again. Second, a one-pot dish makes for fast cleaning of the dishes afterward. One final note: make extra and eat leftovers. I did this all the time before surgery anyway. Cooking just one portion doesn’t make much sense to me, so I usually make two, sometimes even three, portions at a time. Large recipes, like soup recipes, lend well to freezing, so this is a nice option if you don’t want to eat the same thing within the week.
  5. Cleaning. Vacuuming and sweeping are possible with the knee scooter and a lot of coordination, but it’s still difficult. I would certainly advise caution. Dusting isn’t too bad if you don’t try to overextend your reach. Cleaning down low, such as the bathtub or toilet is best done kneeling carefully.
  6. Showering/Bathing. I wrote in detail about this in the last post, so I don’t have anything new to add. All I can say is find a system that works well for you and keeps you as safe as possible.
  7. Working out. Obviously difficult if you can’t bear weight, but not impossible. Shopping on crutches can be good cardio; it’s actually more tiring than most people think. Shadow boxing is decent cardio, although I find it pretty boring. I’ve been focusing more on toning my muscles and stretching instead. Using hand weights, modified planking and pushups, and situps are all great options that I’ve been doing lately. I don’t get that same post workout high that I can get from pedaling hard, but it still feels good to know I can at least try to do healthy activities.
  8. Laundry. I’m fortunate that the washer and dryer are right next to my bedroom, so this is pretty easy for me. I dump my dirty clothes in the basket by the washer and just load them into the machine when I have a full load. The tricky part is pushing the basket back down the hall to my bedroom. It requires a little creativity. If it’s a lightweight load, I carefully nudge the basket along with the crutch from my good side. If it’s heavier, sometimes it’s honestly easier to crawl along on the floor and push the basket in front of me.
  9. Rain/Snow. Going out in the elements is tough. Because you’re moving more slowly, you get a lot wetter than other people, which is a problem during the cast phase since you can’t allow water to get inside. Sometimes you just have to be willing to draw even more attention to yourself and wrap your leg in a garbage bag. A better alternative is to get someone to drop you off at the curb of the store/doctor’s office/where ever, so that you don’t have to walk across the parking lot in the wet weather.
  10. Stairs. The most evil of all obstacles when you’re on crutches. If I’m at home, I crawl up the stairs and butt-bump back down them. This is so much safer than using crutches to navigate a staircase. If in public, find the elevator or handicap entrance ramp and use that if at all possible. It’s so easy to lose your balance just hopping up the curb, and you have a higher distance hopping from stair to stair. My town doesn’t have a lot of stairs leading into public buildings, so I don’t have to worry about that issue when I go out.

So there you have it. Hopefully these tips and tricks can help you if you find yourself in the same situation!

Hygiene Matters

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

I want to talk to you all about something important that you probably take for granted: the shower/bath. Most people have no problem with this part of their daily routine, but let me tell you that the ease of it is something I can appreciate more now.

I’ve been non-weightbearing now for almost 8 weeks now, with 2 more to go. It’s been an adjustment to learn how to modify certain things. The hardest was finding a good way to bathe myself safely. The first six weeks were especially tough because I couldn’t get my splint or cast wet, so just sitting in the tub and using the detachable arm was out. I had to meticulously cover my leg from the knee down to ensure no moisture seeped in. The first two weeks I taped some garbage bags around it because I just had a splint covering the incisions; my leg wasn’t protected all the way around. Once I got my cast on, though, and things were more protected, I bought a cast cover from Walgreens. It’s basically just a durable plastic bag you put your leg in and it has a rubber seal at the top so water won’t drip down inside. It’s kind of like putting a big rubber band around your leg. The fit was pretty tight, especially with the swelling, but it was a necessary evil. It was so much simpler than wrapping my leg every time I wanted to shower.

Something else I’ve found to be incredibly helpful is a shower stool. It’s a lot safer than trying to sit on the edge of the tub. I set the legs of it at a longer setting so my bad foot can dangle with less fear of accidentally putting pressure on it. When I was still needing the cast cover, I set up a folding chair next to the tub to rest my leg on while I showered and draped the shower curtain over it for some extra protection. I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about covering my leg up anymore. It saves me a lot of time in the shower, and I can even fill up the tub and soak in it as long as I’m careful about raising and lowering myself. I keep all of my shampoos and soaps on the inside corner of the tub so I don’t bump them when I’m getting in or out. Of course, an extra rug on the floor is nice so my good foot is dry and no water can drip on the tile floor before I’m ready to hobble out of there.

My setup.

I can’t wait until I can actually stand up and shower again. That’s going to feel like an amazing luxury. What can I say–it’s the little things that make me happy these days 🙂

Pimped Out Knee Scooter

On By LeraIn Crafting, SurgeryLeave a comment

As much “fun” as crutches can be, I looked into alternative mobility aids before my surgery. I came across a crutch that basically made you walk like a pirate with a peg leg (although pirates don’t have their lower leg on a platform behind them when using said peg leg). I knew for sure that I wasn’t going to use that, so I looked into a knee scooter. It’s this nifty thing that has a padded cushion you rest your lower leg and knee on, four wheels, and handlebars. I like to call it my alternative bike because I can’t live without my wheels.

Here’s what the knee scooter looked like before I added my personality to it.

There were a lot of different options, but I just got the cheapest one with good reviews. It ended up costing around $100, but it’s paid for itself a couple times over in the sheer convenience and safety it’s given me. I can cook with both of my hands, I can go out in the snowy Michigan weather without worrying so much about slipping, and I can carry most things pretty well with it. I use this downstairs, but I still have my crutches for upstairs (because there’s no way I could even try to drag the scooter up and down a flight of stairs).

As you guys all know by now, I can’t just leave anything plain. I needed to add a personal touch to it. The first thing I did was go to the dollar store and buy a basket to attach to the front so I could carry things more easily. I attached it with Velcro strips that most people use to wrap excess lengths of cording. I also picked up a string of flamingo lights from the same dollar store to wrap around the basket.

For the finishing touches, I used colored duct tape and ribbon to wrap the frame. It’s pretty obnoxious-looking, but I definitely stand out. I get compliments on it when I go out shopping; it’s certainly a conversation starter! My favorite line so far has been, “Roll on, sista’. You got dis!”, said to me by someone I had never met before, but we stopped and talked a while and he wished me a good recovery when we parted ways.

The ribbon has since fallen off the seat due to use, but everything else is holding up great!

This is easily the best purchase I’ve made for my surgery, although the shower stool I bought was a close second. It’s all about making things as easy as they can be.

Fanciful Crutches

On By LeraIn Crafting, SurgeryLeave a comment

I decided from the day I knew I was going to have surgery, I was going to have to think of some ways to make a not-so-fun situation a little brighter. I was looking up tips on how to survive crutches, and a lot of the articles suggested buying some padded crutch covers to help ease the discomfort. I looked into them and they were $30! I know that may not sound like much to a lot of you, but with the huge expense of surgery, I had to keep a tight budget. No way was I going to pay that much for something I could easily make myself. I scavenged in my drawer of fabric scraps for some materials for this project. It turned out that I only lacked the foam. I promptly went over to Jo-Ann Fabric, armed with a 50% off coupon, and searched around for some foam. I found a nice package that looked like it should suit my needs, and it only ended up costing me $3.50. The Great Crutch Cover Project cost me just under 12% of what buying a pair would have.

Next, I borrowed a pair of crutches from someone so I could figure out what size to cut my fabric. I didn’t measure anything, so I can’t really give you step-by-step instructions. I laid the crutches on the fabric, marked the fabric at the widest point on each side, and added two inches, an extra inch of room for the foam and an extra inch for a half inch seam allowance. I eyeballed what looked like a good amount of space for the arm parts to come down. I then just folded the fabric in half with the right sides on the inside and sewed up the side seams and hemmed the bottom opening before attaching a couple of lengths of ribbon to tie them on.

I wrapped the arm pads and the hand pads in foam and secured it with everyone’s favorite all-purpose solution: duct tape. To made the hand pad covers, I popped the hand piece out of the crutches and laid it on the fabric, using the same crude measuring method.

Covers finished, I thought to myself, Why stop there? I also decided I needed to have a bag attached to my crutches to carry around small items, like a thin paperback novel or a water bottle. How did I do this? Yep, you guessed it: I eyeballed it again. I laid an average-looking book out on some fabric for the fronts and back, and cut the sides and bottoms the same length, but made them about an inch wide. I attached ribbons to hold it onto the crutches.

Voila! There you have fanciful crutches that are sure to gain you compliments everywhere you go!

6 Weeks Post-op

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

Wow, I’m sorry I haven’t updated anything on here for such a long time. Things have been pretty busy between Christmas and now. Things have been going smoothly, so I guess I haven’t really had a reason to update y’all. I had my cast removed on schedule. I was incredibly happy to be rid of it. Everyone says casts are itchy, but I didn’t have much of an issue with it, despite how dry and flaky my skin was when they cut it off. The biggest issue was how uncomfortable it was when I left my leg down too long because it would swell up and make the cast feel tight. By the end of the four weeks I had it on, I was ready to be done. I also got these horrible muscle spasms that would seize up my whole foot. My toes would spread out and it was just super uncomfortable. That usually happened at night while I was trying to fall asleep, so some nights it kept me awake half the night. I didn’t realize how exhausted I felt until my first night without that cast on and I could sleep like normal. I was placed in a walking boot after the cast came off, but I still can’t put any weight on it. I’m loving using the boot now because I am allowed to do simple range of motion exercises three times a day and I can shower and sleep without it. Things are so much easier. It’s such a luxury to shower without having to make sure my leg doesn’t get wet. I can get done showering in half the time now. I’m getting tired of using crutches, but I have definitely improved the muscle tone and balance in my left leg after all these weeks, so I guess it’s not all bad. It’ll make the difference between the left and right leg that much more noticeable because I have a lot of atrophy in my right leg, but there’s nothing much I can do about that.

6 weeks after surgery!

My incisions look so much better than they did a month ago. I don’t get grossed out just looking at them anymore. The picture above is three days after I had my cast removed, so I had a chance to shave and get the worst of the flaky skin off my leg. I bought some Palmer’s cocoa butter and vitamin E lotion to help soothe the new, raw skin, especially on the bottom of my foot and the incision on the back of my heel. I think the upper incision will fade pretty quickly, but the other one seems like it will take more time. I don’t really care what it looks like, though, as long as it’s healed properly. Having the scars is a reminder of where I started and how far I had to come in order to try to meet my goals for the future. I will wear them with pride.

13 Days Out

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

I had my first follow-up appointment this past Friday, and everything is looking really good so far! I’m hoping the news stays good throughout my recovery. I’m really glad I have the surgeon I have. Even though I inconvenienced him last week with my fall, he was still nice and joked about it with me by asking if I had any more “incidents” or if I managed to keep things quiet in the week that elapsed since then. I’m also grateful that he’s not one of those doctors who preaches about my being overweight and how it would be so much better for me and my foot to lose it. Despite being overweight, I have no problem zooming around the city on my bike, and I’m a lot faster than some of the other people I pass. The more I ride, the more in shape I become, so I appreciate not being nagged about it like some of the doctors I’ve seen in the past have done to me.

To get back on topic, I got to hear some more detail about my procedure. I knew what the surgeon was planning to do before I went in, of course, but my last appointment with him before surgery was in September, and the MRI was in July. He had told me in September that the exact plan depended on what things looked like when he got inside my foot and how much damage there was that didn’t necessarily show up on the scan. He ended up taking the Achilles tendon completely off my heel bone and cutting the damaged parts away, shaving down my bone, and then reattaching it with two small screws. I did not end up needing a tendon transfer, so that’s awesome. He also made an incision higher up and released the upper part of the tendon so it wouldn’t be so tight all the time. One of my coworkers told me before my surgery that she thought of me as bionic (because I work so hard), and that in turn I would heal fast. Well, with the screws I’m partially bionic now, but the only power it’s given me is the power to drop 50% of everything I touch.

During the appointment, I had the splint cut off and the stitches removed. I was a little anxious about the stitches coming out because I afraid it would hurt, but only two of the eleven caused discomfort. The incisions looked so gross with all the scabs and clotted blood, and there were still a few small raw spots that probably opened when the splint got pulled off (because it was sticking to my heel). They told me they were actually looking really nice for being ten days out, so as bad as they looked to me, to a trained eye, they’re doing just fine.

Incision 1 with no stitches.
Incision 2

After the stitches came out, they let me clean up the wounds a little bit, but a lot of the scabs didn’t want to come off, so I just left them. I didn’t want to open up more raw areas unnecessarily. I then got a fiberglass cast put on with my toes pointing down so everything could heal right. They had a lot of colors to pick from, so I went with a pretty baby blue. If I have to have it on for a month, I might as well have a color that looks nice.

My pretty blue cast

I go back for another follow-up in the middle of January, so hopefully things continue at a good pace. I asked if the tendon would be strong enough to play tennis on eventually, and was told that after it was properly healed, it should be fine. I haven’t been able to play tennis in over a year, and if I have to wait that long to play again, it’ll be worth it; I really miss it. There’s some new courts in a nearby town that I’d love to try out. The ones at the park down the street from me are full of chips and areas where the court is just stripped away. I also want to be ready for some bike events in the fall. I don’t know how possible it might be, but I’m going to give my rehab everything I’ve got when it starts. I’m ready to get back to the activities I enjoy without having pain slow me down.

Post Op Week 1

On By LeraIn SurgeryLeave a comment

One week out from surgery and I’m doing well. I’ve had almost no pain since my surgery. The nerve blocks I was sent home with lasted me four and a half days. It was strange living with a numb foot for so many days, but much preferable to the pain I would have had otherwise. It was an odd sensation pulling the wires out of my leg because they went in there a good couple of inches, but it didn’t hurt. They slid out easily and it was a great feeling to get rid of all that tape covering most of my thigh. Any pain I have had has been more of a discomfort. I’ve come home from work with my foot feeling a whole lot worse than I’m feeling now, so I really have no reason to complain about it.

This isn’t even all of the wires I had to deal with. I had another one under my knee that can’t be seen.

The second day after my surgery, I woke up in the middle of the night needing the restroom. I was half asleep and trying to wrangle my crutches and I ended up losing my balance, stepping right on the surgical foot (which is supposed to be non weightbearing), and falling on that leg. It was a long night after that waiting for the doctor’s office to open to find out what they wanted me to do. I ended up having to go into the office so my surgeon could look at it and make sure I didn’t do any damage. Thankfully he said it looked fine and warned me not to make the mistake of using my crutches while I wasn’t fully awake.

Pretty much the rest of the week, I’ve just been laying around. I have to keep my foot elevated above my heart almost all the time. I’m only allowed to get up for 15 minutes each hour, and I’ve also had to ice an hour on and an hour off all day. Once my official follow-up appointment comes, I may get to have a little more leeway in being up and about; it’s all going to depend on what my surgeon says. I’m definitely ready to get out of the house for a while. It’s been a little lonely being cooped up and not being able to do much more than watch TV or read a book.

Living my life from the reclining chair. So exciting!

My biggest hope for this whole process is that I achieve a full recovery. My surgeon told me realistically that this surgery has about an 80% success rate, and a lot of that is going to be dependent on how well I follow all the rules and the physical therapy regimen. I’m keeping my hopes high!