10 weeks after surgery: so long Doc

Today I had my 10 weeks after surgery visit to the Dr.  It has been 6 weeks since my last visit and about 4 since I dropped the boot.  Everybody at the Dr. was pleasantly surprised at how rapidly my recovery is progressing.  My calf is getting stronger and I am able to walk almost without limping.  Some swelling remains but it does not bother me.  My routine has been exercising in the pool in the afternoon and walking in the morning mixed with some stretching as needed.  I have been doing this progressively since I dropped the boot.  The Dr. told me to keep doing what I am doing and that I do not need to see her anymore.  She said that for most patients it takes about a year to get closer to full recovery and that many never recover to 100%.  I am determined to prove her wrong.

34th day after surgery...bye bye bootee!

My foot recovery has been going great.  The doctor was pleased with my speedy recovery.  She pulled off the strings that were hanging from both ends of my surgery scar (eww) and told me to keep using the boot for two more weeks. That is what I have been doing...but lately the boot felt more like a burden that an aid.  The two week mark was yesterday so, as of today...bye bye bootee!.  The foot feels a little stiff and is still a little bigger than the other one but it is great to be back on my own shoes.

22nd day after surgery

Over the last week I have made great progress in my recovery.  I am able to bear controlled weight in my foot without any pain or swelling.  I am still wearing the boot and crutches but during the last couple of days I am using pretty much only one of the crutches.  One of the things I realized during the last week is how common is this type of injury.  I have met three people during the last week that have had Achilles repair surgery including one that had it with my doctor just over a year ago.  All of them have recovered very well which is really encouraging.  I go back to the doctor tomorrow for a follow up.  Hopefully, I can get rid of the crutches.

16th day after surgery: booted

Lately I have been wearing the boot. Since I am not supposed to bear weight on my foot yet, I use crutches to walk around.  Yesterday I saw an injured college student walking by with a boot similar to mine.   I was waiting for my my ride to go home and there was another student seating next to me.   I noticed the injured student was being very careful, using his crutches to keep his foot and boot away from the ground.  I told the guy next to me..."I think he is probably going to recover faster than me...?" and he said "yea...because he is younger?"...What is that supposed to mean?

Ninth day after surgery

Today makes one week since I got the cast.  A friend visiting from San Diego took me to Dr. appointment at 3:15 pm  .  The Dr. was running behind so we had to wait for almost two hours.  I found a place to raise my foot because I could feel it was swelling.  When they call me in the nurse said they were going to do an x-ray and move me to a boot.  This sounded odd since the plan was to move me to another week of cast.  As it turned out he was confusing me with a gentleman that had broken his leg into three parts.  The physician assistant that help the Dr. during surgery came by and corrected the mistake. I joked about the confusion and said I was not arguing because I was happy with the idea of going to a boot instead of another cast.  The Dr. assistant went away and in a few minutes came back...the Dr. had approved moving me to a boot (!) with a half an inch wedge under my heal. Since I had left my boot at home, they put me in a temporary splint and sent me away. Next Dr. visit in three weeks.

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Fifth day after surgery

Breakfast by the pool deck a good star to this Saturday. My injured leg is feeling better. I can move my finger with ease. The secondary aches from my fall two days ago do not bother me as much anymore.  Grading papers, NBA basketball in the background.  Encouragement from friends and family were the highlight of the day. Sourdough and Monterrey Jack panini, brownies, and ice cream sandwiches...pretty soon I will not need crutches or wheels, I could just roll around on my own.

Fourth day after surgery...got wheels!

Today I experimented with the wheel chair that we have rented for a month.  The very nice delivery person gave me the ABC's yesterday "make sure the brake is on, seat all the way back, adjust the foot support height..." all these seems pretty straightforward, except the bruised rib and right ring fingertip from yesterday's "emergency landing" makes things a bit more challenging.  Taking this baby for a spin around the house was fun.  This evening my wife and 9 year old daughter wheeled me to the Laguna Madre shore a block from the house.  After two days indoors, it felt great to feel the wind upon my face...that is until the gentleman with the two doggies walked by a little bit too close to my stiff foot.  I felt so vulnerable...