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.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

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...

Third day after surgery...the sacrificial chair

Today I got a lot of work done in my laptop at home.  At night I use pillows to sleep with my foot elevated. During the day I move to the living room.  The key is to keep your foot above your heart as much as possible.  I am getting pretty good at typing in a nearly horizontal position with my foot above the pillows.  I use the crutches for taking care of my basic needs. Did I mention that I am getting pretty confident with them?.  This afternoon, in my way to getting the laptop charger from the bedroom, I lost concentration for a second.  My right crutch got stuck in the bedroom carpet and I lost my balance. To avoid putting weight on the cast or free falling on my face, I managed to launch my body towards a soft chair that we have at the foot of our bed. Needless is to say that I flattened the poor thing.  I also got a few minor bruises here and there.  Moral...your laptop charger can wait until your wife returns home. And yes...I did get the wheel chair delivered this evening but I will talk about that chair later when my new aches subside..

Second day after surgery

Today I went back to the doctor for a follow up visit after my Achilles tendon surgery.  I woke up rested and feeling good. I took a nice shower covering my soft cast with a garbage bag and securing it with a rubber band.  My wife helped me get to the car with the crutches although by now I am getting pretty good with them.  My appointment was at 10:15 am and when we got there they quickly called my name. I was anxious to see my foot and the wound.  The nurse proceeded to remove the soft cast and I saw it.  My foot was not swollen at all and there was a neat about four inches long wound in the back of it covered with a nearly transparent tape. My foot was not pointing too much which was also good and it looked pretty aligned to me.  The nurse then carefully made a hard blue cast around my foot and we were done.  My next visit is in one week.  To make things easier I ordered a wheel chair that will be delivered tomorrow.

First day after surgery

My first day after surgery went well.  One challenge was to learn how to use the crutches without bumping my foot while being under pain medication.  Another challenge was pain management. Since I am allergic to codeine, they prescribed me hydrocodon.  However, that started to mess up my stomach and so as the day progressed I started to take less and less medication.  Apart from that I got a lot of work done in my laptop always keeping my leg above my heart.  My wife and family took good care of me, many friends send me get well wishes via facebook, and I got a nice flower arrangement from my church family.

The day of the surgery

My wife and I arrived to the clinic Monday at noon, one hour before the scheduled time of the surgery. I was without eating or drinking since midnight the day before.  After filling some more forms they called me to get changed into a purple robe wearing only underwear. There were also matching socks and a cafeteria style hat made of a white net.  The room was very cold. As I struggled to place my clothes in a plastic bag I removed my glasses abruptly and accidentally scratched my nose which started to bleed profusely.  Somehow I managed to stop the bleeding with my hands and get ready before the nurse showed up to place an IV in my left arm.  I then asked to go to the bathroom to wash my bloody hands.  My wife and a friend joined me to wish me well. The doctor explained the procedure and signed "Yes" in my left leg in two places.  Then came the anesthesiologist, a big guy who pulled a chair and started to tell me how he broke his Achilles ten years back playing basketball.  He seemed to walk normal so that was encouraging.  Soon after they took me to the operating room and placed some sticky electrodes in my upper body while checking again which leg was the "right" one.  Immediately the anesthesiologist got to work and told me I was going to feel like a double margarita running through my veins.  A cool sensation invaded my arm and that was it... I woke up and my wife was there...it was done.  I had a soft cast in my leg.  She told me that the doctor was surprised to see that my Achilles was not completely ruptured, which was great because they did not need to pull the tendon together. This means an easier recovery.  That was what I needed to hear. Then a nurse took me to the car in a wheelchair.  At least that is how I think I got to the car...  It was about four pm and we were heading back home.

The visit to the specialist

The place was familiar since I had been there before to fix a broken index finger that was never the same. That Friday my wife was with me and I was using a boot and crutches so I found my way there bumping everything and everybody around me.  I filled the forms and the nurse told me "the doctor has no voice but she will still see you"...mmm...not a good start.   The doctor came and she indeed was whispering.  She was very nice and after checking my leg she softly said "in young active patients we recommend surgery because ..." and she went on and on to explain the the advantages of surgery versus the disadvantages of conservative treatment that mean limping for life.  All along I looked at my wife expectant to see whether the doctor would count me among the "young and active" category...and finally she did!  Without realizing we whispered back at her several questions about the procedure and she was very helpful. My surgery was scheduled for Monday at 1 PM, exactly four weeks and two days after injury.  She sent me for blood work and an EKG since hart problems run in my mom's side of the family.  Things were happening fast now.  That weekend I felt like a pregnant woman just before delivery trying to help with the physical chores around the house that I may not be able to do for months.

Prelude

Three days after the accident and because my foot did not seem to get better I went limping to have it checked.  The doctor measured my rocky calf and it was one inch larger than the good one and my foot would swell after I limped around for a while.  He took an x-ray and that was normal. Because of the swelling the doctor ordered an ultrasound to check for blockages of my leg arteries which was normal too.  He said to take two days with my feet up and I should be better.  I followed the advise but my foot did not seem to improve. The swelling was not going away plus every time I laid down, I would see stars when trying to get back up because my calf was cramped up.  Since this was getting unbearable I went back to the doctor.  This time a different doctor examined me and he ordered an MRI.  He also told me to wear compression socks which reduced my swelling considerably.  I went for an MRI the next morning and by noon that day the doctor calls me and says that the MRI reveals a total rupture of the Achilles tendon and that he wanted me to see the specialist the following day. Needless is to say that my emotions were running high...somehow I was thinking it could not be that bad.  That evening I called my brother in Argentina who is a medical imaging doctor and MRI specialist.  Without hesitation he said "surgery...the good news is that in general they work great...the bad news is that recovery takes six to eight months".  Then I called my father also a doctor in Argentina and he said the same thing.  Now I knew what to expect...

How it happened...a friendly match

I took my son to a park where he was going to play soccer with friends.  It was a Latino crowd with friends from different central American and south American countries and their families.  I had not played soccer in years but being from Argentina how could I say no.  So we selected teams and there we went.  Everybody was playing, the youth, the moms, the grandmas, so nothing bad could happen, right? ... WRONG!  First game...probably second play of the day...the ball came nearby to my front and I run towards it.  Immediately, I felt a kick in my left Achilles tendon and down I went.  Since the ball was in front of me and I was kicked from behind nobody saw anything.  As I rolled down the ground the playing continued until they noticed I was not getting up.  "What happened?...Did you twisted your foot?" they asked.  "No, I think somebody kicked me" I murmured while trying to feel my left foot that was completely numb. I tried to get up and was helped to the side as the game continued.  After a while the sensation in my foot returned and I got some ice and tried to prevent swelling. That was a lost cause because my calf swelled up quickly and became hard as a rock.  At the meeting there was a retired medical doctor.  He checked me and said that my tendon did not appear to be ruptured and that I would be fine.  Because I could hardly walk, my son helped me get to the car and I drove back home.

What is this blog about?

This blog is an account of my Achilles tendon rupture experience.  Just before I was going into surgery, I run across other blogs on the topic that were helpful and informative. I noticed that although there were similarities, every experience was unique.  So, I decided to share my own voyage.  Here is my story. I hope it encourages others that are "walking" a similar path.