Our year anniversary (My Ankle and I)

A year ago, I decided to be brave and hike Mount Katahdin (see above).  It is a huge mountain in northern Maine in Baxter State Park.  I didn't think I would be able to do it and multiple times wanted to turn around.  Right when I was almost to the top of that hellish mountain, above tree-line with the summit in view, I was pulling myself up over a rock and heard and felt a memorable pop in my ankle.  I immediately sat down and started yelling for my husband.  I took off my boot to make sure no bones were popping out, wrapped my ankle in my bandana, and put my boot back on and tied it as tight as it would go.  When I got up and tried to walk on it it kept popping.  So I had to slide down the entire mountain on my rear.  After crying and cursing my way down the mountain, with my husband having to catch me in the steeper areas, I made it down.  I had a giant hole in the butt of my pants (of course I chose pink underwear that day) and my hands were bruised and scuffed up, but I made it down.

I swore I would never hiked that mountain again.  This weekend, a year after the initial injury, we drove up to Baxter and my husband hiked up Katahdin, but I chose to take a more leisurely hike.  But still I was able to hike!  There were hills and uneven surfaces and even exposed roots I had to navigate around, but I did fine.  It was a great feeling!  Being able to be outdoors again and go places you can only get to by hiking in is a wonderful experience.  I am grateful for that and happy to be doing so well.  Maybe in a year or two when I have a little more confidence in my ankle, I will hike to the top of Katahdin!  Never say never right?

Why no Physical Therapy?

I just realized it has been almost a month since my last post.  Well that is for many good reasons!  First I have been out enjoying the last days of warm weather up here in Maine.  I have kept myself very busy between walks, trips to visits friends, trips home for a wedding, and camping trips.  I consider myself completely healed.  I had to cancel my check up with my doctor, because I had missed work two weeks in a row for my traveling :), so I do not go back until the end of the month.  But everything is doing remarkably well.  I probably will not post much more after this.  I promise to get a picture up of my scar.  I think it looks really good.

So I thought I would spend a bit of time discussing my doctor's reasoning for not making me go through any Physical Therapy.  At a wedding I was at last weekend I was talking to my friend who is a Physical Therapist about my surgery and I admitted how happy I was I didn't have to go through any PT.  So my doctor does not prescribe PT for most of his patients.  For most of the ankle injuries he deals with, he puts you in a cast for 8 weeks and orders to be non-weight bearing.  This 8 weeks allows the injury to heal completely.  Then after the cast is removed, he wants you to walk.  His reasoning for not ordering PT is he says after the cast is removed and you start to walk again, the ankle swells, gets red, and hurts!  Physical Therapists are trained so when they see that, they make the patient slow down and rest and stop whatever they were doing that caused that.  My doctor said that is going to happened, and you have to simply push through it.  He doesn't want the PT to slow down your walking again.  I will be honest, walking again hurt like hell.  It was hard, but I was so happy to walk again so I just did it.  Luckily I also had Vicodin that he prescribed :).  When I told my friend my doctor's reasoning, she seemed offended.  But agreed that she could see his point, and obviously it worked for me.  But she said she could see it not working for many patients who baby it or find it hard to really push themselves, and I do agree with that.  I am not saying PT is bad after this surgery, but this was just my doctor's reasoning.  Honestly, I was happy not to have to go through any PT, its a pain in the ass.  I went through it for over 10 weeks for my ACL repair.  So I was thrilled when I didn't have to go through it again.  Obviously, my doctors method worked for me and works for his patients.

My surgery was on June 21st, 2010.  Today is October 8th, 2010.  You do the math on what week I am on, I tried and stopped.  I am so happy to be walking again and back to normal.  I have been going to the gym and working out again.  Today I am going to swim some laps, which I am very excited about.  If you have to go through this surgery, it sucks, I will be honest.  However, it is worth it.  I am so glad I had it done and it is fixed.

Walk for 2 hours straight??? Yes I can!!!

Last night I went on a walk on the trails in the woods behind my house.  They are really nice trails that go on and on.  My friend had been away all summer so we had a lot of catching up to do.  So we just kept walking and walking, at a fairly brisk pace too.  By the time we got home, I looked at the clock and noticed we walked for a full 2 hours.  We had to of walked at least 5 miles.  I was shocked!  Best part, my ankle felt great.  I iced it for awhile after, but it felt so great.

I am amazed sometimes by this all.  I keep meaning to post of picture of my scar.  Its so swollen sometimes at night when I remember to take a shot, it makes me not want to capture that moment.  One morning when it is nice and normal looking I will snap a shot of it.  It looks great.  Crazy that a couple of months ago it had staples holding it all together.

I am glad this is all behind me.  I am also glad I really pushed myself those first few weeks after having the cast off.  It really hurt, and was frustrating at times with how slow I had to walk.  But it was worth it!

Still swollen, but still walking!

3 weeks ago today, was my first day of walking after being in a cast for 8 weeks!  Walking is still going well.  I walk with almost no pain.  It almost feels like normal.  I do not limp, unless I have overdone it or don't have good shoes on.  The swelling has gone down, but it still gets pretty swollen.  When I get home from work it is huge.  But I try to ice it and elevate it at least once a day.

I even went to the rec center yesterday.  I wanted to do a little more than just walking, but I am afraid to do too much.  I noticed its hard for me to get on my tippy toes.  I think that is due to flexibility and strength.  So I have been trying to work on my calf muscle.  It is amazing how much muscle tone has come back.  My legs almost look equal!

Last weekend, I spent two days at the beach.  It almost made me forget that I spent the majority of my summer in a cast.  I am very happy and grateful to be doing so well.

Everyday Gets Better - Week 10 Post Op

I have had a great end to my summer.  Even though I was on bed rest and in a cast for the majority of summer, these last few weeks have been great.  My parents came up for a visit and we rented a camp (for you non-Mainers, that is basically a cabin in the woods or on a lake).  The camp was on a beautiful lake on the blue hill peninsula.  It was a great visit with my parents and made me forget at times about this whole ankle incident.

At times, when I walk my ankle is fine and I walk like a normal person would.  I have even had coworkers comment on it.  However, there are times when it is stiff or sore and I notice a limp.  There isn't much pain in the ankle.  My knee at times can hurt, I think it is just getting use to moving again.  The swelling does get bad.  At work I try to put my leg on my desk when I can, but I have been getting so busy that I usually am unable to elevate it until I come home.  It is really stiff in the morning and when I get up it takes a few steps until I am able to really walk on it, but every morning does get better.

Walking is getting better as well.  Over the weekend I really wasn't able to track my mileage.  But last night I walked 2 miles on a gravel trail and through the woods on an uneven trail.  For me that is huge.  Not the mileage, but the uneven surfaces.  When you walk on uneven surfaces, your ankle stretches and moves in ways it doesn't on flat surfaces.  But I was confident walking there.  My speed when I walk is somewhat normal, I don't walk really slow like I did the first few days.  I am hoping to get up to three or four miles by the end of the week.  I really wish I could swim laps in a pool, by my doctor said not until my next check up. 

The swelling in my ankle is the worst when I come home from work.  Surprisingly, walking does make is swell but not as bad.  When I take my shoes and ankle sock off after walking, my ankle looks so funny.  But I will just elevate it or wrap it up and the swelling eventually goes down.

Everyday does get better.  

Where would I be without Vicodin?

I am still walking!  I did a lot today but am paying for it.  Today I cleaned the house and did some laundry. Surprisingly I actually missed doing that the past eight weeks.  This afternoon I went for a walk.  Instead of driving to the trail I decided to walk.  I also thought Tylenol would suffice for the pain, I was wrong.  I managed to walk about a mile and a half.  I noticed I moved more fluidly if that makes since.  I didn't feel like I was hobbling as much.  However, it started to hurt.  I regretted not taking the Vicodin.  But I called a friend to chit chat and take my mind of the pain.  Before I knew it I was back home and able to elevate my leg with a nice cold ice pack.

After today, I was really grateful that my doctor prescribe more pain meds.  At first I didn't think I would need them.  But it is painful to start walking again.  I could see how the pain could be intimidating and make me want to stop or dread walking again.  So if you reading this and going through the same ordeal, ask for drugs!  The worst thing your doctor can say is no, and perhaps suspect you are a junky.  But seriously, pain meds exist for a reason.  Pain is not good for our bodies.  If I was relying simply on Tylenol to get me out and walking, I could see it slowing me down.  My doctor said the more I walk, the better the pain and swelling will get.  But the pain meds are wonderful at the end of the day and in the morning when it hurts the most and is the hardest to move.

I plan on walking more and more.  I might try getting my walk in during the morning, in hopes that it will be easier than in the afternoon.  I am just grateful to be walking again.

Just Walk It Off - Day 2 of Walking

I had an excellent day!  I started my day by working in the garden and potting and repotting some houseplants and patio plants.  It has been something that I haven't been able to do, and it was a gorgeous day so I was outside all day.  I even worked in the garden a bit.  But that was more difficult and harder with my ankle.  Because I wasn't walking much and mostly standing, I wrapped my ankle to help with the swelling.  Before I started in the garden, I came in and elevated it a bit and iced it.

Then, I went for a walk.  I ended up walking for over an HOUR!!!!!  I drove to a trail that is flat and paved.  I had my sneakers on and did not have it wrapped.  At first it was uncomfortable, but I just walked it off and even picked up a little speed.  I am not sure how far I walked, definitely over a mile if not two.  I ended up calling a friend I haven't talked to in awhile, so I just kept walking and talking.  It felt great!!!  The more I walk, the better it feels.  My calf muscle is sore, and I have been trying to stretch it out.  I am shocked I am walking this well.  Last week I couldn't even put pressure on it.  I am going to keep pushing myself, it hurts and is hard to do, but I want to walk more and gain back my strength.

I have discovered that I experience the most pain or discomfort right when I wake up, or after I have had my ankle resting.  It just gets really stiff, and my heal hurts when I start walking.  But the more I walk and move around the quicker the discomfort goes away.

Now that the cast if off, I have found that a reusable ice bag has been the best way to ice it.  I have those gel packs, but they don't stay cold very long.  These ice bags are great.  I just put some water and ice in them and keep it in the frig or freezer during the day when I want to quickly grab it to ice it for a few minutes.  Plus it lays on the ankle really nicely and covers most of it.  I found the bag pictured above at Wal-Mart , by the ace wraps and other ice packs.

Now time to rest the ankle so I can do more walking tomorrow!!!!

Walking is hard!

The first step out of bed this morning was hard.  I needed to use one crutch just to make it out of my room and down the hall to the bathroom.  I followed the doctors orders and popped a Vicodin.  As my husband said "What a nice way to start the morning".  But honestly, the pain meds worked.  I noticed it helped me walk more naturally and ignore the pain.  The more I walk the better it gets.  When I sit down for a few minutes and try to get up and walk, it is much harder.  But it is sooooo nice to be walking again.

I drove to work this morning.  I have to admit, this is the first I have broken my doctors orders.  He said wait 10 days.  In my defense, my husband is out of town, so it was drive or take a cab.  I also tested things out in the driveway before pulling out on the road.  Driving is easy. 

But when I went to park for work, I purposefully parked far away.  Its a walk from the parking lot to my building anyway, but I wanted to push myself a little more.  I even left my crutches in the car and carried my bookbag and a bag of books to my office!  Then I even walked over to the library on campus to return books, and took the long way back.

When I walk, it is slow, and hurts around my heel.  But the more I walk, it feels like everything is stretching out and learning how to work again.  Its sounds crazy, but I even think my muscle has started to come back.  I walk very slow and try not to limp and to walk as naturally as possible.  Its only 10 am, but at lunch I am going to go for a long walk.  Have I said how nice it is to be walking!!!!!! 

For shoes, I am wearing my chaco sandals.   Chacos are the most amazing sandals ever!  I have around 5 pairs, all different styles and have worn them for years.  The ones I am wearing look like the ones below, only more colorful.  I put a bandage over my incision so it doesn't get irritated.  But these sandals are great to walk in.  Plus they are great for after this surgery because you can adjust the straps with the swelling.  I started to put a tennis shoe on today.  But my poor foot has been imprisoned for 8 long weeks, it wants to breathe!  Plus it was kind of uncomfortable to wear the sneaker.  I started to wrap up my ankle to help with the swelling for today.  But my doctor said it was unnecessary, he said it will swell no matter what I do, and the wrap could prevent my ankle from moving naturally when I walk.  But I do recommend these sandals for after surgery or for anyone.  I love Chacos!

This weekend I plan on running errands, doing a little shopping, and walking more!  My goal: 2 miles by Sunday.  Think I can do it? 

Goodbye Cast and Crutches! I can walk again!

Today went wonderfully!!!  I am walking.

Today I discovered that after having a leg in a cast for 8 weeks it gets kind of gross :).  After they took the cast off and I was waiting to see my doctor, I was appalled by the look of my leg.  My hair had managed to grow an inch long.  Dead skin was all over the place.  The scab from the incision was dark and crusty.  The saddest thing was my skinny leg that was about the size of my arm.  It was gross looking.  But I managed to walk that pathetic looking leg right out of the doctors office!  I even took it to the beach.  Now it is shaved, exfoliated, moisturized, and with a new tan.

My doctor told me everything has healed great.  He wants me to walk as much as possible and said that is the only way things will get better.  He told me it will hurt, get read, swell up, and be hard to do, but not to let that stop me from walking.  He even gave me more pain meds because he said he didn't want the pain to interfere with my walking.  He wants me to stop using the crutches completely in 5 days.  He said I could lose them today if I was comfortable with it.  He told me to walk until it hurts too much.  Take a five minute break, then walk some more!  He also said limping does not count.  I was hoping he would let me swim, but he said not yet.  I am not allowed to soak the incision or use any ointments or lotions around the incision because infection is still a risk.  If I am out in the sun I have to keep it covered so it won't burn.

Walking is weird.  Its not really painful.  In fact, the most pain is at my heel.  My ankle just feels really stiff.  Like it hasn't move in 8 weeks :).  Walking on pavement is easy.  Walking in the grass and gravel is a little harder.  Walking in the sand right now is ridiculously hard.  I left the doctors office with my chacos on and a sock on the bad foot.  They were really easy to get on and off, and they don't bother my incision.  When I walk with the crutches I use more of a natural step.  When I don't, I limp.  Tomorrow and over the weekend I plan on walking alot!  I want this to get better and I want to feel active again.

My incision wound looks really good.  There is still a little scab at the top, but I think it looks great.  Its not as big as I remember it being.  I don't mind scars too much.  In fact, the book "Little Bee" has a great quote about scars.  "Scars are beautiful because they are proof we survived"  I thought that was a great quote to go by.  I will survive this!

Tomorrow is the Big Day - Cast Off!!!

I go in tomorrow to have my cast removed!  I will be able to walk again!  It has been a long 8 weeks, but I am really excited to get my cast off for good.

I am almost afraid of what my poor right leg is going to look like.  It is definitely hairy, I have been picking away dead skin so I am sure it will badly need moisturized, and the muscle is pretty much gone.  I will have to take a picture to compare my legs.

I have been testing out my leg in the cast.  Today I stood on the cast without my crutches.  I have also been semi walking with the crutches just to try and remember how.  This is going to be exciting.

My appointment is early in the morning, so we get to spend the day at the beach after.  I am really excited for that.