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?

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.

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!

4 Weeks Down!

Four weeks ago today I had my surgery.  It is amazing how fast the time has gone.  It is nice to know that four weeks are behind me, but also frustrating to know I still have four more weeks of this.  However, next week I go back in for a new cast and I believe they will release me from this inactive state I am stuck in and will let me to move around more.  I intend on going back to work on August 2nd (2 weeks).  I have a feeling once I start back up at work the remaining 2 weeks will go even faster.

Yesterday I realized how much the internet occupies my days.  The other day I found myself not even being able to close my laptop while watching a movie.  Or sometimes I watch a movie online and surf the internet at the same time.  I hope this surgery doesn't make my brain turn to mush.  The first few weeks I was really good about reading.  I was reading about a book a day.  Now I am reading a book a week.  I find myself checking facebook every 10 minutes and being annoyed that no one has changed their status or added anything of interest.  Ebay has been a good friend.  My recent purchases have been Nintendo games for $2.  TIP: Do not keep your credit card by your bedside when being laid up for a few weeks.  Not good.  I have found that I justify my purchases because I feel bad making my husband go and get things for me, so just order it online of course!  Here is a list of my most frequented websites...

Facebook, Kayak.com, hotmail, gmail (no idea why I have so many emails), cnn.com, netflix, blogger.com, ebay, steepandcheap.com, amazon.com, weather.com. 

My laptop has been a huge lifesaver for this recovery time.  However, I wonder if I would be doing more productive things with my time if I didn't have it.  Maybe I will make a goal tomorrow to only check my computer 5 times, and have a time limit of 10 minutes each time.  I will let you know how it goes.  The video below cracked me up and I felt is very true.

A Day at the Beach!

My cast was already too lose after the second day, so we had to go back to the doctor's office this week to get another cast put on.  The hassle of it all is that my doctor's office is over two hours away!  However, there are many lovely beaches around Portland, and I love the beach, and my husband loves to surf.  There happened to be good waves that day, so we got our stuff together and spent a day at the beach!

We visited Popham Beach, which is my favorite beach in Maine.  They have beach wheelchairs, so my husband was able to push me out to the beach.  I plopped down in a beach chair and my husband used a laundry basket and two pillows to keep my leg elevated.  It was perfect!  It did get a little warm and I was jealous of everyone able to go swimming in the ocean, but it was still wonderful to get out and get some sun and enjoy the beautiful ocean.

After the beach we went to my doctor's office and I got a new cast.  It is much tighter and more of my toes are sticking out now.  I might get adventurous today and give myself a pedicure.  The incision wound still looked good and they said everything looked great.  I have been a little paranoid about getting a blood clot.  I read someone's blog who got a blood clot and have been worried about it since.  I asked the nurse who was putting my cast on what to look for in case I do get one.  She said most people have them and don't realize it.  However, she said she has worked there for over four years and has only seen 2 patients get blood clots.  She said both patients were being noncompliant and were walking on their cast when they were suppose to be non-weight bearing!  Goes to show you how important it is to follow the doctor's orders.

In two weeks I will go back to get a new cast put on, and hopefully they will release me so I will be able to get out of the house more and go back to work!

Also, I have a new tip to share in regards to showering/bathing.  I have started taking baths.  I have found it is really easy to sit on the edge of the tub, then with my back facing the other side of the tub I reach my arms back to the opposite side of the tub and just lower myself in.  Unfortunately, I can't sit back and relax because our tub is facing a wall, therefore I am not able to hang my leg over the right side of the tub.  But it is nice just to be able to do it.  I don't see myself attempting to shower.  The idea of taking a shower with crutches doesn't sound so great, plus I am not very graceful, so I can easily foresee me slipping and falling.  The tub is great though!

So I decided to start a blog...

Back in October of 2009, I busted my retinaculum ligament which holds your peroneal tendon in place (see picture). Basically my tendon was rolling over my ankle bone, which wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world. I kept avoiding going to the doctor at first thinking it was just a sprain, and then finally being a little scared to go to the doctor knowing surgery was more than likely the only solution. I finally got the courage to go to the doctor and was referred to a specialist at the New England Foot and Ankle Specialists down in Portland, Maine. I was told surgery was needed and that I would be in a cast for about 6-8 weeks!

So I decided to blog about my experience with this. It was hard to find information on the web about this surgery. I found some personal experiences from other who have had to go through this, but their experiences were so negative and awful sounding that it really scared the shit out of me. So I have decided to write this blog in a positive fashion and provide tips for those who have to go through it and to allow people a little laugh at some of the things I have to deal with for the next 6-8 weeks.