Day 44 - Boot Off

Had my post op with Dr. Y today. He was very pleased with my healing! He said that I have healed faster than most and that I have more muscle activity in my calf that he would have expected. I am supposed to start a few sessions of physical therapy in two weeks. He said I'm healing great and that this is a critical time for healing so he doesn't want me to rush into physical therapy but also wants me to go in two weeks so that I can really get the most of my healing at that time. I'm allowed to walk, although I walk with a slow limp, and can't take too large of a stride. I can use a treadmill to walk, gradually increasing speed and distance, and ride the bike with little resistance. Dr. Y said I likely won't feel comfortable enough to jog for another 2 months or so. He also reiterated that I am healing excellently and that he anticipates I will be playing whatever sport I want at whatever level I want. I just have a hard time believing that right now with how little strength I have in my lower leg. I'm also still very worried that the mental healing will take just as long if not longer than the physical healing. On the plus side, ramadan is finishing, september is here, and I am lighter than I've been in 6 years.

Day 35 - 1 month since surgery

It's been a month since my surgery. I have been doing great with my boot and abandoned both my crutches and knee scooter earlier this week. Since wednesday I have been just limping in the boot (minus one wedge that I removed last Sunday). My leg feels great although I'm pretty sure I can't bear any weight on the ball of my foot still. The surgical site is healing very nicely now that I have been more compliant with the boot and am not stretching/stressing the achilles. I removed the last wedge earlier today and it is slightly more painful to walk in the boot without the wedges. I did put a padded shoe insert under my foot and hope that will help give it a little extra support and help me transition to not using the boot. I was going to start more actively working out last week but have decided that I will stick to push ups, sit ups, and pull ups at home. Since I'm fasting and will be done on either the 29th or 30th and the boot should be off on the 29th, I've decided that I will start more strenuous workouts at that point in time. The good news so far I have continued to lose weight. I am the lightest I've been in about 6 years and if I continue to lose about 7 more pounds, I will be the lightest I've been since 1997! I know some of the weight is water weight and probably a little muscle mass but if I can maintain a strict workout regimen come September, I think I can achieve my goals.

So my goals are: 1) Be under 180 (currently 185 give or take 2 pounds on any given day) by early 2012. 2) Complete a sprint triathlon in Jan/Feb 2012. 3) play one more season of outdoor soccer in spring 2012. 4) Get back to my usual quick self by playing basketball, racquetball, and squash regularly.

Day 24 - Cast Off/Boot On

I had my three week post-op appointment this afternoon. I wasn't as lucky with getting seen right away but only had to wait 30 minutes before going back. When the nurse took me back she mentioned that she had me down for 8am. We were specifically told that there were no 8am appointments. It would have been ideal because I wouldn't have had to reschedule my own patients and drive 30 minutes there and back in the middle of the day. She did tell me that next time just show up in the morning no matter what time my appointment is the doctor would see me. On a side note, doctors and dentists offices are so different. I wasn't given any option of when I could schedule, was given no confirmation call, was not greeted on arrival, and was made to wait 30 minutes. In my offices (and most I believe), you are given scheduling options, receive a confirmation call 1 or 2 days prior to your appointment, are always greeted with a smile, and will never wait more than 10 minutes. If you do have to wait, I will personally come and apologize and notify you that I am running late and will also likely compensate you with a discount or account credit. Anyway, I'll stop ranting now.

The nurse cut off my cast and I was able to see the surgical site for the first time in three weeks. I could already notice that I had lost muscle in the calf. I was surprised to see how bruised my ankle still was and I had a little parasthesia around the actual repair site. Dr. Y came in and stated how pleased he was with the healing and did a few muscular tests and said that I was healing extremely well. He removed my sutures, cleaned me up a little and told me that I will need to be in my boot for 3 weeks. I asked my list of questions and he answered them all. He said that I can start bearing weight but he doesn't want me 'toeing off' yet. I will be removing one (three total) heel insert from my boot each week and he wants to see me in three weeks for another post op. The nurse put my boot on and instructed me on how to inflate and deflate the air cast. The good news is I can finally shower and scrub my leg. The bad news is that he wants me to sleep in this giant astronaut boot. After three weeks I was told that I can begin therapy with stretching all that stuff. I'm sure much to wifey's and Dr. Y's chagrin, I will have the boot off and stretching as much as I can.

Day 16

The weekend was great, very relaxing. We really couldn't go out and do much and so I'm getting a bit of cabin fever from not being able to go out and really enjoy myself. I keep telling myself that not bearing weight and immobilizing my foot really is the best way to heal. It's just hard sometimes when I want to just cut this stupid cast off and start stretching and moving my foot around. My post op appointment is in one week and I absolutely can't wait. My foot is feeling better and better each day. Today was the first day of Ramadan and everything went well, the days are long but it will only get better from here on out.