So this is how I got here...

Hello. I am a 54 year old mom/grandmom, and I have always considered myself to be pretty active. If I have a choice to park close or far in a parking lot, I choose far. I watched my own mom suffer through near immobility with her arthritic knees and severe weight problems, and never, ever wanted to be that way. One of my greatest fears is of being sedentary.

That being said, over the years I guess I have had my share of issues. In my life I have loved dancing, water skiing, snow skiing, and playing tennis, but recent events have conspired to curtail these activities. Over the years I have had both knees "scoped" and two back surgeries, and have "rolled" my right ankle a few times. I had my last major back surgery about 6 years ago and have been doing really well with that. I was actually doing a pretty rigorous "boot camp"-style workout three times per week up until about a year ago when our basement flooded and I re-injured my back trying to deal with that. This started a long series of physical therapy sessions and effectively ended the rigorous workouts. Then I had my second knee scoped last February, and recovered from that rather easily, or so I thought. I was up and mobile, but "favoring" my left knee after the procedure, but, hey, life was proceeding and I was into it! My son and his wife bought a new house and there was painting (lots of ladder time) and other stuff to do. We got a new preacher at church (where I work) and there was more painting to do (climbing again, and jumping off of things, which was a mistake!).

In the course of all this, I began noticing a lot of pain in my right foot. So I went to the doc who had operated on my left knee and he told me that the ligaments that hold up the arch in my foot were essentially disintegrating and that I needed custom orthotics. I started reading up on the condition he thought I had, and it just did not make any sense to me. So I talked to the orthotics guy and he gently and tactfully suggested that I should get a second opinion. So I went to a podiatrist that he respected. This guy did NOT agree with the first doc's diagnosis, and recommended PT.

I really loved the PT I was referred to. This guy was all about getting well and then going BEYOND that! I worked hard but still had no real improvement. The PT noted some swelling in my ankle, and I just explained that my right ankle had always been that way. Still, he had me do strength exercises as well as proprioception. When I went back to the podiatrist after the six or seven weeks of PT with no improvement, I mentioned to the doc that my foot just felt "unstable", somehow. That is what led him to actually look at my ankle. He found the positive "drawer sign" and then did a stress x-ray and found that my ankle is mechanically unstable. All of a sudden the guy is putting me in a brace and saying I need surgery and to make plans to be out of work for weeks.

I was in a bit of shock and began reading up on this type of thing. The really unsettling thing was that my foot/ankle felt SO much better with the brace, and contemplating this kind of surgery was just bizarre. I asked my PT what he thought, and he gave me the names of three orthopedic docs that he has high opinions of so I could get a second opinion. I was able to get in to see Dr. Cullen pretty quickly. He reviewed the charts from the other doc, took some pics of his own, and moved my foot around in ways that made me a little queazy (it should NOT go that way!) but did not actually hurt. He agreed that i need the surgery in order to avoid degradation of the ankle joint and to stabilize it so the pain is not there.

This was back in late August. I work in church music, so going out of commission in the months leading up to Christmas was just not a good idea. PLUS I have a 19 month old grandson who is very active, and I had promised my daughter in law that I would help keep him so she could complete an internship.

So now I have my appointment with the doc in two weeks to actually schedule the surgery, hopefully, for around the first of February. My hope is that this will allow me to be able to be actively involved in Lent and Easter services.

My primary concern now is that my foot/ankle are increasingly uncomfortable and I do not want to damage the joint any further. But I NEED to work out and to be in the best shape possible before the surgery! Motivation is a must. Hopefully this blog will help me with some accountability.

I am going to make a list of questions that I hope will be completely addressed at the doc visit in a couple of weeks. The exact nature of the procedure he expects will be needed; expectations for recovery, etc. He told me in August that he would 'scope the ankle first to look at the joint and then proceed with the reconstruction of the ligaments. He also mentioned needing to do something with the alignment of the bones. That is where I need clarification. I may see if my husband Doug can go with me to this visit. I am really concerned about how much my recovery will put on him. He went through this when I had my back surgery, but we had kids at home then who could help out. Now, it's just us two. But we have great friends and family nearby. I just don't want Doug to be blind sided by all of this.

Well, that is enough for now. Maybe this will be of use to someone. It certainly makes me feel better to just get it out!