Wow, long time...

So, things have really, really gone well with my ankle. I am now about 41/2 months post surgery. My ankle/foot only occasionally aches a bit, but never more than a 4-6. I am wearing my lace-up brace only when doing things like walking my dog or doing yard work. Not wearing heels yet, but I have several pair of nice sandals that have only a very low wedge type heel that I can manage nicely.

I am still in physical therapy...now doing more generalized strengthening and conditioning, with attention still being paid to my ankle, which the doctor said is good. One recent development is that I have been having pain in my LEFT hip (not the side of this surgery) which radiates down my leg. That freaks me out a bit because it reminds me too much of pain associated with the spinal fusion I had a few years back. Doctor Cullen said I have some bursitis there plus the PTs have been working with that hip. I am taking a generic for Voltarin and hope it gets better. If not, back to Doctor Cullen in a couple of months and he'll see what's up.

in the meantime, I am LOVING spending time with my grandson and now can carry him around and run around with him to my heart's content!!!! I am so grateful for such a great surgical experience and recovery!

Almost 6 weeks...

So, tomorrow would be six weeks out from surgery. All is going very well, I think!

I only have significant pain when getting up and walking after sitting for a time, and/or if I do a LOT of standing/walking. Minimal swelling is evident, though there is some in both my knee and my ankle. I am wearing my lace-up brace all the time like a good girl!

I drove for the first time yesterday and that is no problem at all and adds a great deal of freedom, of course!! Also I had my first physical therapy session today..just passive range of motion and stretching, but it was good and challenging. Pain only got up to about a 5 or 6. I will go 2 times per week for a while, but I think I am doing quite well. He even said I can take my dog for walks, as long as there are no big hills involved.

So, all in all a very good report!

Well, hello there, foot!

Well, hello, foot!!!

Wahoo! Got my cast off today!

It's been right at 5 weeks since my surgery, and three with the cast on. This past week, well on Wed., I have had a good bit of pain in my ankle as well as dealing with where the cast has been putting pressure on my shin.

I went today expecting that the doc was going to put me in a walking boot for 4 weeks as he has been saying all along. But, as he has been doing all along, he cut back on things and just put me back in my lace-up ankle brace!!! I need to wear it all the time, even to bed, and can start PT ASAP. The other awesome thing is that I can resume driving some time next week!!!

Trust me, the first thing I did when I came home was get in a hot bubble bath and scrub some of the dead skin off my leg and foot. There is still more, but for now I feel 2000 percent better! Oh, and I have a nice little knot on my shin from the cast. I am assuming that will go away...

Here are some pics of my "coming out" party!

some of the awesome signatures from my kids' choir and other friends!

signed by the awesome Holly T.

Preparing to remove the cast

Mostly this vibrating saw TICKLED!!!

I felt like a lobster at a fancy dinner. See the pliers she has??

Top half of the shell is off!

Peeling back the layers...

Not bad, I think! 

I like Dr Cullen and all, but it's time for his signature to be GONE!

So

I did not expect to get to wear shoes, so I had to wear a stockinette and my  cast shoe and walk VERY carefully!

So, now I just have to learn how to walk again! Right now it hurts a good bit to put any weight on my fore-foot. PT here I come!

Three weeks post-surgery

Well, my week with Doug gone is almost over and things have gone really well, all things considering. Thanks goodness the doc did not require me to be NWB this week! That would have been really, really hard.

As it is, I have not had to make my own dinner a single night! I am so blessed to have friends and family!

I have been up and walking a good bit and always afterwards I feel pretty uncomfortable. Everything from the knee feeling stiff and sore to numb/tingling foot to pain in the ankle and shin. One night a couple of nights ago, I woke up to terrible itching under the cast, and I think there was some swelling. I ended up putting the ice pack over the cast to cool things down, which did the trick and I was finally able to sleep again.

Last night I did go to church and lead rehearsals and I was really, really tired and sore after. No long term ill-effect, though, as I slept really well last night (with one pain pill). I plan to lead on Sunday as usual, which means a lot of time on my feet, but I think it will be fine....

Recovery is going way better than I had feared, and at most the pain level gets up to maybe a 6. Usually it's very low to negligible....

walking is tough!

So, I did not sleep much on Friday night after getting my cast on, and I think it was because I was so excited with the prospect of walking on it....will it hurt, etc....

So Saturday morning, I took my first tentative steps and discovered that the "freedom" the doc gave me to walk on it is not all that great. First, it's about three inches (with the "cast shoe" on the bottom....which is an essential thing to use!) higher, necessitating wearing a heel of some sort on my left foot (fine, since I have REALLY been missing wearing cute shoes!) or standing on my toes with me left foot or limping like some kind of character out of a really bad horror film. Second, the bottom of the cast is very rounded, making my gait incredibly awkward. Third, when I walk there is a lot of pressure on one particular place on my shin bone and that is rapidly becoming very, very painful. Also, any sort of extended walking makes the ankle hurt some. not bad, but some.

Wah, wah, wah. I know. I will get over it. But I think that when I am getting ready to go somewhere that requires walking long distances, I will probably take the crutches. At least for a time.

Yesterday was a pretty long and boring day, as Doug went down to work at Daniel and Mackenzie's and I stayed here in case I could help out another friends who I thought might need some company. I mostly rested and then did get up at times to do things like make the bed, sweep the floor (finally!!!!), wash and put away clothes....but I had to sit often because getting around, though great that I do not have crutches and thus have my hands free, is (as I already said before) pretty painful and tiring.

Waiting now on a ride to church, which will be great! More later!

Cast on and good news!

So, yesterday was probably the most uncomfortable I have been...much more swelling than before. Duly noted: keep the leg up as much as possible.

This morning was my doc visit to remove the surgical dressing, look at the incision and remove stitches (no staples...I thought there would be staples, but no, thank goodness!!) and get my new cast on. There were a couple of very pleasant surprises and one not so fun thing...

The med tech, who is very, very nice, removed the surgical dressing and cleaned everything up. My leg felt like leather to me and is pretty atrophied already. My ankle was not that swollen at all, though my toes were. The ankle and foot were also pretty red, not "bruised", just very red. She and Dr Cullen said it was ok, though. MAN if felt good to rub (and even scratch just a little, though I tried not to) the skin that I had not been able to get to! There were definite indentations in my skin where folds of padding had been, and that is where the worst itching had been.

Dr. Cullen himself put the new cast on...a spiffy black one. My kids will be able to sign it with a silver marker. Given the choices of white (would look awful pretty fast, I think) , "cammo", hot pink, day-glo orange, and navy blue, black seemed the best option. The warmth from the fiberglass curing actually felt great on my poor skin! And the best news ever: Dr. Cullen said that after just 24 hours, I can start WALKING WITHOUT CRUTCHES!!!!!!!! Not that I need to be up very much, but I feel much, much better about being able to deal with Doug being gone without having to use crutches. Wahoo!!

The one bad thing was when he extended (not that bad) and then bent my knee. The bending hurt like hell and I cried a little. I am going to be doing leg extensions (using the cast as a leg weight) a LOT to try and work that knee out. MAN, that hurt!! Generally, all was good, though. I think taking this Sunday off leading is a must, and then hopefully I will be good with the walking and can lead next week, though I will probably sit in the choir loft with my leg up in between all songs (instead of in a chair with my leg down). No big deal!

Now my goal is to get someone to drive to get a pedicure....I will pay for them to have one too!!! Hmmmmm....  Oh, and don't look at the pics if you are hinky about a little blood and stuff. It's not too bad, though.

So, here are pics of the process. Thanks, Doug, for taking them even though I know you would have preferred not to even really watch! :)

ok, so maybe....

I did do a little too much too early.

Though I would definitely do it all again!

Yesterday, I did go to church for dinner and then to lead the kids' and adult choir rehearsals. It was so great to see everyone and to hear them all sing. Doug helped me get situated with a pillow on a stool on which I could rest my leg, so it was all good. It did not  hurt or anything, but my leg/foot started feeling like it was swelling some towards the end of the evening. Then, I did not sleep very well (did not take anything, or feel I needed to) last night. So today I am taking it a little easier and trying to ice my knee as much as I can. It's pretty swollen today and the knee and ankle both are a bit more uncomfortable than they have been. I did take some advil today, and it's certainly manageable! It certainly confirms that I am not ready to lead on Sunday, though...

So today I have worked to get everything ready for Sunday and I think i have that done. Doug will go in for Praise Team rehearsal and get it all on the computer. Things would be much more problematic (all over the place) without him!