11 Weeks Post-Op: Gettin Giddy

I got fitted today for the walking boot, which I will start wearing after surgery on Friday. I am so thrilled to be in the final days of this phase of my healing. I know rehab will be difficult, probably painful...but at least I'll be DOING

Mine is not this cute.

something about it. While I understand being in the cast has been allowing my body to be doing it's thing uninterrupted, I am at the end of my rope of being unable to move my ankle. 

My surgery is scheduled for 4pm on Friday. I'll be under monitored anesthesia care (MAC), also called twilight sedation or conscious sedation. It's a lighter form of general anesthesia. The doc will be removing the syndesmotic screw, the big one holding the fibula and tibia together to allow the joint space between the two to heal. 

I have an appointment with my chiro next week, and she'll be able to give me guidance on how to start rehab. I have my first PT appointment on Sept 14 - trying to sweet talk him into seeing me sooner, but I know he has a very full schedule. I intend to be a very good patient! I think I'll also document my walking progress in video. 

I'm hoping I'll progress as fast as this woman!

I'll update over the weekend to let you know how it goes. SO STOKED!

10-Weeks Post Op: Home Stretch to Freedom

So it's been awhile since my last update, as I haven't really had much to report. I settled into a rhythm of sorts, going about my days with resignation for the long stretch until I saw the doc again. I've been extremely busy managing my office, as we've been without a receptionist since Aug 4. It will be a big push up to my surgery date, which has been set for Aug 28.

Speaking of which, I saw the doc on Tuesday. I was holding a little hope that he would let me out of the cast, but he didn't even remotely suggest it. I was pretty much only there to get the surgery date confirmed for next Friday. I'll have the syndesmotic screw removed (the big one holding the tibia and fibula together while the syndesmotic joint heals). From there, I'll go into a walking boot and progressively start weight-bearing, and start PT as well. 

I was rather surprised by my doc's cavalier attitude toward PT. He didn't even suggest it!! He pretty much said I would just slowly be returning to my normal activities, and I said, yeah..."and doing PT..." He sort of just shrugged and said, "If you want to. A lot of people don't like doing exercises and are resistant to PT, so..." WTF? Listen people: if you break your ankle, have surgery to fix it, and don't walk for 3 months, take my stern advice - GET PT!! I've been working on bodies with injuries for a long time, and I've seen many, many cases of people with old injuries that they never re-habbed properly in the first place and they're paying for it years later. Compensation patterns that affect their gait, which in turn, affect their knees, hips, low backs; scar tissue build-up that inhibits proper function; lack of strength which creates pain and forces other muscles to be recruited excessively...the list goes on. So yeah, I will be doing PT. 

The nerve pain/irritation has settled down quite a bit. I no longer take pain killers to sleep at night, although I do still have some numbness and soreness in my toes/foot. Thankfully, I won't need to have another pop block during surgery, which is what we think caused all these nerve problems in the first place. 

I am so very ready to have this cast off. My son got his off this week - 4 weeks exactly for him. I will have been in mine for 8 weeks, 2 days when it finally comes off. Hallelujah!

I'll update again after the surgery, folks. Thanks for tuning in.