Week Four, the staples come out!

YAY! Ok owch. Thank goodness the doc was mercifully fast. Just kept clipping. Had a little scab on my heel that he had to dig around. Ok that hurt a little more but he kept asking me if I was ok as he clipped them out. What a nice doc. So now I looked at my leg without the staples. Still looked rather gruesome. He then put the butterfly tape all along the scar to reinforce it and pointed my foot up a little more and recasted me. I asked him what exactly happened because he kept mentioning Allograft. I never have had to pointedly ask my doctors questions before but that seems to be how this doctor operates so... I ask pointed questions now. So I asked him, what is an allograft? Its a tendon from a cadaver. oooh spooooky. I asked then what exactly he did. Well he told me that my gap in my tendon was over an INCH. Wow thats a pretty big gap. So he needed to use the allograft to replace my tendon, give me a bone graft and attach the whole deal with a screw in my heel. This is because I waited so long. So please dear reader, if you think about waiting to see your doc, DONT. I made that mistake and am paying for it now. So new cast on and see him in 2 weeks for a new cast and an Xray. Also asked doc what my rehab plan was. He told me I was looking at still another month in the cast, before moving to a walking boot and still not applying any weight to the foot.

I made a small brain fart the other day when getting out of bed in the just woke up fog that we all get into and stepped down on my foot. OW! Ok wont do that again. It wasnt really so much pain as it was a wake up call that ok, you're in a cast, dont do that again. Havent done it since.

Pain is still rather intense, especially when it comes to sleeping. I cannot get comfortable. Still snarfing down pain pills. Not happy about needing to take so much pain medication at ALL. But the good news is I have not developed a tolerance for the vicodin because of my hesitation to take it and the vicodin does not constipate me.

Week Three

Not much happened in week three. The only eventful thing is I'm noticing that since the swelling is down now, and my calf muscle is starting to atrophy and I'm probably losing weight because of not being able to do much for myself.... the cast shifts a little bit. Now this might not be earth shattering, but to me, when the cast shifts down, it pulls slightly on my heel, which HURTS. Ok note to self let foot down easy. I'm having trouble sleeping because of that pain... snarfing vicodins helps. Called doc to let him know. Was offered an earlier appointment butI was NOT going across town again So back at week four

Week Two

Beginning of week 2, I go to the doc to get the first look at myself out of the cast. Yay! I've never had a cast removed before. I've never been in a cast before! This is a neato little fiberglass cast, not too spooky. Then the doc gets out the saw. EEP. Ok calm.... friend said it sounded like a circular saw but the doc will not hurt you with it. Ok I trust you. Doc I trust you as well. Only one jerk from me the whole time. Arent I a trooper? I see my incision. YIKES! 32 staples down from the top of my calf, all the way down and under my heel. Oh EEK! And my leg is yellow from the betadine stains. YUMMY! Beginning to see some cool bruising as well. There's tape over the staples and the doc pulls off the tape and starts taking out some staples. Well he gets through 6 of them and says he wants to leave the staples in longer. Having staples removed is much like getting stung buy a swarm of bees. Its not horribly painful, its just a little yelp at every clip of the staples. He puts on some butterfly tape over the area he clipped and said that was to reinforce the incision site, but it looks good. Ok doc if you say so. I feel like frankenstein with all these staples. He then moved my foot a little. Ok ow, that hurt. Asked for more pain meds. He then repadded my leg and recasted me. Back in 2 weeks. Oakie doakie doc!

Week One

Adventures in pain land. I'm snarfing down the percocets like they're going out of style. Elevating my foot like the doc said to do hurts like a MOTHER. I dont elevate as much as I was instructed to. I felt more comfortable with my foot down. I got me some ice to put on my cast and it kind of helped putting it on my toes too. Wiggled my toes on occasion just to make sure they're not numb again. This hurts. I know I've got a big cut down the back of my leg. Will see what everything looks like when I go to the doc. Also I found out a lovely side effect of percocet. Constipation. Now I dont mean constipation like its a little difficult to go, or a firm stool. I mean if felt like i was trying to give birth... the wrong way. Tried to give self an enema, on one foot, on crutches, in tiny bathroom. I am now a contortionist. Gave birth to small football. Called doc to see what was appropriate to take for this. Read a website that dulcolax was the preferred laxitive. Well the website said stool softener, I got laxitive. Doesnt matter, I want SOMETHING. Take two and the next morning as the saying goes, all will pass.
Cant wait to see doc

Day of Surgery

Oh much fun. My surgery is scheduled across town in a hospital in a not nice area. Not having a warm fuzzy feeling. But I go at 6am to the hospital. Surgery is scheduled at 9am. Fun. Nothing to eat or drink after midnight... great, I'm hungry, I'm thirsty and I'm scared. But into the hospital I go. Outpatient surgery center, 2nd floor. Ok its a big hospital and my doctor, I trust him isnt going to be affiliated with some bad hospital. I can get through this.
So I do all of the preliminary stuff, hand over my insurance card... find out they want me to make a "deposit" just in case my insurance doesnt cover everything. Hey, why dont you perform service before charging me huh? No deposit for you! Off to the pre surgery area.
Hey this place doesnt look too bad, televisions to watch, people everywhere... alright looking good so far. Get the IV in the hand.. ow ok this hurts but ok suck it up, this is probably going to be the least of your worries. Am asked a bunch of questions, asked to pee in a cup, Doc shows up and says "we're gonna fix you right up" Oakie doakie doc!
Into the OR I am wheeled. OOOOH SCARY. Its bright, I see all kinds of scary metal objects. But everyone seems to be nice and cordial.
A very LARGE man in a beard cover comes over and puts a tourniquet on my thigh. OW ok ok ok its tight enough. They put a mask over my face and tell me to breathe and to relax. ok I cant relax when I cant breathe with this thing. The plastic is covering my mouth and nose. I swat it away and he adjusts the mask so I can actually breathe. Oooh pure oxygen I'm feeling floaty. Then they say they're going to give me something to relax, and there's my doctor, all gowned up and listening to country music. The last thing I remember before heading out to lala land is them discussing the CMA awards and Redneck Woman playing on the overhead music. Oh this is going to be a fun surgery.

I wake up 4 hours later in the recovery room and a nurse is hovering around me. She asks how I'm doing. Ok well... considering I just had surgery, I'm ok. OWWW ok it hurts if I move. Ahh there's the cast on my leg, no wonder it hurts. She gives me a tiny pill and tells me she's giving me delaudinum (or however you spell it) ok, I remember my husband telling me that made him see pink unicorns and rainbows. Ohhh thats more like it, no pain, but I feel like a zombie. More nurses come in and check on me. They give me something to drink. Ahhh finally I can drink. The IV is still in my hand though. I'm still in the recovery room, and the pain comes back. I tell the nurse also that my foot feels numb. Doc comes over and feels my foot. Oooh feels better when you rub my toes. Ok numb issue taken care of. Doc gives me another delaudinum. They ask if I want to stay the night for pain management since this was pretty radical surgery they did on me. Nope, I wanna go home. I then am told I cannot have a cabbie take me home. EEP. Oh well make arrangements to get home. I see the physical therapists who give me a lesson in walking with crutches. Well I'm an old pro at this so I show off my superior crutching skills. Am good to go. IV comes out and I'm given another delaudinum for the road along with a prescription for percocet. I stop at the pharmacy for the percocet and into the house I go.

I feel like a zombie on the pills, but am still in massive pain. Maybe it would have been better if I had stayed in the hospital.... Call doc about pain, its really bad, cant feel toes again. Doc answers phone from his house and tells me its going to be fine, take as many pain pills as I need, numbness will go away in time. Ok doc, whatever you say. This stinks, it hurts worse than before. Begin having second thoughts about having the surgery. Nothing I can do now but wait.

I see an Orthopedist!

So I get me some health insurance, and the second the health insurance kicked in, off to the Orthapedist I go. I'm given another Thompson test and there IS some movement but he can feel a gap in my achilles. My other muscles have started taking over but I'll never have the range of motion if he doesnt repair my achilles. I like this doc, short and to the point. You need surgery. Ok, surgery it is. Scared of surgery. Do you want to walk again? Ok ok surgery. Surgery scheduled for a month later. Time from initial injury to surgery... 5 months. Ok ok doc I'll never put off something like this again

Back to the ER

So I decided in my infinite wisdom that keeping walking on this was a BAD idea. So back to the ER I go. But this time at a hospital I knew and trusted. No Podunk General for me! They did another Thompson test on me, but no Xrays. Hallelujah. More fun drugs and told to see an orthapedist because I have an achilles rupture. Great, still no insurance though. Podunk General gave me 10 vicodin for my pain, this bigger hospital gave me 40... same injury, same pain... I like the big hospitals. But, getting insurance soon! Huzzah! Relief may be to come!

4 More Months

Well the lovely people at the ER gave me some crutches and some fun pain pills and wrapped my foot up in a half cast. I wore that thing for months. But I was tired of being on crutches so I started walking. I know bad move there. And walking... and moving... and walking more, and getting a job back in baltimore, and more walking. Hrrm still cant push off with my toes, but I'm feeling stronger. Maybe I dont need surgery after all! But one day when I was walking I fell down. Felt a pop at the back of my heel. Umm ok this is bad.

At the ER

So I'm out in podunk nowhere general hospital. Seriously this hospital had only 1 floor. I come from being near Johns Hopkins, the University of Maryland... LARGE hospitals. This place was dinky and I was seriously reconsidering being looked at there. But I figured docs are docs so I went into the hospital. To which they were very nice and wheeled me in a wheelchair into the hospital and into the ER. I said "I think I tore my achilles" After all that website reading I was pretty sure. They immediately performed a Thompson test on me (squeeze the calf, see if the foot moves) nope, no movement there. Hrrm this seemed bad. Ok I'm scared now, scared I'm going to have surgery in podunk nowwhere. They did Xrays as well, and moved my foot into all KINDS of fun positions. Oh yes it doesnt hurt at ALL when you crane my foot all the way back. No I cant hold still this HURTS! Ok adventures in xrayland over. No fracutre. Its my achilles. Now, due to not having any insurance at the time... I wasnt able to do anything about it. They told me to see an orthapedist... but well... when you have no insurance and are stuck in podunk nowhere... well I took my chances

The Incident

Now about me, I'm a fairly healthy 32 year old woman. Fairly active as well, I walk EVERYWHERE. I also dance and play recreational sports like anyone else. So it came as a shock to me when I was dancing one night and POW. It felt like I stepped on someone else's foot and the sound of my achilles popping sounded just like someone had stomped (there was a lot of drumming so I missed the awesome achilles popping sound). Then I hopped back... oops so sorry I stepped on your... wait, I'm not stepping on anyone's feet. Ok maybe I stepped on my own foot... OW. Ok that hurts. How to gracefully fall down without looking like an idiot. Too late, faceplant on the ground. My friends rushed to my side to see if I was ok. Initially I just felt a little foolish for skinning my knee but then I had this feeling of dread inside of me. Some people helped by performing Reiki on me as well as I have a shamanistic friend who played music for me. It really helped calm me down and ease the pain I was going through. I limped out of there and iced the ankle. This felt bad. I was able to limp to the car and then I laid down. Ok maybe I just sprained my ankle. Next morning my ankle was swollen and I had all kinds of fun bruises. Hrrm... ok still maybe a sprain. My calf however had a different opinion of the situation and was cramping severely. Ok maybe I'll just elevate and ice it and it will be better. Me having no health insurance at the time, limited my options severely. So fast forward to 4 days later and still no end in sight. I started reading websites about the achilles tendon. Hrrm this doesnt sound like an ankle sprain to me...... Ok to the ER I go.

Welcome to my Achilles!

Well after reading about how other people bide their time from their achilles tendon surgery by blogging, I felt I should start up the same habit. Who knew there was such a massive community of fellow achilles sufferers out there! So I plug on ahead with my story