Well, today's the big day and I am ready. I spend the morning working from home. I actually have a very important meeting tomorrow in downtown DC that will mark my first official day back at the office (so to speak). Overall, I feel good. The pain today and last night was actually kinda bad, but maybe my ankle senses it's freedom and is just giving me a hard time. I've only had to wear a cast twice in my life. Once when I broke my arm, which was way before I can remember and is also the reason I am left handed. The other time is of course with this injury. Of course this is a splint/cast which allows the ankle to swell, but basically it is what it is and that is....a cast. I've had a lot of time to think about how awful it must be when you are confined to one of these things for longer periods of time. Here I am complaining about a couple of weeks, but hell this thing does weigh about 10 pounds or at least that's how it feels.
Well, my trustee assistant (my mom) arrived to my house in the afternoon and I signed off from work. I will say this about recovering from this sort of injury. You're gonna need help, lots of it and just make sure you have some people who you can count on. I was blessed to have both my mom and my husband to help me throughout my recovery so far and I expect to need them some more as I continue to recover. So a special thank you to them.
2 Week Post-Op Appointment
It was good to see the Doc again. It does help to really like your doctor and I like mine. He's an honest guy who seems invested in getting me back on my feet and living life pain free. So, the time finally arrived for me to kiss my splint/cast goodbye and Dr. Henn did the honor of finally taking that thing off and into the trash it went...where it belonged. And there is was, my ankle. Well, it was nice to see it again and ya know I was really worried about what my ankle would look like after removing the cast, but as you can see from the pictures below, it wasn't that bad. Actually, the swelling looked better now than it did before the surgery.
The first breath of air that my foot felt when the cast was removed is a feeling that is difficult to describe. It kinda felt like what I suspect a baby feels when they enter the world for the first time and go from being in the warm comforts of their mother womb into the brisk fresh air of their new life. It felt great, it felt like a new beginning. So my doctor inspected his handiwork and was very pleased with how things looked. "Suture Removal Kit please", says Dr. Henn. Well its a good thing I popped a couple pain meds before my appointment cause I gotta feeling this is gonna hurt like a mutha@!@$#%.
And it did, it hurt...it hurt real bad. I don't want to scare anyone, but prepare yourself for some pain when getting your stitches removed. In fact, do yourself a favor and take some pain meds before your appointment. You will thank me later.
Free from the Cast!!!!
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| Before my Doctors appointment, I am soo ready to get this thing off of my leg |
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| This is where they did my Arthroscopic Chondroplasty (cleaned joint of scarred tissue and removed and shaved cartilage) |
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| This is where they did the Brostrom Procedure (ATFL and CFL ligament repair) |
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| And...it's all wrapped up once again. Notice my mom playing on her iPad in the background |
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| My new friend for the next 6 weeks. |
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| No weight bearing for 3 weeks and I have to sleep in this thing...fun times! |
Goodbye Splint/Cast, Hello Cam Walker Boot
Well, mama's got a brand new shoe...umm sort of. So when my doctor told me he was gonna put me in a boot I was very pleased. Then he told me although it's a walker boot, I will actually not be able to walk on it for another month. Hold on...what did he just say. Man, I guess I thought I would be walking next week or something. Well, the joke is on me. Dr. Henn saw my disappointment and said "it's either this or a cast for another 3 weeks". Ha, say no more Doc...one month no weight bearing sounds great! So, I got fitted for my boot and was told to return in two weeks for another appointment. I was told to only take my boot off twice a day to do some exercises the doc gave me. Which means I will have to sleep in this thing. Also, I got permission to drive, go back to work (in the office) and shower (well, in a couple of days, but soon). Well, I know I wont be walking tomorrow but it feels good to know that I am recovering and things are going good which makes me happy and hopeful.
Shannon
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