Post-Op #3

3 weeks, 4 days post-op

I met with my surgeon today at 10:10. It wasn't as busy as other times I've been there, so he had more time to talk and answer questions.

I get to skip a cast completely (because I am 'compliant' and strong enough to handle the crutches). Now I'll be wearing the CAM walker boot (that big black sexy thing they gave me in the ER) with a heel lift, so my foot is still prone. The boot is at home, so they wrapped me back in the splint for now. I have three more weeks of non-weight bearing. I can take off the boot and do range of motion stuff and ABCs. I was expecting only 1.5 more weeks of NWB, and he said my tendon is healing well, so I'm not sure why the extra time... But I'd rather be safe than sorry. The risk now is re-rupture. Could you imagine? I can't. I don't think I could do this again.

I was worried that the pain in my calf was a blood clot. He felt the muscle and thought it was just sore from the splint putting pressure on my weak calf muscle. Prevention is keep your leg elevated above your heart and exercising the leg to prevent pooling of blood. Here are the symptoms of a blood clot, in case you're interested:
• a general swelling in the calf, ankle, foot, or thigh
• increased warmth of the leg
• redness
• pain in the leg
• night leg cramps
• bluish discoloration of the skin on the leg or toes

I told him about how swollen my foot got at work, and that I elevated it when I got home. He suggested keeping my leg at more of a 90 degree angle to my body (instead of what I was doing, which was more of a 45 degree angle). I tried that today and it worked well - not as much swelling.

I asked if I could wash my foot (yes) and if I could take the tape off (no, let it fall off). No weight on the bad foot, toe touch down for balance is OK. Resting it on the ground while driving is also OK.

I am a little discouraged with the 3 more weeks of NWB. It especially sucked today because it was snowy out. I slipped a little on the way in and flexed my bad foot. My coworker Erin pulled my car up close to the office and helped me get out there successfully, thanks Erin!

I put the boot on with the heel lift. It stretched my tendon, the position is closer to 90 degrees than the splint was. I also tried some range of motion exercises which felt extremely weird. It is really difficult to flex my foot. I guess that's to be expected after not moving it for three weeks!

My friend Laela stopped by after work with sandwiches from Jimmy Johns. We talked, played Guitar Hero, and watched House. It was fun!

This is my "Jeremy and Laela are playing Guitar Hero and I don't know what else to do until it's my turn but take a picture of myself" smile :)

Happy Birthday (to me)

Did you know Brad Pitt tore his Achilles playing Achilles? Click here for more famous Achilles Ruptures. What does that have to do with my birthday? Nothing, really.

My calf has been hurting since Thursday so I decided not to go to church today. Plus, Jeremy and the kids were going to the busiest 11 am service and I didn't feel like navigating the crowd.

Ok... my birthday... it was good! My husband made a great breakfast of french toast, cheesy eggs, and a cinnamon roll. He also made an awesome dinner of steak, potatoes (baked potato for him, yam for me), broccoli, spinach salad with strawberries). It was great! We watched our favorite show House.

Driving...

I drove myself yesterday. I left a message for my doctor to see if it was ok, because I'd have to rest my foot on the ground, but I haven't heard back. So... I drove. I had my husband put some towels in my car, one to prop my leg up to keep the weight off my foot, and one on the ground to keep my splint clean. I made sure my work bag was as light as possible (lunch, Diet Dr. Pepper, and a couple of folders).

I made the long one block trek from the parking garage to the office. My arms were sore when I got there but my awesome coworkers helped me with the doors and getting situated.

My pressure sore is a lot better (finally). I put the padding higher on my heel to keep the weight off my heel while the splint on. At work I have my foot propped on an ottoman and it gets really swollen - I'm talking sausage toes. When I get home from work I take the splint off and elevate my foot with an ice pack to get the swelling back down.

It's difficult to elevate my foot with the splint on and keep pressure off the pressure sore (any weight on the back of the splint puts weight on the heel - I'm stuck on my side or stomach). So I'm assuming swelling is the lesser evil at this point, and I'm doing everything I can to get rid of the pressure sore.

I have all these questions for my doctor. You only get about 10 minutes with the actual surgeon at the follow-up appointments, so you have to make sure to ask all of your questions. You can call and ask, but you usually have to wait for the return phone call. The should have a brochure about "what to expect after surgery." Or somebody should blog about their experience or something...

Back to Work and More

Today was my first day back at the office. My father-in-law picked me up at 9:30 am and helped me carry my lunch, ottoman, pillow, and work bag. My boss brought in awesome almond croissants from Bread & Chocolate, we had a brief staff meeting, and I got to work! I lasted until about 4. My foot felt good as far as no pain, but as the day went on I could feel it swelling (scroll down to see photos - the first was when I got home, the second was a couple of hours later). My father-in-law gave me a ride home, now I'm propping up my foot trying to get the swelling down.


Pressure Sore Update
The pressure sore is... finally... getting better. I was scaring myself by researching it on the Internet - apparently they take forever to heal and can break the skin and get infected. It's on my heel, so with the splint it is tough to keep weight off of it. Sigh. They don't tell you to watch out for this stuff!

The Fall
I forgot to write about this when it happened a week ago. I knew it would happen eventually, and it will probably happen again. I got up from the couch with the crutches and couldn't quite get my balance, so I fell down rather than stepping on my bad foot. It scared me more than anything and I got a little bruise on my knee. Boo hoo.

My foot after work

My foot after work after elevating for 2 hours

Post-Op #2

13 days post-op

I got to trade my stitches in for some cool looking tape. (The nurse took the first picture, I took the second one, so don't be freaked out by the different angles. And sorry if these pictures are gross. I think they're incredibly interesting since my leg has been hidden under a cast since surgery!)


The surgeon said my leg was healing nicely. I can start wiggling my toes, lifting my foot, moving my leg around, etc. I told him about the pain I've been having the past week (the throbbing in my heel). It turns out that my splint was too tight and I got a pressure sore. What!!?? I could have unwrapped the splint and wrapped it up looser (I didn't know that!). So, they put some extra padding in and wrapped it really loosely this time back in the splint - I got to choose between cast and splint and I chose splint. So, the pain should stop, and I should be able to sleep! I can't believe it. The moral of the story is to call the doctor when something is wrong. I just thought that I hadn't been elevating my foot enough. Sigh.

My mom and brother took me to the appointment and we want to Starbucks afterwards to get a coffee (of course) and to pick up a Star Tribune because there was an article about one of our clients, Farm Boy. I got an iced mocha but forgot the paper, oops!

So, today was a great day!

Good Days & Bad Days

You know the thing I miss most about sports after college is the trainers. If you get hurt, they knew what to do and they took care of you (thanks Val, Rieko, Todd, Sonya, etc.)

Anyway, hmmm. What to write about. I've had some good days and bad days (mostly based on the amount of pain I've had)

Thursday - good
It was nice and sunny outside. I watched Grey's Anatomy for most of the day. Then my sisters came over to 'babysit' me - and we ate Pei Wei and watched more Grey's Anatomy.

Thursday night - bad
I could not sleep. I was having sharp pains in my heel, and no matter where I moved my leg, it wouldn't go away. When Jeremy woke up I had him get me more medication (which usually helps and then I sleep for a few hours) and that didn't work either. I woke up crabby and also nauseous.

Friday - good and bad
Jeremy and I took the wheelchair and ran some errands. It probably wasn't the best idea (see Thursday night - bad) but I had been looking forward to getting out. We went to Bed, Bath & Beyond and got a pillow for my leg, and some towels (I know, this is so interesting, tell me more). Then we went to U4EA to pick up some files so I can work from home next week. It was great to see my coworkers, hard to believe I've been gone for almost two weeks. There isn't a very good handicapped entrance to our building so Jeremy carried the wheelchair and I hopped up the stairs. We went to REI quickly (Jeremy ran in and got the water bottle I ordered) and Best Buy, where we spent our $50 gift card. (Sorry if you're bored, but this stuff is big news in my life right now). I was so tired and nauseous by the end of this trip, I didn't even want to stop at Starbucks. I spent the rest of the day resting. And, my foot hurt the rest of the night (this is the bad part).

Saturday - good
I really took it easy today and rested. Grey's Anatomy, My Girl, My Girl 2 helped pass the time. I slept good at night too, even though I had scary dreams. I woke up to pain, took an Ibuprofen, and went back to sleep.

Sunday - good and bad
I stayed home from church again. I woke up feeling pretty good, no pain. I decided to try just Ibuprofen and no Codeine (my latest med, since Friday) so I could think. I sat up at my desk for 2 hours to pay the bills, still feeling pretty good. And then it hurt for the rest of the night. I think I'll try a Codeine.

Ok, I think we're all caught up now.

Pain Update

OOOOWWWW!

After the doctor's appointment I took 1 Vicodin. That did not help. My foot throbbed, tingled, hurt, all night. It was frustrating because I had sort of been thinking I needed to tough it out until my doctor's appointment and everything would be fine after that, I'd just have to keep weight off that foot. I wasn't planning on having more pain.

I added another pill a couple of hours later and that didn't really help. Later that night the pain got better, and/or I started to get used to it, and I took two pills before bed. That seemed to work and I slept great. I don't feel as out of it on this medication, just tired, so that's good.

Post-Op #1

6 days after surgery

Last night I went to bed before taking a pain pill, and I did not sleep much - my foot hurt and tingled all night. Not fun. Jeremy woke up around 6 and gave me meds, then I slept until 11:45. Felt a little dizzy and nauseous this morning too but no need for the bucket.

We met with the doctor at 12:45. The nurse took off my cast and we waited for the doctor. My foot is a little yellow and sticky from the betadine. We waited a while for the doctor - Jeremy discovered that my crutches make a comfortable foot rest.

He came in and looked at my incision and sutures (the incision is as long as my pinkie finger). He said everything looked good, no infection. Our reaction was "gross" but the doctor was a little insulted because he was proud of his suture work, saying it would leave a good (I think that means minimal) scar. I'm supposed to keep resting - not be up and about for more than 15 minutes each hour, keep the leg elevated. They wrapped up my leg with the same brace piece as before. You can see from the photos that it's not as swollen as before surgery.

Now it might look like I'm wearing the same outfit as in that other photo and that is true but it is clean, and I keep rotating the same three comfy outfits, ok?


I see him again next Wednesday to get the stitches out. At least four more weeks of non-weight bearing, then I will move from the soft cast to a boot, still with my foot at a 45 degree angle. The Percocet is gone so now I'm on to Vicodin. We'll see what kind of crazy side effects come from that.

I thought I'd be able to go to work tomorrow but the doctors want to make sure I'm resting still and not taking too much on. So... we'll see...

First Outing

It is really nice outside today (40 degrees is really nice in Minnesota) so Jeremy took me for a little walk in the wheelchair. We went to the main office of our apartment building to pick up a package (House Season 3). I had a blanket over my legs, I looked like a real sick person. It was nice to get outside for a little bit.

Jeremy went out to run some errands. He stopped by the DMV to get my Handicapped Parking Pass. It was $10, and the doctor prescribed it through July.

The pain and nausea are better today. I'm down to 1/2 the pain meds so I can concentrate a lot better too! I sat at my desk (with my leg propped up on the ottoman from my sister) for about a half hour to balance the checkbook, and that felt OK. One step closer to going back to work!

Jeremy's doing a great job of taking care of me. He's getting used to the routine: pain meds every 5 hours (not for long!), switch ice packs every hour or so, keep all the necessities within my reach (crutches, bucket, phone, ipod, laptop, teddy, blankie, remotes, water).

(View from the top of the tulips from my mother-in-law and our house-warming poinsettia)

Thank God for the bucket

I woke up this morning around 6am feeling a little dizzy and nauseous. I had some Sprite and some food, and got all set up on the couch before Jeremy left for work. I slept through all of Notting Hill. I decided to turn my trip to the bathroom into a super trip - I went to the bathroom, grabbed an empty ice cream bucket, a new ice pack, and a Sprite.

Ok, here comes the gross part. I threw up big time. Luckily I had the ice cream bucket, imagine me on crutches trying to make it to the bathroom in time. My mom showed up a few minutes later so she helped me take care of the bucket. She made me some cinnamon-sugar toast since I was still a little queasy. She brought me a card, a Starbucks gift card, and Grey's Anatomy Season 3 - woo hoo! Thanks Mom, Kaley, Jody, and Corey.

I thought maybe my pain meds were causing the nausea so I tried just Ibuprofen - nope, didn't work. Mom and I watched Grey's Anatomy, then Jeremy came home from work. I tried the pain meds again and so far, so good. We watched ER and Down To You. I'd say today was the worst day so far of recovery just because of the nausea and the pain. Hopefully tomorrow will be better! I need to drink a lot more water... It's easy to get dehydrated laying on the couch all day, believe it or not.

A word about the painkillers
My doctor prescribed Percoset and another pill for nausea. They are weird. They make me really sleepy, like I could sleep all day and sleep all night. When I am awake, they make me kind of dopey, like I'm not all there. They also give me really vivid dreams that feel real. And, they make my legs twitch, which freaks my husband out. Oh and they do a pretty good job of taking away the pain. I don't know why I'm telling you all this. Friends & family, ignore this stuff. This is for me to look back on and for others who've injured their Achilles.

The first shower

I took my first post-surgery bath today. It felt great to be clean. You think that's gross? 3 days without showering? Well, it is, but you try being 5'11" on painkillers and not being able to get your cast wet. Anyway, I feel much better now.

It still hurts quite a bit when the painkillers wear off. And whenever I stand up. It feels like there is a lot of pressure around my foot, it is a weird feeling. I don't really know how to describe it except that it is very uncomfortable.

After Surgery

Well, it definitely hurts much worse after surgery. And, these painkillers make me feel a little woozy and sleepy. I see the doctor again on Wednesday.

My friends and family have been awesome. My U4EA coworkers stopped by on Friday with a Starbucks coffee (decaf nonfat mocha, mmm), some almond croissants, a Target gift card, a card... We bought "Once" and "House Season 2." The Firm, one of our clients, sent over some beautiful flowers. My mother-in-law stopped by and brought some beautiful tulips. It is nice to look around from my *permanent place on the couch and see these things. My mom brought us some yummy dinner for Friday night, and tonight Jeremy is making stuffed shells. I'm listening to the new Mars Volta CD thanks to Alberto & Corey. The kids have been great too, very sweet and helpful.

Surgery went well

We had to be at High Pointe at 10:45 am. We went to the waiting room, where we signed a bunch of things, answered same list of questions, and waited. We saw some guy win both showcases on the Price is Right. Then the nurse came for me, and I hobbled with her over to my pre-op room. She put in a IV, did some other tests, marked my left ankle with a stamp that said "SURGICAL SITE." I had to put on a gown and a robe, and those cool slipper grippy socks that they give you at the hospital. I only used one and I don't know what happened to the other one. Once I was ready to go they let Jeremy come in and sit with me. He was being a total goofball, found the surgical site stamp and started stamping himself. Then he found some wipes and wiped those off, mostly. Then he actually read the container where he got the wipes - "not for use on skin." Oops.

I met my anesthesiologist, he is a big guy with an accent. I can't remember his name so I'll call him Vladimir. He asked me a few questions, said I'd have a tube down my throat during surgery but I wouldn't remember that part.

The surgeon came in and said hi, asked us if we had any questions. He said the surgery was like this: the tendon is like two ends of a mop. So he sews each side together, and then sews the two parts of the tendon together, then closes up the skin. He signed my left leg as the surgical site.

Another guy from the anesthesia team came in, gave me one of those shower cap things, and gave me some antibiotics through my IV. Then they wheeled me into the operating room. It wasn't as cold as people say it is - the bed was heated, and I had a warm air blanket on too. There were two nurses in the room, plus the two anesthesia guys. They put monitors and all that stuff on me, verified the type of surgery, etc. Then they put a mask over my face and told me to take deep breaths.

I woke up in the recovery room. It was dark, and my bed was comfortable. I heard the nurses chatting, they liked my glasses. My leg was hurting so I told the nurse, and she gave me something through the IV. There was a girl to my right also in recovery, also named Briana. In my stupor I was a little confused and thought maybe the nurses thought I was the wrong person. After sitting in recovery for a while, they put me in a rolling Lazy Boy and brought me to the second recovery room. Jeremy and his dad, Mike came in. The nurse gave me some Sprite and animal crackers. It was great, I was so hungry. And it was great to see my husband and his dad. I pounded through the food and the nurse brought more Sprite. I also started my dose of painkillers. The nurse gave us two ice packs - They put the ice on my shin, at the top of the "cast." He said it works like a radiator, cooling the blood as it goes in towards my foot. Interesting, huh?

After a while in recovery I was OK to go home. Jeremy went to fill my prescriptions and pull up the car, and the nurse put me in a wheelchair and took me downstairs. I sat in the backseat with my leg up on the seat. I can't put any weight on the bad foot at all. Luckily I had a few days to get used to the crutches before having surgery.

When we got home, I was feeling tired and a little *off from the medication, so Jeremy got the wheelchair (another thing we got from Goodwill) and wheeled me upstairs. Of course I had to go to the bathroom, then he gave me a surprise - a little stuffed teddy bear with a cast and a crutch that says "Get well Soon." It was so cute, I started crying. There is something about surgery and stuffed animals, they are just comforting.

I spent the rest of the day on the couch, only getting up to go to the bathroom. Jeremy made me my favorite egg sandwich for dinner, oh and I had a really good pizza for lunch too. So no, I didn't lose my appetite.

Today's the Big Day

I slept OK last night. I was a little nervous. I had a couple of dreams about not being able to have surgery because my blood wasn't clotting. My husband said I've been watching too many ER shows. He woke up around 4 and couldn't get back to sleep. Finally he went and got gas and some groceries. I fell back asleep and he woke me up at 8 (I told him to wake me up at 8:30, but I guess that's as long as he could wait). He got me some surprises: A People magazine, a red rose, strawberries, and he is making me a special dinner tonight. Isn't he sweet?

But right now, I am HUNGRY, because I can't eat or drink anything. My husband is eating spaghetti for breakfast, lol. He wanted to eat something gross so I wouldn't feel bad.

Typos

Ok, I'm a good speller. But I've noticed that my thoughts get a little ahead of my typing, so sorry in advance for misspellings or mis-wordings (like that one).

Surgery is Scheduled

Left Achilles Tendon Rupture repair will be 12:00 pm on Thursday March 6, 2008. Not much else to say about that!

Days 1-5: Before Surgery

Follow Up with the Orthopaedic Surgeon
First, you have to follow up with a specialist. I saw mine at 2:20 pm on Monday. He did the Thomson test, said I fully ruptured it, and we set surgery for Thursday. I spent the morning figuring out which doctor I should see, how to get there, and how to get a hold of my X-Rays from the ER. Thank God for my loving husband who left work to take me to my appointment.

Dentist Appointment
Oh yeah, I also had to get two cavities filled. Luckily I was able to switch the appointment to Monday so my husband could take me. I don't think I could have navigated the ice and skinny stairs without him.

Cancelling Everything
Since I won't be able to put weight on my foot for at least 2 months, I pretty much had to cancel everything. I need to find a sub for my Wednesday night volleyball league, I had to back out of the big Arrowhead tournament, we're cancelling our snowboarding trip to Colorado in April, can't do the FIRM FIT either... Oh, but did I mention this: my team from Saturday ended up winning the tournament! I guess they didn't need me. They picked up a player - thanks Karen - and ended up winning the tournament. That made me feel better.

Getting Around the House
My new spots are the couch and the bed. I go back and forth from those two locations. I traded in my fashionable purse for a mini Timbuktu bag that I can actually carry with crutches. My sister is getting me one of those shower stools (from Goodwill) so I can take a shower. I want to get a couple more stools placed around the apartment so I can stand and rest my bad leg. It is very difficult to carry anything and move anywhere with crutches, so my husband is helping me brainstorm ways to get around that. I want him to just wait on me hand and foot, but his idea is probably a little more sensible.

Pre Op Physical
They drew some blood, checked my vitals, asked me a bunch of questions, and sent me on my way with a thumbs up for surgery. They threw in a few good natured jokes about me hobbling around on crutches. A big thanks to my mom for taking me to this appointment, and then coming over and cleaning our apartment.

Get a lot of awesome stuff from Goodwill
So I guess Goodwill loans out medical equipment. My sister works there, otherwise I never would have known. Tonight she brought over a shower stool, a toilet seat thingy with handles, and a wheelchair. She has a couple more cool little gadgets for me too. When the simplest things become extremely difficult, these gadgets will be great. Already I love the shower stool, I used it in the bathroom to rest my leg on while getting ready for bed. So much easier. I think I'll save the toilet seat thingy for after surgery. The wheelchair will work great for shopping or other places where I'd have to hobble on crutches for a long ways. Thanks Kaley! and Goodwill!

Call my insurance company to confirm financial responsibilities for the surgery
I called Member Services, and a very friendly lady (I am not being sarcastic, she was really friendly, I was surprised) told me that Woodwinds, the facility I was having my surgery at was a Level 2 facility, meaning insurance would cover 80% and we would be responsible for 20%. So, I asked about the other facility my surgeon had given as an option - Level 1, meaning we'd only be responsible for 10%. What!!?? That is so dumb. It is Wednesday, the day before the surgery, I've already pre-registered at Woodwinds, I can't change the surgery location... can I? I left a message for my doctor about it, I haven't heard back yet. UPDATE: they switched me to the cheaper place, at noon. Wait, does cheaper mean crappier? I hope not...

Get a handicapped parking pass
I found the application online for a temporary pass at a very unofficial looking website - but the form looks official. I just have to get my doctor to fill out the bottom portion, and in 4 weeks I'll be able to park close!

Have awesome co-workers
My co-worker Erin stopped by today with a card from everyone at work and the best chocolate chip cookies ever eaten. Even though I had to hobble downstairs twice to let her in (mix up with the buildings and me not bringing my cell phone with me) - it was great to see her. We caught up on what's going on at work. Everyone else is picking up the slack from me being gone (thanks guys), and I hope to be back sometime next week.

Don't worry about a little numbness
I had a nice dinner with my husband (tiki burgers and tator tots) and we watched ER on DVD. Around 9 my foot started feeling like it was falling asleep. I moved it around, took the boot off, iced it, accidentally dropped the boot on my husband (he didn't like that very much), and finally called my doctor. He said it was usually caused by swelling and to elevate my foot (which I was). He didn't seem worried about it, said take the boot off, no ice, no Ace bandage, and relax. So, I did.

Welcome to my Blog

Ok, so I am not a blogger type person. I hope nobody reads this. But, since I'll be spending a lot of time laying on the couch, I thought I'd record my experience.

I tore my Achilles on Saturday, March 1, 2008. I was playing in a Reverse 4s volleyball tournament at St. Kate's. 3rd match of the day, 1st game, against my setter from college. I wasn't doing anything spectacular, in fact I can't really remember the play, I stepped back to push off forward and I felt something like someone kicked me in the back of the leg. I turned around and no one was there. My team helped me up and I could put weight on my foot, I just couldn't push off with it. It was a very weird feeling.

After 5 hours in the emergency room I found out I tore my Achilles. I knew that was bad, that's about all I knew.

If you compare the two feet you can see that the left ankle area is a little swollen. It didn't really bruise, it just turned yellow. So far, it has been a lot less painful and swollen than spraining my ankle in college. p.s. don't look to closely at my toenails - eew!