Getting Better

I got released to wean my foot out of the ortho boot as long as I walk only in my shoe, not barefoot.

Walking in the shoe which is my PT exercises has really helped bring the swelling down in my foot and toes. There is still some swelling and it gets worse when I'm on it a long time like when I groom a dog. But it goes down pretty quickly when elevated for a bit and doesn't reoccur when I move around again. I am still grooming in the ortho boot as it gives my weak ankle support over the four hours I'm standing on it.

Looking pretty good!

I am having more stiffness, tightening and pain in the tendon now that I'm using it more. I'm hoping they will address that in PT since I've mentioned it once already and will again today.

Side-by-side

So there is still some swelling since the foot is pinker than my 'good' one. But it IS getting better! Yesterday I took the dogs to a fun match for their first training in 10 weeks. It was fun!

Wrinkles!

Who would have thought that wrinkles were something to get excited about?

Sunday, I was sitting with my foot up as I watched the darn Cubs beat up on my beloved Cardinals when I noticed that there were vertical wrinkles in my big toe. I kept looking at it trying to figure out why I had wrinkles on my toe.

Wrinkles!

Then it hit me -- with the toe so obscenely swollen the skin was stretched to its fullest for 8+ weeks. And the swelling had gone down! So my stretched skin was wrinkly. It didn't last long. As soon as I put the foot down it ballooned back up but at least I know it can get better. A flickering light in the darkness.

Swelling is way down

Tough Love

My foot is not liking physical therapy.

I've been three times now. Monday was just measurements and assessment and they sent me home with some exercises to do, which I had already been doing. I didn't have the range of motion I thought I had but it's better than they assumed I would have. So that's a good thing to surprise your therapist!

Wednesday we actually got down to work but again was not much more than the exercises I was doing on my own. We did try to get my shoe on the foot but the toe just wasn't ready to accept being squeezed ito that little area. Mostly it was the angle of the shoe vs the angle of my toe at that point in time. So my 'homework' was to get my foot in my shoe by Friday's appointment.

The result of too much walking

So like a good girl, I went home and worked at wedging my obscenely swollen foot into my (wide-width) shoe. I got it in after some work but was only able to keep it on for about two minutes. But then later in the evening I got it on again and kept it on for about 5 minutes. That was enough for me.

Thursday was much better. I got the shoe on my foot much easier and was able to keep it on for an extended period while I sat in my recliner. By the end of the day I was able to put the shoe on (not easily but getting it on) and sit with my foot on the floor with normal weight on it and it felt good.

Friday, I went back to work after eight weeks off and had two little dogs to groom but was able to sit while grooming them. I got done about 11:30 and was able to shower and get my foot up to rest before subjecting it to PT at 1:40.

At PT, I did some "walking". Actually it was more like shifting of weight on and off the foot and it was hard! I was so beat by the time I got home, with a headache and an achy, swollen foot. I had picked up something for supper so I could just go put my foot up and ice it. It took almost two hours of icing before it felt better.

Here are some pictures of my foot taken last weekend after I soaked it to get all the dead skin off of it. I had to wait for help to clip my nails but got that done later so my foot looks better than even these pix. But the swelling is still about what I have going on right now.

Swollen piggies

Doesn't the incision look great?

I'm Walking Again . . .

 . . sorta.

My foot is really not liking being walked on right now. This new ortho boot seems to throw my foot/weight back onto the heel instead of evenly from toe to heel. So my heel is bearing a lot of weight and is very tired and sore while my toes and ball of foot are getting very little use. I will put up with it for today, concentrating on forcing myself to walk with a heel to toe roll. Tomorrow I have my first PT appointment and will discuss my problems with them.

I've found that if I use my old ortho boot, I get better heel to toe roll, but that boot is tall and hot (and starting to fall apart), which is why I took the new one from the doctor - it is only mid-shin high so is a bit cooler and less cumbersome. So perhaps it's a boot issue, perhaps it's just me favoring my broken bones still. PT will sort it out.

So I'm off two crutches now. I am still using one when my foot gets tired or I'm on uneven ground so I can take some of the weight off of the bad foot but still use it. Lots of ice when it starts hurting. I know I have to ease into this walking stuff but Lisa stopped by yesterday with her new red puppy(!) and I really overdid it, especially for the first day.

So today is a day of conservative use. Cardinal baseball on over-the-air TV today so we get to watch. Supposed to start getting miserable again with heat and humidity. So I have lots of reasons to take it easy today.

Mike is hoping I can get mobile enough to start doing duck chores soon. I think by the end of the week I'll be able to do everything except carry the buckets of water to the pen and he can do that when he gets home after work and I can dip from them to fill drinking bowls. Luckily the swimming pool has a hose from the well right near it so I don't have to haul water for that.

I'm still sleeping downstairs for now. Getting down my narrow, steep stairway in an ortho boot is just asking for a broken neck. And sleeping in the boot so I can make my mid-night trek to the bathroom is also out of the question in this heat and humidity. So if I stay downstairs I can use my crutches to get to the bathroom during the night and be a bit more comfortable.

So we'll see what PT brings. And I have to remember not to push it. Conservative is my motto for now!

Looking Good!

My ankle incision stopped seeping.

On Tuesday, I took off the wrap to check and change the gauze pad and it was clean! And nothing since then. So on Saturday, the stitches will come out and I'll get orders to start PT. I already have an appointment made for Monday morning. I didn't want to wait until they called me after getting the orders from the doctor. And since I've been there before the surgery, I figured I'd just get the ball rolling.

T

Taken this morning at 7am

The knitting bones are still tender/sore and have a lot of swelling in them. That's going to be the biggest holdup of my recovery. My ankle is weak but has probably 90% flexiblity back. We'll see how PT helps with that.
.

A Hopeful Time Line

On Saturday, the doctor gave me her thoughts on my recovery time line.

She is figuring that I'll be walking (starting next Saturday) in the ortho boot for about four weeks and back in a regular shoe by 12 weeks post-op. That would be great as 12 weeks is Sept. 15th and I have dog show on Sept 18 & 19. I can very well show in the ortho boot but it would be much easier in a regular shoe.

So I will be a good girl and do my PT exercises like I'm supposed to so that I can be on track with the doctor's time line.

Net Yet

The doctor decided to go conservative on me and make me wait to walk for another week. The spot on my heel is still seeping a bit so she is leaving the stitches in one more week and since I can't start physical therapy because of that, she decided to give my bones another week to continue to knit. Sigh. But she's sure that I'll be able to start PT and start walking next week.

I think Mike is more bummed than me. His patience is gone and he really wants to not have to do chores and cook and do laundry and clean (no, wait, he doesn't clean as my house can attest). He is getting real hard to live with, but I can't blame him. They're not his ducks and dogs.

So another seven days. . .