Category: ATR Journey

Achilles Tendon Recovery

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I want to walk!

I had my follow up with Dr. Waz on Tuesday to “get out of my boot” so I thought. I’m 8 weeks post-op, and I had high hopes.

Here’s the dealio: I’m to stay in my boot until 10 weeks. I do start PT next week for 2 days per week. The good news is that in my boot, I feel good, and my stride is pretty fast. However, just to be safe, I need to keep it stable. The swelling is pretty bad after a long day in the classroom, so they suggested compression socks. It is to be expected.

When the boot comes off, he wants me to be walking as much as possible. I can even start swimming if I don’t push off the side and aggressively flip. (I figured so!) I also need to do my PT, exercising with the bands to really strengthen the tendon.

HE ALSO STRESSED the FOUR MONTH MARK is when the most potential exists for re-rupture. It probably won’t be 6 months until I even run or do any forceful movements. (I figured so again!) This tendon is slowly growing back in strength and cannot be abused.

What were you doing at 8 weeks? How did it look? When I’m home, I do take off the boot and try to walk a bit. Today, I want to walk! (In my boot I guess.)

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AAAH. Is that my other foot on the ground?

It’s hard to believe how much you can appreciate standing on two feet until you are denied one foot for 7 weeks. The other day, I removed my boot to sit in the shower. (yes, sit…). Somehow, subconsciously, I stood, and realized, “I AM STANDING!” It did not HURT either! I did put the boot back on after I showered, but it felt so good to feel my heel on the ground sans the tingle.

Fast forward to yesterday at the PT. It was my first visit before I “really” start ( in two weeks). He tested my ROM and gave me insight into how I may have injured my AT. First, my ROM was -10 flexing forward and 42 flexing down. (It should be 0 and 64 I think). Yes, that is great, he said, but also he had to check my other side. Flexing down, I was only at 56. He inferred that my AT is really tight and has been due to inadequate stretching and then overusing with tightness. The step I took downward when I injured it was the bane of my existence. This motion is a killer if you are not adequately stretched. One uses this motion to jump or push off if you will. I CAME DOWN on my foot in this position, and BOOM. Now, I just want to learn how to do things right. It seems as though this is how I always learn…through injury.

His massage of my edema-filled foot was crucial because he mentioned if it stays this way, it could harden and inhibit healing. BOY DID IT HELP!

He showed me how to stretch my foot, and told me to continue the alphabet. My foot MUST BE in the neutral position in the boot and my heel must hit the floor.

 

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March 22, 2013. A special day

It is the last day of school before SPRING BREAK! Not only is it Tater Tot’s 4-month birthday today;

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It is ALSO the 6th week since my surgery. I have bought some compression socks which were hard to find! They needed to cover my foot, and only a few places carried them. I had to go to Endurance Rehab, and they were not cheap! But at the point of PAIN, you’ll pay the moon for comfort. $45 later, I felt less swelling.

 

This week, I plan to really soak in each moment with Tatum, visiting family, mom, and friends! (Oh, and the Cotster). But as I wrap up this week, I am awestruck by how the book we are reading in English has me reeling with hope of influencing young minds. I read Fahrenheit 451 years ago, and thought it was about book burning, but now, it means so much more. I see a lifeless society, consumed with zero substance and complete nothingness. However, everyone is occupied and busy all of the time.
This somewhat reminds me of this (by unknown author)

The Devil was speaking to his angels. He continued, “This is what I want you to do. Distract them from Bible study, prayer, and meditation.” “How do we do that?” asked an angel. “Keep them busy with nonessentials. Invent unnumbered schemes to occupy their minds. Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade wives to go to work for long hours and husbands to work six or seven days a week, ten hours a day, so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them away from their children as much as possible. As the family becomes fragmented, their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work.”

Satan added, “Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot concentrate on the Word for more than just a few minutes. Entice them to play the radio or CD wherever they go, to keep their TV, VCR, CDs, and PCs going constantly in their homes. Fill their coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with news

24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboards, talk radio, and Top 40. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogs, and every kind of newsletter and promotional pamphlet offering free products, ‘essential’ services, and false hopes. In their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return angry, exhausted, and disquieted. Don’t let them stop to see nature and reflect on God’s wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts, and suggestive movies.

“And when they do meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in socializing, gossip, and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotions. Let them be involved in good causes, but crowd their lives with so many ‘good causes’ that they do not have time for church activities. Soon they will be sacrificing their health and their family for the good of the cause.”

It was quite a convention in the end. The evil angels went eagerly to their assignments. Christians everywhere got busy, busy, busy and rushed here and there.

How successful has Satan’s scheme been? Look at your life, and the lives of your family and friends, and be the judge. Someone gave this anagram of busy: B—Burdened U—Under S—Satan’s Y—Yoke.

(God wants us to enjoy life, but He wants to be first (Matthew 6:33). He must be life to us (Colossians 3:1-4))

I have always been busy. But, my goal is never to be of “nonessential” things. I rarely watch TV. However, I rarely stop moving. ENTER: AT rupture! Many would say that I was being punished or I dug my own hole. Others, me included, have surmised that this has completely changed my perspective on life. No longer can I rush; No longer can I accomplish my mile long list. Things must wait, and I must say NO more than ever now.

What have I gained?  Well, in Fahrenheit 451, the character named Clarisse, enjoys picking dandelions. She drinks in the rain as she lays back her head. She has many one-to-one meaningful conversations about “meaningless (depending on what you consider meaningless)” things. She engages in LIFE; in PEOPLE; in PURPOSE. The rest of society? They “plug in” to their talking walls and don’t need to give anything back. They don’t even think and they don’t realize they don’t think because they have lost their capability to have any introspection. The “devil” has succeeded in taking their eyes off what matters: Relationships and finding purpose (and I would say that comes from having a personal relationship with our Father through Christ who gives us the ability to LOVE/LAUGH/CREATE..)

I guess being grateful today is what I am. I have not gained “the world” but have gained insight into what matters. BE INTENTIONAL with your time 🙂

 

 


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Pass the peas, please

Petite peas to be exact.

I got WAY to ambitious WAY to quickly. Monday, cast come off and boot came on. Made a phone call to have the scooter picked up and thought I could ditch my crutches. So, I walked on my foot (in the boot) all day Monday and Tuesday. By Tuesday afternoon, my ankle was in flaming pain.

Being at work, and in the classroom all day, it did not lend itself to RICE -ing. It is not that easy to prop my leg up in the air while I’m with the kiddos. Also, I have to constantly monitor the class and “work the room.”

I found myself crawling into the nurse’s office to get little ice paks to put inside my boot. Oh, and not to mention high doses of Advil.

So, today, I am walking on the boot, but with crutches. I just don’t know WHAT IS NORMAL and what is not. I don’t want to damage my AT, but I don’t want to not use it either. With that said, yes, I am removing the boot often, and trying to rotate my foot, but my ROM is SOOOO limited and it feels like my scar will rip right open. Is this swelling good? Is there something I’m doing wrong? Should I be forcing the walking in my boot even though it hurts?

I have a call in to the Dr. to talk to him. In 4 days, I meet with the PT to see what home exercises I can do. In the meantime, pass those PEAS!

 

 

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Foot ALPHABET

The sound alone sent shivers up my spine!

Today, Sergio removed my cast!

“Don’t worry; it doesn’t cut skin.” Well, how does it know? Seriously!? My skin turned into leather, so how would it detect my humanity!?
So, upon much drama on my part, he patiently cut open the cast.

And what the heck? What is that!? Is that my leg underneath all that fuzz and scales?

And the muscle is WHERE exactly? Oh. Gone. Hmmmph.

Dr. Wasluski enters, and says it looks great. (what part looks great!? my nasty toes? my hairy leg? my scaly pale skin!?) Apparently, I’m healing well. The boot goes on for two weeks.

My directive: Take off the boot 1000 (yes he stressed 1000) times per day, and write the alphabet (cursive capital!) each time. Walk in the boot. Use the crutches as necessary.

He calmed my fears about re-rupture and perhaps tearing the other one. He mentioned that with tendons, one must use the bands to strengthen. They need to be continuously moving in that motion, and most come back to 150% after surgery and therapy. The key is working BOTH sides so it is equal in strength. Not that I’ll be running soon, but he did say to wait about 4 months. I prefer swimming anyway, so no worries there.

In one week, I return to his office and learn some home exercises from the PT. Then in one more week (so two weeks from today) I get to wear REAL SHOES!!!. Also, I start serious PT.

When I stood up (in the boot), my confidence left my body. I had to lean on Cheryl. Once I got to school, I was crutching around until I felt I could walk. Now, it’s about 8 hours later, and I’m in PAIN. I have removed my boot often to alphabetize, and to my chagrin, it’s not easy! However, I will not be beaten by this feeling! I shall overcome (but with caution of course). Swelling is inevitable. Again, it’s to be expected as he told me.

Cheryl recommended OLIVE OIL on the leg to lubricate and un-scale my skin. First thing? A shave! (but in the tub so I don’t slip and break my other one)

I think I will air-write this word with my foot:
P E D I C U R E!!!

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Week 6! Ready for the next step!

Literally.

Last night, I was holding Tatum, and my dog came up to me with THAT LOOK. Can’t you play with me? Now? Well, of course if I was on my two legs, I could jump up, holding Tatum and throw the large orb. But…alas. Monday, the cast gets removed and DAS BOOT is coming on! Now, all I feel is anticipation. What will it be like? Will I be PWB? Will I need my crutches? Scooter? Can I exercise my legs?….Many wonderings.

Meanwhile, I start FULL TIME back to work on Monday also. I will miss this sweet red face throughout the day. Thank goodness she is getting some help for her eczema,

The Dr. has her now on hydrocortisone and vanicreme. So as she heals, I will heal as well. My dog will be the benefactor! 🙂 Ready to take my step!

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Don’t blame it on luck

Some would say I am unlucky. As I sit here writing these words, my left casted leg is propped up due to my need for elevation. Approximately one month ago, I was doing some step-ups and heard a loud pop as if someone had taken a bat to the back of my calf. Since I was alone when this happened, I knew it was not a wooden object whapping my leg. Fast-forward two days; sitting in the Dr.’s office, he informed me I had a full tear of my Achilles tendon. Peachy. I’m off my foot for many days and weeks. Looks like my luck ran out. Or did it? I had everything to do with this injury, and perhaps there was a bigger purpose for it. So, what is my take on luck? After doing some real research on the matter, I have concluded that it does not exist.

There is much more to luck and “un”luck than just coincidence. First, I need to discuss the idea of luck before I can launch into what this has to do with golf. Richard Wiseman, author of The Luck Factor, conducted a ten-year scientific study into the nature of luck, and it showed that people make their own good and bad fortune. He also noted that it is possible to enhance the amount of luck people encounter in their lives. In fact, he discovered four basic principles to people creating their luck in life. “They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.“ (Wiseman) It sounds like luck is a state of mind that may be cultivated. Over the years he studied and interviewed countless numbers of people. Based on his findings, luck is not a magical ability or the result of random chance. “Although lucky and unlucky people have almost no insight into the real causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behavior are responsible for much of their fortune.”

Many people think that much of golf involves luck. If you are a scratch golfer, you might like to believe that. Maybe you constantly complain about the wind or your clubs or the clubhouse or the greens or that tree in the way of your shot. When your ball bounces off some foliage and jumps out-of-bounds, it’s not unlucky. On the contrary, if your shot sails right through the thickest tree on the course, it’s not luck. Apart from winning the daily draw for a tee time on the Old Course at St. Andrews, or weather issues, there is no such thing as luck in golf either!

Think about it. You’re on the course, and you hit one of those “unlucky” shots. Next thing you know your mental state is agitated and somehow your countenance makes you nervous. That club and ball knows you feel this way and, like a dog, can sense your frustration. Now, they will not cooperate and you are getting angrier. You’ve let that “unlucky” shot get the best of you.  All these reactions will hurt your golf game. Maybe you’d start to feel like the golf gods were against you or the course is mad at you. Either way, you would probably not be in the right frame of mind to play well and you’d start thinking more about your bad luck than the shot you’re about to hit. Conversely, good luck can positively impact your state of mind as well.

According to Michael Agger of Slate Magazine,  “(with extremely few exceptions) the top 20 finishers benefitted from some degree of luck. But again, according to Wiseman, “lucky people” are skilled (did you catch that?) at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.” Now, if it was complete luck involved, golfers like, Zach Johnson, Steve Stricker, Peter Hanson, Bo Van Pelt, and Carl Pettersson, would be winning more trophies. Why are they not? According to Fred Altvater of bleacherreport.com, these players have performed in the big events and have earned their status in the golf world but are just under the radar and have yet to win for “whatever reason.” If we could get inside their minds, maybe we could diagnose why.

Graeme McDowell, not the usual household golfer name is being called “lucky.” Is he lucky? Just this past January, on the 18th hole at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, McDowell hit his third shot far past the green only to see it bounce off the grandstand and roll back to just near a couple of feet of the cup. This Irishman would go on to birdie the hole. He had the “luck of the Irish.” The theory behind this slogan is many, but the Urban Dictionary defines the Irish as not necessarily luck they possess but an “attitude the Irish keep; they have a positive look at a bad situation. In fact, “The Irish didn’t survive a potato famine, and being treated as 3rd class citizens upon their arrival to the U.S. (till the mid-late 1900’s) by not having a positive outlook and a great sense of humor!”(urbandictionary.com)

It is true that golf is a psychological kick in the rear. Any of the top players, like Phil Mickelson, can bring his top golf skills to a tournament and lose. You wan watch all the Golf Channel you want, and be obsessed with your swing, your grip, your speed….but maybe think strategy. Think of your thinking. The luckiest people I know are those who set themselves up to win big and do just that!

So, the next time you are “unlucky” at your game, don’t blame it on luck – you caused the ball to react the way it did once it left your clubface. Take your penalty strokes and start gearing up for the next shot. That way, you won’t let an “unlucky break” undo your whole round. If luck exists or not, either way, the luck of the game will go your way if like, Wiseman concludes, you start cultivating the right state of mind. And me? I’m not unlucky; I need to re-think every little step I take.