Hello everyone, I promised some i'd post results from my 2nd surgery attempt at midfoot fusion (sorry, can't remember the fancy name for it).

I had the procedure on Oct. 2nd. Everything has been pretty easy. The surgery went well according to the doc. I had a different surgeon perform the procedure this time around with my original doc assisting. Lasted about an hour. They took out the old screws, put in a bone wedge and a graph on that, then screwed a plate on top of it.

It's been 4 wks since and i'm doing really well. I had very little pain even right afterwards. I took pain killers but I easily could've done without. Just a little bit of soreness really. I took a week off from work and honestly, it felt like a vacation :)

The only problem i'm having is with this surgeon. In typical doc fashion, he listens to you with 1 ear and foot out the door when I go to his office. I went back to him about 2 1/2 weeks post op for a new cast and xrays. He said then that everything looked good and with the new cast I could start to put partial weight on it for 2 weeks, then I could go to full weight after 3 weeks. then come see him and he'll give me a walking boot. This was 2 weeks ago this fri. So this whole time since i'm partially walking on it, using about 70/30 crutches/body weight right. I called last week to set another appt. to get a boot and the earliest I could get in was Nov. 16th. That's 2 wks after full weight to get out of this fiber cast, which isnt comfortable to walk on. He said then to call him if I was having trouble walking in this cast and he'd get me in to get a boot. So I called yesterday about doing that later this week or early next week because I didn't want to go 2 wks in this stupid cast if I didn't have to. So anyway, his nurse calls me back (the doc is standing there with her because shes talking to him and me at same time) and says I shouldn't be putting weight on it at all, just barely letting my heal touch the floor. So I tell her what he told me the last time I was there and she tells him and he tells her to tell me I can't walk on it AT ALL until the next time I come in! This is in direct contradiction to what he told me a week and half ago. I said that to her and she just said no weight that there's a graft there and weight could cause it not to heal right.

Well, needless to say, I was pissed...and disappointed. I was really looking forward to ditching the crutches this fri. but now I gotta be on em another 2 1/2 weeks :( My foot feels great, no pain at all and I sure I hope I didn't mess it up by putting weight on it the last 1 1/2 weeks. If I did, its the doc's fault because he told me to do it. I just still can't believe it. I mean, what wouldv'e happened if I hadn't called him? I wouldv'e started walking on it this fri. and maybe really screwed it up! damn doctors :mad:

I get the drift of your message. i just had my ankle fused...two months ago, and now have a walking aircast with full body weight. i was in bed for the whole two months prior. yuck.

i also find my doc has one ear/foot movment too. when i had my surgery, however, all of my followup visits were already set...times..what was going to happen in each of them. (assuming all went well) we had some confusion,,,and i had to have extra casts put on as swelling went down so much.

schedule your appointments all the way out til what you hope will be the end!

will you be able to play hockey? (the name)

bed for 2 months!?! ouch! I can't believe they wouldn't let you get up and move around on crutches? it's a pain, but it's better than losing all your strength.

I hope to be playing again by the end of the year but it really depends on how long he puts me in a walking cast. I think that will happen in 2 weeks and he'll probably want me on that for a month or so. I intend to start playing again as soon as he tells me I can't break it by doing so. I'm already back at the gym working out I just can't do squats or much in the way of cardio, but I intend to have my leg strong by the time i'm out of the casts.

good luck to you!

well,,my surgery was ankle fusion...and the typical recovery for it is non weight bearing..but my doc said in bed...for the first two weeks..and then bed bath, couch after that til the cast was removed. he said that i healed well because i followed that plan. see, what happened was that i had a porous talus...(osteoporosis ankle)...and he had to put in two extra screws into my heel. now..the original plan was that after the two months in bed...i'd walk out of the office with sneakers or hiking boots or something likethat. so i do feel good that i'm in a walking air cast.

i go back to surgeon on november 29th..x ray and hopefully schedule minor surgery to remove the extra screws in my ankle..(screwed into my heel)...and then...i'm off watching hockey!

as far as xercise...i did do upper body weights..(5-8lbs) while in bed...and some stretching as well. i didn't gain any weight...(which would be easy to do)...and now i'm still doing weights...and stretching!)

i'm a UMaine hockey fan...we go to every home game we can! UM has won two NCAA frozen four titles.:cool: We also go to see the Coyotes when in Az.

good luck to you as well. p

you know, i'm wondering if maybe I should be at home in bed. My doc never told me to stay home but I sat on the sofa for a week and then went back to work. He just said no weight which to me means walking on crutches and keep my foot off the ground. I hope it isn't something where even not putting weight on it but all the moving around is causing it to not heal. oh well, guess i'll find out.

possibly. my doc told me in bed..bath only...two months...and he didn't want me to even put my toe on the ground to balance. and honestly, with the porous talus,,he didn't expect me to heal as well as i have.

i'm wearing the boot til the end of november...and hopefullly will have the pins removed right afterwards...then walk walk walk...(i play golf..no hockey for me!):cool:

Hockey Player, I understand your frustration. Sometimes it really does feel like the doc has one one ear and one foot out the door. I got some good advice long ago about getting your doc to lay out the game plan prior to surgery. Of course, that is barring any type of complication or change, but in my own example (surgery number three, removal of implant in the big toe joint and bone graft to fuse that joint together) he told me last month prior to surgery what each follow-up visit was going to entail. Quite possibly, your doctor either wasn't paying attention when you were in the office, or when you were on the phone, he didn't know who you were.

Anyway, hopefully you haven't done damage to yourself. No one knows your body better than you do, and I think if you were hurting yourself, you would know it right away. But it was surprising you could put weight on your foot that soon after having hardware inserted.

On a personal note, I also play hockey, I play goalie, and my doc says once I am fully healed, I should return 100% to everything I did before. He has no concerns with taking pucks off the foot once it's 100%, and that's the key. I have to take it slow and make sure there's no chance of re-injury. I am only a week removed from surgery, I have a bandage on my foot now, in another week that gets removed along with the stitches, and then I get a cast for anywhere from 6 to 12 weeks depending on how quickly the bone heals up. Please keep posting, especially when you return to playing, I am very interested to know how you make out. I'm a year away from that, but I am already antsy sitting around watching games.

i may be duplicating here...but it was a b---h being in bed for two months,,but i did do upper body weights...and stretching...but the boot does limit my desire to walk...i don't like that.

check with your doc...plus there is a roller caddy that you can keep your leg up on..and walk with the other...less painful.

not sure why my doc insisted i stay in bed..but with the porous talus i had...evidently it was for the best. good luck. p

db, its good to hear from someone else who plays hockey. I couldn't imagine being away from the game that long man, I feel for you. Like your doc told you, I intend to start playing again immediately as long as there isn't any chance of hurting it outside of what could be expected normally. the longer i'm away from playing, the more out of shape I get and it's driving me crazy. I was in the best shape of my life before starting all of this and I know its gonna take a good year or more to get back to that when all this is over and done with.

I swear with this second surgery, after a few weeks, I felt like I could run on it, it felt that good. i'm hoping that translates well when I can walk on it again.

hooty, i've read about the walking roller thing. would definitely be nice to have around the house to free up my hands. cooking dinner last night on crutches was a b***h to put it mildly :)

keep the updates coming, I want good news!

What is coming up for you as far as doctor visits? When do you go again and what is he / she going to tell you? As for you feeling good, that is really great, things must have gone well for you during surgery. I had the joint of the big toe fused together, and the toe takes a lot of stress when walking, and unfortunately I needed a bone graft off my hip to make up the missing space in the joint where the implant was, so I am recovering from that as well. (My hip hurts way worse than my foot does right now) I am jealous to say the least, I don't think I will feel like I could run on my foot in a month or two.

Keep us updated with your next doctor visit and what you are allowed and not allowed to do, and definitely update me when you are back to skating, I am interested to know what you go through when that happens

I have an appointment this Fri. and he is supposed to put me in a walking cast. But as to what he'll tell me, who knows, he doesn't have a good track record so far ;) At least he's a good surgeon :) I really have a good feeling this time around. I'm not experiencing any of the same type of pain I had before so i'm optimistic. The only thing that worries me is that I mistakenly was putting weight on it when I wasn't supposed to. I hope I didn't mess it up but I haven't felt any pain so i'm hoping its ok.

The first time around, I was off crutches right after thanksgiving and was skating by mid Jan. and started playing at the end of Jan. I don't expect that to be the case this time around. I expect to start skating again right after the walking cast comes off. I've been going to the gym sporadically trying keep my strength up as much as possible but it's been hard the last couple of weeks because i've been so tired at night. But I think i'll bounce back fairly quickly this time around. The rehab shouldn't be nearly as bad because I already did the hard part earlier this year. This time around its all about regaining my strength. The last time I had to learn how to walk again as well as regain strength. Plus, this time i've only been down for 6 weeks, last year it was about 13 so it should be easier.

I can imagine having your toe worked on put you in the same spot I was in and that's that in skating, the front half of your foot carries most of your body weight and any pain in that part of your foot makes it really hard to skate correctly. That sucks about your hip pain. I wonder why the doc didn't use the fake bone stuff? Mine gave me a choice, take a graft from my ankle or use this fake bone compound. So what's the update on your surgery? I'm guessing you got the stitches out and are in a cast now?

I was watching the Detroit/StL game on Vs. last night and it was killing me :( Where do you live? maybe we'll play against each other some day :)

and Hooty, hows that ankle of yours? You outta bed yet?

Oh yes...I am out of bed,,,almost 2 1/2 weeks now. I have an aircast walking boot...quite attractive! as you can imagine, i'm sure!

i go back to the surgeon on the 29th,,,he'll x ray and decide when and if he can remove some of the screws...i still feel the same pain feelings i did prior to the surgery...i hope that is not a bad sign....it didn't hurt while it was casted for the most part.

personal question you don't have to answer. who do you play for? i'm in new england now...and really follow UMaine college hockey. :)

happy you are getting better..

awesome hooty, glad to hear you're up and about. sorry about the pain, hopefully its just residual and will go away in time. i'm worried about the same because when I have put weight on the foot, I feel pain in the same spot as well. i'm hoping its just weak. only time knows for sure I guess.

haha, i'm no big time player or anything. I play in an organized beer league here in StL. i'm 37 so no playin with too many young pups anymore ;)

hey...at least you are playing!!!!! that's a good thing. ;) good luck and keep getting better. hooty

Alright my fellow hockey players and fans, something other to talk about besides our depressing health problems. Let me get the boring stuff out of the way first.

My guy said he wanted to take my own bone for the graft rather than bone from a donor or a cadaver, or the fake stuff. He said that in orthopaedics, there is a saying 'There's no bone like your own'. Meaning, bone from my hip gives me the greatest chance of a succuessful fusion. Cadaver bone or the fake stuff doesn't have the success rate as your own bone does, and the way I looked at it, I wanted surgery number three to be the last one. I wanted to minimize the chance of going under, AGAIN, for this. So that's why he did the hip, and it was painful, terribly painful, but now I am 3+ weeks post op, and it's coming around. I imagine it's going to be months before it's 100%, especially once I start getting active again and start to move and flex and stress it more than just getting in and out of the easy chair.

My foot is now in a cast for at least the next 8 weeks. The stitches came out last week, the incision looked really gross and cool at the same time. Since it's on my foot, I can deal with a nasty looking scar. It will be cool to show off in the locker room. I already grossed out all the babies I play with by sending them a picture of it in email. I'm still NWB on it, indefinitely. In fact, my doc made a point to tell me not to monkey around with him, NWB means NWB. And he's right, he did a lot of work, I am going through a huge hassle, I need to do it once and do it right.

Ok, now onto the hockey. You are dead on about the front half of the foot, I really sucked it up the past few years and played, and as a goalie to not feel comfortable or confident in your feet is tough. I don't make any excuses, I tried and did the best I could with what I had, but sometimes I resented the guys on my team if they started giving me a hard time about not playing well, or starting to go downhill, just saying that I'm getting old. (You and I are the same age, 37) This time around, I am coming back with a vengence. I am planning to really work myself hard into shape once I am cleared with the foot, and am going to shock those guys next season with the condition I am in. I might be 38 next year, but I want to be in shape like a 20 year old and blow it out when I am finally pain free. Playing in pain is exhausting, but it's funny, I would rather play on a sore foot than not play at all.

I live in the greater Philadelphia area, Pottstown PA. I'm a fair weather Flyers fan, I don't like the front office very much, and I think some of their player signings are questionable characters. (Downie, Boulerice, etc) Unfortunately this isn't a great area for college hockey, that's what I really enjoy following. It's hard for me, I follow as much as I can online. I'm a big fan of North Dakota, Minnesota, U Maine, Vermont. My favorite player was Mike Richter, what's not to like? He was American, not real big, and was born and raised in this area. Now that he's retired, I like Chris Osgood, a smaller goalie that never seems to get a lot of respect. But he's Canadian, I like to follow the American goalies. How about you, what are you following hockey-wise?

happy thanksgiving dbgoalie...and i'm glad you are following your docs orders! that is what i did...only i couldn't get out og bed except for the bathroom...(no showers) for two months. now i have the walking boot, as you probably all know by now. i go back next week for an xray and hopefully to schedule removing the extra pins and screws in my ankle and heel.

i am a died in the wool UMaine hockey fan...in years past we follow them to boston or even to the Frozen four out in Anaheim when we won our second FF!! I'm anxious to see them this year..we have season tix, and go as often as we can.
I typically only follow the UM players,,,Paul Kariya, and his brothers,,Garth Snow, (goalie) as well as Mike Dunham..also was a goalie. and a few others. tho it's harder for them to get to the NHL now than it used to be. Paul was phenom to watch as an17/18/19yo college man!

So..take care of yourself...you'll be back on your skates in no time!! hooty;)

Hope you all had a good holiday! I don't follow college hockey too much as we don't have much to follow here in misery....er missouri. its all about football and baseball here. hockey is big at the high school level and the blues draw some interest but that's about it unfortunately. we had a UHL team but they folded last year. anyways...

good to hear you all are recovering well. I wish you well on your journey! I don't think I could do what you all have done. It took all I had this time around just to stay off of it for a few weeks! but, I am now full weight baring and everything feels pretty good. there is still some pain but I suspect that will be the case for awhile. I hope its just weak muscles and tight tendons and ligaments. but I'm beginning to think that there might just be some pain that will never go away. I will be in a walking cast until dec. 7th and after that, I don't know yet but i'm hoping that I can go to a shoe after that and start rehabbing this thing and get back to business. i'm getting really flabby and i'm eating like **** because i'm depressed.

I hear ya, HP70...this whole thing is depressing,,,so easy to eat...fortunately for me, I didn't gain any weight,,,and actually lost some...(probably muscle...unfortunately)

I knew cause of the porous ankle, I was going to have to have the extra two screws removed eventually,,the other three would stay unless they caused problems. However, this weekend my husband and I noticed the screw sticking right out...not thru the skin, but really gross!!!! The doc said I could continue walking on it with my airboot and take pain meds. They will schedule them to be removed asap. It should only be a 20 minute operation at the hospital. It's pretty freaky to see them sticking out...but not much of a chance they will break the skin....(or so he says)

plus...it just plain HURTS...as you certainly understand.

like i said earlier...college hockey is very big in new england. actually, there is not much else to do in the frozen tundra!!!! (it's not the end of the world, but we can see it from here!!) haaaa..

stop eating...do some upper body weights and lay down on the floor and stretch stretch and stretch some more. that's what i am doing and it feels good..(not the ankle tho) take care;)

HP, I do the same thing when I am laid up like I am, it's easy to get depressed and start eating a lot of junk. Fortunately for me and my waist line, I am not supposed to drive (I have been good about that so far) and I have given the wife very strict orders to take it easy with the junk food for the next few weeks, at least until I am mobile again and can start to compensate for the bowl of ice cream I am dying to have. So she has, and I have also lost 5 lbs, I am sure it's all muscle, but regardless, it's better than gaining 5, right?

Glad to hear that you are weight bearing on the foot, I know it's hard to do, and I am not good at following my own advice, but take it slow. Whenever you think to yourself that you want to do more and push things, I wouldn't for a while. The last thing you want to do is go through all this again. It takes a year to fully recover, it really does after surgery, and we're still young, so take it slow and light for a while. You are only a few weeks removed from surgery.

As for hockey, I am getting my wife to drive me to the rink tonight, my men's league team plays at 9:30. I miss all the little things about the rink, the noises, the sounds, (the smell I can live without) and I am really looking forward to seeing the guys and checking out the game. Fortunately for me, I'm a little better than the goalie they got to replace me this season, so they haven't forgotten who I am yet.

happy holidays hootie and db, hope you are doing well. i'm doing ok I guess. i'm now down to part time in the walking boot but having some pain issues that I hope are not serious but I am worried. some of it is exactly the same pain I felt before the surgery so i'm worried that all of this has been for nothing but I guess we'll see. I will go back on the 28th and he said if the xrays looked good, he'd let me start rehabbing it and skating again.

I must say that i'm getting pessimistic that my pain is never going to go away. I wish I had never had this surgery. it has been just a waste of year and a half of my life for nothing so far. I got really down about it yesterday because it was really hurting on the spot where my surgery was but it feels better today so maybe I just walked too much on it. is this thing ever going to be normal again? i'm beginning to wonder :(

anyways, you guys have a merry xmas if I don't hear from you before then and hope you all are doing well in your recovery!

Hockeyplayer,
I have felt the same way you have described. I wonder if I ever should have had my ankle fused or every done the bunionectomy.

I have heard from other people that they have gone through the same kind of thinking. I now believe it is a part of the healing process for those of us who go through something that takes a longer recovery.

I will keep you in my prayers, and I hope you get to feeling better. It is hard to listen to our bodies when we begin to walk again. Perhaps you are trying to do too much too soon.

Merry Christmas!
Step

i think you will be ok hp...my doc said to walk walk walk some more on it...even if i'm ready to sit or it is hurting like crazy...to walk 5 more minutes.

so that's what i do. and sometimes it hurts...and others not. i'm sure you are right on track! merry xmas@!

HP, sorry to hear you are feeling depressed. Of course I don't know you and am not a doctor anyway, but my feeling and what I hear from medical people is that any kind of bone surgery is major work, and it takes a lot of time to recover from. It's not like tissue surgery, like an ACL in the knee where they start rehabbing it the same day they cut it open. This is bone, and the only thing that heals it is time. Unfortunately for human beings that enjoy being active, it's hard to tell if you have given it enough time and it's hard to tell when you are pushing it too fast or when you are not pushing it enough. Your doc or a therapist would be good to lean on, try and get their undivided attention and explain the best you can the way you feel and get their opinion.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that you wasted a year and a half of your life. The way your foot was before the surgery, could you have seen yourself living that way for another 35, 45 years? Be patient, it's hard, and I have a hard time following my own advice to be patient, but try and take a long term view at your recovery.

thanks for the kind words everyone, i'm feeling better for the most part. my foot was really hurting on the spot where the fuse is so I was really in a bad mood that day :)

since then, i've had days where it felt good and days where its hurting. and from everything i've heard, that's a good thing. it doesn't hurt on that spot all the time which means its healing so i'm trying to be positive.

merry xmas to you all if I don't hear from you before then. lets all hope santa brings us a pain free start to the rest of our lives next year! cheers!

i hear ya, hp70....i'm having surgery to remove two of the extra screws on wednesday...hope to be walking without this DANG AND DEPRESSING aircast! tho i have to admit it is better than staying in bed for two months...being able to walk.

i get depressed over it all too...and somedays it hurts like heck...and i can see the screw sticking out of the bone (but not the skin) on the left side of it which really creeps me out. it is not one being removed tho...

i find it very difficult to walk around much outside..as we just got another 13inches of snow...beautiful but not easy to manuver in.

now..i've complained..and i know my ankle is doing better...so let's all plan on a pain free New Year,,like you said..and be active and healthy!!! ;)

i'm back!!! had my surgery to remove two of my screws in my heel,,and it's not so good. he could take one out,,no problem...but the other one he backed out and put a washer on it,,screwed it back in to be nice and tight. meanwhile,,the bone there has not healed in about 20% of it...so,,i'm bandaged due to the surgery...currently using crutches again..in bed with elevation.. and am doing bone stimulation for growth...wearing it for about 10 hours a day is the plan. it's not a big deal, but i won't find out for about 10 weeks if it is working...(and actually, the other side of the coin is,,,did it heal on it's own, or did the bone heal by the stimulator) we'll never know.

but it's cutting into xmas...i have family coming and we are all traveling...and it's not looking good for me to go, or even do all i had planned for my grandkids. dern!!! i'm back on pain meds for this..but honestly if i was not...i'd be reacting more like....:mad:,,,instead of :(

ho ho ho...merry christmas. *sigh*

man, i'm so sorry to hear that hooty! hopefully the bone stimulator will help out with that. you'll be in my thoughts over xmas!

thanks buddy! ;)

HP, any updates, how are things going for you? Are you back on skates yet, or do you have an idea when you will be? My doc thinks in 6 weeks he will clear me for any and all activity, so I would like to know if you have skated or will be soon, and how it goes. I know for me the biggest issue is going to be the lack of strength in my ankles. Over the next 6 weeks I am going to make it a priority to regain the strength I lost in my ankle from being NWB for so long. It seems like once the doc cleared me to stop using crutches, my ankle was SO WEAK. Incredible how much and how quickly you can lose it when you aren't using it. But, on the flip side, those muscles usually come back around quickly, they get used with every step. But skating is a little different, so please let me know where you are with recovery.

hey all, happy new year! hope it gets better for all of us :(

i'm doing ok, i'm back to full activity but the pain is still pretty bad. I'm really convinced now that i'm going to have this pain for the rest of my life. It's just not getting better no matter what I do. More and more i'm starting to believe that there's nerve damage or some other tissue damage that just can't be fixed with rehab. Maybe after a long time, it will go away but there's no way to know that except to just wait.

On the plus side, I am skating again and played in my first game back on the 3rd and all was well. My legs were pretty weak and my stamina wasn't where I want it but I expected it and know that will take time. You're right about the muscles coming back fairly quickly and anything you do before then will only make it easier when you do. I worked out for almost 2 mos. before the do told me I could get to skating and I think it helped, maybe not with my legs but with my stamina for sure. Nothing can prepare your legs for skating except skating.

sounds like you're coming along nicely there db, please let me know how things go for you when you get back on the ice.

how are you doing hooty? hope everything is healing good since the last trip to the doc.

HP, quick update for you. A month ago I couldn't even get my foot into my skate, it hurt too much, could only go 1/2 way on. Then, 2 weeks ago, I could get it on, but couldn't balance on it, trying to stay upright on the blade was putting too much strain back and forth on my foot and it was just too much. But then today, I actually got them on and could walk around the house with my guards on. So, I'm not cleared by the doc yet, but my team was playing tonight, so I went down to the rink and skated by myself before the game started. I am so pleased, I mean a month ago, I couldn't even get them on, and now I was able to skate. But I felt terrible on my skates, like I was learning to skate again for the first time. Hard time pushing, hard time turning, couldn't cross over, couldn't come to a stop. But, I am amazed and pleased. I think in another month I will be back to it, I just need to hear from the doc that everything is fused and is a-ok.

How about you, how is your game coming along?

i know you didn't ask me..but it sounds like you are doing very well. i have my boot/aircast off for a week and a half..and i feel like i'm walking on a wooden tree stump. i walk like an old lady...about 2.8mph on the treadmill..go to the mall and walk there...i sort of have a hitch in my step..and the surgeon says i need to loosen up my heel, but i don't know i can.

oh well. glad you are doing well...keep up the skating. our umaine team is playing poorly this year. a rebuilding year we are not used to. got creamed by unh this weekend...:(

well, its been awhile but thought i'd drop a note and see how you guys are doing. sounds like your having a rough go of it hootie, hope everything is getting better and you've left behind the "old lady" routine :)

db, I would expect by now that you are back on the ice? how's that goin for you? I for sure know what it feels like when you first get back out there. I felt like a total noob skater for the first few games.

I'm doin ok I guess, i've now been back at it for close to 2 mos. and its getting better..albeit slowly. I can almost walk without a limp most of the time but the pain is still there but it is less than what it was. But I won't see myself as out of the woods until its gone because it got better to a degree last year as well but then didn't get any better from there so i'm still in the cautiously optimistic stage right now. One encouraging sign is that I ran on a treadmill last week which was the first time i've been able to really run normally since before this all started so that's a good sign. But most of the time if I try to run, it still hurts so I do the "limp run" Hockey is going pretty well, my team is on a 6 gm win streak and closing in on first place. My game is slooooooooooooowly coming back. I still can't skate as well as i'd like but until the pain goes away when I put my weight on the ball of my foot, that won't get any better. One thing I did that I think really helped was I stopped working it out. I didn't go to rehab, and I stopped working out at the gym and just walked on it. I really think I was doing too much and it was counter-productive. I will resume working out when the pain subsides and then I can concentrate on getting my strength back.

But i'm seeing progress and its only been 2 mos. but if I don't feel its better within another 2 mos. or so, i'm going to see the orthopedic doc who treated my wife's knee pain and see if he can help me because this is all tissue. The pain from the non-union that they redid in Oct. is gone thank god. So that's something to be happy about :)

anyway, enough a my yakkin, you guys take care and keep me updated on your progress and hope you keep improving.

glad you are doing better, hp70...nothing worse than a hockey player not doing well,,with perhaps the exception of a golfer!! I am doing better..still in pain, but it is different since I had my ankle fused...I feel like I'm walking on a tree stump still..but can golf, out in Az away from the snow..and ignoring the pain, I guess. I did that before the surgery too...

oh,,,my insurance wouldn't cover my PT in Az cause I live in a different State. grrr...so I am walking,,,and walking and trying to get my gait straight. One leg is definatly shorter than the other tho...so trying to get that worked out...will probably do an orthotic in April when I return home.

keep intouch...glad you are doing well..and hope db is good too. *hugs to the hockeyguys*

HP, good to hear that you are playing, sounds like things are coming around for you. You too Hooty, it takes a while, I also felt like an old man when I walked for the first time once I was cleared.

I am back to playing, I played a game for the first time last week and then again last night. I am sore, everything is sore, but my foot isn't doing too bad. I have taken a few shots right off the foot, and I think it scares more than anything. It hurts, but no more than my good foot when that one takes a shot. I think my skates are getting a little small for me, I think this summer I am going to get a wider pair. Unfortunately I wear a EE width, and I can't seem to find anyone that would make a EEE. So, I will probably bump up to a larger size and just deal with it being a little bit too big. But overall, not doing too bad. Foot feels a little weak pushing off, I do have some discomfort, but it's time to get back to it.

Hope you are both coming along with your recovery. Good to hear from you both.

You all still out there? How are you doing?

My recovery has kind of hit a wall. I went in for a ct scan a few weeks ago and it showed that my bone isn't fusing, at least its going very slowly. Doc gave me a new stimulator and I have to use that for a couple of months and go from there.

I pretty much quit exercising altogether to try to get this thing healed. Hopefully, the bone will heal and then we're gonna take out the plate and see if that's causing pain. After that, I will probably go see a orthopedic pain specialist if i'm still having problems.

This has just been so much fun! I love it! I've been really wanting to go give the first surgeon who talked me into this a piece of my mind lately.

i know how you feel. i couldn't stand my surgeon when it was all said and done...and it's still not done! i'm relearning to walk...(mind you, my surgery was in augusut 07). one thing he did do for me was secure me a bone stimulator, which helped with my fusion which was taking longer than he expected to heal. i wore mine 10 hours a day...but there are others that don't require that time constraint to be effective.

so...finally after getting my boot off on january 31st, i am seeing a physical therapist...still having pain, and my leg looks like it's emaciated. the pt thinks i can build those muscles back up..and has given me a 'tenns' machine', simillar to what they use in chirpractor offices...to help relieve the pain of trying to move ligaments and tendons that have not been moved inforever, it seems.

also, while healing i went to a hyperbaric oxygen chamber for several visits,,,which brings pure oxygen directly to the areas (they say) of injury in your body. that with the bone stim finally helped fuse my ankle.

what a pia...but good luck to you and keep intouch. p

good to hear from you hooty (I know its been awhile but I keep forgetting to come and see you and db are doing. Hope all is well with him as we haven't heard from him in awhile.

I've been using the bone stim everyday for 30 min. That's all the time I have to use it which is nice. And I think the spot where the fuse is located is getting better but its the other parts that just aren't going away. Sometimes my foot feels good enough that it almost feels normal and I can walk good but if I sit down or anything, it gets really stiff and is sore after that. Hopefully that will go away in time.

I'm almost 10 months out from my suregery, and I still have pain, but not like I did prior to the fusion. My PT says it's the ligaments around my ankle that need to be stretched..so I'm using a tens machine on it daily, and trying to keep it stretched. I usually walk 18 holes of golf daily, but I'm walking nine and riding nine. I get too wiped out after 18, and need a nap! (I'm old :))!!)

Keep up the good work. I think the stiffness will go away. hooty

hey hootie!

hows the foot doing? is your pain any better?

I am doing ok I guess. I still have pain issues but my fuse is still not fully healed. i'm going to have it re-evaluated in about a month and see where it is. I still have a bit of a limp but it doesn't bother me too much. I walked 9 holes last sunday and it was pretty sore for a day or so after. hopefully it will be done healing soon so I can get this plate out of my foot and that will help with the remaining pain. we shall see I guess.

hey...good to hear from you. i'm doing better, most of the time not in pain...and my ankle doesn't feel 'hot' anymore. i can walk 18holes...YIPPIE..and my golf game is coming back...it was pretty poor early in the summer.

i am released from my surgeon..tho he told me to expect some swelling and pain into december...as that is when they removed some of the pins...but overall, i'm ok. i just love wearing shoes and not sneakers!!!!

i have a 'tens' machine that i can hook myself up to if i'm in too much pain and it really helps...happy to have that for when i need it.

keep intouch..keep swinging the clubs! hootie