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planemark · 04-08-2012, 07:59 PM

Thanks, Roxygirl, I needed that. It's good to hear that there is some light at the end of the tunnel. I guess I have been doing quite a bit lately, and I'm sure that is aggravating everything. I have a bad habit of putting everyone else's needs above my own, and I realize that I'm going to have to look out for myself more right now. Unfortunately, I have had to do allot to help my dad out, I am his only caregiver, but thankfully he is doing better since his heart bypass surgery and less needy than before.
You are definitely right that this is a rough surgery and a long process to go through. Going through the whole process solo is really rough, both physically & emotionally! I have found out that I am allot stronger than I thought I was. It would be nice to have a partner to help me out.
I hope you continue to do good!

Hollywood48 · 04-08-2012, 11:40 PM

PLANEMARK--No problem! That's what we are all here for! Having to go through the surgery twice does stink, but a least I knew what I was getting myself into for the most part and I did a heck of a better job in the preparation dept!! Thanks for the well wishes on the pain! It is sore this weekend from PT on Fri, and going places Sat and today! My PT is fabulous!! It'll get there and so will you!!

Missyluke · 04-09-2012, 01:10 AM

Planemark: It is definitely early in the recovery process. Most doctors say it takes a full year to fully recover from this type of surgery. At the one month mark, I was not doing nearly what you have been. I know it gets frustrating and you want your life back. You'll get there with time. I had flatfoot reconstruction surgery 19 months ago and have been happy with the results. I think that once I got to the 10th or 11th month my foot felt completely normal again. Hang in there you will get through this.

planemark · 04-09-2012, 05:55 PM

I went to see my OS today because I thought that I might have damaged something in my foot when I fell off my scooter last Monday. Both the nurse and the Dr told me the same thing that you all have said. They said that I have probably been over doing it, and I need to rest more as my body is still recovering from surgery. I also found out that I still need to keep my foot elevated constantly, I didn't realize that. I had been watching tv in the family room with my foot hanging down in the evening for a few hours. No wonder I have been experiencing so much pain and swelling. The Dr says that my toes looked fine and didn't see a need to remove the cast to check out my foot, although he did offer to change the cast if I wanted him to examine my foot more closely.
I hope you all enjoyed the holiday yesterday. Did anyone else overdo it yesterday? I was in so much pain and my foot stayed swelled up untill 3 a.m. I think it was a combo of not propping my leg along with all the salty food, ham is so salty.
Lori, we haven't heard from you in a while. How are you doing? I think you have less than two weeks left in your cast. Mine comes off two weeks from this Wed.

Hollywood48 · 04-09-2012, 09:54 PM

I'm glad that you saw your OS and got confirmation that you didn't damage your foot!That was nice that your doctor offered to change your cast anyway and examine your foot! Yep, keep that foot elevated! Basically, if you are sitting down, elevate it! Watching TV is a great time to elevate and ice! Swelling can cause SO much pain as you figured out! And yes, I overdid it this weekend too. I had PT on Friday and was sore from that and then saw a movie that night with my husband. Saturday, I made a 4 hour (round trip) with my sister to where we went to college to watch the NCAA gymnastics regionals. Right before we left, I fell on my foot without ANYTHING on it! It really scared me more than it hurt me at the time. The soreness came later. Then yesterday, church, eating with family, etc. Today I woke up with a swollen ankle/foot/toes, headache, and back/neck/shoulder pain from crutches. So I went and got a massage! Gotta slow down!

planemark · 04-09-2012, 11:36 PM

Hollywood, OMG you poor thing! I cringed when I read that you fell on your uncasted foot. I bet that did scare the dickens out of you, and I can only imagine how much it hurt. I'm saying a prayer for you, and I hope you feel better! I hope the massage gave you some relief at least It is so easy to fall, ESP when you are on crutches. Won't it be nice when it's time to put those crutches in the closet and finally be able to walk on our own?
When you are cooped up in the house for so long all you can do is think about all the stuff you want to do when you get stronger. It is so easy to go crazy and overdo things a little bit. I'm surprised that you were able to do so much, but it sounds like you had a good weekend. Hang in there and good luck with PT. I hope they aren't too hard on you after your fall.

Hollywood48 · 04-10-2012, 12:41 AM

PLANEMARK--Thank you! Very sweet! I wish I could say the fall was from being on crutches! It wasn't. I had gotten out of the shower and the stool I usually sit on to get ready I actually kneeled on with the bad leg to use the big mirror. I twisted around to lean to get something and I guess I wasn't in the center of the stool because it flipped over throwing me onto my injured surgical ankle. I landed on the whole foot-heel, ball, and toes. It didn't twist thankfully! It scared me so badly! It didn't hurt right then, no searing pain so I went ahead with the trip. However, later was a different story. Swelling and pain set in. I took pain meds and iced. Sunday being Easter, I had to go to church and to eat with family, but after that, it was home to rest and I was exhausted and I believe it's why I woke up today in so much pain and was so exhausted! And yes, the massage was great! I really needed it!! Hope you are doing well!!

planemark · 04-11-2012, 09:45 PM

Your in good company at least! Lol. I can see how easy it is to flip over the shower chair that way. When I hurt my foot on my scooter, I swear I could almost hear Swan Lake playing in the background. Lol. I got out of bed late at night and instead of putting my knee on the top of the scooter I stepped right over it and slammed my cast down on the ground. Leave it to my bad luck to put most of my weight on the only thing that slightly sticks out of the cast, my big toe. I think you have some of my bad luck.

Adman21 · 07-30-2012, 05:04 PM

Hi roxygirl1, I wanted to check in and see how you are fairing. I took a fall of about 20 feet from a loading dock Sept 28,2011. Since then I have endured 3 months with an ex fix, 3 total surgeries, and finally 20 screw and two plates. I had a compound of the tibia, broken fibula, fractured talus, and a fractured calcaneus. I am now 37 years old and too young to be in the physical condition I am in at the current time. The fractures of the tibia, fibula, and talus have healed well. I am left with a vargus deformity of the calcaneus. It's impacting my life in so many ways. I wondered what the exact set of procedures you had performed was and any feedback post pop on your experience?

roxygirl1 · 07-30-2012, 05:36 PM

Wow, you really suffered some major injuries. My ptt/spring ligament were repaired, tendon transfer, calcaneal/cotton osteotomies and gastric recession 2 years ago and am doing well. I really didn't feel like I may be a success story until 7 or 8 months post op

planemark · 07-30-2012, 06:53 PM

Adman, sorry to hear about all your injuries and your fall at work. I had a fall too at work in November 2010, and I am still recovering. I fell 10 feet out of the back of an airline catering truck. I'm really surprised and grateful that I didn't break any bones like you or worse. When I fell I landed on my left leg and the impact caused me to tear my PTT, pinch the labrum in my hip socket, and I messed up my l3,l4,l5& s1 in my back.
I hope you are healing good and BWC is taking good care of you. Make sure you get a good surgeon to look at your calcaneus. If you need surgery it is quite painful at first, but all and all I think it is well worth it, after all that's what pain meds are for. I had the same procedure as Roxygirl minus the gastric recession. Her words of encouragement along with the success stories of her and others has really helped me along the road to recovery.
If you do end up having the surgery just be patient and prepare or the long road to recovery. The hardest part is the fact that the foot atrophies so fast when you are NWB, and it takes time to get it back to normal. I'm almost 5 months post op and still working hard in PT.

Adman21 · 07-31-2012, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by roxygirl1

Wow, you really suffered some major injuries. My ptt/spring ligament were repaired, tendon transfer, calcaneal/cotton osteotomies and gastric recession 2 years ago and am doing well. I really didn't feel like I may be a success story until 7 or 8 months post op

I would say you haven't had it easy by any stretch yourself. I am in Portland, OR and Heading up to the University of Washington Foot & Ankle Clinic to see Dr. Benirshke August 6th. He is highly recommended as being the man for tough foot and ankle cases. My surgeon to this point has been Alex Herzberg @ Oregon Health & Sciences University in Portland and I absolutely cannot sing his praises enough. I can't image how I was so fortunate to end up with his. His work has been remarkable, especially considering what he had to work with. I am eager to see what the prognosis is. My best uneducated guess so far would be a calcaneal osteotomy, tendon transfer or gastroc slide, and a possible debridement of the ankle joint space. I will beat this thing and get back to being me again. It's the only mindset that can be had.

Adman21 · 07-31-2012, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by planemark

Adman, sorry to hear about all your injuries and your fall at work. I had a fall too at work in November 2010, and I am still recovering. I fell 10 feet out of the back of an airline catering truck. I'm really surprised and grateful that I didn't break any bones like you or worse. When I fell I landed on my left leg and the impact caused me to tear my PTT, pinch the labrum in my hip socket, and I messed up my l3,l4,l5& s1 in my back.
I hope you are healing good and BWC is taking good care of you. Make sure you get a good surgeon to look at your calcaneus. If you need surgery it is quite painful at first, but all and all I think it is well worth it, after all that's what pain meds are for. I had the same procedure as Roxygirl minus the gastric recession. Her words of encouragement along with the success stories of her and others has really helped me along the road to recovery.
If you do end up having the surgery just be patient and prepare or the long road to recovery. The hardest part is the fact that the foot atrophies so fast when you are NWB, and it takes time to get it back to normal. I'm almost 5 months post op and still working hard in PT.

Thanks for the kind words. Much appreciated. It has been a long 9 - 10 months but I am hardcore in mindset with the occasional moment of frustration. I look at the situation and think that some downtime now is well worth it when compared to a potential of accommodating this situation for a lifetime.

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