Tomorrow is my surgery day. I must admit I am a bit anxious about the whole affair. And I’m less than thrilled about being practically useless and helpless for a while. I like to stay very busy and feel like I’m spending my time productively. So being stuck in bed like a worthless lump is liable to drive me crazy. But since I don’t have a choice, I’m sure, as always, my stubbornness will see me through.
I have been pushing my ankle the last couple weeks. Usually I don’t run it totally ragged but knowing that surgery is, at this point, inevitable and that I won’t be able to use my ankle much for months, I have been rather rough on it. In turn it has swollen up nicely and reminded me just why I am doing this surgery. Thanks for the not so gentle reminder ankle; you have rid me of any doubts.
I look forward to being on the other side of this event and moving toward recovery rather than waiting for the unavoidable. Here’s to the fabulously healthy ankle I will hopefully have in 6 months!
I got the sad news last week that surgery on my ankle will unfortunately be necessary. The physical therapy and orthotics didn’t improve the condition of my ankle enough. The doctor told me that at this point, after everything I’ve tried, it appears very unlikely my ankle will ever improve on its own. At best it will stabilize and not get any worse. However, it is possible that, instead of stabilizing, the tendons will continue to tear further up my leg and that at some point they might even rupture all together. So he recommended getting surgery.
Since I have tried every noninvasive option available to me, and my ankle may continue to deteriorate without intervention, I decided that going ahead with the surgery is probably a good idea. I opted to have it done at the end of this month, so I can just get it over with and start the recovery process.
The good news about this surgery is that it takes relatively little time, about an hour, to perform. The doctor will be stitching up my tendons in a few places, cleaning out scar tissue, and exploring the area to fix anything else out of whack. The surgery has about a 90% chance of significantly improving the condition of my ankle and could potentially make it as good as new.
However, not everything about this surgery is good news. The worse part is that I won’t be able to go back to doing the things I love (snowboarding, soccer, mountain biking, running, racquetball, etc.) until February. This is very depressing. By February my sanity may be questionable.
Unfortunately, in order to give my ankle adequate time to heal after surgery, I will be in a cast for two weeks, on crutches for six weeks, in a boot up to my knee for three months, and then back in physical therapy to regain strength and movement. In total, my recovery time will be about six months.
Me getting a ride with Aaron
Those of you who know me well know I need exercise. It keeps me balanced and focused. It also helps me get rid of some of that excess Rachel energy, which I have in abundance. So, if I have to go without it for months, I might as well institutionalize myself. I am therefore trying to come up with alternative, non weight bearing, exercises I can do while my ankle is out-of-order. I have already ordered several arm and ab exercise videos but if any of you have other excellent ideas please let me know.
Me and my boys
In the mean time, I am trying to pack as much fun into the few weeks I have left as possible. Jason and I went biking up Millcreek Canyon on the Millcreek Pipeline twice last week. Aaron joined us on one of those occasions. The ride was excellent and the mountains were beautiful. Those of you who live here in Utah and don’t take advantage of your proximity to these lovely mountains are really missing out. I plan on getting my fill of them in the next few weeks before my surgical escapades.
I thought I had a little ankle sprain and seven years later…
My days of embarrassing physical therapy are now over. I wish I could say that the problems with my ankle are also over. But alas, that’s just not the case. I completed another month of physical therapy as instructed by my doctor. However, although it did improve my mobility and range of motion, physical therapy wasn’t as successful in reducing pain and swelling as anticipated. Further review of my MRI revealed a possible reason for this. It turns out that both the peroneal tendons on my left foot, not just one, are torn in multiple places. Tendons are supposed to be tubular, but mine have flattened out and are fraying like a rope. The surgical option is looking more and more likely. However, before the doctor slices and dices, he recommended I try one more thing: orthotics.
My Left Foot’s Orthotic
Orthotics are devices used to correct musculoskeletal deformities and other abnormalities of the human body. They are used for everything from cerebral palsy to arthritis. In my case, the orthotics are custom made insoles designed to relieve some of the pressure on my tendons. Additionally, they are intended to correct my abnormal gait and other biomechanical issues associated with my extremely high arches.
The word “orthotic” sounds old doesn’t it? It makes me think of a hunched back old lady shuffling along sporting penny loafer-ish shoes that only a grandma could get away with wearing. Sadly, I guess I’m the old lady.
After I have had a chance to use the orthotics for a couple months I will know if the condition of my ankle has improved enough to avoid surgery or not.
Any of you who have high arches beware! The risk of damaging your peroneal tendons is much greater if your arches are high. This is one of the reasons I get to wear orthotics on both my feet now and probably will have to continue wearing them for the rest of my life. One bad ankle is most definitely enough, I don’t need two.
What’s the moral of this story kids? If your arches are unusually high you may want to consider getting some sexy orthotics so you can avoid an injury such as mine.
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