Surgery and Post-Surgery Update

            I haven’t been the best at updating what’s been going on with my ankle, but I partially blame that on the pain meds I’ve been on since surgery. J Speaking of which, surgery went great, well, you know, as great as surgery can go.

            This post is probably going to be a bit disjointed but I just wanted to post a quick update on how the surgery went and how things have been since.

My first cast, immediately after surgery

            The surgery went just as they expected, which I guess is good. They had to replace two of the ligaments in my ankle, and they did so with ligaments from a tissue bank. The incision is really huge (scroll right on past the picture below if you don’t like medical kind of stuff…it’s not that bad, but better safe than sorry), but my surgeon but dissolvable stitches on the inside to help minimize the scarring. I told him I wasn’t super concerned about it, but I’m thankful he was able to do that nonetheless.

The incision is the curved line along my foot and up my ankle. Sorry, gross, but I had no clue the incision would be that big!

            Immediately after surgery I was definitely a zombie for about 3 days. I may have been in pain, but I honestly don’t remember it. After that I got my cast changed (and now have the big blue monster), I feel like I’ve made some progress, but I’ve also been experiencing much more pain and discomfort. This isn’t to complain or say “poor me,” just a fact of what I’m going through right now.

The big blue monster of a cast

            I’m trying to focus on keeping it elevated and staying off of it as much as possible to give a good chance to heal. But, it’s hard right now, not having any concrete goals. I will be much happier once I am in rehab and can focus on reaching certain benchmarks and goals. I’ve been to physical therapy a time or two (haha understatement) and I pride myself on being one of the bet physical therapy-ers around. This time will be no different.

            This week I’ve started back to work and that has made a huge difference in terms of my motivation levels. It’s nice to actually be doing something productive again, as opposed to a lot of couch sitting and napping. I’ve also been able to walk on it this week. My surgeon told me I can start walking on it as soon as I feel ok and don’t experience too much pain when doing so. I was able to walk some initially after surgery in my first cast. However, when they changed the cast, I was in a lot of pain and was not able to walk again right away. Now, about a week later, I really don’t need my crutches. I can hobble around in this thing with the best of ‘em. I still do take my crutches with me when I’m in public settings, though. Although I can maneuver around pretty well, I still have some pain and instability. If someone were to unintentionally bump me or knock into me, there is no way I’d be able to catch myself as this boot makes reaction harder and my ankle just isn’t that strong yet. So with the crutches, I figure I’m better safe than sorry.

This guy has been my constant companion since my surgery. Everywhere I go, he goes.

Quite honestly the two most difficult things for me have been (1) not being able to drive and (2) not being able to take a shower. I hate having to depend on other people for rides. It’s just not my style. I’m a pretty independent person and not being able to get myself where I need to go is frustrating. For instance, I’m going to dinner with a friend tonight and I had to ask her to come pick me up. That kills me, I would rather just meet her at dinner so I don’t inconvenience her. But this has been and will continue to be my life for the next month or so, so I'm trying to get used to it. And the shower thing, oof, that is the worst. I am not a bath person. They are terrible. You are just sitting in your own filth, but I don’t really have any other option than to take a bath with my foot hanging over the edge of the tub. I feel like I get clean, but never the same clean as if you take a shower.

So that’s the update, nothing too exciting, but making progress every day! Plus, I’m happy to be on the road to recovery instead of just waiting for surgery, in limbo, like I felt like I was for a long time. Here’s to getting stronger every day!