6 weeks post surgery
6 weeks ago I had my surgery to repair the fully ruptured Achilles tendon on my right foot.
It seems like forever ago. Honestly. Perhaps the longest 6 weeks of my life. And, I'm really not exaggerating.
The first week was a blur. I was taking oxi pretty regularly. The wrap around my leg was excruciating at times, and I was just trying to get by. Steve was home, and was a champ with everything. From housework to caring for me to caring for the kids.
I got a cast after a week, and I was very happy to see the wrap go. The cast was far more comfortable. I was still non-weight bearing which was never easy.
Week 2-4 I was put back into my boot. That sucked. I was still non-weight bearing, and the boot was heavy and clunky and just not comfortable.
All the while in those first 4 weeks I was battling the recovery from the surgery itself. My incision was always good, but I had those pins and tingles and sharp pains at the sight. That was uncomfortable, to say the least. Sleeping wasn't easy, with lots of pillows, and tossing and turning. Lots of swelling at times. At one point I was convinced I had DVT. I probably didn't.
I was happy to see week 4 come. That meant weight bearing!! But, guess what? I'm still not there. Insert sad face. I was expecting that on that beautiful day, I would simply stroll out of my doctor's office walking with no crutches. WRONG!
At 6 weeks today, I'm still using both crutches. I'm still not bearing much weight. I'm being a total weenie, I know. I'm usually really strong mentally, but for some dang reason I can't get over myself and just let go.
I visit the doctor tomorrow. I'll talk to him about it. Perhaps a PT visit is in order so that I can get over myself.
This journey hasn't been easy.
Week 5 was the hardest week for me. Steve went on a trip, a 4-day to boot, and left me alone with the kids for the first time. Steve was with me the first couple weeks. Then my sister came to help, and then my father came to help. By week 5 I was on my own. And boy, did it suck. The kids were safe, fed, clean, and well. But, I was tired as f**k. Like, so freakin' tired I was having trouble thinking. Honest to goodness. My whole body and mind was just tired.
During that week 5, the injury was getting the better of me mentally. Again, I thought I should have been walking by then with no crutches. I kept saying that I was in the drudges of the injury. Kind of like when you're big and fat and uncomfortable at 36 weeks pregnant and are just "over it"...well, by week 5, I was just over it.
I'm so over this injury.
Story time: I played volleyball in college. During pre-season of my junior year I sprained my ankle. It was bad. Super bad. Nothing was torn or broken, thankfully, but I can still remember the pain. It sucked and was horrible. But, I was dressing for games again three weeks after that injury. Three weeks seems like nothing, now. When it came to delivering my kiddos, I had a vaginal birth for both with no complications. I was back to normal pretty quickly. The only other surgery I had was wisdom tooth removal. Some mild issues the first couple days, but otherwise the recovery was okay. Thankfully, I've not had to deal with much injury and recovery.
This is, by far, the longest injury that I've had to deal with. I didn't prepare mentally for this. If you know me personally, I'm always looking at the bright side of things. I'm constantly looking for that silver lining. I started that way with this injury. It's a bit of a different story now. I'm just so over it.
I think Steve is over it as well. When he's home, not only does his home work start, I'm also taking a load off. My body still needs a lot of rest, and I most definitely take advantage of his presence. Not to mention, his father had surgery last week and is still recovering from it. So, Steve has been dealing with me at home and helping out with his parents. He has been burning the candle at both ends. He's holding up okay now, but I hope he stays up. Thankfully, he has a good amount of time off in December, so that will help with this whole equation.
I'm still rationing showers. My foot feels incredibly naked without the boot, so showers are very uncomfortable for me. I'm still wearing black leggings every.single.day. I want to wear jeans again.
I want to wear a shoe other than a Hoka. Which, I love by the way! They don't fatigue, and are high to nearly match the height of my boot. I want to have sex again. With the injury, and a work traveling husband, and a husband that's been gone more than normal due to his father's medical issues, add in a couple cycles, on top of the fact that I'm usually asleep by 9pm, sometimes even 8:30...it hasn't happened in a while. It's been incredibly frustrating. I want to be able to get a freakin' cup of coffee without having to ask someone for it, or use my knee scooter. I'm tired of being tired. I want to take the dogs on a walk. I want to cuddle up under the covers, not prop 3-6 pillows around my body to elevate my swollen foot. I can't wait to exercise. I can't wait to visit my chiropractor again! Just today my back (think L5) started acting up. Ice helped it, but it hasn't acted up in as long as I can remember. I'm sure my chiropractor would work with me, but I don't want to go in until I can walk.
Can you tell that I'm just over this?!
I've lost a good amount of weight. Perhaps even like 15 pounds. That's a lot of muscle! I've sort of weight myself, but with wearing the boot and my one-legged balancing act, who really knows. I've grown weak. I can feel it and I hate it. I don't like being weak. I've always been strong in my legs. My right leg has atrophied so much. I can also tell that my core strength has decreased. My slouch is at an all-time high. My entire body has been impacted by this injury.
Here's hoping I'm progressing as normal and it's okay that I'm not walking without crutches yet. Here's hoping that I make strides with my recovery in the next two weeks. Someone told me they had incredible strides in weeks 6-8. Here's hoping! I'm supposed to be out of my boot between week 9 and 10. I laugh at that now. I can't even imagine it. Like, that seems so far off from where I am today.
Humans are creatures of habit, right? And it's worse as you get older, right? Well, my habit has been incredibly disrupted, and I long for the day I get back to normal. I'll get there...it just feels like miles away.
It seems like forever ago. Honestly. Perhaps the longest 6 weeks of my life. And, I'm really not exaggerating.
The first week was a blur. I was taking oxi pretty regularly. The wrap around my leg was excruciating at times, and I was just trying to get by. Steve was home, and was a champ with everything. From housework to caring for me to caring for the kids.
I got a cast after a week, and I was very happy to see the wrap go. The cast was far more comfortable. I was still non-weight bearing which was never easy.
Week 2-4 I was put back into my boot. That sucked. I was still non-weight bearing, and the boot was heavy and clunky and just not comfortable.
All the while in those first 4 weeks I was battling the recovery from the surgery itself. My incision was always good, but I had those pins and tingles and sharp pains at the sight. That was uncomfortable, to say the least. Sleeping wasn't easy, with lots of pillows, and tossing and turning. Lots of swelling at times. At one point I was convinced I had DVT. I probably didn't.
I was happy to see week 4 come. That meant weight bearing!! But, guess what? I'm still not there. Insert sad face. I was expecting that on that beautiful day, I would simply stroll out of my doctor's office walking with no crutches. WRONG!
At 6 weeks today, I'm still using both crutches. I'm still not bearing much weight. I'm being a total weenie, I know. I'm usually really strong mentally, but for some dang reason I can't get over myself and just let go.
I visit the doctor tomorrow. I'll talk to him about it. Perhaps a PT visit is in order so that I can get over myself.
This journey hasn't been easy.
Week 5 was the hardest week for me. Steve went on a trip, a 4-day to boot, and left me alone with the kids for the first time. Steve was with me the first couple weeks. Then my sister came to help, and then my father came to help. By week 5 I was on my own. And boy, did it suck. The kids were safe, fed, clean, and well. But, I was tired as f**k. Like, so freakin' tired I was having trouble thinking. Honest to goodness. My whole body and mind was just tired.
During that week 5, the injury was getting the better of me mentally. Again, I thought I should have been walking by then with no crutches. I kept saying that I was in the drudges of the injury. Kind of like when you're big and fat and uncomfortable at 36 weeks pregnant and are just "over it"...well, by week 5, I was just over it.
I'm so over this injury.
Story time: I played volleyball in college. During pre-season of my junior year I sprained my ankle. It was bad. Super bad. Nothing was torn or broken, thankfully, but I can still remember the pain. It sucked and was horrible. But, I was dressing for games again three weeks after that injury. Three weeks seems like nothing, now. When it came to delivering my kiddos, I had a vaginal birth for both with no complications. I was back to normal pretty quickly. The only other surgery I had was wisdom tooth removal. Some mild issues the first couple days, but otherwise the recovery was okay. Thankfully, I've not had to deal with much injury and recovery.
This is, by far, the longest injury that I've had to deal with. I didn't prepare mentally for this. If you know me personally, I'm always looking at the bright side of things. I'm constantly looking for that silver lining. I started that way with this injury. It's a bit of a different story now. I'm just so over it.
I think Steve is over it as well. When he's home, not only does his home work start, I'm also taking a load off. My body still needs a lot of rest, and I most definitely take advantage of his presence. Not to mention, his father had surgery last week and is still recovering from it. So, Steve has been dealing with me at home and helping out with his parents. He has been burning the candle at both ends. He's holding up okay now, but I hope he stays up. Thankfully, he has a good amount of time off in December, so that will help with this whole equation.
I'm still rationing showers. My foot feels incredibly naked without the boot, so showers are very uncomfortable for me. I'm still wearing black leggings every.single.day. I want to wear jeans again.
I want to wear a shoe other than a Hoka. Which, I love by the way! They don't fatigue, and are high to nearly match the height of my boot. I want to have sex again. With the injury, and a work traveling husband, and a husband that's been gone more than normal due to his father's medical issues, add in a couple cycles, on top of the fact that I'm usually asleep by 9pm, sometimes even 8:30...it hasn't happened in a while. It's been incredibly frustrating. I want to be able to get a freakin' cup of coffee without having to ask someone for it, or use my knee scooter. I'm tired of being tired. I want to take the dogs on a walk. I want to cuddle up under the covers, not prop 3-6 pillows around my body to elevate my swollen foot. I can't wait to exercise. I can't wait to visit my chiropractor again! Just today my back (think L5) started acting up. Ice helped it, but it hasn't acted up in as long as I can remember. I'm sure my chiropractor would work with me, but I don't want to go in until I can walk.
Can you tell that I'm just over this?!
I've lost a good amount of weight. Perhaps even like 15 pounds. That's a lot of muscle! I've sort of weight myself, but with wearing the boot and my one-legged balancing act, who really knows. I've grown weak. I can feel it and I hate it. I don't like being weak. I've always been strong in my legs. My right leg has atrophied so much. I can also tell that my core strength has decreased. My slouch is at an all-time high. My entire body has been impacted by this injury.
Here's hoping I'm progressing as normal and it's okay that I'm not walking without crutches yet. Here's hoping that I make strides with my recovery in the next two weeks. Someone told me they had incredible strides in weeks 6-8. Here's hoping! I'm supposed to be out of my boot between week 9 and 10. I laugh at that now. I can't even imagine it. Like, that seems so far off from where I am today.
Humans are creatures of habit, right? And it's worse as you get older, right? Well, my habit has been incredibly disrupted, and I long for the day I get back to normal. I'll get there...it just feels like miles away.
Comments
Post a Comment