Luminarias

This doesn't have to do with ankle tendons (which is doing okay, I suppose. Dad keeps telling me I'm not being patient), I just think it's really cool and preferable to all the finals I'm working on.

The Backstory: Every year, UNM hosts its own Hanging of the Greens, in which nothing green is hung however thousands of luminarias are lit all over campus. Luminarias are little paper bags with a candle inside, and when lit after dark they glow in a pleasant but slightly eerie fashion. This is my final winter in New Mexico- next summer after graduation I am moving to either Texas, Washington D.C., or New Jersey for graduate school, none of which do this sort of thing at Christmas.

For non-southwest-US people: About luminarias

And now for photos!

The UNM logo as it appears on the stamps, made out of luminarias instead.

A pretty star

Zimmerman plaza, where the customary humongous zia symbol is designed with luminarias every year. There's more in the background.

I'm not sure what this area is called but it also has luminarias everywhere.

What they look like on the inside.

I didn't get nearly as good photos as last year, because last year I went alone and could take my time. This year I was with a group, being social, as well as trying to navegate grassy hills with a bad ankle and undiagnosed vertigo problem (my next medical adventure- I either have a vestibular problem or a tumor (less likely)- the extensive balance test next week and the MRI in January will tell).

My other blog, madisonisconfused.blogspot.com, has photos from last year's luminaria event. Link to that year-old luminaria post. It makes Christmas eerily beautiful and not nearly as commercial as normal. :)

Five months later

So it's okay. There are still a lot of things I can't do, such as running or nearly all sports. The swelling never goes 100% away but it stays really mild. Pain still happens, but only after I've been on my feet all day and even then it's not bad. I can walk on soft or uneven surfaces like grass now. Stiffness is slowly fading, flexibility is slowly returning. Quite a bit of work to do overall but there's still tons of improvement. I'm still not thrilled about the nerve damage the surgery created, but the spot where it is (circled above) doesn't really do anything important so it's okay, I suppose. Walking is great. :)

No more therapy, and hot air balloons

First off, the doctors appointment went well. There is a chance I have some nerve damage, but he hasn't said for sure since generally nerves are slow to heal and it may still go away. As it is, there is a numb spot about 3/4 in. high and 1 1/2 in. across on my foot, but since it isn't on the main nerve right below the spot, no one's very concerned. Neither am I, to be honest. I've kind of gotten used to it. Also, I am done with physical therapy! 5 hours of my week is back and can now be spent studying for the GRE and doing my grad school applications.

Also, this morning and tomorrow morning I went/will be going to the balloon fiesta! The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest in the world, and has around 800 hot air balloons and over 100,000 visitors from all over the planet!

Here is my bad stitched panoramic photo of some of the balloons (my camera offered the feature when it was brand new and not meant to be used, so it's not very good).

My mom's favorite- this year they surprised us with a third bee. Normally the red and blue ones kiss and hold hands while they take off. This year momma bee and baby bee hugged. TOO CUTE!

And the internationally famous Darth Vader balloons! These guys come here from Belgium every year for this.

I also got my photo with a storm trooper!

My initial concern had been that I wouldn't be able to be on my feet at all long enough for the fiesta, let alone on the grassy turf of the field, but it turns out that it wasn't a problem at all for the first few hours due to the reinforced ankle brace from CMV that I had on. I'm a little sore now, but not much. So tomorrow morning I'm back up and out the door at 4:30 a.m. for more of this- and I'm getting a t-shirt too!

Temporary post

I've had too much coffee today and am about 8 oz though a glass of sangria. This is a good state to ponder life in, especially this semester, which has been one of the consistently busiest I've had to date. On the other hand, it's also one of the most productive, especially in getting that pesky gimpy ankle fixed.

I do feel like it is fixed- I've got a long way to go (especially if I want to start riding races next fall- not to win, just to not finish last), but I can definately tell a difference from this time last year to now. It's still pretty stiff but is way tougher- I wobble a lot, but my ankle doesn't give out on me before I can redistribute my weight and avoid what would have been in the past a nasty sprain. That was the goal. Both the doctor and the physical therapists say that if I want to ride my bike I can- I just haven't had the time yet.

So at my semester, my 12 hour/week internship for a democrat, my ankle, and general senior year projects like graduate school applications and the GRE, I make this face:

I'm still winning.

New Shoes!

I've finally had it hammered into my head after all this ankle stuff this year how important proper footwear is, and how a $20 department store shoe simply isn't going to be of the same quality as an $80 shoe by a solid orthopedic company. Expensive (outside of the fashion craze- I will never forgive fashion for those disgusting Uggs shoes) does mean better as far as footwear is concerned.

A few months ago in March or so I bought a pair of Clarks shoes, as seen in screenshot:

At the time I had found another (girlier) pair that I wanted just as bad, but definitely couldn't afford- so I remembered the name and style and waited around for the money to come. The other pair I wanted are below:

This week my grandmother, the original instigator of Clarks-love in my family (my mom has two or three pairs too, hers are the Birkenstock-looking style) found out I was wanting a pair and send the money my way to get these wonderful orthopedic shoes, which I did today.

I will admit with only mild shame that I get really sweaty stinky feet if I don't wear socks, and the Un.Examine shoes are meant to be worn barefoot. They've got a ton of ventilation, it turns out, and I've had them on for several hours now without even the slightest moisture. Finally, I can wear a shoe without a sock or clouds of stink when I take them off!

So even though the price is fairly staggering, I highly recommend Clarks shoes for the structure (proper support and arch and such), styles, and durability- my mom's Clarks shoes that I mentioned above? Yeah, she got them five years ago. She wears them to work every day (teaching all day at a community college). They're not even close to wearing out yet. So if you do the math, buying two or three pairs of cheap shoes one after the other for $25-$30 each in a five year period, versus paying $100 for a pair that lasts the same five year period and is more comfortable anyway, it makes sense. (or maybe it's just me because I hate shoe shopping and it takes forever.)

Here are my legs enjoying my new shoes:

Week 13 post-surgery

Mostly due to the physical therapy, there's been a lot of improvement in general strength and flexibility in my ankle, although I still have a long way to go. They currently have me doing a lot of theraband activities, the total gym (the machine where you go from squat position to standing position by pushing against the footboard with your legs), the stationary bike, foot pumping (sort of like paddling but with only feet), these horrible ab thrust things, and an occasional massage.

They're starting to add more strengthening exercises- my archnemesis the Wobble Board's evil cousin Wobble Pad Thing appeared Monday in a balance exercise that my ankle still hurts from over a day later.

Someday I'll have my revenge, wobble board.

There will be new exercises tomorrow, which will not be fun and probably involve more of the wobble board. I was never good at it fully healthy, let alone recoving from surgery, so hopefully something will happen and I suddenly develop fabulous balance.

My sessions are still going pretty long- the average is an hour and a half, over a week in. Unfortunately I keep having to cram everything into one hour so I'm not late for school, but on Fridays I can take my time and thoroughly do everything they want. I have 2ish more weeks of going 3 times a week, and then my doctor will either bump it down to 1 or 2 or graduate me entirely (I'm betting on being there awhile longer).

Hopefully I'll be able to start riding my bike again by October, and my dad (who rode all over town when he was out here during my surgery recovery) told me about a few flat paths that would be easy to start on until I knew how my ankle did. Generally it doesn't get too cold for outdoor activities until mid-November here, so I'd have a good month or so before winter sets in to work out outdoors, then once it does I'll start going to the indoor gym again and lose that weight I've packed on!

Week 12 Part 2

It's been an interesting week. I somehow ended up with so much to do that I only went to class two days (since Monday was Labor Day and Fridays I don't have classes). Most of the sudden onslaught of business was due to a fire at my apartment complex, in an apartment not too far from mine- I got a lot of smoke from it that took days and lots of cleaning to eradicate, however no smoke damage at all. While we were evacuated I took a lot of phone photos. Here is a picture of firemen running towards the smoke:

Also, the part that actually relates to this blog- I'm walking in regular shoes, finally! Originally my plan had been to wait until yesterday to lose the boot, but I was feeling good after therapy on Thursday and decided to leave it off until I felt like I needed it...and it stayed off! I appear outwardly normal once again! I got new tennis shoes to celebrate, they are super comfy:

Also, my ankle, finally with only a minimal amount of swelling- this is right after this morning's p.t. session. The guy who I've worked with most consistently is apparently impressed with the speed I'm improving at, especially in regards to my range of motion.

That lump is partially swelling but mostly ankle. And yes, those are Christmas socks with penguins and snowflakes. :)

I still have 2-3 weeks of p.t. and an Oct. 1 doctor's appointment and then I believe I'm more or less done with all of this! How exciting!

Week 12 Part 1

I've got a photo finally to show some of the progress. The swelling is still there but a lot less so. The swelling at my ankle, though more or less the same size, is a lot softer than before (it had been hard before and not fond of massage- there must have been a ton of scar tissue). The part of my foot above my toes is still a little swollen too, but that should hopefully go away as I use my foot more. My PT homework is probably helping- I have been noticing a moderate increase in my range of movement, although based on the amount of fixing my ankle had to endure the doctor and therapist both say it probably won't ever be as flexible as my left again. Oh well. I'll take what I can.

This week is my final week in the boot before moving permanently back to regular shoes, while in PT this week I will be practicing walking with my tennis shoes in preparation. My foot is very stiff and not flexible, but it doesn't hurt when I walk without my boot (barefoot) so I suppose I'm as ready to lose the training wheels as I will be. Tuesday is PT session #2, and they are already going to start me in my tennis shoes on machinery like the treadmill and elliptical (but still end with a good massage to help with the soreness and swelling).

So talk to you then.

First physical therapy session

This isn't my first round of physical therapy for this ankle, however it is the first post-surgery so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Yesterday was my first session of it, about 40 minutes long, crammed in between work and classes. The drive took 40 minutes, which will hopefully decrease if I take the highway through the Death Exit and survive (no exit ramp should suddenly develop four lanes, merge with the frontage road, and hit a major intersection at the same time, that's a stupid design for such a heavy traffic flow).

I'll probably be remaining at Peak Motion for the duration of my therapy even though it's so far away because it's a nice small friendly place with huge windows for natural light and a nice variety of equipment and other stuff. The therapists had this nice casual banter with each other that was nice while I was laying there having my foot twisted around- to increase my flexibility (it was freakish how well it worked, plus the swelling went down). I was put in this freezing cold ice sleeve that I could probably develop a hatred for, although I did feel better later once I thawed out.

My p.t. homework is to do about six exercises- sitting and lifting my heels off the ground, then the same thing but with my toes, tracing out the alphabet, a sort of elevated-straightening-my-foot-out exercise, curling my toes, and scrunching up a towel with my toes. Most of these I am supposed to do daily whether I have therapy or not, and on the days I don't have therapy I'm to do them twice in multiple sets.

Because of my limited free time and Labor Day on Monday, my next therapy appointment is Tuesday. I'm going to start strengthening excercises on things like the treadmill and elliptical. Next Friday I ditch the boot and go into regular tennis shoes, however therapy will continue for 2-3 more weeks after that. My next doctor appointment is on Oct. 1st, at which time I will hopefully be pronounced cured.

My personal goal is to be either walking or riding my bike on paved, relatively flat trails by the end of the month.

Physical therapy-10 weeks

This morning was another of my post-op appointments, and a fairly momentous one at that.

I am on my final weeks in the walking boot- I start physical therapy as soon as I can make an appointment, and focus mostly on strengthening for four weeks, three times each week. In two weeks, I segue out of the boot in much the same way as I lost the crutches- by pretty much jumping into it and locking my boot in the trunk of my car so I'm not tempted to use it (I finally moved the crutches from the trunk to a closet this week).

I'm thinking trying a sports clinic, because I do plan on starting to ride my bike more and maybe joining my dad in the Hotter 'N Hell bike race next fall in Texas. Doctor said I should be able to start riding my bike minimally before PT's even done.

So I'll let you know how that goes. Doctor says the PT therapist gets free reign over me, so I'll be bullied into good health. :)

EDIT- I went down the list and was able to eliminate most of the PT clinics just by reading them- I'm not a child, I'm not old, I'm not super athletic, I'm not in many of the cities listed and don't care to drive to the suburbs. Of the rest, I narrowed down based on who took my insurance, which is not a common one out here (I'm still on my dad's corporate health insurance plan, which is more of a midwest/east coast one rather than southwest). Then I checked out websites and the least scuzzy looking one was this:

Peak Motion Physical Therapy (http://www.peakmotionpt.com/)

I actually pass this place on my way to the clinic my doctor/surgeon is at, so even though it's not near my apartment, work, or school (which are already in three seperate locations in the city as is), I know what the drive is like and how long it takes. It looks fine- it has a lot of windows, which I really like. I start on Wednesday at 2 p.m. (after works gets off at 12:30 and before school at 4 p.m. Yeesh.)

A week plus some later

I figured I'd update while I'm all sore and just sitting around.

School started yesterday, my final year at UNM. I had what could only be described as a briefing at my new job- lots of protocol, lots of In Case of Emergency plans (which apparently get enacted quite a bit, since the crazy people know where the senator's office is). After that I had some errands to run, which I got through with a minimal amount of pain (towards the end I started suffering from both my ankle and the heat), which was just in time for classes. The school part was easy- the periods of sitting down countered the walking nicely and although I was sore (and still am), there wasn't any pain.

It's always kind of funny to see all the people who come back to school with casts and boots and crutches, and it was entertaining to be one of them. They should sell School Spirit Medical Wear, like boots with (in my case) Louie the Lobo or the UNM logo on them, in bright cherry red. Or red and silver crutches with UNM written on the sides. There could be an industry in this. :)

EDIT- I may have taken a few steps back. Because I've been walking, I haven't remembered to do the little exercises the hot doctor told me to and have lost some of my flexibility. Though that may be because of the moderately severe swelling this evening. What happened was, there were zero parking spots on campus, so I made an executive decision to go park in the commuter lot (where I did before all this) and take the free shuttle to campus.... By disregarding the whole reason I have the temporary handicap permit (so I DON'T have to deal with buses and walking and all that until I'm healed more), I have reaped some punishment this evening. When I got home after class I was having moderate pain, and this evening I've got a nice sore throb going on.

Moral: Just get to campus three hours before class on Tuesdays/Thursdays and find something to do to pass the time instead of merely hoping I'll find a parking spot. Hopefully the swelling will go down with some ice and pain meds. Doctor appointment on Friday to determine how to go about things like physical therapy for the next few weeks.

Still Convalescing

I had several major concerns when I started walking again on Friday- would it be harder some days than others, would it take long to build up strength, and how hard will being on campus all day be when school starts next week?

So far it is not harder some days than others- it is about evenly difficult every day so far regardless of how the previous day went. When I first get up, whether it be from bed in the morning or from briefly sitting at my desk, the first two or three steps are the hardest, and then it lessens to a bearable soreness.

Building up strength is actually a lot easier than I thought- on Friday I barely made it the 30 yards to the GRE testing room. By Sunday I could vaccuum. Today I ran two hours of errands back to back with no break and no problems. I'm figuring if I continue at this rate I'll be able to go on the day trip up to Santa Fe (chaffeuring a friend to a job interview, and we're going to play tourist too even though we live nearby in Albuquerque and either stroll in the plaza or go to a museum like the Georgia O'Keeffe one) this week without any problems. School, which usually happens sitting down, shouldn't be a problem.

Mostly I just wanted to be able to brag about how I went back to school shopping and didn't have to take anyone with with me to open doors or carry things. I did it myself!

Walk Hard

Walking is hard.

It turns out the doctor had to actually physically take my crutches away and make me walk some without them before I trusted myself enough to try it on my own (he gave them back but said not to use them anymore). I'm still in my boot- the same one I've been in pre- and post-surgery- and I'm supposed to ditch the crutches and walk with just the boot.

The doctor was fairly impressed with my range of movement in the foot, and lack of pain. The swelling at my ankle disappointed him, but at least it doesn't swell more or less- it's always the same amount. He tightened up my boot and kicked me out. In two weeks after hefty walking I go back to see him (Friday 27th) and then start physical therapy for strengthening.

So I WALKED to my car (very slowly and fearfully), and then when I got back to my apartment building I WALKED to my apartment (a neighbor stopped and asked if I was okay, and I explained that I was walking. I don't think she understood). Around 11:45 I'm going to WALK back to my car and then to the GRE testing center, and this evening I'm going to go celebrate.

Currently, my ankle is very confused that it doesn't get to ride along anymore, and my thigh is already sore from the minimal walking I've done so far. This is really odd but I think my favorite part of my newfound mobility is that I'll be able to take my own trash out again instead of asking my friends to.

EDIT- (Later on, same day)

I took my own trash out, and walked into and out of the GRE just fine. I did pretty well, not sure if it's the best score I could have gotten but it's better than any I have so far. I wrote the crap out of the essays. They're 5's or 6's for sure!

How I Chill

Most of my time is spent sitting or laying around in my apartment. Because it's not very large and the furniture provide obstacles, I have difficulties using my crutches here. So this is how I usually get around:

My desk chair and its five wonderful wheels. I turn the chair around, look over my shoulder, and propel myself backwards. Using the amazing desk chair I can sit and cook in the kitchen, get to the front door, open windows, and reach the television and my laptop without having to get up. The cable guard on the floor cuts off my bedroom and bathroom from the realm of the chair, so I still have to crutch to get to those. A perk of this furniture layout is that it's easy to transfer to the couch or prop my feet up while still in the chair.

Another useful trick is when I'm sitting around and realize that something that I want is a few feet out of reach. I have provided a scenario in the following photos, using my ice pack as the thing I want (which I really did want). Those chips and salsa are for snacking after I finish this blog.

First, I locate the desired object- my ice pack.

I use the armpit part of the crutch to scoot the object to the edge of the table and push it to the floor. Objects to avoid are the bowl of salsa, chips, and my stack of GRE study cards (the white things).

Once the ice pack is on the floor I can just scoot it to me, where my gimp foot is waiting for refreshing coolness.

And that is how to be as extremely lazy as possible.

Palm calluses

One of the non-leg-related issues that may come up with crutches is wear and tear on hands. Apparently, I crutch around more than most people. I hadn't become aware of this until recently. I crutch around to the point that my hands, through the crutch hand pads and bike gloves, are still callusing pretty bad. In addition to the rub spots on my wrist, I look like something bad happened.

Doing Good

Except for not walking with it, my foot is slowly regaining the shape and activity it had before- I don't wear the boot unless I'm outside my apartment doing things. The sort of things I do outside my apartment aren't strenuous (for the foot at least, the arms disagree), but food places won't let you in with only one shoe on. The boot's more of a courtesy and health regulation thing. I don't feel like I need it until I start walking.

Yesterday I watched the entire second season of Survivorman. Today is Season 4 of Man Vs. Wild. I've been doing other things, of course- I have a first draft for most of my application essays for grad school, and today is GRE practice day. I'm currently scoring about 900, and I need to be scoring about 1100 points in order to get into some of the schools. I ate dinner out last night, which was nice.

Time for foot healing photo, because it's recognizably a foot now, even after the trip I just made to check the mail. Still some swelling around my toes and especially around my ankle and heel, but the scar is beginning to look much less intimidating already.

The homemade crutch bag

Making the crutch bags

Things needed:

Fabric scissors

Needle/thread or sewing machine (I don’t own a sewing machine, sadly)

Fabric, preferably a thicker one like flannel or fleece ($4)

Sew-on velcro strips, 3 ft x ¾ in ($2)

Measuring tape or ruler

I also had a cheese quesadilla while I made this but that’s not mandatory.

To make:

I got a pretty dark purple fleece that matches a lot of my wardrobe, and black Velcro for the straps. The gap between my crutches’ two poles is 4 inches, and the space from the handle to where the poles join is about eleven inches, but my bag will only go to about nine inches. So I’ll cut a 5 x 20 piece of fabric (lengthwise so that the bottom of the bag doesn’t have stitching holding it together). For a smaller front pocket I cut a five by six square.

I flipped the fabric so it is inside out, sewed it up, sewed the bottom of the small pocket, and then muscle-sewed the Velcro on- four pieces paired off for the straps, and a small square inside the top pocket so that one closes. Later I added a velcro strap around the bag near the bottom to keep it from flapping around while I'm in movement.

And then I still had a ton of fabric so I made the armpit- bits up there by measuring the length and how far over it I wanted the fabric to go, sewing it up and putting it on. And then I made a second of those too. But I haven't technically finished it so there's no photo.

The Albuquerque Isotopes

On Friday, my dad and I went to a baseball game. The local minor league team is the Albuquerque Isotopes (like in The Simpsons), and they've got a really sweet stadium to play in. Tickets are cheap, food is cheap, there's always a huge turnout for the games, and the 'Topes aren't that bad at the game. It took Dad awhile to finagle handicap seating out of them, since my crutches are cumbersome and there was nowhere to put them, I can't exactly do stairs or climb over people, and they were pretty much sold out of seats. The seats we did get were really close to home plate, and there was a nacho stand right behind us so I ate well. That's me eating in the photo, and the Dippin' Dots that I got because I wanted the little baseball cap.

Mostly it was nice to be out of my apartment and in the fresh air. I happen to enjoy baseball in small amounts, plus I know the rules from six years of softball as a kid. There was a mascot competition/dance off that was very entertaining. These two in the photo had a synchronized routine to a Black Eyed Peas song, a bug challenged one of the opposing team's players to a dance-off, some Mexican food had a race, and a fish ate an Isotopes player.

There were a lot of handicapped people in attendance- the available seating was completely full all the way around the field, which was also nice. The minimal amount of stairs were nice, and employees and other people present were very understanding and didn't get in the way or anything when I was trying to crutch around (especially in the fan store). Plus, the parking guy let us park in at the drop-off lane when the handicap spots filled up (I do have a temporary handicap permit while I'm on crutches) so it wasn't far from the stadium to the car- about thirty yards.

So baseball game as a nice evening out while on crutches: A+.

Random Interim Stuff

An actual blog entry is coming, however the photos I would like to use are on my Dad's camera and have not been uploaded yet. Once they are I'll tell you all about the baseball game. :)

Instead, have a photo of my ankle, which although still very swollen is almost healed over. The slightly red spot where my ankle would be if it wasn't so meaty around there is from where I fell yesterday. Ow.

And also, here is a picture of my finger, which I cut with the non-blade-side of a butter knife while cutting velveeta for soup (which I did not bleed into, fortunately):

And here is the soup (cheesy cheese nacho potato soup...with cheese! Good with chips):

A momentous day

Today, for the first time in about two months, my ankle bone sticks out slightly further than the swelling. My poofy discolored foot is beginning to look like a healthy normal foot again- still swollen, but significantly less so. The weird tender spot is just as tender as normal, but I'll take whatever small victories I can get.

Yesterday I skipped my little exercises I'm supposed to do, but today I did them- my range hasn't really improved but at least it moved some at all. I'm HEALING.

To celebrate this, I drove myself (with my left foot) to Starbucks and indulged in an overpriced frappuccino and coffee cake, which was also marvellous since I hadn't driven for about a month and a half until today. And then, because I was still feeling good even after studying GRE quantitative stuff (something to look forward to this fall, dealing with graduate school applications) and my ankle wasn't hurting, I went to the bank too since I've needed to deposite a check for almost a month.

And now for something completely different, I've started playing World of Warcraft again, since I can't do normal summer activities like riding my bike or hiking. It's a very addicting game, so I only play it during holiday breaks between semesters, but it's also a good way to pass time until I can walk again. I'm very tired of reading and movies, having read around 15 books in the last month and watched too many movies to count. So I'm doing Quests instead.

I'll post a photo of my slightly emerging ankle bone (rising majestically like a hill in the plains of swollen foot) later. For now I have trolls to kill and realms to explore, and my other blog to update.

Edit (later on, same day)

Told you there would be photos. This is the same photo, without and then with added commentary.

Things I've Bought For Recovery

I'm a little frustrated today, it hit a little how long this is going to take to heal (over a month in, and after six months on crutches already. I don't know. This is just how I think). I was trying to do my exercises this morning- moving my foot up and down, and moving it in little circles- and I couldn't get it to do either of them, it just sort of hung there from my leg, occasionally twitching hopefully. Plus apparently the cut went further than I was aware because I found a faint line of scarring along the side of my foot that completely explains why the skin there is tender. Anyway.

I was reading through some other blogs and several list things they've bought or done to make things easier during recovery from various versions of peroneal tendon surgery, so I'm going to share with you a list of things I have purchased for this.

My walking boot. This wasn't so much a purchase as a prescription, but I've developed a deep emotional attachment to its stability and padding, and most importantly the little air puff ball that can incread the amount of padding (and is fun to play with). My ankle swelling has decreased somewhat while back in the boot and is very comfortable, and when the doctor tells me I can start walking this is the boot I will be doing it in for a few weeks.

Dual showerhead thing, where one is removable and you can switch the water flow to one or the other. I used the removable showerhead when I was in the cast so I could really control the water flow. Now that I'm out of the cast and physically completely in the shower again I don't have to worry about it and can use the normal showerhead. I plan on taking this with me when I move out of my apartment.

The incredible shower stool. I got this before my surgery when I didn't feel like putting weight on my sad, crippled foot on a slick smooth tub floor, and I've continued to use it during being in a cast and especially now that my foot is unprotected in the shower.

10-cent trashbag and $2 duct tape (and the shower curtain) was all that was between wonderful shower water and my non-waterproof cast for the last month. I did purchase one of those rubber cast booties, however I have chunky legs and even my atrophied calf was still too wide- it ripped the second time I used it, proving that sometimes the simple solutions are the best. Even if ripping duct tape off skin hurts, this concoction never once leaked.

And as far as entertainment, I already had Netflix, and I bought a big puzzle that I haven't had the table space to do yet. However the most important thing to have wasn't a thing at all- having someone around to help, especially when it comes to things like getting laundry done and groceries. In my case, it was having first my mom, and then my dad staying with me to do most of the work until I could do it again.

Graphic scar photos

After two good washings I've decided to post photos of the scar/all of my foot after all. It's kind of nasty but not the worst thing on the internet, so if discolored swollen feet or scars are not your thing, don't look. If you do then go ahead.

The scar's longer than the usual because the whole tendon had to be examined- I messed that sucker up. The surgery (29 days ago, to recap), ultimately involved deepening the groove the tendons sit in, fixing a tear, and two grafts onto frayed parts. Below, a closeup:

Not sure why the sutures left such distinct marks. The wrinkly look to my skin is from the Ace bandage wrap, my skin is not naturally like that.

And below, I model my trusty walking boot (with the amazing velcro-ended Ace wrap underneath it), which does still have the hospital sticker on the side. I'm very happy to wear pants again.

So there. Pain is minimal, and skin healing is going about average. The swelling was down a little today, which is probably a good sign. In a month when I'm supposed to start walking again I should be as good as new!

Also- I went back through my blog and added photos, such as of my doctor, my assortment of various casts, etc., so please go see!

Post Op Appointment 3

Today was the third post-surgery doctor appointment, an important one because it marked the end of my being in a cast. I learned a trick that I hopefully won't have to use anymore- if I breathe in really deep when they lift my foot out of the cast, I don't pass out. Good to know.

Since my pain levels have been so low I didn't need any xrays- the doctor did a few bending tests to make sure the tendon worked and then wrapped it up in an ace bandage and stuck it right back in the walking boot I had been in pre-surgery (it actually still has the hospital sticker on it from where I had it on last).

I am still not supposed to walk on that leg all, and keep using my crutches for another four weeks. I can have the boot off when I'm in the bath or just sitting around, but if I'm up and about or sleeping, since I'm a rough sleeper, I need to keep it on. I was also given two exercises to do: an up-down motion, and a circling motion. I'm supposed to do them for ten minutes or so every day. If I feel ambitious I can do figure eights as well.

In four weeks, at my next appointment, my crutches will be taken away and I'll have to learn to walk again with the boot. At that point physical therapy may or may not be prescribed, depending on my progress. And in six weeks I should in theory be back in normal shoes and walking unaided and without pain.

As far as the appearance of my foot...it's still gross. There's still bruising, but it's mostly on the bottom of my foot and around my ankles. There's still a lot of swelling- my toes look much meatier than normal, and the inner and outer sides of my ankle don't stick out at all because of the swelling. At first I thought something was horribly wrong with the scar, but it turns out upon examination that it's the remains of the pen markings from the surgery and will wash off sooner or later. Another problem I probably should have forseen: dead skin. It's everywhere. There's lots of it. I may have gotten the last of the orange dye off as well.

Pain is pretty consistently gone as well. I don't feel any pain in my ankle. When I was shaving my leg in the tub after I got home from the appointment the only thing that gave any twinge of pain at all was actually my heel, and once I folded up a washcloth under it so it wasn't on the hard tub floor, it stopped whining. When I was showing my dad the scar I accidently caught my toes on the coffee table and made my ankle twist suddenly, and it stopped hurting completely within minutes, which is encouraging. Sometimes the scar gets really tender, especially down by the bottom of my foot on the bottom end where the skin is more likely to move.

I'm not sure if I'll update much between now and my next appointment. So I'll see you at the end of August, most likely.

Post Op Appointment 2

First, I'd like to thank the City of Albuquerque for having handicap-accessible port-a-potties at their annual fireworks display at the Balloon Fiesta Field on Sunday. That made my afternoon much, much nicer. And I'd also like to thank WalMart for selling surprisingly nice lawnchairs for $10, because I sat in one for six hours straight and was not at all uncomfortable. And thank you to all the people who walk up to me and tell me about their surgeries and large scars in public, in stores, in general, I like a good story. Below is me, along with a friend, hanging out at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta field on the 4th until the fireworks that night.

And now, to business-

Today was my second post-surgery appointment. It was surprisingly brief- the green cast was taken off and I didn't actually pass out this time, which was a nice change. If I had any inclination towards graphic injury photos I would show you my foot, however that's probably better left alone for a few more weeks until it's scarred over. My foot's still incredibly swollen and very bruised (I bruise easily), and the healing incision is probably five inches long- from a little way above my ankle to almost the bottom of my foot. It will look very cool in a few months.

The sutures got removed as well. Getting the sutures out was kind of painful because of the snipping, which pulled on my very abused skin, however it was over pretty quickly and my second and final cast was put on. I had mentioned the irritated skin spot near my toes to the doctor, but there wasn't any redness anywhere around that problem zone so we chalked it up to the bandages.

Something important I need to add is that my calf has been hurting this last week or so, off and on, mostly after I do something physical. Dad insists it's my calf muscle trying to not wither away, however my doctor made his Serious Face and said that if it started hurting consistently to immediately call him because I may develop a blood clot from inactivity (which is why long periods of inactivity are frowned upon, and they tell you to move your limbs around every hour or so). At the moment I don't think I have one, and I think it really is my calf rioting when I do activities that require its use, however blot clots are not to be taken lightly so I will be keeping an eye on that.

My next appointment is on the 16th, in 10 days, and I will be getting the cast off and be put back in my boot, with very light therapeutic exercises to help that foot learn to walk again. At the moment I can only bend three of my toes and move my foot about a centimeter without help (I had to at the doctor's), so there's quite a bit of work to do still.

So unless I find something to talk about before then, I'll see you next weekend.