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.