Cast Away

On Friday, I had the cast removed. The physician's assistant used a small circular saw-like device to cut it away. It felt great to be free of it. My skin was scaly and red and I could tell that I had lost muscle in my leg from lack of use. Now I'm going to be in a walking boot for the next four weeks and have been given an exercise regimen for the ankle. I'm still using the crutches some, but I should be able to be free of them by the time I go in for the follow up appointment.

Post-Op Appointment

Today, the bandages came off at my post-op appointment. The physician assistant took the staples out, which didn't hurt too bad, just felt like little pinches. It felt so good to feel some air on my foot after two weeks. The picture here is right after they took the bandages off and before putting me in a cast. My foot doesn't look as swollen as some of the pictures I've seen on the other peroneal tendon surgery blogs, but not sure if that comes later.

The doctor showed me some pictures taken during the surgery. It looked like my tendon was torn really bad. He was able to repair it, however. They put me in a fiberglass cast which I'll be in for two weeks, which is a much shorter time than I had anticipated. I'll be in a boot after that and will eventually be able to wean myself away from the crutches. I won't need physical therapy unless I feel it is necessary.

I'll head into the office next week. My mom has helped me adjust the seams of some pairs of my pants for wearing while I'm in the cast. It will be nice to get back into a somewhat normal routine, but I imagine it's going to be challenging with the crutches.

I asked the doctor how soon I'd be able to start exercising again. The doctor said I'll be able to do some swimming and cycling first, then elliptical, then eventually the treadmill. I'm not sure of the timetable for any of this as yet, but perhaps may know more after my next appointment when they take off the cast. In the meantime, I am going to try to do some upper body exercises in the condo gym and some more Pilates and abs exercises with the help of videos from Netflix.

My parents will be leaving tomorrow. If you ever have to go through this surgery yourself, see if you can find someone to stay with you and help out. It makes a world of difference and I feel truly blessed.

Hoping to get out of the condo some this weekend!