This Boot is Made for Walkin'!

Back on September 8, when I first met Dr. Arcand, my surgeon, she said with a serious look on her face, "It will be three months before you can drive again...." waiting for my jaw to slowly close. She then spelled out the timeline after my surgery: "You will be non weight bearing for at least 4 if not 6 weeks. Then, if your healing looks good to me, I'll get you back in to the CAM boot and we'll start you on physical therapy."

Well, this past Wednesday marked six weeks since my surgery and, at my doctor's appointment that day, without much fanfare, Dr. Arcand said, "It looks good" and nodded me for to go ahead and put on the CAM boot I had brought along but had not stepped in to since our first office visit. The splint and ace bandage came off, revealing a truly grotesque foot (out of sight, out of mind, and totally gross). It was just covered with layers of dead, peeling skin, plus it looked like something out of a pirate movie: the last splint had been rather tightly applied and so my normal half leg (regular girth) was now nearly twice as big as the part of my calf and ankle that had been wrapped. I was told quickly that this should settle down in time, but eek, did it look nasty!

She gave me a prescription for physical therapy (which I can't get started on until November 6th because the guy I prefer to use, who is in private practice is booked up). She also told me a couple of pieces of good news for a change: I can do some partial weight bearing, such as a pivot from bed to chair and even so far as using one crutch on my affected side to take the weight off the right foot and moving around the house a little. The other big news is I can finally bathe like a normal person again....though I have yet to do this! I don't have a shower chair and my partner has been working overnight shifts all week, so I don't want to try anything too progressive without some help closeby, but be assured I will. My PT will be twice a week for six weeks and then, at our next appointment on December 9th, which is exactly 12 weeks after my surgery (meaning the all important three month mark), I should be cleared to drive and be totally weight bearing. Yahoo!

My partner, Lucy, in just the past few days, is already clucking about my overdoing it in terms of traipsing around the house on one crutch and even doing the stairs this way (albeit very slowly) but I'm letting my body tell me how fast/slow to go. I have always listened to it in the past when it comes to recovery and this time is no different. I have read many blogs by other post-surgical ATR patients who were partial weight bearing in 4 weeks and I have heeded the posts by some others who say, "at the first sign of pain or weirdness, STOP." So far, so good!

I've done well with my four hours a day working from home and my doctor is going to keep me on that schedule until we next meet. So, it does appear I won't be back in my office in any steady capacity until at least December 10th, something I know my supervisor will wish was a lot earlier. Still, I have to say I've accomplished a lot of work at home thus far: I have just about gotten caught up on the backlog of bereavement telephone calls that went undone in my absence, put in a proposal for a major conference next Spring, and am also setting up a very overdue Ethics Committee meeting that I am chair of. Not bad for a gimp with a limp, huh? Stay tuned for more fun and frolic as I attempt slalom downhill skiing....just kidding, NEVER gonna happen!