End of PT - For now

Today my PT told me I am able to be discharged.  She was amazed at my level of recovery since I started PT a little over a month ago.  I am walking now pretty much normally.  Still have a little pain and stiffness in the am, no real swelling, and my left foot is still 1/4 bigger round than my right foot.  At this point, I am going to continue my workouts in the Gym, and wait to see my Surgeon Nov 17th.  Hoping to get the screws out ASAP as I can definitely feel them now.  My PT says I can feel them since my foot is no longer swollen.  This marks 17 weeks since my accident.  6 weeks weight bearing.   It has been a long journey, and one that I am sure I will be reminded of with every stiff am walk and foot twinge I get for the rest of my life.

I'd like to call this my last post - but given I still need to get the hardware removed - I think my last post will come on the 1 year anniversary of the accident - I will then close with my last post at that point.  Until then, I'll continue to post items I think folks will find of interest in terms of their own journey.

Please readers - and there are a lot of you!  From many countries!  Feel free to ask me questions.

Glenn

Down to 1 PT Session Per week

Well, getting to the end of my therapy journey.  Yesterday my PT told me I could come just once a week now.  My leg and ankle strength are back to normal in my opinion.  My balance and foot flexibility are still not, and may never be what it was before the injury.  But I am working on it.  I am up to a full 35 mins on the elliptical now and working leg machines into my workout hard now.  I still get some swelling, and my bad foot still is bigger than my good foot.  I can walk now with very little limp, and almost broke out into a light jog the other night.  I'll continue with PT until they tell me I am done.  I don't see my surgeon until mid-November - so as much as I would like to get the hardware removed from my foot, it's going to be at least another month.  So, here is a status since my last post:

1. Walking without any limp, never going back to the cane - Done, just a little limp now

2. Walking longer distances - and faster!  Right now I can manage short slow spurts without pain - Done - Think I could slow jog now

3. Full 30 minutes on the elliptical - Done!

4. More grace walking up and down stairs - Better!  But not all the way there yet

5. No swelling - HA!  Doubt that will happen anytime soon - Better, but still comes sometimes at end of day

6. No weird feelings & sensitivity/numbness on the surface of my foot - Almost feels normal these days

7. No popping Advil in the am to mask foot pain - Advil free for one week!

8. Standing / balancing on my bad foot for 30 seconds (PT says that is what a normal person can do) - I can manage about 8 seconds

9. Getting into my "smaller" pair of dress-shoes - my left foot still bigger than my right - and I know this might be forever, but will try! - Glad I am not a girl - my shoe fashion will forever be limited I fear - no way I can fit into narrower dress shoes

10. Completing PT - I'll set my sites on the end of November - I'd say this will stick

11. Getting the 2 remaining screws out of my foot - December? - Still about right

I may post a pic of my foot soon for comparison to where it was when I got my cast off.   I may even post my injury pics for Halloween LOL!  They are pretty gruesome!

More of the same - but better

Tomorrow is 4 weeks WB for me.  Knee pain subsiding with the incoming high pressure system.  Little foot pain these days, more flexibility, less swelling - but still there by the end of the day.  Doing the elliptical now more often.  Use the cane very little, walking most of the time with a slight limp still.  Up and down the stairs now "fairly" normal. So what is left?

1. Walking without any limp, never going back to the cane
2. Walking longer distances - and faster!  Right now I can manage short slow spurts without pain
3. Full 30 minutes on the elliptical
4. More grace walking up and down stairs
5. No swelling - HA!  Doubt that will happen anytime soon
6. No weird feelings & sensitivity/numbness on the surface of my foot
7. No popping Advil in the am to mask foot pain
8. Standing / balancing on my bad foot for 30 seconds (PT says that is what a normal person can do)
9. Getting into my "smaller" pair of dress-shoes - my left foot still bigger than my right - and I know this might be forever, but will try!
10. Completing PT - I'll set my sites on the end of November
11. Getting the 2 remaining screws out of my foot - December?

If I can manage all of the above - I'll say I am pretty much recovered.  I'll look at this list in another 3 months - that would be about the 6 month mark.

3 Weeks WB

Today marks 3 weeks WB for me.  I feel like I have been making steady progress and I have been trying to find the balance of overdoing it vs not doing enough.  My PT scolded me the other day for walking too much with a cane instead of a crutch.  And although my swelling is much less, she told me persistent swelling was not good in the long-run and to slow down.  Hard for a guy like me!  I am down to 2 sessions of PT per week and have scheduled thru the end of October.  I'll see where I am from there.   I am completely in shoes now - my sneakers for the Gym, work dress shoes and my docksiders.  I have been walking around the house in "flip flops" and have been trying more and more to be barefoot.  I also walk more and more without the cane - kind of a waddle really, but less of a limp.  It's been raining the last few days - so my knees have been hurting.  Otherwise, I feel like I could walk at a pretty good clip without a limp.  Ankle pain gone, little bit of foot pain, some swelling, and increased ankle flexibility.  I actually tried the Elliptical in the Gym today and felt like I could do it.  Since I have PT Friday am I decided against it - I did not want to show up in PT and have her "yell" at me again.  She already thinks I am a handful.  Monday, she had me doing some balance exercises on the bad foot - whoa - that was tough!  She seems a bit amazed at my progress.  Goal was to be full WB in 4 weeks.  I am 2 weeks ahead of my surgeon's orders.

So my goals now - Continue to progress, Don't hurt myself because I did something stupid, attend the Sugarland concert in Mohegan Sun in 2 weeks with no cane and no pain!

G

X-Rays from the day of...

Finally got around to scanning my X-rays.  The first X-ray is pre-surgery.  As my surgeon said - this was not a subtle Lisfranc - they saw this coming a mile away!   The second pic is post surgery.

2 Weeks WB

I hit my first milestone today.  I was supposed to be "weened" off of the boot by today.  This is pretty much true.  I have not worn the boot since Saturday.  I don't have a desire to get back into it.  I continue my PT - pretty much same routine - warmup on bike, flexing exercises, foot massage and then icing and the electro therapy.  Swelling seems to be coming down.  I still get ankle pain if I walk too much full WB and revert to 2 crutches.  I manage more and more on single crutch and cane with an occasional short, very short, walk unaided.  According to my PT, in another 2 weeks, I should be on cane alone if I keep up the pace.  I am back in the gym 4 days a week.  I use the bike for 30mins and then do weights - starting to add some leg work to the routine.   I tried to get back onto the elliptical yesterday and found that my ankle still does not have the flexibility for the motion of the machine.  It was extremely painful and I got off after about three or four revolutions.  Argh!  I'll try it again next week.

Things that come in handy - 1. Advil, 2. elevate at least a couple of times per day, and 3. I discovered icing my foot at home with one of those plastic ice pads you throw in the freezer.  Not sure why I did not start using these sooner!

So somewhere I read somebody's post about telling the difference between 'good' pain - the pain that comes from exercise - sore muscles - that's a good pain.  It seems I mostly have this kind of pain.  I don't have much in the way of 'bad' pain - severe throbbing, jabs and stabs.  I still get the occasional pins and needles, and the ankle pain when WB.  All tend to go away at rest.

I'll keep gently pushing, not over-doing it - I know it's a marathon and not a sprint.

G

After PT

Well, I overdid it a bit during my first full PT session.  My session yesterday was much more subdued and my foot was pretty swollen from the day before.  I spent most of yesterday NWB and very little PWB.  Foot swelling and ankle pain seems much less today.  I will take it VERY slow this weekend.

Lesson learned - and you can read comments from others on this blog ---

This is a very long term healing process.  Pushing yourself will only aggravate the foot.  Take PWB to WB slow and let your body be the judge of how much you did or did not do.  In my case, it always manifests itself the next morning.