Free at last!

6 Weeks Post-Op

Before Appointment...

I woke up very early today.... too early.  That's what I get for falling asleep at 8:30 last night.  So this morning I am feeling very itchy, itchier than usual, under my cast.  The area around my incision is feeling irritated, almost as if there might be some discharge from the site. While I certainly hope that is not the case, I don't have too long to wait to have my concerns addressed since today is my 6 week post op appointment with Dr. Johnson!!  The cast comes off (yay!!!!!), x-rays will be taken, my progress will be discussed, weight bearing will be discussed, and I'll be given my physical therapy prescription, along with my walking boot.

I'm looking forward to finding out when I can get behind the wheel again, I sure miss the independence of coming and going as I please.  I've had two drivers since March 15th, my husband, and my brother. I'm about to have a third.  My brother flew home to Washington D.C. last night, after having been here for two weeks to help out.  The whole family piled in the car to drive my brother to Lambert Airport, which under normal circumstances would have have been a pleasant Sunday drive.  Instead, traffic was backed up because everyone was slowing down to see the tornado damage along the highway.  People were filming and taking pictures of the sea of blue tarps that were covering what was left of houses and buildings.  And the trees....snapped off, sucked out of the ground, all I can say is WOW. It made me cry. The airport is still a mess, there were lots of construction workers all around, lots of police trying to keep any gawkers moving along , the destruction was overwhelming to say the least.  But I digress, yet again.  I'm looking forward to driving myself again. Since my husband is heading out of town tomorrow morning, my father will be flying in tomorrow afternoon from New Jersey, to lend a helping hand and driving foot.  I have an amazing family, I love them so much and am extremely grateful for all they have done for me.

Tickle Machine!!  Here I come!

It's off it's off it's OFF!!  Whew, feels great.  So after a forty minute wait my name was finally called and off I went with my husband to see Julie, the nice girl who put my cast on four weeks ago.  She asked if this was the first time I was to have a cast removed and I assured her that it wasn't. Julie wanted to be sure that I was aware that the procedure might tickle, and that the blade on the saw wouldn't go all the way through and cut me.  She asked how many casts I've had in the past, and I counted up to five.  Then came the sound I have been waiting for, and then the tickly vibrations, then a few snips with the scissors and ahhhhhhhhhhhh.  Julie then gave my leg a cool alcohol bath.  It felt incredibly good, it was a little slice of heaven. 



Incision on back of my leg used for achilles stretching



I now know why I was so darn itchy in my cast.  You know, for awhile I had an inkling that my itchiness was beyond your everyday normal itchiness.  There were times when I thought I would climb the walls.  That said, I realize that I should have asked to have my cast removed to see what was going on a couple of weeks ago.  You see, when my sutures were removed four weeks ago, some new steri strips were put over the incisions.  Before the steri strips were applied, there was a glue used to make them stick longer. Turns out I had an allergic reaction to the glue.  Throughout the years I've experienced itchiness at incision sites and I thought I might be allergic to medical tape.  Prior to my TAR I had asked my surgeon for a bunch of the steri strips he uses on the incision so I could test them down by my ankles.  They were fine, I had no reaction to them at all.  The ah hah moment is the glue, ah HAH!  Fyi, the glue is called Mastisol.  Anyone with adhesive allergies might want to avoid it.

On to the good stuff, the x-rays looked fabulous, my incisions looked okay under all the red bumps :(,  and I am now sporting a lovely new air cast!  I have a compression sock to wear with it.  Dr. Johnson instructed me to gradually begin to put weight on my new ankle, and perhaps try to be full weight bearing by the end of the next three to four weeks.  Then he says to lose the crutches, and transition into a regular shoe.  Wheeeee!  I'm on my way!   My brother is getting married on June 11th, my goal is to look like nothing has happened on that day. *wink*.

Physical therapy will begin shortly, it's just a matter of making some appointments.  Honestly, I would prefer a home program, so I'll go a few times and have the PT give me all the rubber bands and what have you and do the work on my own.  Everyone is different and opinions vary, but while there have been several occasions throughout the years where I have needed therapy, I have never been overjoyed with the outcome of the process.  My surgeon is confident that as long as I am diligent, that I can be successfull in strengthening and improving my ROM on my own, with the right tools. In addition to home, I anticipate doing a lot of my rehabilitation in the pool, and the gym.

It felt awesome to bathe my leg in the tub after we got home, I had to be extremely gentle as the skin is soooo sensitive.  It feels great to put a little weight on my ankle in the aircast, and actually I put a little weight on it without the aircast as well, just while I was getting in to the tub.  What I noticed is that I had some pain in my heel, but nothing major.  I'm also beginning to feel some tingling feelings in my toes and running up the top of my foot.  While in my cast I didn't experience any of that.  I'm glad I feel it now, it means the nerves and tendons are waking up and are getting ready to get to work! 

What I must focus on now, is not overdoing it.  Of course I would love to test my new self out, and be independent, but I intend to be careful, and to take it slow.  I'm going to baby my new implant as much as I can.  It's still very early on in the process of recovery, so I'll take one step at a time...baby steps.  I'm going to take my life back in baby steps.  Golf anyone??


Best,
~Suzanne