Speaking of Hammers....

Throughout my ankle replacement recovery journey, I have had a nagging sense of foreboding. You know how when something sounds to good to be true, it usually is?  Well, I feel like my surgery and recovery has been too good to be true. So for ten weeks now, as many of you already know, I've been waiting for the hammer to drop.  Although I am normally a positive thinker, I've not been able to shake this sinking feeling, or fear that everything might collapse.  My guess is that since my ankle did collapse following one of my surgeries in the 90's, I have been frightened by the prospect of reliving that nightmare.  But you know what???

I am not going to worry anymore!  NO MORE WORRIES!  Why?  Because I've decided to accept the fact that my surgery has been a success!  I selected an excellent surgeon who did a stellar job, and I look forward to June 6th, when I can tell Dr. Jeffrey Johnson, face to face, how much he has changed my life!  He's got a great big hug coming his way.  To top it all off, my worries have melted away, because something funny happened at PT yesterday....the hammer dropped, literally.

Yep, I'm leaving my worries behind, because Nick, my PT, dropped the hammer.  He dropped it on the floor, and proceeded to teach me a new strengthening exercise!  All I could do was laugh.  Nick wondered what was so funny, so I explained my hammer dropping fears to him.  So there you have it, in my mind I have accepted this as the official hammer drop, and I have allowed my fears and apprehension to fly away into the sunset. I call my new exercise, HAMMERSIZE. 

Tomorrow is my last physical therapy appointment. I will surely miss it, but will continue to exercise at home and at the gym, to strengthen my new ankle.  Yesterday Nick measured my dorsi flexion, we saw a 2 degree improvement.  Two more tiny degrees to happiness.  It is at 12 now, and the goal is get it anywhere from 10 to 15.  Tomorrow he will measure my plantar and will write a letter, describing my progress, which I am to give my surgeon on June 6th.

Today I ventured out to the supermarket sans my boot, for the very first time.  I was very protective of my ankle, can't imagine if someone slammed into me with their shopping cart...I shudder to think.  Anyway, I walked around for about 20 or 30 minutes and gathered just a few things, and all went well.  My ankle, or the muscles surrounding it, feel a bit tired out, and I am swollen, but there is no sign of pain.  I'm not ready to walk the mall or the amusement park or anything of the sort, but that will all come in due time.  This is still a gradual process. 

I will continue this journey with high spirits, and blissfully forge ahead in anticipation of all the wonderful surpises the future holds. 

Best,

Suzanne

Walking on Sunshine

On March 15th I successfully attempted to walk  in regular shoes. That was one of the happiest days, ever. Since then, the positive change in my quality of life has been nothing short of astounding. Following I don't how many years of pain, around ten or so, I feel like a new person.  My zest for life is returning, I am beginning to feel like "me" again.  I can't tell you how that feels.  My only wish is that you experience it for yourself.  Do I feel pain when I walk? Yes. Is it bad? No. Not bad at all. No pain in the world can hold a candle to what was there prior to March 15th.  My experience with ankle replacement surgery, thus far, has left me stunned.  A good kind of stunned.

You know, I realize during this go 'round of ankle surgery that physical therapy is important.  In the past, I have not been satisfied with it in the very least, which leads me to wonder if it was the therapists and not the therapy, that I was not happy with .  I have a wonderful therapist now, that I actually look forward to going to see.  A bit of advice, even though you didn't ask for it, shop around before you settle.  You only want the best, and someone who is trained in your type of major ankle surgery, and someone who understands what you have been through and what you are facing now.  I have that in Nick, and sadly, he'll be cutting me loose in another week or so.  But you know what?  The best therapy for my new ankle implant is.....that's right, WALKING.  And that's what I'm doing.

The pain that I experience from walking comes more from the muscles surrounding the ankle rather than the implant itself.  I have a great deal of stiffness, so yes, it occassionally hurts when I'm trying to loosen things up.  I don't feel any pain at all where the implant is, instead, I feel nothing but total relief there. When I step and really think about it, that bone on bone arthristis pain....is gone.  Completely gone. Getting rid of old habits has been a challenge for me, such as trying to keep my foot sraight.  I still want to do my sidewinder walk, which guess what, isn't necessarry anymore!  Beautiful thing.  So every step I take now, is slow, well thought out, and deliberate.  The pain in my achilles has lessened greatly, and I no longer experience any discomfort in my extensor tendon, just a little numbness there, which is normal.  Can things be any better?  To those of you who have actually forged your way through my long, dull posts....I'm still waiting for that hammer to drop! That damn hammer!!  I see my surgeon on June 6th, and I am so nervous about the outcome.  Will my x-rays be good?  Will he tell me everything is healing well?  I need to hear, from the horse's mouth, that my ankle is healing properly.  I've had healing issues in the past, and quite frankly, I'm not ready to face another healing problem. I'm too over the moon with the way things are right now.  Postive thinking....

Around the house I usually walk in sneakers, or some of you may call them tennis or gym shoes.  I'm an east coaster originally, hence, they're sneakers for me. I've also walked in bare feet, which is surprisingly comfortable. Anyway, when I need to do heavy work, like housework that requires going up and down the stairs a lot, I put my aircast on.  With the aircast I can motor around like nothing ever happened!  I am able to get everything done now, the only thing that worries me is the heavy lifting.  When I go food shopping I take about thirty five trips from the car with the bags because I'm so afraid to carry too much.  Heavy lifting is a huge no no after this type of surgery.  Now if I can just lighten myself!  All of my inactivity has not played out nicely on my body, I think I've gained 20 lbs.  My gourmet cook of a husband hasn't helped in that department, but it was all served up in love.  So anyway, I'm trying to shed pounds...I need to baby my implant. My goal is to benefit from fifteen good years from my STAR.  Gym, here I come.

My daughter, a true blue Justin Bieber fan, was watching his new movie, the dvd that she had to have the very second it was released. She's 12.... need I say more? She turned up the volume during one Justin's songs that she especially likes, and started dancing.  I got up and danced with her.  The expression on her face when she saw her mother dance, was priceless. Julia's look was part embarrassment because her mom was dancing and looking silly, and part, oh my gosh, mommy you're actually dancing! Wow!  Life is beautiful.  So beautiful.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Best,
~Suzanne

Total Ankle Replacement Recovery Must-Haves

If you are preparing for surgery, you might want to consider the following items for your shopping list:

The following items are things I could NOT have lived without after the big day (just me, keep in mind we're all different).  My list is in no particular order with the exception of number one, and ten, and ten comes before one:

#1.  Knee Walker **
 Or some may call it a knee scooter, or knee roller.  This is the single most important apparatus to have if you are recovering from ankle surgery.  It alllows you to have independence. Heck, it's just fun to have anyway, even if you're fine.  Do not try to recover without this.  You will be amazed by what you can accomplish with a knee walker, especially if you have a basket on it. You can fix yourself a sandwich and a drink, stick it in your basket, and wheel back to your comfy spot.  You'll be zipping from here to there, and everywhere.  Number one on your list, for sure (except for #10).  Unless, of course, you would prefer to not do anything at all, which is perfectly understandable, and acceptable.  If you're like me, you might view your surgery recovery as a vacation. That's fine too. "What?  You expect me to pick up those dirty clothes when all I have is a new ankle and a knee walker?  What?".

**  I've heard from several people that they were not happy with theirs.  Be sure to test out the models, don't just order one online or rent one without trying it out first.  They are all different, some do the job better than others.  I loved mine, but I had always wished that it had a better turning radius.  Mine was given to me by my brother who is a podiatrist...I remain thankful for that, and he will never hear a complaint from me. Ever. 

#2. Crutches 
Need I say more?  I think not.

#3. Pillows
 Lots of pillows. Pillows for when you elevate, which is extremely often following ankle replacement surgery. "Toes above the nose!"  Some patients purchase special foam wedges, or go to Lowe's and have them cut wedges for them, which is great! Some patients go to medical supply stores for "special" pillows and wedges. That is okay too. I, however, went to a certain known superstore and purchased a bunch of two dollar pillows.  My feet were going to be on them for weeks on end, I didn't want them to be good pillows. They worked great!  To this day, I still put them on the kitchen floor so I can rest my foot on them while having dinner and/or playing cards.  You can not have enough cheap pillows.  As I write, I have my foot on a cheap pillow.  Cheap pillows rule.

#4 Heavy Duty Task Chair with Arms and Wheels
I say heavy duty, because you want one that is not going to slip out from under you when you lift yourself  up from it.  My heavy duty task chair saved my life in the bathroom.  I wheeled myself to the tub, toilet, shower,  everywhere in the bathroom. I sat in it while I put my face on, brushed my teeth, you name it. 

#5 Shower/Bath Cast Cover
This item was wonderful to have because I never had to worry about getting water on my cast when I bathed.  I suppose I could have used a regular ole garbage bag, but with that I would not have been able to submerge my leg in the tub.  The cast cover creates a seal that renders it impossible to get your cast wet.  You can even go swimmimg with it, not that the thought even crossed my mind after surgery.

#6  Cast Socks
I was given about six of these when my second cast was put on.  They are soft and open at both ends and slip over your cast.  I never slept without one on my cast because it prevented injuries to my good leg.  Casts are very abrasive and without the sock over mine, I would scrape myself on it.  It also protected our leather furniture.  If I laid on the couch without the sock, it scratched the leather.  Not good.  I also wouldn't put my shower/tub cast cover on without having the sock on first, because the cast can tear the rubber.  I still use my cast socks, under my aircast, when I'm not wearing my compression sock, which is most of the time.  They really come in handy.

#7  Baby Wipes
I spent most of the first two weeks post-op in bed, and when the thought of getting up and facing the ordeal of getting into the tub overwhelmed me, I used these to freshen up.  I often wiped my casted toes with them since I couldn't get that area wet.  When a bath or shower seems like it is out of the question, turn the baby wipes, they will suffice when necessary. 

#8 Grabber

I call it "the claw."  I could NOT have lived without this, especially with young children to pick up after.  I would scoot around on my knee walker and pick things up off the floor with this.  I think it cost about $20 at Walgreens...more than worth it, best 20 bucks I've ever spent.  I still use it often, I even used it today.  When you're learning to walk again, it's difficult to bend over sometimes.  Well, grab the claw.  After my surgery I always had it with me, next to my bed, in case I dropped the remote or something.  (God forbid I couldn't access the TV!) PRICELESS.  Very very useful, even when you're well.

#9 Books, Magazines, and a TV

How can you laze the days away without these? That is, when you're not sleeping off the pain meds.  Sometimes I would read a sentence and then be zzzzzzz.  I enjoyed watching movies the most, and was sure to include some comedies, as heavy dramas on top of heavy pain meds brought me down.  Just a thought to consider.

#10 Supportive People

The most important item on the list, no doubt.  If you are able, have a loved one to care for you.  Or, make arrangements for a caretaker, for the first two weeks, the most difficult period of the whole process.  My husband did everything for me....everything.  I could not have done this without him and as I look back today, I realize, again, how amazing he is.


Here are a couple of things that I lived without, and probably shouldn't have:

#1  Over the toilet raised commode 

Private matter, yes, but I'll share anyway.  I had the MOST difficult time getting up and down from the toilet.  I didn't think of it beforehand, but I wish that I had purchased or rented one.  It would have have negated many difficult moments. I actually ripped some of our towel bars out the wall while attempting to get up.  Not good.  Fortunately my husband has already spackled and repaired. 

#2 Walker

I was offered one in the hospital and I turned it down.  Just didn't feel comfortable with it.  Well, I can not count all the times that I said "I wish I took that damn walker!!".  Take it, it will be useful. If anything, it will help with the bathroom problems that I touched on above.  There were so many times that I had wished I had it in place of my crutches.  Crutches are just so unruly sometimes...

#3 Shower/Tub Seat

All along I had planned on having one.  I got into a groove getting into the tub, all was well, so I didn't bother.  Then when I couldn't stand taking baths anymore and all I wanted was a shower, there were times I would have died for a shower,  I regretted not having the seat available.  If I had it do all over again (which you know I hope I don't) I would make sure I had a shower seat.

Reader suggestions:

iPod!

We all learn as we go along.....

There are many things that I wish I had lived without, that I SHOULD have lived without, like chocolate, ice cream, pizza, coca cola, so on and so forth.  There is something about those pain meds that make me want to nest with a bunch of sweets!  Eat healthy, your healing bones will appreciate it.

We are having an amazingly spectacular day here in O'Fallon Missouri, I hope your day is amazing too!

Thanks for reading,
~Suzanne

Milestone!!

Yesterday was the first big social function that I attended since my March 15th surgery.  I enjoyed getting dressed up for a change and wearing at least one fancy shoe.  It felt good to be getting out there again, I was going to see lots of friends that I hadn't seen in a long time.  I arrived at the party at about 4:00, and by 5:00 I was ready to fall on my face.  I was overcome by exhaustion!  Gosh, I really need to get this body of mine back into shape!  It was a large crowd of about sixty five people, and after spending  so much quiet time at home over the last couple of months, I found it to be overwhelming.  Although I was tired after an hour, I managed to stick it out until 8:00.  I mingled, imbibed, and talked and talked and talked, spending a great deal of that four hours on my feet.  The party was still going strong, but I had to get my tired body and spinning head home.  Ahhhhh it felt good to take my cast off and put my feet up.  I was swollen, but didn't have a great deal of pain, which is a good thing.

After a good night's sleep, I got out of bed, stretched a little, and strapped on my cast.  Since I'm getting tired of that darn thing, I decided that today was the day that I was going to attempt to get my foot into a regular shoe, and if I was feeling really lucky I was going to try to walk without my cast.  I had to search for my right shoe, I only had left shoes around...  grabbed some comfy socks, and put on both shoes.  Trust me, I didn't think I was going to be able to get my shoe on, even after loosening the laces.  But I did, and it felt great.  Then I grabbed one crutch, stood up, and walked.  Then I put down the crutch and walked.  My goodness, this is a wonderful day. 

So far it doesn't hurt, it actually feels good to stretch all those muscles down there.  I am concentrating hard, on trying to keep my foot straight, and I'm walking slow and carefully.  Today I am experiencing the moment that I have been waiting for for several years.  This is the moment that I can walk without bone crunching debilitating pain, without support.  I feel like I have hit the lottery, I wish my husband was here to share this with me, but the poor dear is in Hawaii. :)  My daughters are here, and my seven year old started clapping and hugged me.  This is a milestone for her as well, because soon I will be a new and improved mom.  This whole process has been difficult on my children, they have been so patient and supportive, and today they get to witness the fruits of the labor.  My twelve year old who sleeps most of the day away came down and I told her I wanted to show her something, and  I stood up and walked for her.  She smiled from ear to ear and gave me the biggest congratulatory hug, and said "you did it"!  That's when I lost it, and the happy tears started flowing.  Yes, I did it.  My time has finally come. 

I have always loved Sundays, I love this one especially. Thank you, God. Wishing  you all a happy Sunday as well.

Best,

~Suzanne

8 Weeks Post-Op....Really?

The first six weeks following my ankle replacement surgery seemed like an eternity. Usually at my age, time always flies by as fast as it possibly can, and much faster than I want,  and I try so hard to slow it down, yet never succeed.  Time doesn't fly when you're chained down with a non weight bearing cast...the days go by so very slowwwwwly.  Perhaps not for everyone, but for fidgety, busy people like myself, time stands still.  Not a good situation for the impatient.  Suddenly, here I am at 8 weeks post-op, and I find myself wondering where all the time went!  Go figure. 

Since my last post I have experienced some very high highs, and some fairly low lows.  One of the very high highs is that I've been walking.  Exhiliaration times ten times ten times a million!  I was so excited to be on my feet and feelin' alright, that I spent more time than I should have, on my feet, without assistance.  So I learned, the hard way, not to over do it.  All along I promised myself that I would not over do....  perhaps I'm just not capable of taking things slow. Hence, there were lows.  That said, the pain and/or discomfort that I have experienced has been welcomed, in comparison to what I felt prior to my ankle replacement.  I truly believe that I will never feel that bad again!  Now that I am walking in my boot, my achilles is acting up. Can you blame it? It was lengthened and stretched to oblivion to help my future range of motion. The back of my calf is letting me know that it hasn't been used in awhile, and by the way, my right calf is teeny tiny compared to my left one, talk about atrophy.  Also, I feel an annoying burning pain on the inside of my ankle.  This is all normal, and it doesn't hold a candle to what I am capable of enduring.  Anyone out there going through the bone crunching pain knows exactly what I mean.  So in a nutshell, the good and bad of it is....  it's all good.

Today was my best day ever when it comes to walking.... properly.  I continue to have difficulty keeping my foot straight.  The words of my husband resonate in my mind, "straighten your foot...straighten your foot..straighten your....".  My foot is so used to being straight out to the side, and even in this big cast of a boot, I'm unable to conquer my bad habit of sidewinding!  Must continue to work on that, it's mind over matter.  I will win, no matter what.  I'm driving now, and all of my neighbors have been warned.  They all steer clear when I'm pulling out of the driveway!  I'm doing JUST fine with my driving...just don't cross my path.

Today I went shopping for dresses for myself and my daughters.  My brother is getting married in June, and I plan to look like nothing ever happened to me.  I want to wear a beautiful dress and "normal" shoes.  Perhaps I won't be dancing, but at least I can try to look good while sitting there in my fancy seat!  Anyway, I borrowed the wheel chair in the department store because I didn't want to over do it :).  I have blisters on my thumbs from zipping around from goodie to goodie, I have a list of things I'll be going back for shortly.  My husband insists that I was wheeling wrong.  I love him.  I think I am suffering from lack of wheeling, my fingers haven't been toughened up.  I am, however, very skilled at the knee walker.  Very.  I think my next post will be about items you must have in order to make ankle replacement surgery recovery easier.  Stay tuned for that, as much as I thought I was prepared and ready, I learned a lot as I went along.

More about shopping....  I LOVE those electric scooters, but they are dangerous as I could shop all day breezing up and down the aisles without a care in the world.  My check book suffers greatly!  The other day I met a guy in an aircast like mine, and he told me he was going to have his ankle frozen.  He was so young and vibrant, and I asked him if he had asked his doctor about Total Ankle Replacement.  He said "No, and if my doctor says to freeze it then I'll freeze it."  I wish he had known more.

Since I have not met with my doctor, I can only report on the findings of  Nick, my physical therapist, who surpisingly, I adore. As of Monday, he reports a significant increase in my ROM, however he would not measure me.  :(  He added strenghtening exercises to my regimen, and oh....  they feel good.  My ankle literally shakes like a leaf when doing them.  The mucles I am using have not been used in years.  Wonderful to use them again.  My next PT appointment is on Friday, I hope to get measured. Even though degrees are tiny, any improvement is inspiring. Trust me.

The nasty rash that I had has finally cleared up so now my incision can have a chance to heal.  I get very itchy anyway, from wearing my boot.  I am happiest when I take that thing off.  Many people still sleep with it at this point, I feel too much pressure and pain from it, so I'm happy to sleep without it.  My cat bites my ankle sometimes, because I move my foot around in my sleep. I really REALLY don't like the way that feels....grrrrr.   Important to have my crutches around, as I am not ready to walk without my brace.  I'm supposed to try over the next couple of weeks...  I'm not ready, but I will.  I'll let you know how that goes.

We are having a 95 degree day here in St. Louis, and there is sweat pouring down my face as I type.  Our central air is not working properly.  Must be fixed immediately.  As I sit here and sweat I want to give a shout out to my friend Kay, the TAR Lady.  My thoughts are always with her, she and I are recovering together.  High five Kay, you did it!  I hope you are experiencing the same happiness that I am! 

Speaking of shout outs, I want to thank every single person that has happened upon this blog.  I started this thing because I wanted to help someone.  I also wanted a diary that I could look back on in the future, regardless of my lack of writing skills.  When I was in crazy pain, I was like a fish out of water trying to find a solution.  I googled and yahoo'd and everything else, for information.  I'm certain that many of you out there are doing the same thing.  If my story can help you make your decision, well, then this has all been worthwhile.  You are not alone, never forget that.

Thank you to my page viewers from USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore, South Africa, Gemany, India, Sweden, United Kingdom, Denmark, and France.  Thank you to all of my friends and family, I love you all.

Thank you ALL for stopping by....  I wish each and everyone of you a happy and pain free life!

Best Always,

~Suzanne

Oh Happy Day!

Bye bye crutches, I'm walking now.  YES!

Transitioning from two crutches to one crutch to no crutch has gone a lot quicker than I had anticipated.  How wonderful it feels to have two free arms again, it is very liberating!  Within the next couple of weeks my plan is to begin experimenting with walking without my boot.  Nick, my PT, tells me that I can expect an onset of pain and discomfort once I dabble in bootlessness.  Bring it on, I'm certain that it will never even come close to the magnitude of the pain I lived with prior to my ankle replacement. 

Today at PT we could see a significant improvement in my ROM.  Better than my therapist thought we would see at this point in my recovery.  It's good news all around.  I'm getting my life back, I am elated, and my emotions are running wild.  Oh happy day!

I have only one concern at this stage, and it is my big toe and extensor tendon.  My big toe locks up and sometimes I can't bend it at all.  The extensor tendon is extremely sensitive, even to touch.  Nick worked his magic today and demonstrated how I should exercize the joints in my toe, and after that, I had immediate relief.  So I'll being doing some big toe work outs at home.  When Nick explained why my toe isn't working, it made total and complete sense.  For years I have walking with my foot straight out to the side, because that's the only way I could move about.  When you walk like that, you are not using your toes.  Well, if your not using your toes for years and then you have major work done and have tendons and ligaments moved around, then you're thrown into a cast for weeks and weeks....if I were a toe, I'd throw in the towel too.  It's not rocket science.

Today I laid down my crutch so Nick could see how I was walking on my own.  He immediately said that he has no worries about me, and to just keep my crutch around in case I start getting sore.  We rearranged my schedule to two days of PT visits instead of three, because of my progress.   I need to keep my foot straight!  After so many years of walking like a sidewinder, it's taking a lot of practice on my part to keep it straight.  Bad habits are hard to break, but I'm always up for a challenge!

When this whole process began, my surgeon and I sat across from each other on more than one occasion and discussed the pros and cons of ankle fusion vs. total ankle replacement.  At first Dr. Johnson asked that I wait until I'm 55 if I opted for replacement surgery.  I opted out of ankle fusion because of the havoc it wreaks on the surrounding joints.  I didn't see the value of relieving my ankle arthritis just to end up with arthritis everywhere alse in my foot.  Fix pain to get pain, didn't make sense.  Thank goodness the FDA finally got around to approving the STAR ankle implant in the U.S., because it turned out to be a better option for someone my age.  I don't expect this implant to last forever, most of them don't.  I will at the very least need a revision down the road, and that's  totally fine with me.  Even if I have to have the whole thing redone, I'm okay with that too.  If I can buy myself ten good years of pain free living, well, what more can I ask for?  Having my ankle replaced is turning out to be one of the best decisions I have ever made. 

Still wondering if the hammer is going to drop...  because right now I feel like the poster child for total ankle replacement surgery.  The high priestess of pain free recovery. Seems to be too good to be true, and I can't help but be worried about that. But I'll motor on, and see where this takes me, and will remain as positive as I can. 

Best,
~Suzanne

An Innocent Stroll

Oops, I walked!

Last night my dad and I had just finished playing a couple hands of Spite and Mallice, one of our favorite card games.  After winning both games my father victoriously headed upstairs to bed. I plopped down onto my comfy oversized chair and turned on the tube (I'm dating myself with the word tube...) and I saw the headlines. "Osama bin Laden is dead!".  I excitedly hopped out of my chair and headed straight for the stairs as I wanted to go up and give my father the news.  It wasn't until I reached the stairs and placed my hand on the bannister that I realized that I had left my crutches behind.  I had walked!  Granted, it was only eight or nine steps, but I had walked nevertheless.  Feeling exhilarated, I walked back to where I had been relaxing to retrieve my crutches, so I could crutch up the stairs.  I went against doctor's orders, however it was purely innocent and without guilt.  Breaking the rules never felt so good!  Osama dies, then I walk for the first time in seven weeks. I walk for the first time in years, without pain. There must be a connection here.... I like to think that it signifies new beginnings.  New beginnings for us all.  Cheers everyone!

I went to see Nick, my physical therapist, today.  This was my second appointment, and already there is improvement in my ROM. Yipppeeee!  My dorsiflexion went from 2 degrees to 10, my plantar flexion went from 20 to 25!  In my physical therapy 101 post I said that my plantar was 6 degrees.  I was wrong, but in a good way.  It was actually 20.  Degrees are tiny measures, and that's fine. I'm happy to reclaim my life in tiny steps.  Today we worked on strecthing and again it felt soooo good.  I do stretch at home, but there's a lot to be said for having someone do it for you, just feels better.  We worked on getting my toes back to working order, they're stiff and I can barely bend my big toe. I do feel discomfort in my extensor tendon, the giant one extending from the big toe.  With my toe stretching exercises I expect to see and feel an improvement shortly.  Nick said that when we meet again on Wednesday we are going to start some strengthening exercises.  I asked him if that is when I will start hating him and he said "not yet, that'll come later."  :)

All in all it's been a fabulous couple of days.  I put a call in to my doctor to inquire about the possibility of starting to use one crutch instead of two.  It's not that I'm trying to rush things, even though I am impatient, and you already know that....I really feel ready to take the next step in my recovery.  Ready to move things along, get the wheel turning, you know what I mean. 

Here's to pain free living everyone, sending my best wishes to you all!

Have a beautiful day, and thanks for reading.

~Suzanne
Update:  I've transitioned to one crutch, feels great, things are moving right along.