Cargo Shorts

And then the happy drugs wore off...

Oh my gosh. I figured going into this surgery that with 4 major knee surgeries behind me that I would be prepared for anything that was thrown my way. Not the case at all. This ankle surgery has been by FAR the most painful one I have ever had. Granted, they did the most work inside my ankle of all the surgeries I have had thus far.

The worst of the pain came on the first night after surgery at the hotel. At about 3am I woke up with my entire foot numb and shooting pain from my toes all the way up my leg. My surgeon was trying to conserve materials and had hoped to use the aircast walking boot that I used before surgery. However, between the swelling and the bandages, there was not enough room in the brace and that was causing all the pain.

So before my mom and I left for home yesterday we went to my surgeons office to get the brace thing straightened out. My surgeon ended up giving me a different brace which has made all the difference.

My mom and I have gotten a good laugh out of my surgeon, Dr. Manoli. This guy knows his stuff when it comes to ankles and feet. I even learned that he has done surgery for a former National Gymnastics Champion. So anyhow, on Monday after my surgery my mom saw him walking around the hospital in Cargo Shorts and a tee-shirt. At his office on Tuesday he was wearing baggy jeans and a large button down shirt. He is totally casual about stuff like that. My mom and I find it humerous.

So its now day two after the surgery. The pain is horrible, all the time, and worse than any surgery I have ever had. This ankle has been an issue for over 10 years and so its good to finally have it fixed. I do know that pain is something that is passing and will get better as time goes on. I see Dr Manoli on October 15th to take the stitches out and see how things are going. After that I can start Physical Therapy. I am wearing this giant boot for about 8 weeks total.

There is a finish line in sight with all of this...its just kind of far away at this point.

fixed

I made it through surgery...again. This experience was a lot different than any of my knee surgery experiences. Ankle surgery is a different beast than the knees.

I left home at 8am this morning. We got there by 11:15am. We were about 30 minutes early so while we waited I taught my mom how to play some of the games on my iPhone. The surgery today was at a surgery center and not a hospital, which is a first. The surgery was supposed to take one hour but ended up taking two. My surgeon deepened the groove in my fibula, repaired the retinaculum (small ligament holding the tendon in place), repaired the tendon, and removed two pieces of muscle that were growing along the tendon and should not have been. The muscle growth is often the bodies response to injury of the peroneal tendon.

So, now comes the fun part, recovery. At present I am in a lot of pain and still feeling pretty doped up from the pain meds and surgery drugs. I'll post more later, but my head feels like its in a cloud and my ankle feels like it got whacked with a sledgehammer.

Bring It...

Tomorrow is the day. I am not nervous as I have been down this road far too many times before. I do dread it because I know the hard work and pain that lies ahead of me. But, this is not going to be about a pity party. There are far worse things to worry about in life and this is just a minor detour.

I dealt with the nerves and anxious feeling today by attacking my house with paper towels and clorox bleach. Its amazing what a little bit of wiping and a lot of sweeping will do to a house. My house looks the best it has ever looked and I honestly did not think about my surgery all day today. Too bad I did not think of this form of stress relief before this surgery. :)

I am leaving at 8:00 tomorrow and have to be at the Surgery Center by noon, not totally sure when the exact surgery time is. The surgery is outpaitent, but I plan to get a hotel in Detroit with my mom tomorrow night. Due to my history of throwing up after surgery when just coming home from Lakeland...my mom will much appreciate the hotel and not a three hour car ride with me puking every 20 seconds.

Mostly I have to say that I am just happy to finally be getting this problem fixed. I miss running, biking, lifting weights, swimming, yoga, pilates, and going for walks. If this is what I need to do to get back to all of that, then BRING IT ON! :)

my bucket list

My bucket list: 1.) Compete in a half ironman triathalon 2.) surf as much as humanly possible 3.) Learn how to snowboard 4.) Go Scuba Diving 5.) Go sky diving 6.) run all day, every day 7.) Go downhill skiing again 8.) Swim in all the Oceans

Yes, I know I am crazy.

4 days to go...

right shoes

I am having ankle surgery on September 21st in Pontiac, MI. This will be my 8th surgery, but my first ankle surgery. I have big goals following my recovery from this surgery and so I want to keep a journal to help track my progress and keep myself motivated. My Ultimate Goal? That would be the Whirlpool Steelhead Triathlon on July 31, 2010. It might be a bit of a lofty goal, but if I do not try, then I will never know.

Background: I injured this ankle when I was 16 years old during swim practice of all things. We were doing starts off the blocks and my foot slipped. I felt something in my ankle and although the pain was not horrible, I knew something was really wrong. The injury was worsened a few days later by my decision to get back in the pool and swim. Long story short, after 18 months and over a dozen visits to an ankle specialist my mom and I were given the diagnosis of it all being in my head.

At 16 years old to be in a lot of pain and be told that something is all in your head, its really tough to take. This hurt me in ways that I am only now realizing. Among other things I was embarassed. So I did the most logical thing I could think of and that was to pretend that nothing was wrong and go on with life. This mostly worked because I was also blessed with crappy knees and so they kept me from being active for many years. My ankle did bother me, but my knees bothered me more.

Early 2009: After 7 surgeries and three years of rehabbing I finally got the all clear for my knees. I resumed heavy activity with a desire to make up for lost time. Probably not the wisest choice, but 8 years of inactivity had made me a tad restless. Early in the year I started to get a nagging pain in my ankle that would not go away. I twisted it while running in April and the pain kept increasing. Doing the most illogical thing I ignored the pain and kept on doing heavy activity.

Summer 2009: By July the pain had grown to be all the time and quite persistant. I managed to still ignore it and keep on running. While on vacation in New Jersey the pain was all the time and I knew something was wrong but still did the foolish thing and ignored it. Honestly, I was afraid to be told once again that the pain was all in my head so I convinced myself it was not as bad as I thought.

The Final Straw: In early August I was racing an office chair and reinjured my ankle. I knew that it was all over at that point and I could not ignore the problem. I finally got a diagnosis, Peroneal Tendon Subluxation. After a few doctor visits and a trip to Pontiac to see a specialist, I finally had not only a diagnosis but also a plan.

The Plan: I am having surgery in Pontiac on September 21st to fix what probably should have been fixed 10 years ago. The idea of more surgery makes me crazy, but I am so relieved to finally have a solution to this very old problem.

The first three weeks will be the next closest thing to torture for me. I will be in a cast on not allowed to put any weight on my foot during that time. Basically, I will have to sit still. Since when do I sit still? The next 6 or so weeks I will have a walking boot on and will be able to start putting weight on my foot.

So after all that, I have just one question...will I be able to find any of my right shoes?