10 weeks on

September 29

Scar still has a way to heal (compare with last photo).  Ankle and foot still swollen.

PT today lived up to its nickname of "Physical Torture" -- good, maybe it will have some results.  Had to cycle - just for warm-up; walk up and down slopes - glad I've been practicing; walk round the building, including on grass -- less strenuous than the beach; stretch on an incline - ouch; pick up a towel with my toes (no scissor motion allowed) -- impossible; and do circles clockwise and counterclockwise on a Babs board - tricky, used my hips.  That, plus a "stretching out" by the therapist and 10 minutes of the ice machine, completed my treatment.


Can't wait for Wednesday!

Why can't I ...?

It's almost as frustrating not to be able to walk properly a it was to have to lie around with my feet up.  I say "almost", but of course it is not because I can hobble about and do specific exercises to help me improve.  All the same, if the first couple of days are anything to go by, exercising has little effect on day-to-day progress. Can I do the exercises more frequently or for more sets and thus get back to normal sooner?  But then I remember what Mary said the last time we spoke, "Don't push yourself too hard."  I respect her advice.

.... But, I thought some more about the problems I was having, especially scuffing my left heel.  So I changed my shoes, moving into a less constraining sneaker and removing the heel lifts.  That definitetly helped!  (maybe I should try six inch heels... just kidding!)

Yes, I HAVE made progress today.  Small wins.  More tomorrow, I hope.

Facing the immediate future

New routine:
Exercise three times a day, morning, noon and night, working on ankle movement, strength, and getting my big toe to curl under (it won't at present)
Ice for ten minutes once or twice a day to reduce swelling of ankle and foot.
Short walks several times a day to practice walking.

PT Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, stretching, flexibility and gait training.


After all that extra work I need to put my feet up in my "nest".




And, when doing laundry, I have to sort my socks into pairs again

Can't wait for Friday

So, here I am .... on Thursday afternoon

My view of the change is like this

It feels surprisingly normal -- well, how did I expect it to feel? I can walk, but my stride is not uniform because I can't push off my right heel very well.

More exercises are needed.

Coming Friday to a foot near me ...

I went to the PT clinic

I entered the space

I was measured, manipulated and iced

(sorry, no picture -- too busy participating

I was sent away with exercises (3x per day, then ice for 10 min)

And told to return on Friday with my cane AND MY SHOE!

My right shoe is calling me!

For the last couple of days I've felt as if my leg is "better" and I can walk normally - well, as normally as one can in a big grey plastic boot.  I've had just one wedge in the heel since last Saturday and my leg feels as if the foot is at a normal angle.  I'm itching to put my right foot in a shoe again!

Yesterday I was feeling so normal that we stopped at the physical therapy place to "sign up".  The therapist said if I was full weight bearing on my leg she would evaluate me and start my "physical torture" program.  I'm going tomorrow afternoon ...

I'll leave my right shoe lonely until after I've spoken with her.

Using my leg ...

.. . to walk around Mystic Seaport to look at all the antique cars this afternoon.  There must have been 100 cars built before 1930, all lovingly cared for by owners who were more than willing to tell passers-by about them.  Most were Fords, Model T and Model A, plus a couple of Cadillacs, a Rolls Royce and some "working" trucks.

My choice

Jack considers a "red" car

WOW!

How about the essential parts?

The engine

Far fewer dials than in my car!

Ready for camping!

For work

Or riding in a side car

I could have used this "invalid furniture" a few weeks ago!

The show was great, but my right leg was very tired by the end of the afternoon!

Calibrating progress

First a couple of photos of my leg -

Taken on Sep 18

The wound - much better than the picture posted on September 7th (and I thought that one was progress!)











And a comparison between by left and right feet ... there's still a way to go till the swelling of my right foot and ankle subsides. I don't know why the skin is a different color - maybe a lack of light and air.

On Saturday the milestone of removing he second wedge from my boot.  Now my right heel is 1.5 inches closer to the ground

Two wedges of styrofoam from the heel of my boot

Then I read in the newspaper about the emotional and physical recovery of amputees from the Boston bombings.  I always knew my issues were nothing like theirs, and I have to say that despite my frustrations over my immobility,  I cannot imagine the angst they are suffering.

A step towards normality

Enough is enough of all this occupying the living room with my office paraphernalia - today I moved my computer and associated activities back upstairs

Though I have kept my nest for reading and leg-up time (for now).

After this action, I'm certain the end is in sight ....

... but when?

So, what's new?

The last couple of days have been incredibly busy academic work wise.  I have three projects at the "need intensive attention" phase.  It's not good when this confluence occurs - I end up juggling Skype calls to Sweden, Diana at the front door, and editing tasks that need my immediate (and properly undivided) attention.  This morning I was up soon after 5 AM to join an all-day meeting in Gothenburg (by Skype of course).

Originally I was supposed to be there in person - but you all know what intervened!  So I couldn't taste the fika "goodies" that by all accounts were" too beautiful to eat" - but they ate them anyway!

So, I've spent most of the past two days at my computer on the dining table, with forays upstairs to use the printer and periodic brisk walks to the beach and back to practice my gait.  It's improving, but I can't forecast when I will be taking the next wedge out of my boot.

But this position is still the best!

You can tell it's a new photo 'cause I'm wearing the one pair of long trousers that fit over the boot - some Target exercise pants!

Reaching new heights!

My right foot felt much better this morning and I can walk "more normally". Whew!  Yesterday I was quite worried.

I went for several brisk walks to the beach and back and ... I CLIMBED THE STAIRS to the office for the first time since July 21st!

Climbing

Up there!

The office looked just as I remembered it.
Jack has not been having wild parties up there!

Not so fast ...

Walking - or trying to walk -- after removing a wedge from my boot has been quite a shock. It is difficult and quite "painful" - though I would probably classify it as "uncomfortable".  I have to concentrate on walking "heel-ball-push" with one foot after another. As I lead with my right foot my left foot limps only level with the right, not a proper walking motion at all.


I need to practice, so I try to go for a "long" walk with uninterrupted strides. Then I retire to my "nest" for a rest.


I wonder how long it will be until this configurations feels comfortable.  Only then will I be able to remove another wedge and repeat the process


Clearly a longer time than I thought yesterday morning!

Progress continued

Today was the day to pack up the knee scooter and consign the big heavy box to FedEx for return to its source in Beacon, NY.  I have neither regrets nor nostalgia to see it go - though I was very happy to use it for the past eight weeks.

The FedEx drop-off point was at Westerly Airport - the Mystic agent is not open on Saturday and once I had decided the scooter was leaving Lord's Point today, Jack was determined to make it happen!  This precipitated a bonus activity - the route to Westerly passed our source for lobsters - and the contents of the brown bag made an excellent swap for those of the box.


The next event was to remove one of the wedges from inside my boot.  My right heel cannot touch the ground, but with a 3/4 inch wedge removed, it will be coming closer.

I'm removing the wedge in my right hand

The wound is gradually healing too, though my ankle is still swollen.  I'll wait for PT to deal with that!

But the view from "on top" doesn't reflect this progress!

 One day ..... but when?

Real progress

Today is a week since my hard cast was replaced by the big, grey, plastic boot, and, according to directions, I no longer needed to put only 50% of my weight on the right leg.

"100% weight bearing" - that must mean "normal" - I've forgotten how it feels!

Let's try .... yes! I can walk!

But I'm being a good girl and using a cane for extra support.  Not that I really think I need it on the flat.

It's been a long time!

Next milestone is to "gradually" (as defined by me) remove the wedges from the heel of the boot and then put on ordinary shoes.

I can hardly wait!

Jill-in-the boot

Here's how it works ...

Here are the parts

First a long cotton sock

Put my heel in the back part

Secure the flaps across my toes

Add the front part of the shell

Pul the three reinforcing bands tight

Inflate four bladders inside the shell - front, back and two dies

And I'm ready to go!

Tomorrow I will have been wearing it for a week -- probably 3 more weeks to go.

Seven weeks ago today

Has it only been seven weeks? It feels like a lifetime!

Some better, some not so good, and some the same

Better: I'm more mobile.  I can  go outside without Jack hovering over me and I can walk - albeit with my walker to make sure I have only 50% weight on my right foot - some distance, for example, round the supermarket.  Progress towards normality indeed!

Not so good. Independence. Because I need two hands on the walker to support myself, I can't carry anything, except for small articles I can put in the bag I have attached to the front. So I must rely on Jack to carry a glass of water from the kitchen for me, to bring and clear all dishes from the table, and so on. (When I used the knee scooter I could steer with one hand, carry something in the other and glade smoothly from room to room.  But no, I don't want the "old days" back!

Unchanged.  I still retire to my "nest" to rest my leg several times a day after I have been moving around a lot and my leg starts to throb.  But I'm not spending as much time here overall as I was a few weeks ago.  ... So maybe this should count as progress.

Update on progress

Or gory details?

Take your pick!

Jill-in-the boot: A feeling of deja vue

Ever since yesterday, it's as if I have been reliving my first experiences with my leg encased  - learning to negotiate space using a walker, frustration with not having things I need to hand and not having a free hand to carry them, anger at having to suffer more immobility, despair at how long this stage will last, and so on.  I'd entertained a fantasy that that once the fiberglass cast was removed, I would be "normal" - even though I knew it was a fantasy. But in the reality I couldn't continue to pretend.

One  new experience - how much dead skin from my right leg I found flaked off between the sheets this morning.  I'll spare you a photo of this gross situation!

Weight bearing again!

Events of the morning .... Red letter day!

7AM Hopping down the front steps - for the last time?

8AM  Waiting

Nurse Anthony and his cutting tool

Let's get to work!

Off comes the cast

What's underneath?

The wound

My leg

Comparison

What's next?

The boot

On it goes ... but I can take it off!

And I can now STAND!

10:30AM  Walking slowly up the front steps

Using the walker for balance ... for now

And that's more or less the situation for the next four weeks or so!