5 weeks post surgery

I continue to get a little better, although my foot is still fairly swollen.  I'm excited for my appointment with Dr. Elliot next Wednesday (5/8), which will be 6 weeks post surgery.  Hopefully, he will clear me to put pressure on my foot!

The nerves in my foot/ankle/knee area have been bothering me (sometimes the pain level is 8-9), so the doctor prescribed me Lyrica, which helps nerve pain.  It makes me drowzy, so I only take it at night, but it seems to be helping.

This is the way my kids view me right now:



My daughter Kaiya (4) and me scooting down the street

4 weeks post surgery

4 weeks after the surgery I have been getting a little better every day. I've had more pain than I expected in my foot, ankle, and leg, but the swelling seems to be going down gradually. I see the doctor in 2 weeks and hope to get the clearance to put pressure/walk on my right leg for the first time since the surgery. My right shin is sore from the knee walking scooter, but manageable. Without my scooter, I would be completely immobile and likely miserable.

I went back to work about 2 weeks ago and have scooted to and from work everyday (about 1.7 miles each way). Haven't gotten on the subway once, which is always my goal, as walking (which I do when healthy) is always healthier than riding. Scooting to work is a real workout and tough because the NYC roads between 66th and West End Avenue and Times Square and 43rd street are rough, uneven, and full of potholes. I haven't fallen yet because I'm really careful, but almost twice. I usually take 8th avenue. On the way home, I use the bike lane, which is usually open and therefore lets me get some speed. Last week when I was waiting for a light at 43rd and 8th on the way to work, some guy said to me "you're moving!" I thought "huh, how does he know that?" He saw my puzzled look and said "I saw you on the upper west side about 30 minutes ago". Small world.

3 weeks post surgery - still not allowed to bear weight on my right leg

Feeling better everyday. Foot still very swollen and sore, including most of the way up my leg along the peroneal longus tendon almost to the knee. I've included pictures here. Pain levels are lower too.

I'm very excited that I have made it 3 weeks! Only 3 more weeks of non bearing weight. The weather has been in the 60s and 70s with low humidity, perfect running weather. It is pretty tough for me not to go running, but I'm ok. Really.

Made an appointment for my first physical therapy session for June 4th (which would be 2 months and 1 week after my surgery).

I have been stretching my tendons every night as the doctor prescribed, inverting and ex-verting the foot. I've noticed that my mobility seems limited , about the same as before the surgery. I really have a tough time extending my foot outward (to the right). I have much more flexibility moving my foot to the the middle (inwards).

I have been in my boot for about 23 hours a day. Sometimes at night I take off the boot because it is still pretty painful at night. Taking it off seems to help.

My shin pain from my knee walker scooter is better but not gone. I've been scooting to and from work, about 1.7 miles each way. Great exercise for sure, I'm usually sweating a lot by the time I'm done scooting. When it gets warmer I'll need to bring a change of clothes.

My friend Jarrod stopped by today, which was great. We enjoyed catching up and my daughter Kaiya (4) really really enjoyed playing with Jarrod (see attached pictures). My friend Shane sent me a 700 page book by Bill Simmons called "The Book of Basketball" that I'm really enjoying.

I'm am deeply saddened by the bombs that hurt/killed so many people at the Boston marathon. Many people are doing runs in honor of those the were killed/injured. I wish I could do the same for them.

2 weeks post surgery - first scheduled doctor's appointment after thesurgery

I saw Dr. Elliot today, my first scheduled follow up after my surgery (3-26-13). 2 weeks and 2 days later.

First, they cut off the my cast and then took 3 X-rays (see the attached pictures). The swelling looked pretty good given the surgery was two weeks ago everybody said.

Next, they cut off the stitches, cleaned the foot area, and put on small band-aid looking strips, which they said to leave on a week.

Next, Dr. Elliot examined the foot. He said that I will now be in a boot vs a cast and should not put any weight on it for the next 4 weeks. He said that I can sit down on a chair in the shower and can put my foot down on the ground to let the foot sit. Overall, he wants me to have the foot sit in the hanging position now vs. elevating it (unless in a lot of pain, then I can elevate it to relieve the pain). I still have a fair amount of pain in the foot, which he said is to be expected. My pain is worse before bed and I take pain medication when needed. He also wants me to rotate my foot in and out a little bit everyday to stretch the tendon. Overall, he said that I should be in the boot 23.5 hours a day for the next 4 weeks with no weight bearing activities.

I'm getting a little better everyday and I'm excited about that. The last 2 weeks have been much tougher than I thought they would be, but I know I did the right thing by having the surgery, as Dr. Elliot has pointed out a few times.

I asked the doctor about when I can expect to so some endurance events. He thought a year or 18 months to a marathon and that waking the NYC marathon in November (7 months) is extremely ambitious and 26.2 miles is
a long way".

I also asked him if I would be able to walk some 3-5 mile races so I can get my 9 races in to qualify for the 2014 NYC marathon. He thought I would be able to start doing this in July/August.

Check out the pictures below from today. I was particularly surprised at the size of the screws in my heel used to fuse my heel back together after the doctor broke the heel and moved it over (he said he used an electric saw to break it). Crazy. He said that it is likely that I will need to have the screws removed because I will likely be able to feel them when walking/running. I can probably have them removed in 4 months, which would be the end of July. I think I can feel the screws now.

The "scooter" I use to get around is absolutely critical for me. I love it and don't know what I would do without it. I've been scooting all over the place. Today, I scooted from my apartment (66th and West End) to my doctor's office (72nd btw 1st and York), about 2.2 miles, and back home. Well over 5 miles overall. This is definitely good exercise and my glutes are getting serious exercise. Hopefully this will benefit my running in the future!!! :-)

Going back to work tomorrow (4-12) after 2.5 weeks off.
A few videos of my foot/ankle from today:
Dr. Elliot said that physical therapy will start in 2 months, twice a week to seat out.

Scooting with Kaiya

We have a blast doing this together! Kaiya (4) is much faster than me.