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Ankle Ankle surgery 12/21/2023

PT went well! I saw someone different yesterday but he was also excellent. He gave me a nice pep talk, too. “Swelling is normal at this stage of the game. Keep elevating and icing, but don’t get worried.” “Range of motion is really good for this early.” “Keep doing exactly what you’re doing because you are doing great.”

I also got 7.5 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night. I stretched before bed. I stretched this morning. My husband gave me a shoulder and back massage before he left for work this morning. I am cautiously optimistic about a better day today. Yesterday was terrible. Fatigue, my entire body ached, and I was starting to spiral. But I feel much better this morning. I hope it lasts!

I have to keep reminding myself I am in week 7 of a healing process that will likely take a full year to complete. I can’t get impatient already or I will set myself up for a long and awful journey to wellness.

@benne68, thank you, too, for the reminder of how far I have come in just a few weeks! I can’t wait to see what 7 more weeks brings! I will be done with PT and walking independently. That blows my mind!
 
Ugh. Had to be seen this morning because the abrasion on my shin where I slid down the stairs got infected. It is always something.

Nurse practitioner said it’s not too bad, but she wants me to take some precautions to get ahead of it. First, I am supposed to stop with the Aquaphor massages and scar cream until it’s healed up. No compression socks for a week. Ice and elevation are okay. She prescribed an oral antibiotic that should start clearing it up in two days (I have to take it for 10). She gave me stuff to clean it, special antibiotic ointment, and dressing. Clean and cover in ointment and fresh dressing 2x/day. Come back in a week.

Resting up for whatever BS the universe throws at me tomorrow.
 
Sorry to hear you’ve been up and down and an infection to top it all. I hope the abx kick in quickly. You’ve done so well walking, don’t forget it’s not a linear progression, there will be days that aren’t so good but look back and see how far you’ve come. Take care and be kind to yourself.
 
I’ve enjoyed a few good days! The infection appears to be clearing up. I am walking in normal shoes (no boot) in the house all day. I did a 1.06 mile walk around a pretty little pond yesterday. My back and ankle, knee, and hip on the injured side still hurt, and I still swell. But I am reminding myself it’s only been a little over 7 weeks since my surgery! It feels like so much longer, though.

I had a self care day yesterday. I gave myself a mani/pedi and sloughed the dead skin from my cast off the bottom of my injured foot. I cut my bangs (I need a haircut), took a long shower, and put glosser on my hair. I used whitening strips on my teeth. I stretched a lot. I got sun. I rested when I needed it. All that made me wish I hadn’t rushed back to work. I could have a few relaxing self care days and feel good when I went back. On the bright side, I am not falling further and further behind at work.

I got a life coach. I signed up for this before my injury but decided to follow through. The first two sessions have been analyzing my personality. It’s interesting and I have learned some things about myself. But I feel like my priorities have shifted so much with my accident, Idk if this is a good way to spend my time rn. I will give it another session and decide.

Speaking of coaching, my physical therapist says I am doing great! That was nice to hear. 3 out of 15 sessions done.

I am enjoying an up time in the non-linear ride of ups and downs that is recovery. I hope it lasts a while.
 
@MissFanny Brava! Self care days are such an important part of life ... and fun too. It is wonderful to see you doing well. :)
 
I am so happy today! My infection is cleared up and I expect the wound will be fully closed tomorrow. There’s just a tiny open spot now.

This morning, I was making breakfast and walking around without hanging onto anything. I didn’t even notice. Until I did!

:happydance:
 
And I am back down. I have been feeling sorry for myself again. I am tired of being in pain and feeling like ****. I feel like I have lost 8 weeks of my life already. I am starting to ruminate on the accident, which I have never done before. I guess it is all part of the process. I just want to be back to normal.

I am getting better as you can see in prior posts, but this feels like such a long uphill battle. With my hip replacements, I was already doing easy to moderate hikes at this point. With this, I am limping around on crutches at less than 2 mph hurting the whole time.

My job’s hard right now, too.

Bah!
 
@MissFanny Sympathy hugs! Yes, ankles are more tricksy to repair than hips and it takes longer to get back to normal striding along. Also normal to have down days following any surgery and you've been through so much is a relatively short stretch of time. And UGH to job stress! Do take care of you .... maybe plan a visit with a friend or a spa day or watching funny movies to get the endorphins flowing.
 
Thank you for the encouragement, @djklaugh. My physical therapist gave me a little pep talk this afternoon, too. I have come a long way in 8 weeks. I hope for the same in 8 more. But I just need to take it day by day.
 
Hang in there!!!!
This is definitely the safe place to vent when the clouds appear... we are all in your corner.
May tomorrow look brighter. Sending a ((hug))
 
Be kind to yourself. You’re allowed to feel sorry for yourself at times and as Mendogal says this is the place to let it out. You’ve been through a lot and you’ve done so well but maybe you need to pace yourself a little more? Baby steps instead of big strides might be the way forward. I hope tomorrow is a better day.
 
@Lindylee, focusing on the smaller steps is good advice! I may work on a list today of everything I have accomplished from the day of the accident.

I am always in a big hurry (one of the reasons for the accident) and trying to rush things along. Well, this recovery will not accommodate rushing and short timelines. I hoped to become a more patient person, but so far that is not happening.

I think shifting my focus to small steps and what I can be happy about right now is the way to go.

:loveshwr:
 
@MissFanny A list is a good idea or even a daily record of what you’re doing and how you’re feeling. It gives you the chance to look back to see how far you’ve come and also recognise that doing something one day may have made you feel good at the time but you didn’t feel so great the day after. Look after yourself.
 
Looks like you are making the best of a difficult situation! A true Stoic)) Enjoy coffee and toast, as well as a cozy atmosphere with ice packs.
 
And a happy report! I am wearing a shoe all day now and using one crutch. Still swelling but not as badly as I was before. I still wear the boot outside—it’s a scary world out there—but life is returning to normal at the ranch. (I don’t really live at a ranch. LOL) My rented medical equipment—wheelchair and hospital bed—are being picked up today. We’ll spend the weekend putting things back into place and restoring order and normalcy. Last day of antibiotics. Doc checked my infection Wednesday and said it’s healing nicely.
 
Just catching up on your story.
You do know that you are doing really well for the serious injury you sustained don't you?
Please take it slowly & keep a diary of you process to cheer yourself up. In one month you will be getting on top of this and in three months you will be looking forward to being fully recovered. However it's good to pace this it's a marathon not a sprint.
Excellent news isn't it?
 
Yesterday, my physical therapist told me he can tell I am putting in the work. That made me feel great! Realistically, I know I am doing well for such a serious injury. But every once in a while, I spin out on how long this takes! This is the first thing I have not pretty much bounced back from. But I have made a lot of progress this week alone and PT telling me they can see it helped a lot!
 
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