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Ankle Talonaviculnar Fusion

Well I'm getting the hang of the knee crutch & can get around the house & up & down the stairs in it (using a crutch in that other hand for balance) so I'm ready for surgery now. It's actually more of a peg leg using the thigh muscles to walk stiff legged. Yes the knee does feel odd but then again it's not stable anyway. The hospital physio wants me to bring it in with me for surgery so they can make sure I'm using it right, that's great news. I'll be pleased to be out of the painful walking that just jumps on me unexpectedly & the sleeping issues it's causing, but I know it's not straightforward for many weeks initially.
 
By they way one of the nurses here told me her rather overweight father had a tripple fusion in May & he's almost back to normal, walking the dogs etc. Very happy apparently. That's good news isn't it?
 
@Annie N That is good news. My brother had a talonavicular and calcaneocuboid fusion 3 years ago and by 6 months was walking 7 miles, said it had changed his life.

I had my 6 week check today. The surgeon was very pleased with how the bones were fusing and was happy for me to go into an air cast boot and begin to weight bear. After 6 weeks in a cast my leg is not a pretty sight with all the skin peeling. I’ll be plastering the moisturiser on!

it’s going to take a while to get used to the boot. It feels very odd and I’d got so used to moving easily on the knee scooter with a little basket to hold things in that crutches do not have. I think the next 6 weeks will be harder than the first, more painful too as Ikve hardly had any pain up to now. Oh well, onwards and upwards. It will be worth it :yes!:
 
You can still use the scooter or course, no need to weight bear all the time, you need time to adjust. Really soon you should be able to get around with just one crutch or none at all, are you fully weight bearing now or 50%? This will take time don't forget you have basically a new foot so need to sort out how it works
 
I was told to gradually put weight on it so using 2 crutches at present. I’m using the knee scooter if I need to get up in the night as I’ve got no boot on then and will use it if and when I feel the need.
 
It must feel good to sleep without the cast, are you in much pain?
 
I’ve hardly had any pain at all since Day 2 after surgery, just the odd twinge. It’s more painful now I’m putting weight on but not too bad.
 
Your pain experience has been pretty unusual, foot & ankle surgery is known for being painful, I've had 4 before this time so can confirm that, although knee replacement is the top tier in the ouch factor. When the surgeon told me what he'd been up to inside my joint I'm not surprised. I suspect you have good swelling management which will help long term in your recovery. Do you have exercise to do at home now? SWELEOC are known for their exercise videos & booklets for patients. Do be careful when out of the boot, it's all very fragile now & needs time to get stronger.
 
I was expecting more pain to be honest but was told it would be less than knees. I only needed Paracetemol for my last knee. They tell me I must have a high pain threshold but I’m not so sure about that.

I did find the foot became more painful if I was on the knee scooter for long. It didn’t seem happy hanging off the end and hopping with the frame made it throb which is probably why I spent so much time elevating and had hardly any swelling. It’s a little puffier now but nowhere near as bad as it was before surgery.

There wasn’t so much advice this time as there was with the knees. I have 4 exercises to do 3 times a day to keep the glutes and quads strong but nothing for the foot yet other than wiggling toes.

I’ve not been putting any weight on the foot out of the boot other than resting it on the floor. I did a bit of googling and found advice that said if you were allowed to take it off at night you should put it back on if you need to get up. That’s a bit of a palaver so I’ve still used the knee scooter at night.
 
Either that or hop on the crutches, oh deep joy!
 
I can’t hop on crutches, arthritis in hands, wrists, elbow and shoulder. it’s pretty much every joint. :sad:

I tackled the stairs for the first time. They’re not the easiest as they’re steep, shallow, have a dog leg turn half way and a window means there’s a gap in the hand rail. I made it there and back but the foot wasn’t happy. First painkillers and ice since coming out of hospital but settled down again now.
 
I had an appointment with my chiropodist/podiatrist today. She was amazed how good my foot looked and how neat the scar is. She said what a good job the surgeon had done.:)
 
Your issue with arthritis in the hand surely should mean you have specially designed crutches supplied? I have thumb arthritis so any weight through the hands is very trying, hence my using a knee crutch. Is there room to leave a frame or stool at dog leg level to help you around the gap in the handrail? My physio came to my home, she said I initially needed to try going up stairs on my behind & put a stool at the top of the stairs to use as leverage to get up, she also advised 3 crutches, one at the bottom, one at the top, one to use on way up or down so your hands were not full carrying the spare crutch. She's become a good friend, really got me through the time I broke both ankles at the same time in 2018
 
I went for the knee scooter and a frame instead of crutches. Now I can partially weight bear the crutches are ok. I borrowed a spare pair so I have one at the top, leave one at the bottom and use one as you say. There’s not room to put anything at the dog leg as both steps narrow to a point on the turn. Yes going up on my bottom with a chair at the top has been suggested. I’m reluctant to try in cases I can’t get up or the chair topples.

I tried again yesterday and it was a bit better. I’ll get there in the end. :yes!:
 
You'll get the hang of it quite quickly now, just in time for the boot to come off! It's been 2 weeks & mostly I can walk around the house now just in the knee crutch alone, amazing! Went for a wander in the garden today, that really cheered me up.
 
Lindylee said:
Yes going up on my bottom with a chair at the top has been suggested. I’m reluctant to try in cases I can’t get up or the chair topples.
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When I broke my foot, I found it easy to go down the stairs on my bottom. But when I tried going up that way, I could not get myself up off the floor onto the footstool. What a scene that was!

Do what feels safe and comfortable to you. :flwrysmile:
 
Annie N said:
You'll get the hang of it quite quickly now, just in time for the boot to come off! It's been 2 weeks & mostly I can walk around the house now just in the knee crutch alone, amazing! Went for a wander in the garden today, that really cheered me up.
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You’re doing very well. The highlight of my day was a trip round M & S at Tolworth, but I chickened out on walking and used the wheelchair. I did walk to the end the road and back yesterday and tomorrow I’m out to lunch with friends.
 
Funny how these trips out are so important in the monotony of a long recovery. Himself took me to the local Weatherspoons for lunch yesterday, but I found I was a bit sore afterwards. Just negotiating transport & access to venues is a bit challenging but it had to be done. Enjoy your trip out, hopefully somewhere worthwhile? The police came to see us yesterday about the stolen car, it's been seen travelling around Essex!
 
It wasn’t shipped abroad then? Don’t overdo things. I’ve not been too bothered about staying in this time round. I’ve found plenty to entertain me and have had several visitors. I am a bit older than you though and Mr Y did say that can make a big difference to recovery so warned me not to get carried away and take it slowly. Lunch was with a group of friends at one of their houses.
 
The car was down by the docks, & pinged anpr again in convoy with other stolen cars, so had been hidden there, blatant isn't it? They've not said anything else but its 50/50 that it might be recovered, they are certain the criminals will be caught soon. Our policy has been cancelled & they are in course of paying us, so any recovery now will be complicated!
As long as my foot is only down for up to an hour I'm fine so can do the washing now if I'm careful. We went for a gentle wobble around Aldi this afternoon when it was quiet, funny what cheers you up eh, using a trolley like crutches! Mainly I'm able to do this because I have this peg leg crutch so my leg is tucked up behind me & of course I have done this before 13 years ago ( I went to work then!) so have more confidence. The crutch design has really improved as well. Possibly it helped having had 2 weeks advance practice so I'm now finding I'm able to stand on it ok, in fact it's easier to stand than get up & down all the time. The first 2 weeks were very restrictive & it's frankly bleak thinking that 12 weeks of this might be required but it's actually turning out better than the foot reconstruction 13 years ago. Maybe that's because I don't have to work so can rest as much as I need & just do odd tasks when I'm up for it. Just as well, my sister is coming for Christmas, just like last time this happened.I was really peed off cooking dinner on my peg leg right they all sat around with wine.... Not letting that happen this year.
 
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