It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about my Achilles Tendon Rupture/Recovery. There has been MUCH progress since I last blogged about it. Therefore, I figured I’d update all of you! I haven’t mentioned it much on this end of things mostly because it’s been so much a part of my every day life now I am pretty used to it! Crazy, but true.
To recap my injury:
On February 7, I went to dig a volleyball and in the process I ruptured (completely tore) my achilles tendon – rendering my left food basically useless. It honestly felt like someone just kicked the back of my foot, nothing huge. Not a lot of pain and not much I could do. I was unable to have surgery due to the location of the tear and have been waiting for this bad boy to heal up the all natural way ever since.
- February 7 – Initial Rupture (Full tear at base of calf muscle)
- February 9 – Initial Ortho Appt
- February 10 – MRI Scan (aka confirmation I fully tore the AT)
- February 11 – First cast (Black)
- February 27 – Second cast (Purple)
- March 18 – Purple cast comes off and walking boot goes on (with crutches)
- April 15 – Follow up Ortho Appt (Cleared for REHAB/Sans crutches)
- April 17 – 1st Rehab Appt with Athletico in Arlington Heights
- May 28 – Follow up Ortho Appt
Getting the second cast off was pretty exciting, yet terrifying. I was soooo ready for the next step and I was just so happy to be able to shower/shave my leg (yes, I cheated and showered without the boot once or twice), but ummm it hurt. I have been in little to no pain throughout most of the process, but putting my foot in the walking cast was the worst day for me – It burned and felt all sorts of wrong. I actually cried in the doc’s office when this was going down – I was in a LOT of pain for a few days, but eventually it just went away and I’ve been rocking the boot ever since.
I think what has surprised me most about this whole process is the ever changing timelines. Initially I was told 8 weeks (or maybe I imagined that) and I am sitting at week 10 and I am only a little more than halfway healed back up. Basically I am unsure of anything at this point… I just have to be patient. That being said, I am thankful that this injury happened during winter time, although the crutches on the snow/ice of Chicago wasn’t fun – I’d much rather be trapped inside during those months (along with everyone else) than have to deal with this during the summer months. Hands down!
Fun Facts about my recovery thus far:
- My Ortho called me “middle aged” (sweet – I am 32). Thanks! Bhahaha.
- I most definitely cried once (or twice) when I saw someone parked in a handicapped spots without a pass/permit. Just don’t do it. 🙁
- Target go-carts are the slowest. Whole Foods has really narrow aisles and makes the go-carts near impossible to go down.
- Not everywhere is handicap accessible… Opening doors with crutches is NOT easy. Lend a hand.
- People ask you all sorts of questions when you have a cast on – I welcomed the conversation.
- Netflix is truly a wonderful thing – I mean…. I already knew that, but I took it to a whole new level with this experience.
- Breaking Bad is an AWESOME show (I watched the entire series in EIGHT days).
- Depression definitely can hit you pretty hard if you have nothing to do for more than a few days. Friends and family are the absolute bestest.
- Walking casts take a long time to get to the “Walking” stage… it took me 10 full weeks to get to the point of walking without a crutch.
- I will not be able to run for about a year (so they say)… but that means my obsession with Shred 415 and Orange Theory is over. 🙁
- My mom is amazing. Not only did she put up with me for 6 weeks, but she did my laundry, cooked/brought me food, fashioned me a sweet pulley system to get my crutches up and downstairs, baked cookies every night (hahaha) and even massaged my smelly/gross foot when my cast came off. Best. Mom. Ever.
I still have bad days and good days – my foot still swells up if I work it too much. But it’s hard not to enjoy the newfound freedom of being able to walk on my own. So when I DO push it too much, I definitely take some time to rest/ice/elevate it. I still have quite a ways to go, but I am making progress and that’s all I can ask for at this point. Side note: If you know of anyone on crutches – send them a little note, you’ll brighten up their day. Crutches are NOT easy and not really all that fun and can definitely take a toll on you.
Mostly this whole experience so far has taught me that I need to SLOW down. I am so used to working all the time, traveling every free second and doing everything else a million miles a minute. During this, I just couldn’t. I’ve just had lots of time to think. Think about where I am going and what I want to do with my life/business/travels. Lots of fun and exciting things on the horizon to say the very least.
But for now, I am rehabbing my butt off (aka trying to spell out the alphabet with my foot) and taking it day by day and most definitely still rocking photoshoots in between. <3
What I DO know:
- I will not be able to run for at least a year.
- Volleyball is definitely out for awhile.
- Swimming and biking will be happening a lot this summer.
- I am outtaaaaa shape.
- My physical therapist rocks.
