Wednesday, November 17th, was seven weeks post-surgery. I wore my air cast in the morning and then progressed to my sneakers and a cane. Getting around the house was a slow process and it hurt, but I had to keep up with it. I'd be going back to work (part-time) in two weeks and wanted to make my ankle as strong as possible. I work in an office so I'd be sitting most of the day and I planned on bringing my air cast with me just in case. The doctor advised me not to drive while wearing the cast but I knew I could carry it in the car with me.
On Friday my physical therapist advised me to wear the air cast more often. He told me I would ruin the way I walk by walking barefoot or in sneakers. The air cast had a "rocker bottom" which would give my foot the ability to move in a more natural walking motion, whereas if I walked barefoot or in sneakers I would tend to keep my foot flat and shuffle along. My foot needed to "learn" how to walk again.
Over the weekend I wore my air cast more, and consciously made the effort to move my left foot in a normal walking motion. Walking and standing for any length of time still made me sore. I was longing to be "normal" again, wanted to go about my daily life and do things I haven't been able to do in a long time. My ankle was becoming stronger and more flexible, but I constantly had to remind myself that I was still recovering and needed to take things slow.
I missed being at the cat shelter on the weekends; a typical morning at the shelter meant approximately 2.5 hours on my feet and I knew I wasn't ready for that. Luckily there were enough people on my crew so my absence didn't make things that much harder for them. Still... I couldn't wait to go back!
Hi Christinem I too had a ankle replacement on September 27th 2010. Mine was STAR replacement but unlike you I had several complication due to trauma surrounding the incision line. Two small skin ulcer develop and I will be on my third operation since this ordeal started. Thank you for the blog, at least I know now what to expect. I was finally taken off the cast last week but it will be short lived since I am going under again this Tuesday. Never the less, keep the good work, take it one day at a time, remember this arthritis took several years of our lives, its time to take it back one step at a time.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanette, I'm sorry to hear about your complications! I hope your future surgeries go well and you can be on the road to recovery soon.
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and posting... I'm glad I'm able to give you some insight. That's why I started this blog!
Yes... time to take our lives back one step at a time. Good luck to you! :^)
Hi Christine - 7 weeks tomorrow (Nov.2/2012)since my ankle replacement. No complication so far. Next physio I will be using the bicyle for the first time and actually putting a shoe on my foot. The pain so far has been nothing like the pain I experienced walking on my foot before the operation.
ReplyDeleteI am so happy that you have written this blog (is that what they call it lol) because it has helped me so much. Thank you and I hope you are doing well. Cheers, Cathy