Day 37 - Fourth Pool Class

Friday, Dec. 28, 2012 - Week 13

It's my fourth Pool Class! I drove myself to class again =) This makes my 4th day driving and I had no issues. I was still sore from walking around in 1 crutch grocery shopping and walking around the mini mall by my house yesterday. This time, I used the stairs to get into the pool. Serena taught me a few new exercise moves and this time around I was able to walk around the entire pool circle during warm up. The shallow side on the left I was able to manage and was strong enough to hold myself up without any issues. However, Serena preferred I say in the right side of the pool, deeper end so I don't hurt myself just to be safe. 45 minutes of class is enough, I was starting to turn into a prune after just 30 minutes!

I looked at my chicken leg again and it seems like the muscles are starting to come back! Serena said it would take about 8 weeks for it to fully come back. It's been about 5 weeks now, Nov. 21 was the day I got my cast off. You can still see the bruise on my right inside ankle. I think that just will never go away. There is still a bit of swelling on the top of the right foot arch too. I wonder if that will ever go down over time? I'll see what 8 weeks will look like soon. I've got my entire January of appointments set up for twice a week physical therapy. Serena said I may not need anymore Pool Classes by end of January? It'll be just all land sessions there on out. We'll see...


            Nov. 21                                           Dec. 17                                  Dec. 28

Day 35 - Graduated to using one crutch!

Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2012 - Week 13

Today marks my 8th physical therapy session. I woke up early, felt great, and drove myself to physical therapy for my 9am appointment! What a great Christmas gift to myself! I felt completely fine. I arrived 15 minutes early and enough time to warm up on the bike. Serena, my physical therapist, started me on standing exercises. More stretches using the rubber band, massage, and stepping on the half yoga ball balancing. Again, more measurements to see how much I have improved on my movement and still the side to side movements are still not quite there yet and stiff. Then she asked me how much I'm walking, and wanted to see me walk. Said that I may try one crutch so she can see how well balanced I am. You can definitely still tell my leg is weak, but I can put about 80% weight on the foot and walking quite well. She graduated me to using 1 crutch in non busy areas! If I do go to the mall, I should use 2 crutches to be safe. I'm so excited! First the driving, now the 1 crutch! New years is next Tuesday, I wonder how well I'll feel then. My goal to walk without crutches is near. Almost there!

Day 33 - Exactly 3 months since injury and I tried driving today!!!

Monday, Dec. 24, 2012 - Week 13

Ohhhh my gosh! It's been exactly 3 months since my injury! I'll never forget the day, Sept. 24, 2012 around 7pm when it happened playing softball. =(   Today, I had a good feeling about my foot strength and really felt ready to drive. Lucky the rain stopped today. It was also sunny and warm out. It was pouring for the last few days. So I went ahead and tried to go around the block. I still used my crutches to get to the car. Got myself in and played around with stepping on the pedals. Got the car ready and then I went! I felt completely fine! I was soooo excited, I drove myself to Trader Joe's to buy some groceries hahaha! I went around the store with 1 crutch on one side and carrying the bin to shop in the other hand. I can now drive myself to Physical Therapy and to work! What a great Christmas gift to myself. I was hoping I'd be off crutches by New Years, we'll see when next week comes. =) I can't believe it! I continue to use the chinese medicine "Dit Da Jow" and do my ankle exercises. I'm getting better by the day and sure feel it. Soooo happy!!!

Day 30 - New Rubber Band Stretching Exercises!

Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 - Week 12

I can't believe it's been about a month since I got my cast off. How time flies!

I came in for my regular gym physical therapy session. I did the usual exercises, got my massage, and ankle movement measurements. It's improving! I'm now more flexible, and able to place more weight on the foot. I'm bearing about 75-80% weight on the right ankle now. Almost graduated to using one crutch but not quite there yet. You can still see me leaning a bit on the left side for support when using just one crutch. I've started a new standing exercise to stretch out my calves and walking step movements. I've also started a new rubber band stretch where I take steps into the stretch as if I am driving. Driving! That word just makes me soooo happy. I feel like I can and it looks like I have enough movement on my ankle to do so.

Since I have been going into work twice a week after my physical therapy sessions, I've been doing a lot of these ankle heel lift exercises. Walking a lot more with crutches really help with getting my foot use to stepping fully again to walk. I feel the improvements everyday. Less pressure on the balls of my foot now and getting more flexible with the up and down motion. As for the side to side motion, I notice turning my ankle in I can feel the pull bruised feeling on the outside of my ankle just below and around the ankle area. When I turn my foot out, I'll feel the bruise, but less bruising pull feeling on the insides of my ankle just below and a bit on top of the foot. There is also a weird clicking my therapist says could be my tendons rubbing against my bone. Well see how I feel in a few days, I may attempt driving!!! The therapist said it should be ok and be careful! Update soon! 

Day 26 - I walked today...without crutches!!!

Monday, Dec. 17, 2012 - Week 12

I went to my second Pool Class today and felt really good. No pain today either. My ankle and foot bottom felt really strong today. I still feel a bit sore from the weekend shopping though. So far so good.

I still have a chicken leg though. It appears I am gaining my muscle back from all the walking I've been doing.  I feel some muscle. Actually it looks like my left calf is getting more muscular and the right sort of look the same haha. I swear I feel the muscles when I flex my right calf. You can still see the bruising on the inside ankle. I wonder when that will go away.

                         15 Days Ago                                                      Today

My scar is also looking well. However, my skin is still a bit discolored from the rash I got around the area.

OMG!!!!!! Ok, so I was hungry for some dinner. I went downstairs and felt really good walking. I was just sick of moving my crutches around the kitchen and then I did it. I walked from the kitchen to the living room, back to the kitchen, and downstairs to lock the door to the yard! I was ok walking on stairs, still with rail assistance of course. My ankle is stronger then I thought hahaha. I just got too excited and needed to share the news! Time to text my friends =). I have a limp but I don't care! I walked without crutches! I am so happy! I feel so free!

Day 25 - On crutches out all weekend shopping!

Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012 - Week 11

It's 9:30pm and my ankle is feeling really sore right now! I was out all weekend shopping. I got in some really good exercise for my ankle. On saturday, I crutched around walking for about 5 hours and today, about an hour. I am surprised my ankle didn't swell up. It just feels tender and bruised while taking each step. No pain! Today, I felt a weird clicking feeling on my foot. I have no idea what it is. I can sort of use one crutch but of course with a limp. When I got home, I sort of hobbled around without any crutches in the kitchen. I still can't fully take a step without a hop. Sigh, I'm getting really close and feel like I can almost drive let alone walk!

I went to target and found those mechanical shopping carts parked to the side! I got really excited but thought no, forget it. I need the exercise. There's way too many people to weed through anyway with this huge cart. I got all my shopping done! Feeling very tired but good =)

Day 23 - Fifth Physical Therapy Session

Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 - Week 11

I'm back for my regular session! I really enjoyed the Pool Class on monday. So much so I had a dream the next day I lost the crutches and was able to walk haha.

Serena came by the bicycle where I was warming up and already noticed my walking in crutches has improved. She can tell I am putting on more weight on the foot. Today I did the regular exercises and received a massage on the incision, leg, and ankle. My scar is looking better as well as the sensitive skin around the area. This time she measured my ankle movements from up, down, left, and right. When I run my fingers over the scar, I can definitely feel the metal that's inside. I'm feeling great and no pain! Still I get a bit of the pressure bruised feeling when stepping down on the balls of my foot. This week shows major improvements and definitely can see that I am able to move my ankle from side to side this time without any issues!

However, the top of my inside area area swelled up just a bit. It could be from this new weight bearing exercise. This is good to get my foot use to having weight shifting as if I was walking. I'm excited for this coming Monday's Pool Class!

Day 19 - First Pool Class

Monday, Dec. 10, 2012 - Week 11

I was so excited to start my first Pool Class! I got in to get ready for my 11:30am class. Right when I got in, two very nice assistants showed us the way to the pool. It was so nice inside! There was a changing area, bathrooms, and showers. We were told to get into the pool to wait for our teacher. It was nice and warm in there. I was told to stay on the right hand side of the pool because it was deeper. That meant less weight on my foot so there's no pain. I was excited to see assisting walking bars under water and to the side. I felt very safe. Serena who's been helping me is also the teacher for this class which I'm happy about. She walks in shortly and we start with a warm up to walk around the pool.

It felt soooo good to be able to walk without crutches for the first time since the day I got hurt about 2 months ago!!! I was so happy and everyone could tell. We had a small class, there were only 3 of us, Serena, and a student. Serena made sure to constantly check on each of our pain levels. I was completely fine. When I got to the left side, more shallow side, I felt the pressure coming onto my right ankle. Because of the shallow water, more of my weight was used. I thought maybe I can do it but I was too ambitious and really felt the pressure on my ankle. Then Serena suggested me to go back and stay in the right side for my safety and to not push myself. We did quite a few exercises. Making sure we're not forcing our movements through the water, rather letting the body flow into the movement so we don't hurt ourselves. Then she turned on some classical music which was helpful to distract any type of discomfort we had. It was just enough time in the pool, my fingers were actually starting to prune after about 45 minutes haha. Class came to an end and we were given a towel and a plastic bag for our wet bathing suits. They even turned on the hot showers for us to rinse off. Everyone's so nice and attentive, Serena constantly asked to make sure we were ok and not in pain. When we got out of the pool, they covered our shoulders to make sure we weren't cold. I had a lot of fun in the pool today. I'm very excited and look forward to my next pool class!

Day 16 - Fourth Physical Therapy Session

Friday, Dec. 7, 2012 - Week 10

Happy Friday! I come in for the usual ankle and leg massage which feels really good. There were new measurements made on how far I can bend my foot up and down. It seems to be getting stronger everyday. I really do feel it. Exercises really do help. As long as I keep using my foot more to walk with crutches. I continue to massage my ankle when I'm home. Maybe the chinese medicine is working too? Serena, my Physical Therapist, started to move my ankle from side to side. I am able to move it more then how it was just a few days ago when I was in. We started to take measurements on the side ankle movements. My scar is healing nicely and my skin is getting better! My new skin is so smooth, tight around the surgical incision area. As instructed, I'll continue to massage around it to loosen up the dead tissue below it so when I walk and bend my foot, it wouldn't feel so tight.

I will continue my usual exercises like the ones below. ABC's with my toes and moving the ankle only, not the leg. 

At the beginning, when I did hip raises I really felt the pressure on my right ankle. My heel is much stronger now and I can lift my hips with ease now. No pain! The balls of my feet are still just a tiny bit sensitive with a bit of pressure. I started out with my right leg closer to me and the left leg further out so it's working out my right injured ankle more. Today, Serena had me try to lift one leg up at a time. I was surprised I can actually do that. She's also taught me a few new isometrics. Building strength on my ankle muscles now. It appears I've bruised and torn ligaments on both sides of my ankle which will take a while to heal. I feel like it's getting closer to the day I will drive again. Good news though. I can start pool classes this coming MONDAY! 

Day 13 - Third Physical Therapy Session

Tues, Dec. 4, 2012 - Week 10

I'm glad it didn't rain this time going into physical therapy. I am making progress with my ankle bending measurements. I'm able to place more weight on my foot and there's more movement everyday. I've learned more new exercises and got another massage. I've also learned to massage and move my skin around the surgical incision area to loosen up the tissue underneath so I have easier movement when I'm walking. Lots of leg and ankle massaging will help with the circulation and getting my feeling sensation back.

Here is a picture of the stool I use in the shower. I'm starting to stand in the shower and don't need this as much anymore. I still keep it in there for days I get really tired standing and to get in and out of the shower. I still get a little nervous and afraid I'd slip.

Day 11 - My surgical incision is fully healed!

Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012 - Week 9

Yay! My scab on the surgical incision area fell off in the shower! My incision is healed! I'm sooo happy! My scar measures about 3.5 inches. I still have a little bit of a rash on my leg from the dead skin that peeled off and waiting for that to go away. Still some discoloration too. The top of my foot arch is still stiff and I'm massaging it everyday and continue to do my ankle exercises. Next goal is to get rid of crutches!

Day 10 - Chinese medicine for my ankle!

Saturday, Dec. 1, 2012 - Week 9

My calf is still so tiny haha. Chicken leg! At least the swelling has gone down and no more burning sensation. I still have a tiny bruise on the inside ankle where the dislocation happened. The torn ligaments around that area and the top of my arch is still a bit stiff.

My mom dropped by yesterday with some food and some Chinese Medicine. I grew up using this Dit Da Jow and never read what was in the ingredients. Haha, today I learned something new. Reading this made me laugh out loud! It has a really potent smell and is suppose to heal me faster.

Day 9 - Second Physical Therapy Session

Friday, Nov. 30, 2012 - Week 9

It's been 9 days since my cast came off! I am feeling well, and no pain at all. Just still some pressure when I place my foot down on the ground. I am stepping my foot down more and walking with crutches. I still can't fully put weight on it. I feel the bruising sore stiffness on the top of my foot where the torn ligaments are. I am feeling better everyday. My skin does look better and the surgical incision is almost completely healed! It still feels sensitive with a bit of dry skin. I will continue to lotion and massage my ankle bring back feelings to my muscles and nerves. 

Today is my 2nd Physical Therapy session. Serena is my new PT moving forward due to the time I have available to go in. She was great! I loved her. She was more aggressive with my stretches and taught me quite a few more new exercises to do at home. I got the usual leg and ankle massage which felt really relaxing and good. She said that my surgical incision looked really well and healing fast. On my file, Colleen (my first PT) wrote down that I had no restrictions. As long as I am comfortable, I can continue to work on my walking. In about 2 weeks, Serena said she would like me to go into the pool and start walking in water. I'm so excited! She added 2 more ankle exercises to do at home. 

Using a towel to stretch is helping my foot movement to improve everyday. I am getting closer to being back to normal. However, I still feel the stiffness and pressure from the torn ligaments. I feel a really good stretch doing this one.

Scrunching my toes to grab my bed sheets is good for working on my arch and the bottom of my foot. I can definitely feel the muscles pulling all the way up to my ankles. It feels really good.

Day 7 - First Physical Therapy Session

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012 - Week 9

I can't believe it has been a week since my cast came off! After 2 days of waiting, the Wellness Center finally called me today to come in for my first Physical Therapy appointment! I got in at 12:45 and was scheduled in there for an hour session. Everyone seemed very nice and attentive. I met my Physical Therapist Colleen and told her I was very nervous. She brought me into my room and started with the evaluation. She was very nice as well. She asked me some questions about my health and about the injury and explained to me well what she will be doing. Then some measurements were made of my ankle to compare it to the other ankle and had me stand to see how much weight I can put on it. Next, she said we'll be entering the gym area just behind that other door in the room to have me crutch from one end of the room to the next. When I saw the gym they had, I was amazed how big and the amount of equipment they had! It was exciting to see all this. At the other end of the room, I noticed a door with a sign leading to the pool. 

After her review of me walking on crutches from one end of the room and back to her, she said I have a very good prognosis. We headed back to our room and she created goals for me to reach for and will construct exercises to accommodate how I am feeling in my progress. It looks like I will need about 3 months of Physical Therapy, we'll see how well I do. After about a month, she may have me start running in the pool. Exciting news! I'm not in pain and well on my way to recovery. She then taught me a few more exercises I needed to do at home and continue coming in twice a week for a month, and later down to once a week. Then she massaged my leg muscles and foot to activate my muscles and nerves. That felt realllly good haha. My chicken leg would take about 8 weeks to rebuild all the muscles. Seems so long. I have to be diligent with my homework to see progress. Before letting me go, she had me go back out to the gym area and cycle for 10 minutes with no resistance. So far so good, no pain, just pressure on the foot since the muscles haven't been used. And she sends me off to schedule in the rest of my appointments! Sounded like it was a great first session!

I get home to take a shower and more dead skin comes off! I am feeling a bit sore from Physical Therapy and no pain. It was a good day. My surgical incision is healing nicely Colleen had said. I'm just waiting for that one more layer of dead dry blood to fall off. My skin is looking better and less dry. The new skin feels so soft and gentle, like baby skin. I still have a bit of a rash from the irritated spots where the scabs were. I'm almost there!

The inside of my ankle is still a bit bruised from the dislocation. I still have a bit of sensitive skin as well as you can see the little red bumps on my leg. It is looking better by the day though. We'll see what happens tomorrow!

Day 5 - Dead Skin is falling off!

Monday, Nov. 26, 2012 - Week 9

I just got out of the shower and see that more of the dead skin and scabs continue to fall off! The burning sensation is also gone! I thought that would never end, got me scared. It's looking better every day it passes. This is without lotion on. Still you can see some dryness. A good layer of the dead skin on the top of my foot has fallen off. My surgical incision is looking better by the day! I'm just waiting for the dried blood still left to fall off. My skin still feels very sensitive and thin. The area with a bit of a rash is looking less red and inflamed. More of the dead skin on that area has also fallen off. I am also able to stand without crutches! I can support myself up on the balls of my feet. I still am not fully able to place full weight on the foot. I can place some weight on the heel and the balls of my foot but not then entire foot down. I still have some swelling and pressure when I do place my foot down. I am also not able to bend my foot with toes all the way up. The top arch is still stiff and I am massaging it everything and slowly assisting the bending with my hands to get my muscles use to bending again. I did make a call to try to get my first appointment in for Physical Therapy but all it was was an answering machine. I will wait 'til tomorrow for them to call back.

Day 4 - Very swollen and red

Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 - Week 8

I just got back from dinner at a friends house nearby and not having to elevate my foot for just a few hours it swelled up pretty good! I read that swelling does continue even out of the cast. I just wonder how long it will swell for. There's also a darker color on my entire foot. I've got cankles haha!

My surgical incision is also looking better. Not as scary as the first day, the scabs are starting to fall off and my new skin is coming in. My skin is healing but still it feels very sensitive. It also gets very itchy from the dead skin that hasn't fallen off yet. I continue to put lotion on it so it stays moist and not crack. I think it started to rash a little from the premature peeling of the scabs. Bad idea! Also when I take a shower, I rub off the dead skin, that added to the redness and irritated the new sensitive skin. I am able to place my foot on the floor but I can't fully place weight on it. I can place some weight on the balls of my foot and a bit of the heel. Just not complete weight on the entire foot because the swelling causes so much pressure. It feels like a balloon about to explode at times. I sometimes still l have some spasms when I angle my leg a certain way in the air. I am getting close to finding a Physical Therapist. I can't wait to start! I see progress! Sorry for the gross pictures! 

Day 1 - Out of my ankle cast

Thursday, Nov. 22, 2012 - Week 8

It feels great to not have this cast weight on my ankle. Showering felt sooo good. I was able to clean off all of the dead skin. My skin feels so sensitive. Some more of the scabs fell off. As you can see there is also a lot of atrophy on the right calf.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKMzzdyfiOY

I'll continue to lotion my leg until the dead skin falls off. There's still swelling on my ankle. I also continue to feel the burning on my heel. I hope this burning sensation goes away. 

Cast Removal Day!

Wednesday, Nov. 21, 2012 - Week 8

I have never been more excited! The cast comes off today! I can't believe it has been about 2 months in this thing!

I finally arrive at Dr. Lundy's office at 8:30am. It was a short wait and never been more ready to get this cast off of me. Dr. Lundy comes in and so we start. He explained the saw would not hurt the skin because it moves back and forth to cut. He makes an incision to the left and another to the right and a clamp to remove the cast! It's really coming off! Goodbye to the sweet and kind art on my cast from my friends!

Freedom! It feels so good to have air against my leg. It feels stiff from being restricted in a cast for so long. It's gotten so small, hairy, dark, and so dry and scabby.  Surprisingly it doesn't smell.

Embrace yourself for the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmr86WRBFT4

On the other side of my ankle was where the torn ligaments are from my dislocated ankle. Dr. Lundy planned on opening up to reconnect my ligaments but didn't have to. He said he would know what to do once he opens me up to see what's happening. Xrays also show that I didn't need any work done. So he left it alone to heal on its own. Phew!

Next thing is the removal of my dressing. There is a lot of dead skin and scabs around the area. I was ready to see my surgical incision. I was also very nervous at the same time. At this point, my ankle has been twitching randomly. I guess it's because it's not being supported anymore and the muscles have some movement again.

I'm sorry for the gross image. When Dr. Lundy removed the dressing, a bit of it stuck to my surgical incision and made it bleed just a bit. As you can see, my skin is really raw and sensitive. The darker color is the dead skin and from the iodine used just before going into surgery. I am ready for a shower! I can shower but can't bathe the foot. As for now, I have to keep an eye on my incision and make sure it's healing.

Instead of the boot I was said to get, I got an ankle brace! I can wear shoes! That's if it fits haha. One more trip to get xrays and I am free to go! 

Half of my journey is over. It's time to start my search for a Physical Therapist to go in twice a week as prescribed. On to getting back on my feet! I'll be back in 6 weeks for another followup on January 4. I look forward to the new year!

1 more week in this cast!

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2012 - Week 7

Time is really flying by! Only 1 more week left and this cast finally comes off!

I feel good today, no numbing weirdness or burning feeling. I had a good night of sleep. It still gets a bit itchy and I can see and feel the dead skin inside! It's so gross! My leg really shrunk! I can almost stick my entire hand inside my cast! I bet my calf will be the size of my arm. I'm very anxious to see my scar too. Fortunately, I haven't felt anything that's completely bothering me yet on the surgical area. I'll continue to wiggle my toes to get some sort of movement. Counting down to this final week! Oooh I can't wait! So happy!

Burning sensation inside my cast...

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2012 - Week 6

Obama has been re-elected!

Exactly 2 more weeks and the cast comes off! I am sooo excited!

I am beginning to feel this strange burning sensation on my heel inside my cast. It comes and goes. I can now move my toes more, not as much often spasms. I still feel some pressure on the top of my foot. There is even more room now inside my cast. I remember mentioning this in my last Follow up and Dr. Lundy said it was normal. The muscles aren't being used and it's just not happy. It could be that it's too tight too but it seemed like there was enough room in the cast. I've also asked my nurse friend and he said the same.

Getting so close to the end of this cast. I'm ready to clean my leg! I can't wait!

Very swollen toes and discomfort...

Friday, Nov. 2, 2012 - Week 5

It's already November! It has been 5 weeks already! Wow time flies! I'm just itching to get this cast off now. It's getting close! Wednesday, Nov. 21 is in sight! 

For the past 3 Fridays, I've been going into work. Coworkers are so nice and helpful. Got some more art on the cast as well. It makes me happy to see so much fun art haha. So after work, I went to my friends birthday dinner and by the end of the night, my toes have swollen up to a point I was not able to even move them! It was sooo uncomfortable! I almost had to take a pain med but made it home to elevate it to relieve the discomfort. 

I have to start getting use to this. It'll be another early night for me to fall asleep by 11:30 because crutching around all day and not much elevation really drains me good.

Another Follow Up Appointment

Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012 - Week 4

I'm excited to go in to hear and see my progress!

I am feeling better by the day. The first thing I did was go straight to get xrays. It was getting festive in the xray department with the Halloween orange and black colored decorations. Also had the Giants game on. Going for the World Series!

Finally got my xrays, went back to Dr. Lundy's office to review it. I had to tell him about my slip yesterday and the new itchiness. He took a look at the xrays and printed me another copy of them. It looked exactly the same as before with no change. Just keeping an eye on the other ankle to make sure there's no gap for the ligaments to heal. That's pretty much why I am in a cast longer so that the ligaments and ankle has no movement for it to heal properly. Luckily everything looked good and I'm healing well! He said to see him back in a month to get the cast off! Next will be the walking boot and Physical Therapy. He also mentioned that if I do travel or go anywhere, please carry along some pain meds because it may hurt or have a lot of discomfort! Just in case. YAY Progress!

Counting down the days...

Slipped and fell...

Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 - Week 4

I slipped and fell in the bathroom! I was completely tramatized! After getting out of the shower, I took off the garbage bags off my cast and the water dripped off the bags and wet the floor. I hopped up to get up from my stool while holding on to my crutches and the rubber just didn't grip the floor well. Then I slipped to the right! First thing I did of course naturally was place my right foot on the floor, and quickly realized Oh Noooo and let go to a fall. I only placed my toes but I felt the immense pressure on the ankle when placing that foot down. I got sooo scared. I tried to place my arm onto the sink but the sink was also slippery and wet and slipped off that while falling. Bumped my head onto the shower door and breaking apart the door and rubber that was holding it down. Bam! There goe's my right hip to the ground. Glad I wasn't really hurt. The cast really protects well. However, I have a huge 3-4 inch bruise on my hip to show for. I was so worried I may have moved my ankle. Good thing I go in tomorrow for another follow up and xray with Dr. Lundy.

So tramatizing! I have to be more careful!

Getting very itchy...

Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 - Week 4

It is starting to get verrry itchy inside my cast! I can feel my leg getting smaller. I can actually stick all of my fingers into my cast. It was a bad idea to scratch because I can feel how sensitive my skin is inside. There's tiny little bumps and a lot of dead skin. All I could do is fan some cold air through. It finally felt better... I thought I was starting to get a rash but by the next day I was completely fine. The bottom of my foot/toes is sooo dry. All I can do is wipe it down and put lotion on it.

Art on my cast

Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 - Week 3

Here's the start of some art on my cast.

I got my handicap parking placard!

Friday, Oct. 19, 2012 - Week 3

I got my handicap placard!

I went to DMV, got to sit in the front row Handicap seating, and was called to the stand after about a 30 minute wait. I come to the stand and it turns out to be someone I haven't seen since graduating Highschool! What a nice reunion! It costed me $6 and got a 6 month Handicap Placard. Now everyone want's to borrow me to go out just for some good parking haha.

It's been a life saver! I'm so happy =)

My swelling has gone down!

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012 - Week 3

I can finally see gaps between my toes! The Swelling is going down finally! My cast feels a bit looser and I am feeling better as each day passes. However, I do feel random spasms, weird sharp, prickly, stabbing, spicy, hot, cold, and throbbing type pain. When I'm on my crutches and moving around a lot, I also notice my leg and toes start to turn purple/blueish color.

I can see now why Dr. Lundy say to bring along with me my pain meds when I'm out. There is a lot of discomfort and pain. Not so much the pain I mean, it's just a lot of pressure I feel when it's not elevated. The blood rushes down and starts to cut off circulation to the ankle and my toes begin to heat up and swell. Since pain meds make me so nauseous, I have stopped taking them since 2 days out of surgery. I think I can take pain pretty well and it's not painful enough to take the meds.

I've also started to feel a bit itchy inside the cast. I've been reading online to learn more about my injury and learned that I should not stick anything inside my cast to scratch my itch or it can injure my leg inside or break the cast. I have to just try to ignore it.

I look forward to my next follow up appointment next Thursday!

First day out with my new cast

Friday, Oct. 12, 2012 - Week 2

My first day out with my new cast! I finally left my room and my bed! It was definitely more comfortable to sleep with a cast on because I felt my safe and it also felt my snug on. My ankle felt very protected! It is very hard and can get heavy when I'm moving around.

My ankle felt swollen still, my toes appeared to be swollen still as well. My loving friends decided to pick me up to have dinner at a friends house just to get me out of my house. I've been cooped in my room and working from home since. Being out of the office was nice too. I get to work in bed everyday and watch TV! So far I have not gotten bored or depressed as some said many people get to that point while in a cast. I do feel bad for asking people to help me do things though. Something I am adjusting to.

Once we got to our friends house, I had to crutch up a good flight of stairs. I was so tired already and felt like I was sweating up a storm.

My friends cooked up a crazy night of Ribs and Crab feast. Well, I had to restrain myself from eating any shellfish or red meat. My mom says it's poison to healing bones and things injured inside my body. It will slow down the healing if i eat these things so I listened and did not eat any of it! It was still a great night to spend with friends and to be out of my house.

I'm out and happy! Not vegetating in bed! I did notice my toes starting to swell more and the discomfort feeling around my ankle from not elevating it. 

I had a great night but felt discomfort and extremely tired from getting around.  

Thanks friends for taking me out! 

New Fiberglass Cast

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2012 - Week 2

I am feeling better by the day! I've been so oddly excited to get a new cast!

11:30am appointment and ready to get this new cast. I was starting to get hungry and the receptionist had food catered to their office. She was so thoughtful and gave me a pot sticker. It was yummy.

I get in to see Dr. Lundy and off comes my splint cast. My leg can finally breathe! I was afraid it would stink but not at all! It felt really good to feel the air on my leg. It felt so free and just so good. I was excited to see what my ankle looked like. To my surprise, in just two weeks in a cast my calf has shrunk in half! No more muscle! It was almost the size of my upper arm! My ankle still appears to be swollen and he said this was normal and will continue to be swollen for a while. Also a bit of blue bruising happening on top of my foot. The dressing on the surgical cut looks good with no blood on it this time. Everything is looking great he says! However, I accidentally got a bit of my heel part wet from showering. My heel was moist and wrinkly, and had to wipe off some dead skin and let my heel dry before putting on the cast.

First he put on this long cotton sock up to my knee and then he wraps it with cotton padding. Then he wraps the wet strips around my entire bottom right leg and starts molding it to my ankle and foot. Making sure my foot is angled correctly in place. He made sure it wasn't too tight and patted it down to form and tighten. Then he started rubbing the exterior and this heat begins to rise. After this nice warm heat, shortly it starts to harden. Another round of this and my cast was done! It was very cool to watch this process. I was then sent to get another round of xrays to check the other side of the ankle where I had dislocated my ankle with torn ligaments to see if it had moved. This was his only concern and wanted to make sure my ankle hasn't moved so the ligaments will mend back in place.

Another fast round of xrays and I returned with a CD with pictures of my xrays. A quick check in again and my ankle appears in tact and another great follow up. The xrays look the same as the last one taken. I'm feeling even better every time I come back to see Dr. Lundy. He then prints me another printout of my xrays and scheduled me to come back in 2 weeks for another check up.

Dr. Lundy says I'll be in this cast for about 6 weeks and then a walking boot. I'm just counting down the days now!