Hello everyone! So apparently I really suck at this blogging thing. I really need to stay up on it and actually write about my progress so people who read this will know.
So, I finally got pictures uploaded onto my computer, so I can post them on here.
This is my scar from the first time I went back to my doctor, 5 days post-op. As you can see, I have a very fat, discolored foot. And the scar is super pretty. I had zero movement in my foot and this was prior to my three weeks on crutches and all the fun that entailed.
This is my scar today. It looks way different, don't you think? At eight weeks post op, I think the scar still looks terrible. I see patients with surgery scars day in and day out, and I have never seen an 8 week scar so red and still puffy. Chris, my PT, says it looks fine, but I really don't like it.
Anyway, my therapy has been going very well. At first, it really was a whole new realm of pain, but now I actually look forward to it...until I get there and they start hurting me. Every time I go, i get Hi-Volt muscle stimulation (STEM) on my ankle. It pretty much feels amazing, best thing ever. I highly recommend it to anyone in therapy. It takes away any feeling of pain or discomfort and it makes my ankle much easier for Chris to work on. So far, the only things i have been doing at PT are some stretching by Chris, to loosen everything up. My whole ankle is sooooo tight, from not moving it much and the trauma of surgery, its just really tight all over. So he takes a good 10-15 minutes just to loosen up my whole foot. Then he does some stretches doing plantar flexion and dorsiflexion (pointing the toes and pulling the toes back up). It feels good to stretch it, but there is a clear limit as to how far my ankle will go. He does some stuff called joint mobilization, which is not very comfortable in any sense. They basically hold my ankle in two hands, one on my heel and one above the joint, and then pull in opposite directions. Not fun. Then just last week, i started doing some other stuff, without my boot on! Its such a weird feeling. I stand on both feet with them as close together as I can get them and balance my weight. Sounds easy right? No. I have to hold on. Just being able to hold up half my body weight is quite a task for my poor ankle. Then I do calf raises, which are extremely difficult right now, but I am working on them. Then i sit on a chair and Chris dumps a cup full of random crap on the floor in front of me, screws, golf tees, pen tops, bottle caps, tons of random shit. I have to pick all the stuff up with my toes and put them back in the cup. Super hard, especially since my foot is so stiff, it really makes me stretch my toes and stuff. I have my own special ankle ice pack at home, so I can ice whenever I want. Ice is my second favorite, right after STEM. I can fall asleep with both of them on my ankle any time of day!
Non-ankle related stuff...
Jimmy and I have gotten to see each other the past three weekends in a row! We have had so much fun together. I just got home this evening from his fraternity formal in TN. It was very fun and we did very collegiate things. Check out my facebook for updated pictures of fun life things.
And I still don't have a real job! It really sucks. I have been working part time at my church, but I don't know if that is going to turn into something full time. It is so frustrating that I can't find a job with a freakin college degree!!!
