day 90

Tuesday is my 12 week appointment where, I assume, I will find out if I can walk without the boot. I think I'm ready. I've been able to stand on the foot when I get out of the shower and change position using the bare foot. I am not totally standing in the shower right now because it scares me since the tub bottom is not totally flat and it gets slippery. I've been keeping it squeaky clean to make it less slippery, but it still is a bit nerve racking. The other night when my husband was out of town, the house alarm system went off. I don't sleep in the boot. I leapt out of bed and scrambled, barefoot, to see what the heck was going on. Once I got to the control panel and figured out it was just a malfunction, I realized I had actually walked without the boot! I'm sure it wasn't graceful, but I still did it. That was pretty cool. Walking back to bed was much slower and probably even less graceful. I've been walking the dog (boot on) about 1/3 of a mile - maybe a bit more and yesterday, with the help of Naproxen, was able to stay up and very active all day. Unfortunately, I can't take NSAIDS too often because they don't agree with me, so I try to be really careful.

Swelling has improved massively. It still swells, but doesn't seem to go past a certain point, but of course, I'm not out doing stupid things. One thing that hurts it pretty badly and will cause more swelling is if I abruptly step hard on it - kinda just plopping it on the ground. Going down stairs is a challenge because I have to set it down carefully or I get these sharp pains that last for a few seconds followed by increased pain and swelling for the day.

I have not been going to the gym and that drives me crazy. I've squished out so badly. The main reason I'm not going is that my back has been really cranky. It's an issue I've had off and on for quite some time, but walking on the cast with one leg higher than the other has just made it much more constant. Every time I go to the gym, I just make it way worse. Maybe I just need to take it easier in my workouts and break myself in carefully, but I get there and just go into automatic and forget I need to basically just start all over.

I still feel confident about how the foot will perform once all is said and done. I certainly hope my confidence is not misguided.

Pain 0 to 3, swelling 1 to 3

day 86

In 6 days I go for my 12 week follow up, even though yesterday was actually 12 weeks. I think I am ready to try walking without the boot, but probably at first with a crutch. That thought is based on the fact that I felt like my leg and foot would  collapse when I tried it a while ago. I am scared, but can't wait.

I pretty much go back to work tomorrow. I'm a teacher and school doesn't start until next week, but I've been in my room working the last 2 days and have training the next two days. My foot handled yesterday well - 4 hours total at work. Today I did 6 hours and the foot was pretty sore after I got home and fixed dinner. I'm nervous to see how it goes once the kids arrive.

As far as how is the foot doing compared to the last 3 months, I guess pretty good. It is definitely not swelling like before. It does swell, but maybe to a 3 or a bit more. The toes are still the problem kids, and my forefoot, especially on the bottom, gets pretty sore. I can't tell if that's from the cast or not. I'm hoping once I get into real shoes, that the bottom of my foot pain improves. I certainly know that my Croc sandals have more cushion than the cast, but I don't think sandals will cut it at first. My toes are still pretty numb. It is so weird to clip the nails because I can't feel the clippers with my toe tips and have to rely totally on eyesight which isn't 20/20 any more - to say the least. Right now the original break (a Jones fracture, for those of you who know what it is) is achy. It was that fracture that finally threw me over the edge as far as loss of stability and lots of pain. Hopefully that will be improved.

Pain 1 to 2, swelling 1 to 3.

day 74

Just like all the other foot blogs I've read, as soon as we start getting more mobile we hardly post any more. I know, for me at least, it's just so nice to be able to do something that the last thing I think of is blogging.

An update of how things are going - basically, well. I am 100% weight bearing but prefer using a cane when I walk across a lawn or uneven ground. I think that is more because the stupid cast is a bit wobbly. Also, I really have very little strength in the muscles on the outer portion of the cast, so don't trust them to hold me if something happens. I plan to discuss this with the physical therapist when I see her next. Walking or weight bearing without he cast is just barely becoming possible - still more in my mind than anything else. I did barely stand in the shower yesterday, but had a Teva type sandal on to give me padding. It was scary to use the uncasted foot and I was very tentative. I'm excited to get to the point of standing in the shower without a bath stool there as backup because that means I can go swimming and shower afterwards. The nurses told me that at about this time I can start experimenting with wearing a shoe.  The limiting factors right now are definitely swelling, pain and being able to get by without the cast on. I suspect the pain and swelling will continue for quite some time. Such is life.

Pain - 0 to 3, Swelling 1 - 5.

day 64

Celebrate! The last few days have been wonderful! I was doing the 75% weight bearing using one crutch when I noticed that I was often bearing 100%, so I began to experiment. One thing led to another and there really was very little pain but a bit more swelling. So yesterday while working in the kitchen on automatic, I simply "forgot" about the stupid crutch and found myself working without any support other than the cast. One thing led to another and I am now very carefully and clumsily walking. In ways I'm disappointed because I was so looking forward to that OMG moment when I stood on one side of a room, ditched the crutches and walked.I pictured myself cheering like a marathon finisher at the end.  This just happened - no celebration - no preplanning. The celebration comes in the way the world has opened up. Those of you who have been through this definitely get it. I have hands! I can go up and down steep stairs without being nervous, but, best of all, I can drive!

The driving actually happened the day before yesterday. I had a dentist appointment the next day and no one could take me. I did not want to cancel so decided to try driving. One short trip around the block and I knew it was ok.

Anyway, two months after surgery, I have been gardening, walking around the grocery store (that with one crutch) and driving. Woo Hoo! I really thought it would take longer than this. It is still hard. My body has been pretty much immobile for two months and my stamina is just not there. The back and knee on the good leg are stressed due to an unnatural gait, but I know I can get back to where I was and am ready to begin. I'll start back to the gym today - I was going earlier but the combination of pulling my back out and annoying my husband for rides just made me decide to be patient and wait until I could drive myself. Now there is no stopping me!

Pain - 1 to 2 in the toes, swelling - 2 to 5.