Before I get into this update I wanted to clear up a few things. The first being the fact I haven't posted anything for almost a month. The main reason for this is the fact I moved to university and also I was able to do a lot more things and go out a lot more than I had been able to previously.
The second thing that I want to address is the purpose of this blog. It has recently come to my attention that certain people think that I am using it as a way of attention seeking, which is not the case at all. I am posting about my experience with a less common operation to help inform other people that may be going through the same thing in the future, as when I was looking for advice and other peoples experiences there wasn't many to look at! As for my other posts about make-up, books, or my experiences they are in no way attention seeking, but rather a way of sharing my thoughts which may help people make decisions about buying products.
The main thing to take away from these points is that if you have a problem with what I am writing, are not interested in any of the topics I post about or are just reading to pointlessly criticise on the sly, then I would suggest that you either don't read it at all, or have the decency to actual make a comment on the related post.
Now that those things have been addressed I can now tell you about the changes with my ankle over the last month. There are three main changes that I want to talk about, that have really made a difference to recovery.
1). I had my last hospital appointment at the end of September, where they took more x-rays both weight bearing and non-weight bearing. I then met with one of the specialists I had been seeing and he was very pleased with the recovery since I was last seen in August. I was given the all clear to walk fully weight bearing whilst wearing my insoles. I was also told at this appointment that I would no longer need to go to regular appointments as they were pleased with the outcome, so now I only have to go back if I have a problem with either ankle in the future. I also managed to get some pictures of the metal plate and pins that are in my ankle too!
2). I can now walk! This may not seem like a big thing, but after being on crutches for 6 weeks, and in an air cast for 5 weeks, still using crutches every now and then, being able to walk without any support (apart from my insoles) is a big achievement. A few days before I had my last hospital appointment I realised that it was actually a little bit more comfortable for me to walk in my shoes rather than my air cast. This was because the front panel of the cast was digging into my shin every time I took a step, as my ankle and leg had started to move more within the cast as my muscle started to build back up.
To begin with, I struggled to walk 'normally' as it was still painful and very stiff, so I had a very odd limp and often used my hip to move my leg rather than my knee and ankle. (I didn't realise I was doing it at the time). Since moving to university I have been forced to walk more than I was whilst at home which means I have recovered much quicker. The first few days were very painful, especially when the path was uneven and caused my ankle to twist in ways in was not flexible enough too and I struggled to get my foot into any shoe because of the swelling. However, after just over a week the pain was almost completely gone, it didn't feel as stiff and the swelling was nowhere near as bad. I am now also able to stand on my right foot (on one leg) without holding onto anything, and I can twist it about a lot more. Although It almost back to normal I still can't stand on my tiptoes and after sitting in lecture for 2-3 hours, it often clicks and crunches when I start to walk on it again.
3). My final change is that all my 'scab' has come off of the scar down the side of my foot and has revealed a very small, neat scar that I am sure will fade away to pretty much nothing. I also no longer experience pain in my hip.
If you are having an operation like this in the near future and are worried about the recovery time, I would say that after 3 months you will feel almost back to normal, obviously that depends on how healthy you are and how well you follow doctors instructions. I know when I was looking for advice there was a lot of people saying they were on crutches for months and months and that they still weren't recovered a year later, but from my personal experience (3 months and no physio) I don't think it takes that long to feel like you can walk 'normally' again, admittedly I could go for a run, or jump up and down exercising, but I can definitely walk just as well as I could before the operation.
If anyone does have any questions about the recovery period, or about the experience. Feel free to ask and I will try and answer them the best I can
Now that those things have been addressed I can now tell you about the changes with my ankle over the last month. There are three main changes that I want to talk about, that have really made a difference to recovery.
1). I had my last hospital appointment at the end of September, where they took more x-rays both weight bearing and non-weight bearing. I then met with one of the specialists I had been seeing and he was very pleased with the recovery since I was last seen in August. I was given the all clear to walk fully weight bearing whilst wearing my insoles. I was also told at this appointment that I would no longer need to go to regular appointments as they were pleased with the outcome, so now I only have to go back if I have a problem with either ankle in the future. I also managed to get some pictures of the metal plate and pins that are in my ankle too!
2). I can now walk! This may not seem like a big thing, but after being on crutches for 6 weeks, and in an air cast for 5 weeks, still using crutches every now and then, being able to walk without any support (apart from my insoles) is a big achievement. A few days before I had my last hospital appointment I realised that it was actually a little bit more comfortable for me to walk in my shoes rather than my air cast. This was because the front panel of the cast was digging into my shin every time I took a step, as my ankle and leg had started to move more within the cast as my muscle started to build back up.
To begin with, I struggled to walk 'normally' as it was still painful and very stiff, so I had a very odd limp and often used my hip to move my leg rather than my knee and ankle. (I didn't realise I was doing it at the time). Since moving to university I have been forced to walk more than I was whilst at home which means I have recovered much quicker. The first few days were very painful, especially when the path was uneven and caused my ankle to twist in ways in was not flexible enough too and I struggled to get my foot into any shoe because of the swelling. However, after just over a week the pain was almost completely gone, it didn't feel as stiff and the swelling was nowhere near as bad. I am now also able to stand on my right foot (on one leg) without holding onto anything, and I can twist it about a lot more. Although It almost back to normal I still can't stand on my tiptoes and after sitting in lecture for 2-3 hours, it often clicks and crunches when I start to walk on it again.
3). My final change is that all my 'scab' has come off of the scar down the side of my foot and has revealed a very small, neat scar that I am sure will fade away to pretty much nothing. I also no longer experience pain in my hip.
If you are having an operation like this in the near future and are worried about the recovery time, I would say that after 3 months you will feel almost back to normal, obviously that depends on how healthy you are and how well you follow doctors instructions. I know when I was looking for advice there was a lot of people saying they were on crutches for months and months and that they still weren't recovered a year later, but from my personal experience (3 months and no physio) I don't think it takes that long to feel like you can walk 'normally' again, admittedly I could go for a run, or jump up and down exercising, but I can definitely walk just as well as I could before the operation.
If anyone does have any questions about the recovery period, or about the experience. Feel free to ask and I will try and answer them the best I can